Every Brianna Has a Story

Every winter, as we put up our Christmas tree, I always get to hang my own heart-shaped ornament with "Brianna" on it. Underneath, it says "Strong One," which is the Gaelic/Celtic root of the name Brianna. I myself am half Irish, so it fits. It could also be traced to mean noble, virtuous, and honorable. One day, I was curious, and I asked my mom why she chose this name for me. She told me that she read it in a mystery novel before I was born, and she liked it. I felt special because my name didn't come from a generic baby names book, but an actual story. Unfortunately, my mom could not remember what book it was from, so I will probably never read about the fictional woman that I was named after. If I had been born a boy, my name would have been Nick. My middle name, Nicole, comes from this; I was clearly not a boy, but they liked the name so much they wanted to incorporate part of it into my real name. The only other name my parents were considering was Lauren, which, about 2 years later, became my sister's name. Personally, I love my name, and I couldn't imagine having a different one, or even just going by Nicole. After 15 years of being called Brianna, or Bri by very few people, I can't even imagine changing. The main reaction I get when I tell people my name is them asking whether it's pronounced Bri-a-nna or Bri-ah-nna. In truth, it doesn't matter to me at all. I'm proud of my name, and I wouldn't ask for any other.