Diego or Joseph?

 
We found out the gender of our new baby months ago during an ultrasound. On the drive home that afternoon, Nathan and I told our children that they'd have a baby brother. I asked them if they had any suggestions for a good name.


Sarah piped up with glee, "Diego Sarsparilla Kingsley!"


We all laughed at the absurdity of this name and thought no more about it that day. Nathan and I couldn't decide on a name we liked. As the days passed, we didn't want to refer to our unborn child as an "It", so we called him "Diego" while we continued looking for the 'right' name.


Days turned into weeks and we all called him Diego. Matthew would ask if he could 'kiss' Diego goodnight, then he'd kiss my growing belly and tenderly say 'Sleep tight!'. Sarah would ask if she could feel Diego kick inside of me. Daniel would sing Diego Primary songs while resting his head on my torso.

The name Diego came very naturally to us now. Even extended family and friends began refering to him as Diego. We even received a package from family in Alaska for "Diego S. Kingsley".


After months of thinking, I finally found a 'real' first name that I loved: Joseph. One of my dearest heroes is Joseph Smith. I love reading his words and studying his life. I wanted my son named after this amazing man. So Joseph it was going to be.


Nathan and I seriously began to consider naming him Diego on the birth certificate, as a middle name. It was going to be either Diego or Aaron. I liked them both and couldn't decide. We delayed filling out the birth certificate until the very last minute, and I waffled back and forth every moment on what to write down. 


I had put so much thought and care into selecting meaningful names for my other children. For example, Sarah's name is Sarah Esther, which is Hebrew for "Princess of the Stars". I wanted her to always remember that she is literally a princess from heaven. I didn't want to explain to this child that his name was only a joke that stuck around.


His legal name is Joseph Aaron Kingsley, but we call him Diego for short.