Linda Hall: It's all in the name

Linda Hall, assistant editor, Hawke's Bay Today.

I have to say I'm a little disappointed with the Prime Minister's name choice for her and her partner Clarke Gayford's beautiful daughter.

I felt sure it would be Linda. One of my colleagues assured me the baby would my carry my name.

They said they heard it on the telly show The Crowd Goes Wild that the baby would be called Linda.

They thought it was logical and I agree. Linda — Jacinda with a twist of L for Labour. Perfect.

Also, according to Google site Behind The Name, Linda was "originally a medieval short form of Germanic name containing the element linde meaning "soft, tender". It also coincides with the Spanish and Portuguese word linda meaning "beautiful"."

Yes well — the baby is certainly beautiful.

Names are important and everyone has different ideas. There are a couple of names that I would never dream of inflicting on a baby. Eugene is one — sorry all you Eugenes out there, I'm sure there are names you don't like (one of them is probably Linda now) but I just cannot imagine calling a baby Eugene.

Some names are easy to shorten and the obvious for mine is Lynn. I really do not like being called Lynn. I don't mind Lindy or Lala, which was what my nephew used to call me before he could say Linda.

It stuck for a few years and the funny thing about it is my eldest granddaughter, whose name is Aaliyah, is called Lala by her entire family, including me, because her little sister couldn't say her name and called her Lala.

I've leaned a lot about my name in the past few days. For instance in 1948 it hit an all-time favourite high — I might add that that was long before I was born.

Famous Lindas include American actresses Linda Blair and Linda Hamilton, singer Linda Ronstadt, Linda McCartney ... I could go on and on.

Of course there's also the very famous Tolkien character Linda Baggins.

Hurricane Linda in 1997 was the second-strongest eastern Pacific hurricane on record.
Also on Behind the Name I found these comments about my name.

■Linda is honestly such a harsh, ugly-sounding name popular with mainly only Asians nowadays.

■I used to actually not like this name, but it is starting to grow on me. I think it's simple and elegant.

■Linda is the name of a character in Madame d'Aulnoy's fairy tale The Bee and the Orange Tree. She is a princess who tries to take the orange tree into her garden, not knowing that it's really an enchanted prince. A beautiful, smart-sounding name. — I like this comment.

■I HATE this name. I hate everything about it. For instance, how can you see a little girl being called Linda? — Mmmm now I know how you feel Eugene.

■Linda means beautiful and I think it is a great name for kids to grow up with and it fits any age! — Told you Jacinda.

Actually I really like the name Jacinda and Clarke chose, Neve Te Aroha. It's beautiful.

■Linda Hall is assistant editor of Hawke's Bay Today.

■Views expressed here are the writer's opinion and not the newspaper's.