Names

We've already been thinking about names for a long time - they are chosen, but we have decided not to share the middle names until the baby is born.

For a girl:

Anya
meaning: gracious
ahn-ya

For a boy: Xander
meaning: short for Alexander, protector of men
zan-der

Until we know: Nibblet

Yes, both names are from Buffy, although Alexander is also for Alexander the Great!

How did we choose them?

We both really like the name Alexander, but Alex is a very common nickname for it. We like the name Xander because of the character on the TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Xander is the goofball of Buffy's gang, and the only one who is human with no superpowers. Yet he fights the good fight against evil, and is the heart of the Scooby gang. Xander is the most loyal of friends, and is always someone you would want at your back. He saves the world through his willingness to sacrifice himself for his best friend, Willow.

Anya is another BtVS character. She started out as human, but became a vengance demon for over a thousand years. After she becomes human again, she is an insight into the human character with her blunt honesty, as she has forgotten the niceties of human interaction. Her crawling steps towards the light, towards becoming part of the fight against evil show the power of redemption. When she first appears in the series, she scampers away from an apocolypse to save her own skin. Later, even when her powers are returned, she chooses good over evil. In the final episode of the show, she stays to face the First Evil and dies protecting a human, and is honored as a fallen hero. She is a strong, honest, brave and funny woman.

That and we just like the way the names sound.

Last Name:

Yes, the baby's last name will be Beebe. This was the compromise for me to get the middle name I wanted, which is a secret until the birth!