I’ve always liked my name(s). I feel is the one thing my parents got right.

I have many names; I was named after a lioness, my grandmother (to some extent), and a mountain in Sierra Leone and then had to take my father’s last name.

For a brief moment I considered changing my first name to Lucinda-Lace after the character from the old TV miniseries Lace.

I do like my first name – it’s a sweet, simple old-fashioned disyllabic name of possible Hebrew, German or Scandinavian origin.

There aren’t that many women with my name anymore.

But a great honour has been bestowed upon me.

This is Tiana Elsa, Tiana like the princess and Elsa like me! She’s my goddaughter and she’s just so cute and precious.

This beautiful child makes me want to be a better person, I suddenly feel like a parent; I want this child to be proud of her name. I want to do something great for this child, like find the cure for the common cold, so that one day she’d be able to say “I was named after my aunt, the inventor of the cure for the common cold” or something else as majestic .

I never imagined anyone would name their child after me, especially not this sweet beautiful happy baby.

I want this child to grow with a good heart, love deeply and explore greatly. May her sorrows be short, and her joys plentiful.

We share our name with a lot of talented and creative women; maybe she’ll be a jewellery designer like her or her. But really, the world is her oyster.

Grow little child, grow

Till I see you again, soon

Walking, talking and soon… a little woman

I cherish our moments together, especially your bedtime… when I’d hold you, rock you and sing to you K’naan’s ‘Waving Flag’ gently, slowly & quietly until you’d drift off to sleep.

I hope she remains beautiful and matures into a creative, warm and kind woman.

I hope the world treats her kindly, and she’s generous.