October 4, 2006
Maggie Gyllenhaal Names Her Daughter Ramona
Just Jared is reporting that actress Maggie Gyllenhaal
has given birth to a baby girl two, weeks early. What’s more of a shock, to me anyway, is that Gyllenhaal and fiance Peter Sarsgaard are naming her Ramona. Can this be true? Ramona? Ramona Sarsgaard?
I’m just not sure about this one. When you look at the roots of Ramona, you don’t find much. Of Spanish and Old German origin, it’s the feminine form of Ramon and Raymond, and, depending on which baby names site you believe, it may mean “protecting hands” or “advice protector.” (Note to baby name sites: do you ever think that maybe something gets lost in the translation over the years with these obscure baby name meanings?). I can’t believe that Gyllenhaal and Sarsgaard have chosen Ramona because of its roots.
So why Ramona? Maybe because one of them loves Dylan’s 1964 ballad “To Ramona.” I like that song too, but the lyrics wouldn’t make me want to name my daughter Ramona. Maybe it’s because of a fondness for novelist Beverly Cleary’s character Ramona Quimby, the intrepid nine-year old who lives on Klickitat Street. Or maybe the baby was conceived in Ramona, California — now there’s something the local Chamber of Commerce could put up a plaque for.
Hey, wait a minute — could this be connected to the Ramones? When you think about it, Ramona has more than a few cultural echoes. This could be the start of a good mystery. Since it doesn’t appear that I’ll ever find out the names of Holly Hunter’s twins, maybe this can be my new obsession: why did Gyllenhaal and Sarsgaard name their daughter Ramona? If you know, let me know.
 photograph by Photorazzi
 Technorati Tags: celebrity baby names, baby names, Maggie Gyllenhaal baby, Holly Hunter twins
