What's In a Name?

I don't know how many of you name your cars.  I wasn't always one who did.  Infact, this is only the second of the cars that I've owned that I actually gave a name to.  The others were just "the Shadow" or "the Celebrity."  Yes, those are the names of the models and that is just what I called them.

My previous vehicle, the Honda Odyssey, had a special name.  I had wanted a minivan for years, even before we had kids.  We had rented one to take on vacation with some friends and I loved the roominess, how it drove exactly like a car, and the fact that it made me feel "big" on the road without being too obnoxious.  When we had kids and had to tote all the gear that goes with them, I saw the benefits of the minivan in a new light.  The protection that it offered for our little ones, along with all the added features, such as sunshades and cup holders were all big attractors.  When my husband pulled up in our driveway with a brand new Honda Odyssey and said that it was mine, I could hardly contain myself!  I went on a drive around our quaint Virgina subdivision and immediately fell in love!  It didn't take long for me to name her; the first car I'd ever give a name to.  I think it took me a matter of minutes to think of a name.  She was Milli, because she made me feel like a million bucks!  Milli is very fitting for a minivan too, don't you think?

Fast forward to buying the Nissan Leaf.  The car that would replace my Milli.  This Leaf is metallic silver in color and has some sleek headlights.  I knew right away she had a female personality, so I was going to be looking for a girl's name to give to her.  Problem was, none came to me right away.  We got the car on a Monday.  The only thing that I could think of that day was Daisy, because it is my favorite flower.  My car was going to help keep the planet green for all the pretty flowers, like Daisies, so maybe I should name it that.  But as I kept looking at her and the pictures I'd taken of her to post to facebook, she just didn't look like a Daisy to me.  I decided to solicit some help in the naming process.  I changed my status on Facebook to "I have to think of a name for my Leaf."  I knew with the collection of friends that I have that I was sure to get some good ideas, or at least some chuckles out of that post. 

The following are a list of suggestions I got as replies to my Facebook status:
Queen Leaftifah
Ericson
Garrett
Kathy Leaf Gifford
Jennifer Jason Leaf
The General Leaf
Vivian Leaf
Auto
Fern
Feuille (French for Leaf)
Bruce Leaf
Lucille
Maple
BEANO (because there'll BE NO GAS!)
Margo
Maple
Autumn
Marsh, Jan, or Cindy

While these were all very thought provoking, I was still searching myself and had thoughts of Flora, Soleil, and I still had Daisy hanging around.  None of these still spoke to me.  My car didn't look at me and say, "I am _______."  (Fill in one of the suggested names in the blank.)  We went through the entire day and night on Tuesday without a name for my Leaf.  Wednesday came and I was no where closer to a name.  I don't have much time during the day to think about it, as I am a first grade teacher and those kids keep me on my toes and my thoughts occupied nearly every second I am at school.  So, Wednesday when I got home I was doing some reading in the owner's manual (for the third night in a row, but I still hadn't gotten to the part about putting it in "ECO Mode" mind you.)  As I read the letters that are used to describe vehicles like the Leaf jumped out at me.  Electric Vehicle (EV).  I thought of the movie Wall-e and the machine that Wall-e had fallen in love with.  Her name was Eve (but pronounced like Evie).  Evie sounded to me a bit "hippie-ish" kind of "save the planet" if you will.  I gave it some thought through dinner.  I sat down at the computer and looked at her pictures again.  She was looking at me and saying, "I am an Evie!"  It was finally decided!  The Leaf is now named Evie!

And that is what went into Evie's name!