Nefertiti was named after an Egyptian queen
Her name means ‘a beautiful woman has come’
Our Edie Mae’s full name is Edith Mabel
Edith is a family name and it means Mighty In Battle
Mabel means loveable, adorable, beautiful
Mae means star of the sea
And was also Baby Tilda’s name
Meaning that Tilda, our baby in the stars, lives on through Edie
The twins were our first borns
Esther came first
Her full name is Esther Grace
Esther means star
In the Bible, Esther was a young Hebrew woman who risked her life to save her people
William is William Nairn
William means resolute protector or strong willed warrior
And Nairn is my maiden name
William has many namesakes
His great-grandad,
Just William, William Wallace and the poet William Henley
Our third baby is our Baby Tilda in the stars
Matilda Mae
The name Matilda originated in Germany
I love the link to Germany as it is where I grew up.
Matilda means mighty in battle
The name was brought from Europe to the UK by William the Conqueror whose wife had the name
Matilda’s middle name is Mae
Star of the sea
Bea was our fourth baby
And our original rainbow
Her full name is Beatrice Hope
Beatrice means ‘she who brings happiness’
In Italian Beatrice means ‘blesses’
Beatrice means happy or bringer of joy in Gaelic
With the middle name Hope we created our own meaning
Bea is our bringer of hope and joy
Parents choose their children’s names with great care
We choose names that will suit them while they are little
Names that they can be proud of as they grow
Names that will inspire them
That are strong and meaningful
I carefully chose names for my children that linked them together
Because they belong together
Our names give us identity and belonging
They are given to us with love
It can be hard when people do not get a name right
When it is continually mispronounced, mispelled or shortened
Names are important and treating them with respect
Shows the people they belong to that we respect them
This is what the story, I Am Nefertiti is all about
Nefertiti joins a new band as the drummer.
She is nervous on her first day
But takes strength by telling herself I am Nefertiti
As her father has told her to do
When the teacher dismisses her name as too difficult to remember and say
Nefertiti is hurt and made to feel small
The other children who make up the band
See that Nefertiti is upset
And help her to explain to the teacher why her name is important
Why it matters so much to her
Once the teacher puts things right Nefertiti blooms and shines
And the band make magical music together
Edie and I ADORE this book
We love the message of the story
We also enjoy looking at the children and the instruments that they play
We are going to learn more about the different instruments
Using a series of short videos on Instagram created by the author
Annemarie Anang
The series is called Nefertiti Keeps The Beat
Edie and Bea kept the beat today
They made a junk drum kit in the garden
So that they could sing and play
Just like Nefertiti and her band