Tyger, tyger
I’m always interested to hear how parents go about deciding on names for their kids. This is the story of how my husband Lee and I chose the name Goran Blake for our son.
Surname: Gruben
At the turn of the last century, one Nils Pedersen Gruben migrated from Norway to South Africa and, in 1904, he had a son, Nils Odin – Goran’s great-great grandfather.
Believe it or not, in a population of now well over 50 million* people, we are still the only Gruben family in the entire country! Goran is the fourth generation of South African-born Grubens, and one of just four Gruben males alive in SA today – the other three being Lee, his brother, and their father.
Believe it or not, in a population of now well over 50 million* people, we are still the only Gruben family in the entire country! Goran is the fourth generation of South African-born Grubens, and one of just four Gruben males alive in SA today – the other three being Lee, his brother, and their father.
First name: Goran
The one thing I insisted on was that our child’s first name start with the letter 'G' if it was going to be a boy because, for men, I like it when their first name and surname start with the same letter. I think it looks strong on paper, and it usually rolls nicely off the tongue.Fairly early on in our pregnancy, we were watching an episode of 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent'. At some point, Lee made a comment about the fictional character Detective Goren, which he mistakenly pronounced, or I mistakenly heard, as Goran. I immediately latched onto it and said that I thought it would make a cool name for our kid, if it was going to be a boy.
A quick Google search showed that
Goran is a Slavic name, meaning 'highlander' or 'man from the mountains' or ‘woodsman’. Lee and I agreed then and there that we both really
liked the name, so when, on 21 October 2010, we found out ‘it’ was indeed going
to be a ‘he’, the decision had already been made!
As far as pronunciation goes, we say Gore-ran – equal emphasis on both syllables, and no rolling of the ‘R’.
As far as pronunciation goes, we say Gore-ran – equal emphasis on both syllables, and no rolling of the ‘R’.
Second name: Blake
Lee doesn’t have a second name, but I do (it’s Anne, in case you were wondering), and I wanted Goran to have one too. Because we had mutually
stumbled upon and decided on a first name, and the fact Goran would, by default, carry Lee’s surname (my maiden name was van Wyk), we agreed it was only fair I get to choose the second name.
I have always loved the name Blake, which is a derivative of the Old English adjective blæc, pronounced ‘black’, with a change of vowel length. The colour black evokes a sense of depth and strength – attributes which I hope Goran will possess.
William Blake also happens to be my favourite poet. The poem for which he is probably most famous is ‘The Tyger’, which kicks off with the iconic stanza:
I have always loved the name Blake, which is a derivative of the Old English adjective blæc, pronounced ‘black’, with a change of vowel length. The colour black evokes a sense of depth and strength – attributes which I hope Goran will possess.
William Blake also happens to be my favourite poet. The poem for which he is probably most famous is ‘The Tyger’, which kicks off with the iconic stanza:
Tyger tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
Tiger significance
Little did we know that this ‘tyger’ reference would come to have a far deeper meaning in the months that followed...
Although Goran was due to be born in the Chinese Year of the Rabbit (like Lee), he arrived two months early, and was therefore born in the Year of the Tiger (like me). But that’s not the end of it...
Every prem baby born before 32 weeks (Goran arrived at 30 weeks) is treated with Curosurf, a surfactant which quickly coats the alveoli in their under-developed lungs, stabilising them against collapse. And each of these preemies receives a little plushie from the drug company, which is placed in their incubator in the NICU to keep them company.
There were four different types of Curosurf animals that Lee and I counted during Goran's month-long stay in Netcare Olivedale Hospital’s NICU, and guess which one Goran just happened to be given? The tiger!
There were four different types of Curosurf animals that Lee and I counted during Goran's month-long stay in Netcare Olivedale Hospital’s NICU, and guess which one Goran just happened to be given? The tiger!
Pretty soon, my folks started referring to him as their ‘little tiger’, in reference to his fighting spirit and the miraculous progress he was making every day (he weighed just 1.78kg at birth, and tipped the scales at a hefty 2.47kg when he was discharged – still a month before his due date).
And that, dear reader, is the unabridged version of how our beloved Goran Blake got his name.
P.S. If we had had a girl, her name would've been Milla Grey. Milla – after the actress Milla Jovovich, and Grey – a softer shade of black.
P.S. If we had had a girl, her name would've been Milla Grey. Milla – after the actress Milla Jovovich, and Grey – a softer shade of black.
* As of 2022, South Africa has a population of well over 60 million people! The fourth generation of South African-born Grubens now includes Odin and Thorstin - Goran's two younger cousins. And as far as I'm aware, ours is still the only Gruben family in the entire country.