My Name
Maria Benitez
English 12
Mr.DeLeo

Maria is Latin form of Mary, which is derived from the Hebrew Miryām, a name of debated meaning. Many believe it to mean "sea of bitterness" or "sea of sorrow." However, some sources cite the alternative definitions of "rebellion," "wished­for child," and "mistress or lady of the sea." The name is borne in the
Bible
by the mother of Jesus, the son of God
My middle name Guadalupe is a Spanish place name, the site of a famous convent, which means "river of the wolf" in Arabic. In the 16th century, Near Mexico City lived a humble native man. In his language of Nahuatl, his name meant “talking eagle.” His spanish baptismal name was San Diego. One day he was on his way to the city when Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared in a vision telling him “I am Mary, the Mother of God” and she is now regarded as a patron saint of the Americas.
Maria was the third to be born and in the two previous pregnancies they were high­risk just like the third. The doctor said that both pregnancy and childbirth would be very risky, possibly at the time of childbirth they had to decide who of the two to save. My mother took the decision to make a promise to name me Maria Guadalupe if I was saved.
It was my grandmother’s name and now it is mine. She had a similar childbirth story. Her mother had died when she was 3 but my grandmothers sisters told her that her name “Maria
Delcarmen” came from religious reasons. My great­grandmother had problems during her pregnancy and decided to name my grandmother Maria Delcarmen,
The name Carmen is a derivation of
Carmel
which is one of the titles given to Our
Blessed Mother, namely, Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This is the patronal feast of the
Carmelites. The Order of Carmelites takes its name from Mount Carmel,