Where did your name come from?

More details, it’s a Greek name. When I was born, it was a strict custom to name children first after their grandparents and then after a saint. I should have been a Saint’s name because the child would be protected by the saint. For that reason, celebrating our namesday for us Greeks is very important, it’s like a second birthday. Vasiliki was also called my grandmother, from my mom’s side.

The day I got officially my name, I mean my baptism, there was a little dispute, if you can call it a dispute. Well, the situation was that my Dad’s mom, Kyriaki, wanted me to be named after her, even though it was already known that I would get the name Vasiliki. However, she hoped till the last minute something would change, and when she finally heard Vasiliki, she left the church immediately.

Well, water under the bridge, let bygones be bygones; both grandparents are dead, my grandmother Kyriaki has been dead for over twenty years, and my grandmother Vasiliki for five years; let them rest in peace.