Nashaly Peralta ’26

My parents found my name on a Spanish singing show/talent show. One of the contestants’ names was Nashaly. She had a beautiful voice, and my parents wanted her to win,… loved the name and thought it was perfect since my sister’s name is Ashley and my mom’s name is Nancy.

My whole family does call me ‘Nana’…My grandparents are Dominican and don’t speak English, so they struggled saying my name. My grandpa started calling me Nana, and it kind of stuck my whole life, and everyone else in my family started calling me Nana. It’s very special to me…[Since] I’m only ever called that at home, it reminds me of my childhood and of my family’s love.

Jomar Rosado ’27

Ire so deh way I had geh my name was from my fada. Back in 2004 he had his favorite reggaeton artist which was Don Omar, and his favorite letter is “J” so he done seh ’ire one plus one equal two. We naming he Jomar.

Jaimy Lee De Jesus ’27

So my dad actually wanted to name me after an anime character, and my mom said no because it was stupid. So my mom, when she was in…around, like, eighth grade (like in American standards), she was going through a really rough time… and there was this guy. His name was Jamie. He was American. He was visiting Puerto Rico because he was a US soldier, and he essentially helped my mom and saved her life…So my mom  wanted to name me after him;…but my dad got jealous, and he was like, “Well, I want to add something to the name…I want to add Lee. It’s named after someone that means a lot to me, too.”

Turns out the Lee is after Bruce Lee, the actor. So I’m named Jamie after someone that helped my mom in her life, and I’m named Lee after my dad’s favorite actor.

Isabella Matute ‘27

My mom said that a few months before I was born, she was talking to an individual. I think she was a sweet lady. I don’t remember… [but] her name was Isabella…When I was a kid, honestly, I didn’t really like my name because everyone had it..In middle school, I used to be, like, known for my last name, but now honestly, I actually love my name. It’s a beautiful name, especially when you say it in Spanish. It’s just very strong when you say it in Spanish…While I was young…I would just think, “Oh, I want it to be my name, my name only, no one can steal my name”… But now, it fits me…Getting to know myself even more helped me understand why my name was Isabella, and like it wasn’t anything else…I would never change it, and I love that my mom considered my name to be Isabella.

Soleille Vertus ‘26

I was born between Hurricanes Francis and June…So I’m born August 31 and the hurricanes began the second to last week in August. And then [Hurricane] Francis was the beginning of September. So literally, like the week that I was born was the only week that we weren’t hit with hurricanes. Before my mom went into labor the power was going in and out. There were areas around us that were flooding…and even while we were in the hospital… it was raining. Everybody was saying it was touch and go. There were plans in case the hospital lost power, all that kind of stuff.

Then I was born at 7:02am and my mom went home a couple hours later. We had power;  we had light and there wasn’t any rain for the rest of the day. So that’s why my name is Soleille. Also Soleil means son in French… My father is also Haitian, so there’s that French influence there as well…I think now my name still has the connotation of like light and sun, but it also, for me, means like doing the best that I can every day, right? Like the sun still comes up every morning. Sometimes there’s overcast, sometimes we can’t feel the sun, sometimes we can’t see it… [but] the sun brings life…

So for me, it means to constantly be myself every single day. Even when I’m stressed bad[ly], cold, don’t want to be outside, whatever it may be. And to check in with myself and make sure that I’m creating the life that I want to create, and showing up for myself in that way every single day, just like the sun does.

Kimberly Gill ‘26

So I was talking to my aunt…I was born in the 2000s she was, like, ‘growing up, your mother used to watch a lot of Power Rangers and the Pink Power Rangers’ name was Kimberly…she named you after her.

Gabriel Moorer ’27

Before I was even born, my parents [had] been going to church for quite some time… and they hadn’t really decided a name yet for me…So my mother waited, and one day she looked into her Bible and just saw big bold letters named Gabriel. So then she decided to call me Gabriel.

[My name] represents so much in the Bible. So it’s kind of a reflection of me being very open minded, towards like deliverance, because Gabriel was the angel to send a message to Mary. So “sharer of good news” and I think I always carry positive energy…Another part to share is Gabriel also being thought of [as a bringer of] strength, and it shows just how resilient I am toward certain situations and just never back down from a “no.” That’s why you just have to stick to your roots and just self-validation, knowing who you are as a person, and don’t let anyone try to change that.

Joseph Ortiz ’26

My name is Joseph and I have a middle name too. Which is Daniel, [making my name] Joseph Daniel and the reason why is because Joseph, in Spanish, is Jose…which is my brother’s name, and then Daniel, because of my dad. They used to call him in Puerto Rico, his nickname,  Danny. So that’s where they got the Daniel from.