Arle, 2 days old

Many of you may be wondering where in the world we came up with our daughter’s name, Arle.  Heck, many of you are probably wondering how to even say it.  First off, it’s pronounced “Arl” – like Carl, but without the ‘C’.  We actually named her after a little village in the south of France spelled Arles (silent ‘S’) that Trav and I visited back in ’04.  It’s an amazing town that we absolutely fell in love with. It was calm, peaceful, relaxed, happy, and absolutely beautiful…many of the things we just knew our daughter would be.  You’re probably more familiar with the town than you might know, because it’s actually where Van Gogh lived much of his life in and did many of his famous paintings, such as “Starry Night Over the Rhone” and “Sidewalk Cafe.”

We honestly had no idea it would be so difficult for people to say.  To us, it seems simple.  Many people want to pronounce the ‘e’ on the end.  Please don’t do this:)  It’s been interesting to see the reactions of people when they ask her name.  Old people hate it and don’t mind letting us know this.  People around my parents’ age usually get a funny look on their face, then ask how to spell it and if it’s a family name…after we explain the origin they usually say something like, “Oh.  That’s nice.”  Overall, people my age seem to love it.  Teenagers and kids don’t seem to even notice that it’s unusual. 

So, there ya have it.  The story behind the name.