William Shakespeare once declared 'A rose by any other name would smell as sweet', but this hasn't stopped generations of us from being fascinated by the various meaning behind baby names.
One woman whose name has been dubbed the 'luckiest girl's name of 2022' has shed some light on whether or not a name of good fortune can indeed boost your chances of leading a charmed life.
Born a month early after suffering a brain haemorrhage, Victoria Massey, now 38, was seen as a a 'little survivor' from the start. Her parents originally had a different name in mind, but they wanted to gift her a name that would signify her 'victory' in the face of serious early health concerns.
Shortly after her birth, Victoria was rushed to a baby special care unit, where she was the 'sickest baby' on the ward. After getting through this worrying time, her parents later noticed she wasn't hitting her physical development milestones and took her to the doctor for a check-up.
At 18-months-old, Victoria was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy (CP), a group of lifelong conditions that impacts a person's movement, coordination, and balance.
Victoria, who lives in Cardiff, told the Mirror: "I've grown up with it, and I count myself lucky because I know it could have been so much worse.
"Yes I've got a wonky leg, and yes I can't walk very far or do too much for myself, but I have parents and a sister that think the world of me.
"I can still do what I want to do with their support. Obviously, I'm never going to climb a mountain or run a marathon or ice skate, but those types of things wouldn't be my thing anyway.
"Sometimes you can get down, but there are people in worse situations, aren't there? You look at what's happened to people because of Covid over the past couple of years. I do think in a way you have to be grateful for the hand that's been given to you."
Growing up in the 1980s, there were still plenty of old-fashioned names around, and Victoria says that many of her classmates were often given traditional middle names.
As a youngster, Victoria didn't give much thought to the meaning behind names but has always liked hers - especially because there are so many nicknames available to her.
She shied away from using her full name but now uses it as an adult in a professional context.
And on birthdays, she is always amused by how many variations of her name she ends up reading - from Vicki to Vic to Tory.
While she's fond of her name, she doesn't subscribe to the idea that it automatically makes you lucky and firmly believes 'you make your own luck in life'.
Victoria reflected: "I think I would still be the same person, whether I was a Victoria, a Sarah, a Joanna. To say a name is lucky, I don't know if I quite believe that because I think I would have had the same life if I was called something else."
Although she hasn't had any life-changing lottery wins so far, she measures her good fortune in other ways and sees herself very lucky indeed.
"I think I'm lucky in a lot of ways because I'm healthy. I've got a disability, I've got cerebral palsy. So obviously I have faced some obstacles in life, but things could be a million times worse, couldn't they?," she told the Mirror.
"To me, I think of being lucky as being healthy, having a family that loves me, you know, being fortunate that I am where I am."
Do you have a baby name story to share? Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com
