Rosie Rivera named her newborn daughter in honor of her late sister Jenni Rivera.
Her name is not Jenni but a combination of the sisterly love the two shared and Jenni’s family nickname. It’s Samantha Chay!
In a Youtube video, Rosie Rivera explains the meaning behind her daughter’s name and the connection to her beloved sister Jenni.
“Her name is very symbolic and is in honor of my sister Jenni… It is an honor to the relationship we have as sisters. Her name has to do with the connection that Jenni and I have. I gave her a name that I call her… and also a name that she calls me,” says Rosie, who gave birth to her daughter July 24 in her car.
Jenni Rivera used to call her little sis variations of the name Samantha, including Samalia, Sam and Sammy.
Rosie goes on to say that since her sister’s death in a tragic plane crash in Monterrey, Mexico in December, she has missed hearing her sister’s voice, specifically calling her by her nickname. Rosie and her husband, Christian singer Abel Flores, wanted a name that would bring the spirit of Jenni into their lives every time they heard it.
“What I miss most is to hear my sister say my name,” says an emotional Rosie. “But now I can hear it everywhere.”
The world knew ”La Diva de La Banda” as Jenni Rivera — a strong woman who overcame many obstacles in her life and was truthful about them to her fans. She talked about her darkest moments, like when she was raped, openly in countless interviews and even more so in her autobiography “Unbreakable: My Story, My Way,” released in July.
But you may be asking yourself why Rosie didn’t name her daughter Jenni or even after Jenni’s legal name Dolores Janney.
As she explains, those names are “significant treasures” meant for Jenni’s children to name their children, if they so choose. She suggests that perhaps there will be another Janey or Dolores in the future of the Rivera family, but no names were dropped here.
Rosie’s series of tweets yesterday show she was having some technical difficulties uploading her video and fans, who were teased with big the big reveal, were getting antsy. At 12:51 a.m. the video uploaded and her daughter’s name was finally revealed (see video below).
The meaning behind the name Samantha Chay
Rosie Rivera describes in detail the meaning behind her newborn daughter’s name, Samantha Chay.
She derives the meaning of the name Chay from her sister’s attributes. According to Rosie, Chay is a woman who loves deeply, who lives for her family, who can overcome obstacles, who works harder than anyone. She is a woman who would give to others in need before taking for herself. Chay is a woman who enjoys laughter and fun.
As for Samantha, she is the one who listens. The name Samantha, according to Behindthebabyname.com, originated in America as the female version of Samuel, becoming popular in 1964 with the hit television show “Bewitched,” where it was the main character’s name. The name Samantha ranked the No. 26 most popular girls name in 2012, according to Babycenter.com.
“We want to raise a daughter who knows how to listen before reacting… we want to raise a person who listens and who doesn’t get angry easily,” says Rosie, with the hope that her daughter’s name, Samantha Chay, will channel Jenni’s qualities.
“When you hear the name Samantha Chay think of those sisters, those women,” she says, “Whatever combination her name is said—Sammy, Samalia, Samantha, Sam, Sammy Chay—remember that it is in honor of two sisters who love one another deeply, until eternity.”
Watch Rosie Rivera’s video (in Spanish only) on why she named her daughter, Samantha Chay, after her sister Jenni Rivera in the video above
Originally published on VOXXI as Rosie Rivera names her daughter after sister Jenni Rivera
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