"Who Is John Galt?" or, Dagney's Namesake

This is kind of randomly inserted, but people keep asking me about the meaning and origin of Dagney's name. So, here goes:

"Dagny" is Scandinavian for "brightness" or "new day." It is also the name of the protagonist in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, which is one of mine and Sam's favorite books of all time. Dagny Taggart personifies perseverance and intellect and is an all-around cool chick. It was Sam's idea to give the name to our daughter. We thought that "Dagney" would be an easier, more modern spelling, so we changed it up a bit. You can read more about Atlas Shrugged here. If you haven't read it, we highly recommend it; it's about individualism and capitalism, but it's not as drab as it may sound.

We were really on the fence about Dagney's middle name. We had a tough time choosing between "Olivia" and "Elizabeth." We didn't make up our minds until we saw her; she just looked like an Olivia. I'm glad. Unfortunately, although it's a beautiful name, "Elizabeth" is so common that I know too many of them that I'd rather forget (Becks excluded!). So, "Olivia" it is! Sometimes when she won't stop eating, I call her "Olivia the Piggy" after the Ian Falconer character, but I know I'll have to stop when she's old enough to get a complex. Sam sometimes calls her "Olive."

Princess Dagney Olivia Tanner-- already a showboat