At first glance, Nevada, Montana, Indiana, Arizona, Missouri and Dakota sound like a themed-set of sibling names. But the story behind those names — one mother’s effort to give her children identity, unity and hope for greater possibilities — is what made them a standout choice for TODAY.com’s Baby Name of the Week.
In a neighborhood where too many futures seemed already written, Xaviera Greene-Davis was determined to help her kids write their own.
Raising six kids in Newport News, Virginia, while struggling with the same hardships that had shaped her own life, Greene-Davis wanted her sons and daughters to see themselves as something larger than their circumstances. So she gave them names that were impossible to forget: Nevada, Montana, Indiana, Arizona, Missouri and Dakota.
The names weren’t chosen because she’d traveled the country. What she saw in those states was possibility, lives that stretched beyond the blocks where her family lived. During periods when Greene-Davis was in and out of jail, she also wanted the names to serve as a bond between the siblings, something that would keep them connected as a unit no matter what they were facing. Their names became part of a shared identity.
“It worked,” Montana Jones, 26, tells TODAY.com. “We’ve been close our whole lives. It’s always been the six of us.”
Greene-Davis also hoped the names would remind her children that they could build a different future for themselves.
“She wanted us to not be like anybody else we were around,” Montana says.
Courtesy Montana JonesCourtesy Montana Jones
“I’m very proud of my kids,” Greene-Davis tells TODAY.com. “They’re all doing very well for themselves.” Courtesy Montana Jones
The names certainly attracted attention. Growing up, Montana was routinely greeted with references to the Disney character Hannah Montana. Yet the jokes never soured her on the name her mother had chosen. In fact, she is considering carrying on the tradition.
“I plan on doing something similar,” Montana says. “If not states, maybe cities.”
Greene-Davis, 49, eventually left Virginia, married and moved her family to North Carolina, where, Montana says, she “completely turned her life around.’
“It was a great decision,” Greene-Davis agrees.
Today, she measures that decision by the lives her children have built. All six graduated from high school, and each has pursued higher education or a career path of their own. Montana is a deputy sheriff, while Nevada, 27, works for a restoration company. Indiana, 23, is a veterinary technician, and Arizona, 21, is a 911 dispatcher. Missouri, 20, works at a daycare center. Dakota, 18, is a football player at Virginia State University.
For Montana, the names have become a lasting reminder of her mother’s faith in her children.
“She always felt in her heart that her six states were going to be something,” Montana says. “Everybody is going to remember our names.”
Each week, the TODAY.com Parents team highlights one of our favorite baby names. It may be unique, trendy, newsworthy, classic or just … fun! But there will always be a fascinating story behind it.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY: