What's in a name?

So we ran into someone at our favorite Mexican restaurant last week that told us there is a song called "Stella by Starlight" - so I looked it up today. Looks like Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra all sang it - here are the lyrics.

The song a robin sings,
Through years of endless springs,
The murmur of a brook at eventide,
That ripples by a nook where two lovers hide.

That great symphonic theme,
That's Stella by starlight,
And not a dream,
My heart and I agree,
She's everything on earth to me.

That great symphonic theme,
That's Stella by starlight,
And not a dream,
My heart and i agree,
She's everything on earth to me.

Now I've got to find a copy - I would LOVE all three - I think they would each be fun.

One of my professors also told me there are a series of poems by Sir Philip Sidney, a Renaissance poet, who wrote a series of sonnets entitled "Astrophel and Stella" - and some are quite lovely -

There is also a Jonathan Swift series of poems (and a journal) to a woman named Stella (whose actual name was Esther). Yes, THAT Jonathan Swift of Guilliver's Travels.

and then of course, there are all those damn dogs at the dog park who are named Stella. (see previous post from last month on this topic).

But obviously, OUR Stella was certainly inspired by Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire - why?
1) because we're theatre dorks (and no, it wasn't after Stella Adler, although she was a formidable woman)
2) because Steve just thought it would be awesome to yell at the back door when she's off playing with the neighborhood pack of kids ... STELLLLLLAAAAAA!

Oh yes. That was the reason. ;)