The story behind Deia Amihan’s name, according to mom Iza

Iza Calzado

For actress Iza Calzado, who gave birth to Deia Amihan in January, choosing what to name her daughter wasn’t an easy decision to make.

When Iza finally came up with what she thought was the perfect one, she said she was surprised to learn that the name resonated with the challenges and victories she personally encountered growing up.

In this article, Iza goes to great lengths in explaining how she arrived at such a name for her first born. “Ben and I went on a trip before I announced my pregnancy. In Mallorca (Spain), I posted a picture and captioned it, ‘Deia, you’re so stunning.’ A friend of mine commented, ‘If I had a baby girl, I would also name her Deia,’ This made me look at what it meant. It’s a Latin word that means goddess of joy. This resonated with me because my baby is bringing me so much joy at the moment, and then, of course, she’s like a goddess to me,” Iza told Inquirer Entertainment in a recent interview.

Touching experience

The new mom said it was harder for her to pick a second name. “I had several choices. I said maybe ‘Tala’ because the very first name that I wanted for my child is something meaningful to me. Tala was the name of a role I played as a baby in the TV show ‘Ora Engkantada.’ Janice de Belen was my mom. I said that if it was just Deia, parang bitin,” the actress recalled.

Iza said the name “Amihan” is special to her because it was the character she played in the original version of the fantasy series “Engkantadia.” She explained: “That role really made an impact on me. As a warrior, Amihan was very empowered. She made a lot of sacrifices, some of which I can’t even make in my own life. I also feel like my child and I battled a lot already. I’ve always thought she’s a warrior, so I wanted something really strong for her.”

The actress then recalled a touching experience when she successfully battled COVID-19 in 2020. “When I was in the ICU, there was one nurse who was about to take my blood test. I asked her, “Mamamatay na ba ako?” She said, “’Di ka mamatay. Lalaban ka, kasi ikaw si Sangre Amihan. God blessed me with this life and another with my child. I will pass on the story to her.”

The actress is married to British businessman Ben Wintle. She started slowly going back to work in April by agreeing to public engagements, endorsement launches and magazine shoots. “I can’t stay away from my baby for over four hours,” she stressed, adding that returning to work full-time is still up for discussion.

“I just realized that I’m the one who is clingy. I have my praning moments, too,” she admitted. “That’s how I am now. Although Ben and I are relatively chill parents, we do have our moments.”

Iza continued: “Mothering and parenthood can be healing, and for me, they have been. They bring a lot of things to the surface. They make me remember my own parents, and at the same time, make me look forward to the future, being with this child and carrying on with building our life together.”

‘Mamavengers’

The actress then said that she was grateful to have been given help whenever she needed it. “I will not pretend to be Darna and do everything by myself. I’m so glad for the help and support of the people around me. I don’t have parents anymore and Ben is often away,” she said. “Of course, you can’t keep bugging friends. I have people whom I call my “mamavengers”! They have been helping me even before I gave birth, and especially during the first two weeks after.”

We then asked Iza what she considered the best advice she has received from her mommy friends so far. She said: “The best advice was that there’s no ‘best advice’ because there will be a lot and it can get overwhelming. You don’t have to listen to all of them. People will always have something to say. You should know who to listen to. At the end of the day, it’s just you and your baby.”