There are many Aprils, Mays and Junes. Even Dawns and Eves, but Christmas is a time for Joyeux Noel.
Joyeux, 12, learned long before she took a French class that her name means "Merry Christmas.""I like it - it's different. A lot of people like it and nobody forgets my name," she said on Christmas Day, after receiving her own telephone number as a gift from her parents.
The seventh-grader wants to be an actress someday and is often told she has a ready-made stage name. Edward and Maureen Noel adopted Joyeux when she was 5 days old and spent no time choosing a name.
"I've always wanted a daughter named Joy," the father said.
Joyeux said she doesn't get teased much at Chariho Middle School. She was a hit when her family went to France on vacation in 1989.
"The people in Paris thought it was great," her father said. "Her baby sitters took her around to all the cafes and said `This is Joyeux Noel! What a beautiful name!' "