A couple legally named their baby girl Eclipse to commemorate the celestial event that captivated North America on August 21, the day she was unexpectedly born.
Freedom and Michael Eubanks welcomed their daughter, Eclipse Alizabeth Eubanks, just hours before the eclipse was set to begin. While their baby wasn’t due until September 3, Freedom went into labor just around midnight, and the couple rushed to Greenville Memorial Hospital near their home in Spartanburg, South Carolina. She was delivered at 8:04 a.m., and weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces and measured 19 inches long, according to the hospital.
“I kind of felt like it was meant to happen, to have her on this day,” Freedom told ABC News.
If they had stuck to their original plans, Freedom says they would have named her Violet. But the opportunity to pay honor to the event was too great to pass up for the couple.
“I think it was just meant to be, her name,” Freedom said. “We’re probably going to call her Clipsey.”
Millions of people came together to watch the first total eclipse in 99 years to sweep coast-to-coast across America. It’s considered the most documented celestial event in history. South Carolina was one of 14 states to experience the path of totality, and Freedom said she had planned to watch the event with her 2-year-old daughter, Grayson, until their baby’s surprise arrival switched up those plans.
Eclipse and 11 other babies born at Greenville Memorial Hospital on the day of the event received adorable “Total Solar Eclipse” onesies to mark the occasion. They will be 6 years old when the next eclipse hits North America on April 8, 2024.
This article originally appeared on People.com
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