Conference turris::womannotes-v3

    
    Jody was always me.
    
    I was Jody (my nickname) before I was my realname.  The realname was an
    afterthough to sound official with the middle name.
    
    Actually I was theoretically going to be a boy and be named James, but
    fate had other plans.
    
    My first two names sound very imposing (Judith Munro)
    And if I ever run a company I always picture people scurrying
    	around responding with nodding heads "yes, J.B.", "no, J.B."
    
    -Jody
    

    I *love* my name!  (*8
    
    	That's why it is my name.
    
    
    E Grace

Yes.

Every now and then I toy with the idea of formally changing my name to
"D", because I like it, and the idea of having a single letter name 
appeals to me (E, you've gotten me going on this one again, after so 
many years) but I just like "Diana" to much.  I think it sounds lyrical
and poetic, in addition to the link to the goddess...

D!

    After suffering through school witih 4 other Linda's (usually all in
    the same classroom), I longed and still long for an unusual enough
    name as to not worry if someone called it.  Got tired of answering
    to "Linda..." and having the hollerer say "Not you".
    
    The only thing I like about my name is that my father picked it 
    out for me.  He liked a song called "Linda" so that was my name
    even before I was born.  
    
    Counting all my charms,
    
    linda
    

    no
    
    Dana Lawrence Charbonneau

    I love PJ and I like Philip John. Actually, not. It sounds like a
    little boys name and when people say Phil, I look around for my father
    to answer, even thopugh he's been dead over 10 years.
    There have been Philip John's in my family since the year 1000 AD or
    before. Yeah, I know. But one branch of my family (Hardy) says the name
    started(Hardy that is) with either "William Tell", He was the first
    Hardy or else it was the person who slew the "historical" basis for
    Thor, the Norse thunder god. The Mid-Gard Serpent is my ancestor,
    great, just great. Yeah right and his name was Philip John too. I can
    hear it now. "Phil ya old snake get over here"
    
    PJ, who wants to be PJ forever.

Sara, never really had any nicknames 'cept from my Dad (toothpick) and my 
husband (crackerbug).  Folks told my mom that I would be called Sally, but no
one ever has.  Which is good, cause it's a fine nickname for my mother-in-law
(whose name is Alice) but I wouldn't want it.

As a kid, no one else was named Sara till high school, when there was one other.
But THEN!!!  First Bob Dylan whined a song about his wife "Sara oh Sa-a-ar-a".
(She apparantly didn't like it either.) Then, Hall and Oates sang "Smile a While
For Me, Sara-a-a). Then, the nail in the coffin: whatsername (never liked her)
sang that song "Sara...when you build your house, call me."  Suddenly everymom
and her sister are naming their little girls "Sara" and it drives me NUTS! 
because when they hang their heads out the window & holler for their daughters,
it grabs *me*.  When I was a kid, if someone said my name, they meant me, and
I selfishly liked it that way!

The correct spelling is really "Sarah", the 'h' is required in Hebrew (Srh). It
seems to have meant something like "she who laughed", I always thought
derisively; it was Abraham's wife Sarah (Sarai?) who laughed out loud when told
that she would conceive her first child at 90 or so.

The best reason I like my name is that I was named for my great-great-grand-
mother, Sarah, whose daughter Dora, my great-grandmother, left Europe at 14 or
so in c.1904 and never saw her mother again. I have Sarah's picture; I cannot
imagine how she could bear it.  Dora, my great-grandmother, was a beautiful and
vibrant woman who lived on her own well into her eighties.
My daughter Tracy Deborah is named for Dora.  I hope the line continues; that
Tracy might have a daughter to name after Dora's daughter Lillian (Lily); and
then Lily's daughter Joyce, and then Joyce's daughter Sara again.

    
    
    	My first name is ok...I did however, have a hard time through
    	school convincing teachers that my name was NOT Judith, it was
    	Judy and said so on my birth certificate.  I find my middle
    	name boring and wish it were something unusual.  I already
    	have my daughter's name picked out for when I have children..
    	Jessica Leigh...
    
    	I took my husband's last name when we got married but still
    	have my maiden name on the nameplate in my office.  I'm
    	rather attached to it!  =)
    
    	And my nickname has nothing to do with my initials....
    
    	JJ
    

"Sarah" (SRH) is Hebrew for "Princess".  The biblical Sarah's original
name was "Sarai" [I have no idea what that means], and was changed to
Sarah when Abram's name was changed to Abraham ("Father of a multitude").
Sarah and Abraham's son, Isaac -- Yitzchak ["he laughs"] in Hebrew --
was so named theoretically because Sarah laughed when the angel told her
she would conceive at some advanced age.  This is kind of strange, because
you'd think that, if it was based on Sarah's laughing, the son would be
called Titzchak ["she laughs"]  but I find the Bible a strange book anyway.

btw, a great goddess-laden interpretation of the stories of Sarah, Rebecca,
Rachel and Leah can be found in the book Sarah_The_Priestess, which you should
be able to find in the "Spirituality" section of your local feminist bookstore..

Bobbi "the deadlines are running out on CTC" Fox

    I guess I like my name ...
    
      Suffolk County has me as "Ann Louise" [dictated by my mother]
      My baptismal record has me as "Annie-Luise Siobhan" [filled out by my
         father]
    
    I was named for my two grandmothers [after 10 days of perfect
    stupification on the part of two otherwise intelligent adults that
    weren't expecting a _girl_ ... like 9 months wasn't enough time to come
    up with a contingency girl-name in case the unthinkable occurred ... but
    I digress].
    
    My maternal grandmother was 'Annie' and my paternal grandmother was
    'Siobhan' [first name 'Luise'].  My mother decided to 'sanitise' the name
    for official consumption, my father preferred the link with those who
    came before -- hence the dichotomy between the public and private me.
    
    Unlike many Ann's, I didn't 'out-grow' Annie ... indeed, people in
    general _began_ calling me Annie when I was confirmed and my father
    made a point of asking that my 'true' name be used.
    
    Yes, I like "Annie" -- Annie Stewart, my grandmother, was a special and
    magical [if a bit indulged] lady and the best travelling companion I've
    ever had!  Being "Annie" is a daily reminder of the love we shared. 
    
    Despite my lack of enthusiasm with my parents' laggard attitude in
    coming up with a name for their daughter, I must say that I am more
    than please with what they decided upon when the crisis hit -- my only
    regret is that my mother felt that my Gaelic/Celtic roots needed to be
    tarted up for public consumption ...
    
      Annie
    

    
    I've recently taken back my birth name, and now, thinking about it, I
    can't see why anybody would ever give up their name for another
    person's, simply because they married them...
    
    Or why a society would ask them to,  ;-)
    
    Dorian

    re.11 'birth name' - now there's an interesting concept. 
    Why do we keep one name for our whole lives? Why do I have
    to be (name my parents liked) (family name) ? Neither name
    says a lot about _me_. What if I feel I've outgrown the name?
    
    What name would you choose? and why?

    re.11
    
    Dorian, I never 'gave up' my name when I married -- I stopped using my
    _father's_ name.  At the time, I toyed with taking my mother's maiden
    name, until it hit me that then I'd be using _her_ father's name.
    
    After a lot of p*ssing and moaning about the utter and complete
    injustice of having to live under _some_ man's name [through all of the
    generations of women in my ancestry back to 1042-ish there wasn't a
    _single_ woman who had a last name that wasn't a label of
    male-affiliation] ... I chose to use Johnston, the name of the man with
    whom I _chose_ to live.
    
    I use _my_ name[s] -- Annie or Ann or Annie-Luise -- in every situation
    where I can. [reservations, take-away Chinese food, my designs in cloth
    and thread ...]
    
    I wish I'd had the presence of mind to take the course that Carol and
    Shellie duBois chose--to choose _my_own_ 'name of womanhood'; but I was
    just too damned cranky to think straight...
    
      Annie

	I've always liked "Andy," which is what I have been called as
	long as I can remember, although it sounds incomplete when it's 
	put together with my least name (I've known people who actually 
	thought my first name was Andylee :*] ).  I was almost always
	the only one around with my name growing up, so it feels weird
	to me too when someone calls me but doesn't mean me.

	My full name, Andrew Richard, for some reason, always makes me feel 
	old when I hear it, but I do like the way it "feels."  I've never
	really liked "Andrew" by itself, and I hate "Drew."  Occaisionally I
	wish I had been named "Alexander" (mostly 'cause I like the
	nickname "Alec"), but never for very long.



	*A*

    .13 -
    
    Yes, I know exactly what you're saying. 
    
    I have to wonder though - why is it always the *woman* who's expected
    to change her name (unless the couple decides on a joint hyphenated name)?
    
    Don't answer that,  ;-)
    
    Dorian

> I have to wonder though - why is it always the *woman* who's expected
> to change her name (unless the couple decides on a joint hyphenated name)?

I came *that* close to changing my name to "Comstock" when Janice and I got
married. I know of a few other couples where the man has changed his name, but
you're still right.

Even in those couples where each partner keeps their own names, and both people
claim to be comfortable with it - wait till there are children.

	-- Charles

    re.15
    
    yeah, I know you said don't answer, but ... 8^}
    
    Rick tried using my 'maiden' name for about a year after we married.  He
    figured that it was a fair trade [and it was shorter too]
    
    [there's a humourous anecdote connected with our 'press release' ...
    the paper f*cked it up royally and announced 'Mr. & Mrs. R.R. Cox'
    instead of 'Ms. A.L.S.Johnston & Mr. R.R.Cox' ...]
    
    The grief he took from government agencies, the university, the bank,
    Sears Roebuck, Citibank Visa, ... there was even some question in the
    mind of several agencies that he might be trying to hide something or
    de-fraud someone.
    
    The statement was not worth the hassle, certainly not to _me_.  He
    suggested that we trade back.  That wasn't worth it to me either, so he
    just 'reverted.'
    
      Annie
    
    p.s. you *know* why... and you're just yanking my chain for being
    'ordinary', so ;^Pfffth!

    .16 -
    
    Well thanks, I'm glad you said that!
    
    But I'm curious - why does there have to be a problem when there are 
    children?  Couldn't parents, for example, give the father's last name
    to a son and the mother's last name to a daughter; or use any other
    convention the parents might mutually settle on? Are we that hung up on
    tracing lineage (somebody's anyway!) down through the generations?
    
    Dorian

    .17
    
    I guess I do know why, but I thought it bore repeating. Sorry, I didn't
    mean to yank your chain. Look at me, for pete's sake - it's taken me 20
    years to figure out that this was what I should have done when I got
    married!
    
    Dorian
     

    Well, most names mentioned in this note sound very poetic to me.  When
    I first came to this country, I was miserable with my first name.  I
    like it very much, but not the way Americans pronounce it.  People
    were embarrassed and they mumbled when they said my name.  Finally, 
    I was able to change it when I got my citizenship.  Asked why I wanted
    to change my name I said "I don't want to be called DUNG all the time"
    My middle name means Spring;  it goes so well with DUNG if you think
    about it.  Oh, Good God!!!  

    re.last few in general
    
    There is a gentleman of my acquaintance [in his early 60s] who
    attempted to adopt his wife's name at the time of their marriage, some
    35 years ago.  He wanted his children to have their mother's name, with
    the option of using his if they so chose when they attained adulthood,
    but _he_ preferred that the family carry _her_ name.
    
    He tells of how he was 'heart-broken' when the registry wouldn't allow
    it. But, being a realist he bowed to the pressure and got on with his
    life.  However, he never _really_ gave up.  Upon the event of their
    30th anniversary he and his wife gave a humungous party, re-affirmed
    their commitment and changed their name. 
    
    They have 5 children, 3 sons and 2 daughters.  2 of the sons changed
    their names to reflect the 'new' one, the 2 single ones.  Neither of
    the daughters did -- but then they are married and using their own
    [his former] surname.
    
    I guess what it boils down to is: who gets to choose? and who can speak
    for the choices another makes?
    
      Annie

I've always liked the idea of children being assigned "temporary" names,
until adult-hood, at which time they are either granted their names by
their parents, or some body of adults who oversees adult-hood rites, or
by themselves...

Cultures that do this also seem to place a greater importance on one's
name, and the power the knowing of that name entails...

D!

    I didn't like my name much as a child. My teachers would never
    believe that it was my real name. In the south so many kids have
    nicknames that they just assumed mine was also. Further, both
    my sisters had what I regarded as *neat* nicnames Dorothy was Ditsie
    (from a lisp when she went to pronounce Dorothy) and Elizabeth was
    Lissa. 
    
    But I think I really started liking my name when the song "Jean"
    came out from the movie The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
    
    Also I've found a somewhat unusual phenomenon, most Bonnies I've
    ever met tend to like each other. There is something about the
    name that makes us chat and be friendly with each other. (And
    most Bonnies seem to be either Bonnie Jean(ne)s like me or Bonnie
    Lee or Lynn.
    
    We've paid a lot of attention to the meanings of all our kids names,
    each name was picked for meaning as well as sound and personal liking.
    
    Bonnie Jeanne

    I like my first name.  My last name is really my ex-husband's and my
    son's -- it is mine by default as I started my professional life after
    my marriage, before my divorce, and it seemed easier to keep the name
    and not have to go through the endless litany of explanations that
    another choice would require.  (And my father's last name, Diehl, is
    worse for causing confusion.)
    
    Like Sara, for many, many years I was the only Alison in ear-shot (and
    that is with one "L", not 2, thank you very much).  I still have a
    vivid recollection of the first time I heard someone call my name, I
    turned around, and saw a small toddler running to her father :-)  
    I sense that it will only be a few years before those kids grow up
    enough to start to populate the work place.......
    
    Alison

    I've never been terribly fond of Karen, though as a child I was the
    only Karen in school.  But then I learned what the alternative would
    have been!  Apparently my parents agreed early in their marriage that
    Dad would name any girl children and Mom would name any boy children. 
    So while Mom labored, Dad and my blessed aunt paced the waiting room
    trying to come up with a girl name, just in case.  (Mom had already
    selected her choice.)
    
    Dad wanted Gertrude Suzanne.  I could have coped with Suzanne (at least
    as well as I've coped with Karen), but Gertie, no way.  Fortunately my 
    aunt was able to persuade my father that these two names, especially in 
    combination with the surname of Schroeder, were a bit much to expect a 
    child to carry.  So I became Karen Sue, a handy compromise.
    
    When Mom's feeling chipper, she calls me K-Suzie.  When Dad's feeling
    chipper, he calls me Gertrude!
    
    Karen
    
    

    Well, I'm another one who's name *used* to be unique although now it's
    much more in favor.  It was nice knowing that when I heard my name it
    meant *me*!  Now quite frequently when I hear my name, it's someone
    calling their little girl!
    
    I never really liked it growing up, although I've kind of grown into it
    after all these years.  It used to rhyme with so much, and being very
    thin (80 lbs in the 10th grade) I got called "Heather Feather" a *lot*.
    And I hated it - Then, I longed to be named something very normal, like
    Linda or Kathy.  Now, it's me, and I'm not in danger of being called
    Heather Feather anymore, so that's not a problem either! ;-)
    
    I took my husband's last name because I wanted to be rid of my
    father's.  See note 888.59 for *one* reason.  I thought of taking
    my mother's maiden name, as she's second generation Norwegian and
    it would have been nice, but it's Fugelastaad, and I just knew I'd
    spend the rest of my life spelling it for people (I may at some point
    use it to replace a middle name I lost on purpose though).
    
    My middle name was (legally, it's really not anymore) Jeanne
    (pronounced Jean, therein is the problem).  Between it getting mis-
    pronounced all the time and the fact that I only heard it when one
    of my parents was mad at me, it seemed like a good thing to lose!
    
    -HA  (Heather Allison) - Besides, now I have great initials!

    Heather I *like* Jeanne  the extra 'ne' always seemed special
    to me.               ^^
    
    
    :-) X 10 !
    
    Bonnie Jeanne

    Well....Gee Bonnie, now I feel bad!  I'd probably like it better 
    myself if the only time I heard it hadn't been when it was screamed
    at the top of someone's lungs.  HEATHER JEANNE BRYER!!!!  Then, I
    *knew* I was in trouble and started thinking of who's house I could
    run to!  ;-)  I think it sounds better attached to Bonnie, but that
    just may be my bias acting up again!  ;-)
    
    -HA

    I like my name now.  When I was a little kid I hated it because (1)
    other kids used to tease me and call me "Lorna Doone" and (2) so many
    people had never heard it before that I used to get sick of having to
    repeat it and spell it so that the other kids knew what I was trying to
    say my name was.  It seemed like an ordeal at the time.  But, I've
    liked it since I was in my late teens because (1) it's very uncommon,
    and (2) I think it both looks and sounds pretty and feminine.  In fact,
    I've met so few other women named Lorna that when I do hear of someone
    with the same name it makes me feel rather indignant at first. (Well,
    how *dare* she? That's *my* name!)  Anyway, now I'm glad I don't have a
    common name.  
    
    But, I've always wished that my mother had named me after her
    grandmother who was named Clarinda.  (Her name was Clarinda Gould which
    I think has a really neat sound and look.)  Clarinda is *really*
    uncommon, and nobody has ever named any cookies after it either.
    
    But, I absolutely hate my middle name and usually lie about it when
    asked.  I usually *say* it's Marie.  But, it isn't.  It's something
    ugly that I won't admit to in public!  :-)  
    
    I kept my married name - St.Hilaire - when I divorced simply because I
    like it better than my maiden name, Burns - and think it goes better
    with my first name.  When we got married my ex-husband asked me if I
    wanted to keep my maiden name, and I said No.  I hadn't even thought of
    it because I was so thrilled to be getting married, etc.  (That was a
    *long* time ago, though, and I've changed.) I remember he
    said that under no condition would he take my name, though, because he
    didn't want to be named Robert Burns.
    
    Lorna
    

growing up with a last name like mine has been, at time, embarassing...the
name tends to attract far too much attention for a 'people-watcher'.  I
especially hated the teachers who insisted upon calling out the names of the
students "last name first"....they always realized too late what they had
done to me...and there would be a long (very pregnant) pause while the teacher
tried to think of a way around the name string, "Wilde, Dian", knowing that
the class would explode in mirth, as classes of adolescents are prone to do
when one of their own is exposed to embarassment.  In the long run, however,
I have learned to withstand the glare of public scrutney with less stress
than many of my more normally-named peers.  And, as a descendent of the family
of the very talented writer, Oscar, I am proud to bear the name. (there is
some question as to whether dad and I are directly descended from Oscar thru
his son or from Oscar's uncle, etc......but the weight leans toward direct
descent from Oscar - I even look like him)

My mother DID, however, mispell my first name...at least according to the
rest of the world who insist on tagging 'E' or 'NE' or 'A' on the end of it.
If I wasn't ALWAYS correcting the spelling back to 'DIAN', I'd be delighted
with the name.  Do I think it fits me?  after 44 years, I cannot imagine
another name for me, so I guess so.  I do admit to the feeling that I
am the only light-haired 'Dian' that exists...well, naturally, at least.
(but then, I don't have my hair light anymore, so who am I to judge?)

My middle name...well, I used to like it, but it seems that 'Alison' is always
the name of a silly, self-centered, prone-to-hysteria female in any books I
read or movies I see in which the name is used.  It is beginning to be much
less satisfactory to me these days.  I don't use it.

    Can't stand my name...La Wana Joy Baldock.  My current last name and
    my son are the only things I kept from my ex-husband.
    
    Could have been worse...had I been male it would have been...
     
                       Lancelot Duane Baldock
    
    
    
    
                               UG!
    
    
    
                                  L.J.

    I've never been particularly fond of my name.  My mother wanted to name
    me Melissa Judith, but Dad won out with Karen Ann (boring!!!!). 
    Growing up with the last name Kennedy hasn't always been fun.  I
    received alot of teasing when both the Kennedy's were shot, and doubly
    so when Robert F. was killed, my father's name is also Robert.  Even
    today when someone learns my last name, I am asked are you related to
    "those" Kennedy's.  I usually reply that if I was I wouldn't be here!
    :-)
    
    A friend of mine has the last name Easton and I like that name.  My two
    favorite names are Amanda and Kate.  I really like the names Bonnie and
    Molly also.
    
    Karen

    
    I like my first name, Christine.  It's not unusual but not so common
    that every other woman I meet has it.  My middle name I am not so fond
    of: Marie.  I found out recently that my mother would've named me Jean,
    had she not deferred to my father's choice, so maybe I will adopt that
    as my middle name.  My last name is unique, and I've liked it for that
    reason, though I've been toying with naming myself after my mother:
    
    Christine Jean Violachild.
    
    Won't my family think I'm *weird* if I ever actually do it!
    
    And in notes, I just sign myself with my initials:
    
    CQ

        My name is Daniel V. D'Eramo, and I'm a notahol...oops,
        wrong topic. :-)  I don't care for my last name, because
        it's my father's, and I don't want anything to do with
        him.  I'm also tired of correcting misspellings of it,
        especially when some corporate computer is involved. 
        Maybe someday somebody will invent mixed case and
        punctuation for computers so that the companies I deal
        with can start spelling my name correctly.  Or maybe I'll
        just change it.  I haven't given as much thought to my
        first and middle names.  I like the idea I've read about
        of a "public" name and a "private" name that is only
        revealed to those closest to one.
        
        Dan

    RE: .-1
    
    I hear what you're saying about misspelling of last names.
    
    My last name is spelled Langelo and it's always being mispelled. Here
    are some mispelling that I've seen: L'Angelo,Angelo,Langiello,D'Angelo and
    Langello. I like my last name because it's unique. Whenever I see a
    person listed in the phonebook with the last name Langelo I assume it's
    probably a relative. My grandfather's real name was Langellotti (Geez,
    even I don't know how to spell that). He changed it to Langelo to make
    it more American and possible ward off discrimination of
    Italian-Americans. It seems funny to think of discrimination of
    Italian-Americans nowadays but when he first came here it was a problem
    for him.
    
    I was checking into a hotel in Alaska once and they couldn't find my
    reservation. At first I thought shit here I am in the Alaskan
    boonies,dog-earred tired and I might not be able to get a room here.
    Then it hit me...ah yes, the reservation may not be under "L" but may
    be under "A" as in Angelo. Sure enough, that's where it was under
    Laurie Angelo :-) 
    
    I think I'll get a tee-shirt someday that has my name written in big
    letters!
    
    As for my first name...well it's OK. When I was younger my nickname was
    "Lou" becaue I used to do impressions of a high school teacher named Lou
    Nichols.
    
    Laurie 

    Someday I'll take my grandfather's name: zickefoose, meaning swift-foot
    or goat-foot in german.  I think it is a lovely last name, but my
    mother hated it, and changed her name as soon as she could to my
    father's last name, carroll.  She's been divorced for nigh on 15 years
    now, but she has no plans to take back her birth name.  
    
    My grandmother is Estelle Gertrude Zickefoose, aka Gertie, and *hates*
    it.  I thank my lucky stars my parents didn't choose to name me after
    my grandmother.
    
    D!

    I'm an identical twin.  I was supposed to be named "Kelly".  And my
    twin was supposed to be named "Kim".  Both of us look and act like
    "Tammi" (that's me) and "Terri" (my twin).  I can't imagine being Kim
    or Kelly, although both of those names are GREAT.  In fact, so great,
    my aunt named her two identical twins Kim and Kelly (they are two years
    younger than my sister and I).
    
    I come from a long line of twins on the maternal side of the family. 
    And most of them have traditional names (my grandma and great-aunt are
    Mary and Anne).  I love the fact that when I was born in '62, my name
    was VERY untraditional and unusual while I was growing up.  Except I
    sometimes hate it when people sing the "Tammi" theme to me!~
    
    Tammi

    My sister's mother-in-law offered *money* to any granddaughter
    who would change their name to hers, because she thought it
    was so pretty:
    
                        Lavina Gertrude
                         
    All the granddaughters declined the offer.... :-)
    
    HRH

    If I had been a boy my mother made my father promise not to try to name
    me Lake Hamilton Bobbitt III. *I* think it's a cool name for him, very
    fitting for the actor archetype, but not for me.
    
    My aunt was married, divorced and remarried, but changed her name to be
    Katherine (original) Hope (she liked it) Winthrop (my great
    grandmother's maiden name, I think - certainly my grandmother's middle
    name).
    
    I like all the family names in my history - Munro, Winthrop, Gardner,
    Knecht, Fiske.  They all have such verve.
    
    -Jody

    My first name is that of a maternal ancestor who built the first flint
    glass factory in the Western Hemisphere, in New York state.  I could
    cheeerfully have shot my father's sister when she, in loco executricis
    as it were, sold the last pieces that we had of his beautiful glassware
    after my mother died.
    
    My middle name is that of a paternal ancestor who left Germany to avoid
    impressment into the Kaiser's army, came to America and volunteered to
    (and did) fight in the American Civil War, and later founded one of the
    US's major newspapers, the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  I have the hand-
    tinted photo of him that was made during the war, and the short auto-
    biography he wrote is fascinating.
    
    They're both honorable and potentially meaningful names, and I'm sure
    my parents felt they were honoring me by giving them to me.  But in my
    mind they belong to those men, and I don't particularly care for either
    one of them as applied to me - I don't use my middle name even as part
    of my legal signature; I use just the initial.
    
    -d

    Re: .10
    
    Annie, did you really mean "tarted up for public consumption"? 
    Usually, to be tarted up means to be fancied up in a tawdry sort of
    way, as a cheap "professional woman" might apply rather too mych
    makeup.  Somehow I don't associate that phrase with you at all!
    
    -d

    re .36, Gertie Zickefoose?  :-)  That's really funny.
    
    re .38, I actually think Lavina is sort of pretty, but Gertrude has to
    go.  :-)
    
    Lorna
    

L.J., your reply made me chuckle.  My older brother is Larry (Laurence Joel),
but the tale is told in my family that there was talk of naming him
Lancelot Jeremiah!

Ah, the names we have, and the names that we would have if we had been given the
choice!

_I_ was ready to name our son Thomas Jefferson Thigpen, but Bob had
fits.  So I changed to Thomas Adam, which had been our choice (as they wheeled
me down to the O.R.) for Tracy had she been a boy.  In the end we kept to the
practice established for Tracy -- the middle name is the namesake, and 
Adam Bernard (yuk! but it's only a middle name! :-) Thigpen is named for his
paternal grandfather.

As a child, I thought Sara Lee Stutz was just ok, but for pretend my name was
always Rebecca (Becca) Carter.  Don't ask me why, though.

Sara


"So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called,
 Retain that dear perfection which he owns without that title.
 Romeo, doff thy name!
 And for that name which is no part of thee, take all myself!"

    I'm beginning to think I must not like my name, since I keep 
    forgetting to sign it when I write here :^)
    
    For years, I associated my full name Cheryl Lynne, with punishment,
    since I usually only heard it when I was being yelled at, or when 
    teachers used it and I was too shy to ask them to use my nickname.
    
    I used my nickname, Cheri, until I was seventeen, and then occasionally
    during college.  I stopped using Cheri when I spent a year in France,
    and it was somewhat awkward to have a name that was a term of 
    endearment in the local language!  Cheryl, the way the French 
    pronounced it (Share real), sounded close enough to Cheri for many
    of the people I met...many of the young French men I met thought
    they were quite clever for pointing that out to me.
    
    I still have quite a few old friends who still use Cheri, and it
    confuses the ones that only know me as Cheryl.  I'm kind of glad
    that I've gotten used to Cheryl, and kind of like it now, because
    Cheri somehow strikes me as a little too cutesy for business...
    and a little too cutesy for how I see myself.  I think it's the 
    spelling more than anything, since I really don't see Sherry as
    being quite the same.
    
    I don't really have much attachment to my last name, and I don't
    really care if I keep it or not....I'd just as soon only be known
    by my first name.  Whenever I hear someone say my first name with
    my SO's last name, Ball, I have to laugh, though...that sounds 
    really silly to me.
    
    cheryl (see!  I can do it!  I can sign my name!)

    I like my first name, Victor, because it's relatively rare (perhaps not
    so rare in Hispanic areas or in Russia, but everywhere I've lived) and
    I keep my misspelled nickname, Vick, partly because that keeps it 
    rarer still (though I have met another Vick).  My middle name,
    Lawrence, I have always had a problem with, because when I was growing
    up I came to think that it meant "You bad boy!"  This is because my
    mother would shout "Victor LAWRENCE Bennison, you get in here this
    instant!"  That's the only time I heard my middle name used.  My last
    name I like because it is also pretty rare.  The only problem is that
    almost everyone misspells it (usually Dennison).
    
    					- Vick
    

    I like mine.
    
    When I was a kid, my mom would make up little variations, she thought
    they were cute. My middle name is Lou, so she'd call me, Lucy, Lucy
    loose lip, & sometimes LUCIFER! I turned around one day after she
    called me Lucifer & sed, "DON'T EVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN! MY NAME IS
    BONNIE LOU!! THAT'S ALL I WANT YOU TO CALL ME, YOU HEAR?!" I can still
    remember the smirk on my mothers face as she responded w/ a surprised
    tone of voice, "OK, then...I'm sOOOoooOOOoo sorry!" She calls me Bonnie
    Lou, now!
    
    I LOVE my name.
    
    My Father was adopted by his step-father at an ealry age, so instead
    of having an EXTREMELY IRISH last name (which is what my nationality
    is), I have an Armenian last name. It rhymes w/ Russian, but people
    almost always pronounce it Hussein, which I HATE!
    
    Bonnie Lou

    DANIEL STEVEN KATZ
    
    KATZ: Typical Ellis Island abbreviation of something long and Slavic of
    origin.  "What's your name?"  "Janovskyjvech"  "You're Smith now!"
    
    DANIEL STEVEN:  Age-old jewish tradition of naming a child after the
    most recently deceased relative and then giving said child a complex by
    telling all sorts of stories about what an oddball that relative was.
    
    beats me...I never met 'im!
    
    \D/

    Nothing worse than hearing your mom holler out the door
    "Lynnnnneeeeeee Suuuuuueeeeeeeee" like she was calling
    the cows down out of the fields or something.  Especially
    when you are with a group of your friends (_cause to want
    to crawl under a rock from MAJOR embarrassment_).  My friends
    used to comment that I should be down south on the farm....
    That is, until I grew older and my hair color darkened, and
    they used to ask if I was oriental. (Lin Su?)  Asking her not
    to call me that did no good.  Mom & Dad still call me that
    once in awhile.  Now it doesn't matter....
    I loved my maiden name, tho'.  "Penney", of course I heard all
    the jokes-"Penny, got change for a dime?" "Penny, how about your
    two cents worth?".....someone once told me my mother & father should
    have named me Copper...."Copper Penney!"  Actually, that's the name
    of my farm, because I liked the sound of it..."Copper Penny Farm".
                                
    Lynne Susan (Penney) Mandile
    
                                             
    

>    KATZ: Typical Ellis Island abbreviation of something long and Slavic of
>    origin.  "What's your name?"  "Janovskyjvech"  "You're Smith now!"

    Not according to one friend of mine (also a Katz, and a linguist to
    boot).  She says that Katz is a Hebrew abbreviation (spelled K, TS;
    the "a" is an Anglicism) for "worthy priest" (Cohen something-or-other).

        Sharon

    Yes, Katz is a priest name, except my family's tribe is Yisrael, not
    Kohane -- Ellis Island had tired typists that day who decided four
    syllables was too generous!
    
    oh well...
    
    \D/

    tatistcheff is a good name and i want to pass it on to my kids
    someday...
    
    i believe it was one of the vladimirs who exchanged the title of grand
    prince of kiev for the title tatistch (means something on the order of
    "he who ferrets out the bandits") in 16th century russia, and all his 
    descendants have been named tatistcheff ("descended from tatistch").
    
    my middle name is michael (american version of  mikhailovna, "daughter
    of michael") and i intend to exchange my middle name for the last name
    of my spouse - after all my dad has already left his mark (tatistcheff)
    on my name; why should he leave two marks?
    
    i think elizabeth is much prettier than lee, but there are advantages
    to having a gender-ambiguous name when an engineer in a very
    male-dominated field, so my resume and professional publications have
    the name lee on them.
    
    lt 

    Mine is an easy name.... But I could never use "Dick" as a first
    name...
    
    REK
    
    I love my son's name.... Jesse Vincent (Mother's maiden name) King

Nanci Louise Shavlik Sneed Van Fleet  (breath!)

When I was a kid I hated my name.  Nanci Lou just sounded too hick to me and
besides no one would ever spell my first name right!  My last name was Shavlik 
and went through all sorts of spelling permutations...Chadwick, Shadlick, Chav-
wick to name a few.  When I got married I took my husband's name because I 
thought at least I'd be able to get away with spelling just my first name.  His
name was Sneed.  Well that was about the time that Sam Snead hit the big-time 
in golf so I had to spell that one too.

When my ex and I were getting ready to separate I decided I wanted my own name.
My sister and mother had both taken my mother's maiden name, Van Fleet.  My
mother and her two sisters were the end of that branch of the Van Fleet family
at that time.  They had all taken their husband's names.  Well, I decided
that Van Fleet was a pretty cool name although I'd still have to spell it (as
in a Fleet of Vans) and the family seemed to be splitting up the patriarchy
and matriarchy at the time (my 2 brothers and Dad were Shavliks and my Mom and
sister were Van Fleets) so I joined the women and made it unanimous.  Little
did I know that I was 4 weeks pregnant with my daughter at the time so now
we have another Van Fleet generation.  I don't know if my maternal grandfather
would be more pleased or shocked.  (Mom was supposed to have been a boy so
she could carry on the family name.)

Nanci

    How about what they considered naming my neice?
    
    "Tina Elizabeth"  (I loved the way it sounded!)
    
    But her nickname would have been : "Tin Lizzie"  :-) (this is true!)
                                       
    So, they named her "Elizabeth Lynne" (after me! Poor kid! :-))
    
    HRH

    Inspite of all the teasing, I kind of like Polly.  I'm told that I was
    not named after anyone - that my parents just liked the name. 
    However, I had a great, great grandmother who's nickname was Polly. 
    When my mother informed her parents that they'd named me Polly,
    grandmother asked if it was for Polly Abbott.  My mom, having heard
    that one of her great grandmothers was a noted beauty replied "No, but
    was she the pretty one?"  Gandmotehr replied "No, she was the mean
    one."
    
    My "maiden" name was Thomson so I can really relate to Nanci's comments
    about always having the name misspelled.  My whole life I was asked if
    Polly was my real name (like, no it's an alias) and then had to explain
    how to spell the last name.  
    
    Then I got married to a man named Strife.  When I divorced him 3 years
    later I didn't change my mane back.  Now I've  been "Strife" longer than I
    was a Thomson; all my work history, school records etc are under Strife
    and my former in-laws who consider me one of their daughters would be
    very hurt if I changed my name.  Besides, what better name for a
    lawyer who was named after the mean one?
    
    Polly
    
    P.S.  The spelling problem continues.  Strife must be too easy or
    something!
    
    

    
    i like robin lori, but it's the aagesen that i'm itching to change.
    not back to what it used to be either.
    
    ~r

    I like Manisha. I don't particularly like Kher, but I'm not willing to
    change it. It's been my last name for so long it's almost a part of me.
    
    I get tired of constantly having to spell out my name and the last time
    I was at a restaurant I was tempted to say 'Fox'. 
    
    manisha

    .59
    
    'Manisha' is beautiful!
    
    D.

    Thanks Dorian.

    My married name is Iron Chest %-).  
    
    re: .49   Lynne, I had a friend named Penny Nickles when I
    was in high school.  
    
    with love,
    cheyenne

    
    Manisha, I used to use the name Fox at restaurants!  Now I just let
    them screw it up. :-)
    
    CQ

    I love my name --- June Frances Lemen.
    
    The June is because I was supposed to be born in June (but I was late)
    and after my godmother, who left her six children and ran away with her
    milkman. (Really.) I like the spirit.
    
    Frances is after my maternal grandmother, Frances Amelia Johnson, who I
    loved dearly and miss to this day. I'm proud to have her middle name.
    
    And Lemen? (pronounced like "lemon") is a Ellis Island-ized version
    of Leminskis. My grandfather came into immigration as "Casimir Leminskis" 
    and came out as "Charles Lemen".
    
    I never wanted to change my name, for either of my marriages. I did
    the first time and hated it. So, this time, I didn't even think of
    changing my name, which surprised a lot of people.
    
    I'm happy with my name now, but when I was young I hated "June Cleaver"
    jokes.

By the way - I found that as I grew older I became more and more attached
to the unique spelling of my name.  I'd never change it now but when I
was a kid I longed to trade my "i" for a "y"!

Nanci L. Van Fleet

    
    On the subject of changing names:
    
    I am Jamd.  J (in caps) is for Julie, which has not and will not change.
    "amd" has changed in the past, more than once.   After due
    consideration, I decided that *owning* just one name was enough.
    
    And it helps that I like "julie"  :-}
    
    
    Jamd
    

    After hearing these Ellis island-ized names, I'm glad we don't have to
    come via Ellis island anymore.
    
    manisha

    I was named for both grandmothers.  My maternal grandmother died a
    short while after my mother found out she was expecting, so even if I
    had been twin boys, they wanted to name me Irene.  Of course my
    father and his parents felt they also should be included (much to my
    mother's dismay) and I am named for both.  I go by my middle name
    (Irene) because even when in DEEP sneakers trouble, my mom NEVER 
    called me by my first name (Sylvia).  She figured Sylvia Irene Hensley
    had a better flow than Irene Sylvia...
    
    I considered for a long time changing my name (dropping Sylvia), but
    then I also felt more like a Dukellis than a Hensley growing up.  (my
    Dad died when I was 10, and my Mom's family is the one I know).  But
    then I realized Dukellis had been "ELLIS islandized".  My grandfather
    is from Mytilene (Lesbos) and the family name was Doukis prior to
    immigrating.
    
    I have grown into Irene - it is an old fashioned name, which along with
    my nose, is the only obvious Greek part of me.  (I have fair skin,
    freckles and green eyes).
    
    'rene  

    I really hate my name.  I hated it all through school because it
    attracted so much attention and for that matter it still does make me
    very visible.  When I wsa in private school at 13 and up I changed my
    name to Carey.  I lied and told everyone I had carrot red hair when I
    was born so ...Carey.  Even my year book had that name in it. 
    
    The good points are that people know they shouldn't have forgotten it
    because it was so unusual, but they did.  Or, I get a story about how
    they knew one once, one was a nun (no, it wasn't me) or one is
    constantly in trouble with the Framingham Police Department, (could
    have been me but probably wasn't because with this name you have to be
    pretty good 'cause they don't forget ya).
    
    So,  here it goes for the very first time in this company
    
    
    		FERNE MARILYN REID  (AGES 0-30)
    
    		FERNE R.SIMARD   (FOREVER, I HOPE)
    
    

    When I was growing up I hated my middle name.  As I got older
    I began to like it because it was different.  My parents chose
    Jan as my first name because they felt if they named me Janet
    or Janice everyone would call me Jan anyway.
    
    		Jan Alyce Cordes 
    		     (Alyce is pronounced Aleese not Alice)
    
    My sisters and I all have the same initials as my father.  My 
    mother was overridden in her attempt to name at least one of us 
    Vicki Lynn.
    
    Jan
    
    

    The woman who I *think* is gonna be my sister-in-law (my brother... the
    saga continues!) is named Fern.  No trailing e.  Is it really so awful?
    the truth is everybody gets hassled about names.  
    	Marshall -- marshmallow
    	Mason	 -- hasten mason fill the basin
    	Sara 	 -- endless Sara Lee jokes, worse cuz my middle name *is* Lee
    	Tracy	 -- Dick Tracy jokes
    	Thigpen	 -- pigpen
    	Stutz	 -- stutz the clutz; less often Stutz Bearcat jokes
    
    well *I* don't mind Fern!  It's better than being called Celery by a
    cousin who can't pronounce Sara Lee!
    
    :-)
    
    Sara

    
    Names... I should talk about mine a bit.
    
    I am the third child, and all of us have 6 syllables to our names:
    
    	Lynne Deborah Foster
    	Jill Allison Foster
    	Lauren Kimble Foster
    
    Mom must have liked L's alot. My mom's name, since she dropped the
    Mary, is Lucille Kimble Foster. And I have always been proud to have
    the same initials and the same name structure as she has. Every once in
    a while, I feel shy about the Kimble part though. Probably because
    everyone I knew had a feminine middle name, and mine is my mother's
    maiden name. So, I'd sign things Lauren K. Foster. And people would
    guess "Kimberly" or "Kay". That used to really annoy me.
    
    
    BUT: (and I apologize to any who are offended) I have never liked the
    name Laurie. To me, it is a different name altogether from mine, and it
    has always irked me when people called me that as a cute nickname
    they'd picked for me.
    
    So, when, at the tender age of 14-15, I decided that I wanted a
    nickname, I chose 'ren, so that everyone would know that my name wasn't
    Laurie. I was in a summer program in New York, and 50 people called me
    'ren Foster for 2 weeks. It was fun.
    
    No one at home liked it. Mom kept saying "But Lauren is such a
    BEAUTIFUL name!!!" I mentioned that my eldest sister went through a
    similar phase in high school and had everyone call her Mickey. Mom
    still didn't like it. But this had its advantages. I had started
    dating, and to screen the thugs from the desirables, I went by
    different names. Thugs were told "ren"... Mom usually interpreted this
    as "Lynne" and said I didn't live there. After a while, I learned to
    give out phoney numbers, and eventually I learned not to give my number
    to people I didn't like...
    
    Because those same people in New York ended up going to college with
    me, I was 'ren all through college. When all my college friends started
    asking for 'ren, mom got used to it.
    
    Then I came to DEC, and I discovered that Lauren was far more
    professional looking on paper. So, I told everyone that my name was
    Lauren, 'ren to friends. This is where it gets weird.
    
    I goofed and put "ren" in DEC phone book. NOONE who knew my real name
    could find me. So then I goofed more and put 'ren in. Since ' comes
    before A, I am at the top of the Foster listing, and I get constant
    complaints. I tried changing it once, to no avail. I guess its time I
    tried again.
    
    Bonnie, you do NOT have permission to call me by all three names... :-)
    

>    the truth is everybody gets hassled about names.  

    Actually, some of us get hassled less than others.  Although I could
    never quite forgive "Walker" for its alphabetical disadvantage, it's
    proven a remarkably joke-proof and goof-proof name.  And the only joke
    I can remember weathering with "Sharon" is "Sharon share alike", which
    even seemed pretty tame at the time.  That, and a few people trying to
    call me Cher, which never lasted.

    In grade school I longed for a long, exotic-sounding surname, preferably
    something Italian or Slavic.  The sort of name that teachers would have 
    to ask me how to pronounce.  At the beginning of every school year - 
    and every time we had a sub - I'd hold my breath hoping that they'd 
    ask me how to pronounce Walker.  Needless to say, I was consistently 
    disappointed.

    I was thankful, however, that I didn't have my mother's maiden name
    instead.  Even in grade school, I had no illusions about people not
    knowing the pronunciation of "Smith".  My paternal grandmother's maiden
    name - Daugherty - seemed ideal.

    In later years, I have come to appreciate the foolproofness of Walker.
    It is almost never mispelled. (and when it is, it's generally an 
    obvious typo like Wlaker).  And, best of all (surprise!), *everyone*
    can pronounce it right.

	Sharon

    re.71 >Alyce
    
    A friend of mine had me fooled with this one, for three months
    I thought her name was 'Alison', 'til she finally told me it
    was Alyce-Anne, after her two grandmothers. I guess the slight
    mispronunciation drove her nuts after a while ;-)

    inre .73
    
    yes dear :-)

Just so you don't feel left out:

"Walk Like a Maaa--aan" -- Tommy James and the Shondells???

"I'm gonna send you back to Walker, girl that's where you belong"
		(song by Eric Burden and the Animals, from the 60s)

Sorry Sharon, I couldn't resist!

;-)

Sara

p.s. then there's the Hebrew tongue twister:

"Sarah sharah shir sameach"   Sara sings a happy(sameach) song (shir).
When I was in Israel I got teased with this unmercifily, since I couldn't say
it three times fast, until I turned it around:
"Sara sings a song sameach"
None of the kibbutzniks could say that, either!

I love the name Ferne for some reason.  I think that maybe the two
Ferne's I have met in my life have been really cool people or
something (my memory is sketchy here).

john

    re.42 [re.10]
    
    Yes I really did mean to say 'tarted up for public consumption'
    
    'fancied up' in an attempt to please is exactly what is was.
    
    Perhaps it's a cultural thing, but it's a phrase I use frequently to
    mean something wrapped in a layer or two to modify its true shape.
    
      Annie
    
    [and I do _practice_ with make-up, but it ususally looks like it's
    about to fall off ...]

re: .13 (Annie)
    
  >    Dorian, I never 'gave up' my name when I married -- I stopped using my
  >    _father's_ name.  At the time, I toyed with taking my mother's maiden
  >    name, until it hit me that then I'd be using _her_ father's name.

  >                      I chose to use Johnston, the name of the man with 
  >    whom I _chose_ to live.


I've heard this very same explanation from a number of women. Why is it
that a woman's birth name is her father's name, but a man's birth name
is his own?

"Maxham" is every bit as much my last name as it is my brother's. I got
it as a result of a silly custom, but so did John.

Kathy

    re.80
    
    You are quite right. My father's surname and the one a carried from
    birth is no less mine than it it his.  After all, it was bestowed upon
    him in much the same way it was bestowed upon me.
    
    But in the sense I mean it is _far_ more his than mine as it is a name
    he embraces with pride.  I never did.  Oh, there are admirable men as
    well as horse-thieves in my ancestry, but I never wanted to carry their
    name -- a second, third, fourth hand relic.  Ptui.
    
    In .13 I said that had I been in a more rational mind I would have
    chosen my _own_ surname rather than adopt Rick's. But at the time it
    seemed more palatable than toting around my badge of shame and un-love,
    better than honouring those who would rather I'd never been born.
    
      Annie

    Just got word that one of the women from a production line here
    named her brand new baby girl for the *product* she works on -
    the TK50/70 tape drive  - aka 'Maya' ;-)

    
    Yes.  I love it.  I love the uniqueness of Carla and the 
    exoticness of Blazek.  As a child, I longed for a common
    name like Susan or Debbie.  No offense to women with these 
    names, but now I'm glad mine is less common.  And Blazek --
    I remember having a kindergarten teacher who said that kids
    with Z's in their names were special.  (Maybe to offset any 
    teasing?)  I love the look and sound of Blazek.  I was very
    shy when I was young, so I didn't get teased very much, cuz
    I skulked in shadowland so no one noticed me to do so.  As 
    a teenager, I was called Blazer, Vlasic (as in pickle), The 
    Blaze, Blasskey ... and my Mom still calls me Tata Bayzee,
    which is how I pronounced my name when I was 2.
    
    Being in Czechoslovakia swells me with pride, to have such
    an ethnic name as Blazek.  And when I use the correct Czech
    pronunciation, "blah-zshay", they spell it right every time,
    which absolutely thrills me to no end!  
    
    Carla
    

    re.13
    
    I always considered Malloy to be as much my name as my father's.  It
    says a lot about me and where I'm from.  I didn't see why I should 
    replace it, I mean I would always be Kathy Malloy in some ways.  So
    I kept it, I didn't get rid of my old name, I added to it.  (always
    wanted a middle name anyways.)  So now I am Kathy Malloy Crawford. I
    didn't get rid of the Crawford when I divorced either.  As my
    mom-in-law said "once a Crawford, always a Crawford".  That name is a
    part of me now.  Now I'm looking at the possibility of another
    addition. (not for a couple years probably, but I guess I should ask
    Tom how he'd feel about being married to Kathleen Malloy Crawford Snyer
    all those names should be good incentive to make it work this time ;-)
    if just to keep the signature in check ;-))
    
    
    KC

    
    
    	My mom in-law's full name is...
    	
    	Cecelia Ann Gelinas Chaisson Cote Shaughnessy!
    
    	

    Good topic.  I've been thinking about this a lot, since I recently
    got remarried and changed my surname for the second time.  I spent a
    long time looking at family names.  My cousin wanted me to take the
    name of my grandmother's aunt, the herbalist and healer Martha
    Kopenhaver, but I liked the history of that one better than the
    spelling :-).  I rejected all of the other family names I could
    recall on sound: Beavers, Fellers, Hubbard, Watters, Craig.
    My birth name was Lufkin, which fills several pages of the phone
    book on Deer Isle, Maine, but has to be spelled and pronounced
    repeatedly for anyone from elsewhere.  (Most people aren't even
    familiar with Lufkin tape measures any more!)  A first name
    like Jane cries out for a lyrical surname.  The one I considered
    the longest was my grandmother's maiden name, Smallwood, but there
    was something drab and diminutive about it that I couldn't 
    reconcile myself to.
    
    Truth is, I like a three-syllable surname best with Jane.  
    Something like Halvorson.  That was my ex's name, and since I
    changed it, I've met several women who kept their ex-husband's
    name after remarriage.  I changed it because I didn't see any
    point in honoring someone who treated me dishonorably, and I
    wanted to symbolize my commitment.  I had an easy time going
    from Lufkin to Halvorson and I didn't anticipate the feelings
    that have overwhelmed me going from Halvorson to Davis.  I recently
    decided to reevaluate this choice at the end of a year (5 months
    to go), and if I still don't like it, to change it again.  I'm not
    sure to what.  Maybe to Lothian, the name of my grandfather's 
    grandfather who came over Dollar, Scotland.  (His wife was
    Ann Scotland, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life
    saying, "Scotland.  Like the country...")  Am I too picky?
    Mebbe so...
    
    I did get used to Jane, which, as any ten-year-old quickly learns,
    rhymes with pain and insane.  My mom once mentioned that she 
    almost named me after my great-grandmother Julia instead.  Sigh.
    (One of my favorite children's books was the tale of the little
    girl with seven names: Melissa Louisa Amanda Miranda Cynthia Jane
    Farlow.  Does anyone remember the author?)  However, it is
    worth mentioning that Mom named my sister after herself (complete with
    Jr. at the end), and named me after her sister, who was named for
    the lady doctor who delivered her.  (I wish my sister had had a girl -
    I'd love to see Martha Watters Lufkin, III!)
    
    -- Jane
    

>                                               Am I too picky?
>    Mebbe so...
    
	Nahhh... You can be as picky as you like.  After all, it's
	*your* name, right?


	I've occaisionally considered changing my surname to one of
	my maternal grandparents', either Ruuska (yes, with 2 u's)
	or MacNaught.  I like Ruuska 'cause it's unusual, but I'd 
	have to put up with having it misspelled the rest of my
	life (no one believes it's really 2 u's).  I just like the
	sound of MacNaught, plus it always reminds me of some of 
	my more colorful ancestors. :*] 



	*A*

    	My name is Suzanne Elizabeth, and I've always liked it.  My
    	brother and sister named me by pulling a trick on my parents.
    
    	When my Dad came home to tell them they had a new sister, my
    	brother asked Dad if he thought Suzanne was a pretty name for
    	a little girl.  My Dad said yes (although he and my Mother had
    	already named me after my Mother's sister, Elaine.)
    
    	My brother and sister canvassed the neighborhood for several
    	blocks in all directions with "Hello.  We have a new baby sister
    	and her name is Suzanne."
    
    	When Dad got home from the hospital that night, the phone was
    	ringing off the hook - "OH!  Your new baby is a girl and you
    	named her Suzanne!  How wonderful!"
    
    	Dad went back to the hospital - he and Mom decided that they
    	didn't want to make liars out of their kids - so they changed
    	my name to Suzanne Elizabeth (the middle name is my Mother's
    	first name.)
    
    	Suzanne was the name of a little girl my brother had a crush
    	on in kindergarten some time earlier.  My sister went along
    	with the scam.  :)  The Suzanne before me is our cousin's
    	cousin (no relation to us) so we still know her.  She's a
    	nice person (and I appreciate the gift of her name.)  :-)
    
    	When it came time to name my son, I thought I was being clever
    	by giving him a first name only (so he would be called by his 
    	one and only formal name, with no confusion.)  It turned out
    	that he's been forced to write N.M.I. for his middle name his
    	whole life, so I only made his life more complicated.
    
    	He does like the name Ryan, though, thank goodness. :)
    
    						Suzanne Elizabeth Conlon

    
    Ok, you asked! :-)
    
    	Officially it's Deborah Ann Baird, but there was a time I used
    my conformation name as another distiction.  Debbie was such a common
    name when I was growing up that those of us with that name have 
    resorted to *any* variations to make it different!  I have made mine
    Debbi because of research  I did many years ago on numerology.  Five
    was a good number for me, so  I dropped the "e" from the spelling
    (sorry E !).
    
    	The conformation name story is a funny one.  For those recovering
    Catholics, you will find this *quite* amusing!!  We were all going
    through the classes that you need to take to be aware of the "deep
    spiritual meaning of the religion" and to prepare us for the ceremony
    itself.  The nun teaching the class tried to convey to us the *extreme*
    importance of choosing just the "right" name as your conformation name,
    stressing the fact that we would have it forever and that it should 
    reflect "a good Catholic image"...in other words, name yourself after
    a saint!  Well, I looked over the list of female saints and wasn't
    really impressed, besides, I had something else on my mind...er, in
    mind.  She was cute, she had blond hair and the cutest smile! *sigh*
    (Hey, I knew what I felt back in grammer school, I just didn't have
    a *name* for it!!, but I could dream!)  Anyway, I digress.  Her name
    was Kathryn (lovely name, don't you think??), and I knew enough not
    to be *that* obvious!  So I checked the list again and found....
    Catherine, close enough!!   I informed the nun the next day and she
    was *so* pleased that I chose such a nice Catholic saint's name!!!
    :-) ;-) ;-}  If she *only* knew!!!!
    
    	Well, now you have it, my full official (catholic) name is
    Deborah Ann Catherine Baird--and I've had to use all four initials
    many times here at work.  Do you know how *many* people have the 
    initials DAB????  Do you know how many Debbies there were around 
    when I was growing up???   I didn't take an actual head count, but
    I know that in our neighborhood *alone*, there were 11 of us!!!  I
    always joke that if one of the mothers leaned out the door and 
    called "Deeebbbiieee", she would get a CHORUS back--"Whhaaattt?!?".
    Unfortunatly, it wasn't far from the truth!!
    
    	Now, let's see, last names.  Well, Baird is Scottish, direct from
    the clan over in Scotland.  My grandmother was Kummer, first generation
    from Germany.  My mother is Polish, first generation and last of eight
    kids, so by the time I was born--both of her parents were gone already.
    I was always sorry that I missed knowing at least one of them.  The
    family name is Skwira (pronounced Squi-ra) and I like the name but I'm
    proud of my father's name also.  If I followed some of the feminists
    who have changed their names to reflect their mother's, then I would
    be Adelechild.  Hmm, not a bad name at that. :-)  I wonder what my 
    mother would think of it??
    
    
    Debbi 

    	RE: .91  Debbi
    
    	I *love* the story of your Confirmation name!!  :)
    
    	We have something in common - Catherine is my Confirmation name,
    	too (so my full Catholic name is Suzanne Elizabeth Catherine Conlon.)
    
    	I chose mine mostly after my Aunt who was a Nun, but also because
    	it's such a pretty name.
    
    	I never include it as my formal name (since it isn't a legal part
    	of my name) - but then again, my name isn't legally Conlon, either.
    	My true, legal last name is my ex-husband's last name.
    
    	When I started with Digital, I was separated and knew we would be
    	getting divorced - so I went back to using Conlon then to avoid
    	the confusion of changing it back at Digital after the divorce.  
    	I asked the state of California (and "Social Security") for 
    	permission to do this and they said ok.
    
    	One of these days, I really need to get the legal change (thanks
    	for reminding me.)  If I went for a renewal on my passport, I'd
    	be stuck with my married name on it.  No thanks.  :-)

    re: .92
    
    So *that's* where I got my E!
    
    (*8
    
    E Grace

    
    Actually, I think one's true, legal, last name is the one you use
    consistently.  
    
    Christine Marie Elizabeth Quiriy, another "recovering" Catholic

Recovering Catholics got an extra chuckle from the alternate spelling
you used for 'confirmation', Debbi.  "Deep spiritual meaning" and
"conformation", I love it!

DougO

    
    
    re. 93
    
    	E Grace, I hadn't thought about it, but yes, the "e" might have
    floated around in the ethers for a few years--grown a little, and
    landed near you as "E"!   Your more than welcome to it, it fits you
    to a...."E"!
    
    
    	DougO-- I will "make a confession"!  I spelled the word as I 
    thought I *remembered* it being spelled.  I guess my mind converted
    it to how I thought about the *process*!  :-)
    
    Glad you all enjoyed the story.  :-)
    
    Debbi

Let's see... as far as my first name is concerned, it's pretty generic.
Of course, the preferred VARIANT changed quite a bit.

I ALWAYS hated being called "Jimmy"... partly because it's SOOOO diminutive
(I was the baby of the family for the longest time, and was ALWAYS sensitive
to the fact that everyone else was bigger or more important than me...), and
partly because when I was a little tyke there was a Pepto-Bismol TV commericial
which showed a little tyke about my age getting into ALLL the party food...
finally Mommy appears on the scene, and the first spoken words in the 
commerical were a Mommy-exasperated "Oh, JIMMY!!!".  sigh.  So I learned
to associate "Jimmy" with "bad little boy".

Most of my elementary school years I wanted to be called "James".  Since
I was the baby of the family AND the schoolyard punching bag, formality of
address was about the ONLY shred of dignity I could insist on or control...

Now that I've mellowed out a bit, "Jim" [or actually, "--jim" 8-)] does me
just fine...

As for my last name... I always wondered why my parents kept the French
spelling ("Paradis"), but insisted on using the English pronunciation
("Paradise").  Causes no END of confoosion when people try to read my
name....

What's always frightened me has been the fact that at many crucial
junctures in my life, I heard tale of ANOTHER "Jim Paradise" in the
vicinity.  You wouldn't think it was that common a name, but....

	- When I was 14, there was a story in the paper of a
	"Jim Paradise", age 14, who was stabbed.  Turned out he
	lived in the next town over.

	- When I went to MIT, I found out there was a professor
	there named "James Paradis".

	- A few years back, a Boston mental patient named "James Paradise"
	escaped, loaded up the trunk of his car with guns and ammo, and
	headed down to Washington to do in George Bush.  He never
	succeeded, unfortunately 8-)

	- When I moved to Worcester, I learned that there is a captain
	in the Worcester police force named "Jim Paradise".   I found
	out because I started getting calls for him (my number is listed,
	his isn't!)

	- Most recently, a quick trip into Elf will reveal that there's
	a fellow at DEC (BXC, to be precise) named Jim Paradise.

The damndest thing is, I haven't met any of these folks!  I don't quite know
what will happen if I did...  (Hmmm... BXC *is* on the route of my daily
bike ride.........)

On another subject: I, too, am a recovering Catholic, and I went through the
Conformation name thing (lovely typo-sniglet, by the way 8-) ).  They didn't
bother saying "It has to be an IMPORTANT name, like that of a saint!"; they
merely said it HAD to be a saint's name.  I wanted to choose Anthony, partly
because I liked the sound, and partly because I liked the "Saint Anthony
Chorale" (which is the theme of Brahms' Haydn Variations, BTW).  But Anthony
was also the name of the crazy uncle in the family; my mom told me she'd
prefer if I chose something else, and since my grandmother was going to be
my sponsor why didn't I choose my dear departed grandfather's name: Ralph.
Well, there's no "Saint Ralph" that I know of, but there is a Raphael, and
I guess it's close enough...  I'm glad I'm not Catholic anymore; that way I
don't have to use EITHER Ralph OR Raphael ("Hey, you're a Ninja Turtle!!").

--jim 

[ya know, I just thought of something... If I keep predecrementing myself
like that, how long before I go negative? 8-) ]

    Re: .97
    
    Jim, you wouldn't have liked Anthony anyway.  Brahms (or rather Karl
    Pohl, who gave the theme to Brahms) got it wrong -- the St Antony
    Chorale, a Feldpartita, wasn't even written by Haydn.  One of his
    students, it seems...  It woulda been a terrible disappointment.
    
    :-)
    
    -d

    Dawnne (pronounced Dawn) Therese
    
    I used to hate my name because there was no way to get a nickname out
    of it!  I was so jealous of my little sister, named Christianne
    Elizabeth.  I loved that name!  We were both originally supposed
    to be Christopher Michael, I came first, how come I didn't end up with
    Christianne?
    
    And no one knew how to pronounce my name!  Probably because no one had
    ever seen it spelled that way!  People would call me Donnie, or Duane,
    but I like it now.  I think it is unique and nice.
    
     

    
    I got reply .x00, just in the "Nick" of time!
    
    That's what I like about my "Nick"name!
    
    
    
    Nicholas
    
    

	re .-1,
        
-< In your face, Dan!   :-) >-
        
        You talking to me?
        
        :-)

    
    
    Yes.  Aren't *YOU* the one who waited for .x00 to use the Intro note?
    

>>-< In your face, Dan!   :-) >-
>>        
>>        You talking to me?
>>        
>>        :-)
        
> Yes.  Aren't *YOU* the one who waited for .x00 to use the Intro note?
        
        Only from around the .70's or so. :-)  Before that I
        thought I was already introduced, but I looked for it one
        day and found it was in an earlier version.
        
        Dan
        

    My feelings about my first name are mixed.  On the one hand, I feel
    lucky to have escaped the typical Southern name -- I have a sister
    named Rose Ann (in the south, Ann has 2 syllables), one named Mary Ruth
    (pronounced MayRuth down there), and one named Betty Jean.  All my
    brother's legal papers say John, but his birth certificate says
    Johnnie.  I guess we're all lucky he was born first; I have a cousin
    named Willie Lee and one named Willie May.  
    
    On the other hand, I don't appreciate all the people who felt compelled
    to explain to me what sex was all about when I was in elementary
    school, just so I would get their "virgin" jokes.  And yes I know that
    as long as the spirit of giving lives in the hearts of men there will
    always be a Santa Claus, thank you.  Plus no one at home ever called me
    Virginia -- I was always Ginny till I got in first grade (my teacher
    thought I was incredibly stupid that first week because I never
    answered when she called my name).
    
    I like my last name.  No one else in my neighborhood had that name when
    I was growing up so if someone referred to "a Ferguson" it was always
    one of us.  And since there were 8 of us people generally called us
    that when they couldn't remember which one they were talking to ("Yo
    Ferguson, your mother's looking for you.")  I just figure out why some
    people insist on misspelling it -- they'll throw in an extra S or N.
    
    ~ginny

   re: .12 and .89...

   First I never like my origional name for about as many reasons as there
   are.  The ones that stand out are it's a rotten name for a woman, it
   lacked a middle name and the last name was a bear for people to spell
   for some reason.

   So anyhow, birth name and adopted names are a signal of who we are
   and maybe what.  Since the origional name was the result of a doctor
   informing my parents of my apparent destiny they selected my
   granfathers name, John.  My father decided a middle name was not
   acceptable as he had changed his and I should be able to select mine.
   An aside to this Parent is not the name of any maternal grandparent!
   It actually my fathers uncle... umm to complicated.  Anyhow my father
   changed his before marriage and induction to the army.  I understand
   why N.M.I is a minor pain.  In jr-high school I had a chance to add the
   middle name in however my mother went ballistic upon hearing the name
   Allison.  I had tried to appeal to he scottish ancestry, but that was
   the first and last time I tried to fill the N.M.I. gap.

   So with all that and other things the change was to accomodate some
   sense of history in my family, and in me the result was Jean Allison
   Parent.  Jean to preserve the inital J.. Allison for the woman and
   the scotts heritage.  Parent to honor my father for looking just a
   bit ahead.  It's not over yet, I'm still uncertain if the eventual
   spelling of the first name will be Jeanne or Jean.

   Great topic,
   Allison

    Allison, :-)
    
    I vote for 'Jeanne' ;-)
    
    Bonnie Jeanne