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April 10, 2023

What’s in a Name?

11 Comments/ 161/ 0

Do you like your name?  Everyone has one.  But be honest.  Do you like yours? I have always loved my name.  I am just Beth Ann.  Not Elizabeth.  Not Bethany.  Nope.  Beth Ann.  Plain and simple.  Perfect.  Short and sweet.  Nothing fancy and I think it suits me.  Beth is a Hebrew word that literally means “home” or “house”.   It has also been suggested that it means “house of God” or “vowed to God”.  Whatever meaning you subscribe to does not matter. What matters is that I like my name and am glad my parents chose it for me.

When I was younger I was just plain Beth.  My siblings call me Beth.  My mom called me both Beth and Beth Ann.  In college I started adding the Ann to everything and though I answer to Beth I prefer Beth Ann.  It would be very rude of me to suddenly stop answering to Beth when my family and many who know me from pre-college days call me that!

For some reason the two name name is difficult for some folks to wrap their heads around.  I end up being Mary Beth or Ruth Ann or Bethen or Ann Marie or Mary Ann.   Seriously.   And I answer. To all of them. Because I know that some people just don’t get the two name thing.  So sometimes I correct and sometimes I don’t.   Sometimes I have been called Chris (my husband’s name) and it makes me wonder whether after so many years together we have melded into one.  That kind of scares me in a way.

I think a name is a wonderful gift that a parent can give their child. When we chose names for our boys we put as much time and thought into them as any other expectant parents do.  But when you name a baby Micah Brandon do you really think that he will end up being able to grow into that name?  Or when you name a preemie Aaron David how do you know that he is going to be able to develop his personality around that name?  Fortunately for our boys they both have successfully claimed their names and have filled them out.  They suit them.  Thank goodness.  One less thing to feel guilty about!

I originally wrote this post in March of 2012. The thing about going back and looking at old posts is that I get to see some of the comments that folks made that are no longer readers of the blog for whatever reason. But the REAL thing I love about going back and looking at those blog posts is being able to see comments that my mom made. She read every day and commented until she couldn’t anymore. Her comment on this post was as follows. She was 83 at the time.

My name is Helen Margaret and in college I changed my name to Peggy for my friends, especially my future husband who later made a recording of him singing to me “Once in Love with Peggy”. I am now back to Helen and never hear anyone call me Peggy. Another sign of old age!

So when you think of your name today how does it make you feel?  Do you love it?  Do you embrace it or have you changed yours to suit your personality more?  Have you adopted a nickname?

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11 Comments

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  1. jena c. henry
    April 10, 2023 at 07:17 am

    Names- great topic to think about!
    It seems that most people like their name and keep it all their lives- even though they had no choice in it.
    One of my son’s has a name, which I love, but it was never popular…until now! Now it’s in the top 10 of names, and when I’m out at about, I hear mothers calling this name all the time. Interesting how things change!
    I like your Mom’s comment. And I like her name and yours!

    Reply
  2. Darlene
    April 10, 2023 at 07:46 am

    I always loved reading your mom’s comments. This one is really sweet. My mom’s name is Bette, not Elizabeth or Betsy. She was christened Betty but as a teenager she changed it to Bette (pronounced the same) and kept it her entire life. I love the names you choose for your boys.

    Reply
  3. Gretchen O’Donnell
    April 10, 2023 at 08:04 am

    I have always loved having a less popular name. I like being unique! However, I’d have teachers call me Wendy, because if my maiden name, “Wendt”. It happened fairly often. Once a prof in seminary saw me in the hall and said, “Hi, Wendy!” I smiled and said hello back. He stopped a couple paces on and turned around. “You’re not Wendy!” He said. “Close,” I replied!

    Reply
  4. Frank
    April 10, 2023 at 09:09 am

    My wife prefers being called by her “two name”: Mary Ellen (which are really her first and middle names). Those who know her personally will say, “Mary Ellen,” although sometimes they will write, “Maryellen.” Most “business/junk mail” wiill write simply “Mary” (or “Mary or Current Resident”).

    One the other hand, my first name is Francis; I was proudly named after my paternal grandfather (we both answered to Frank). My father’s middle name was Francis, and my grandmother’s name was the feminine Frances (same as my mother’s middle name). I like to tell myself that all this can be traced back to St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226).

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      April 10, 2023 at 09:13 am

      Thanks for reading and sharing! I say Mary Ellen!

      Reply
  5. Susi K.
    April 10, 2023 at 11:27 am

    My name is Susan, no middle name, but from the time I was little everyone has called me Susi and it stuck. I am Susi. People call me Suze, spell Susi all kinds of ways etc. and I’m fine with all of it. But I really do not like it when people call me Sue. I don’t know why but it rubs me the wrong way. 🤷🏻‍♀️

    Reply
  6. Minnesota Prairie Roots
    April 10, 2023 at 11:45 am

    I, too, like my name. Not all that many people are named Audrey, which means “noble and strong.” I think Beth Ann fits you.

    Reply
  7. dawnkinster
    April 10, 2023 at 12:27 pm

    Awwww, I feel sad that she didn’t hear Peggy anymore. My sister’s name is Beth. She says mom said she was named after the Little Woman sister, the one who died. She has never liked her name for that reason. I like my name well enough. I asked where they got it once, but mom couldn’t remember. 🙂 I guess when you have 4 kids it’s all a bit much to keep track of.

    Reply
  8. Shirley Matthews Dunn
    April 10, 2023 at 01:01 pm

    I loved your mom’s comment. I have no problem with my name, Shirley Ann. The tail is my mom named me after her nurse in delivery. Also, I have a cup handled down that they say the nurse gave mom as a gift. It can be funny how names can change sometimes, my family calls me Shirley Ann and friends mostly just Shirley. I am thankful mom & dad chose my name.

    Reply
  9. Mama's Empty Nest
    April 10, 2023 at 04:52 pm

    We tried to choose our children’s names wisely too. And I think we did well. As for my name, I had to grow into it. My first name, Cynthia, was shortened to a nickname (Cindy) and that is what everyone calls me and what I used professionally as a newspaper reporter/editor. I truly disliked my middle name and still I’m not crazy about it, although I don’t really understand why.

    Reply
  10. Priscilla King
    April 10, 2023 at 08:15 pm

    I let AOL suggest a screen name by scrambling letters from the location.

    My real name is one of the commonest combinations in the English-speaking world, for females. My father’s was one of the commonest combinations for males. Another baby girl was born to another father with the same first and last name, and given the same first and last name, at the same hospital, on the same day I was born. An older cousin shares my first and last name, and at school someone else always had the same given name. It is hard to make a name so heavily used one’s own. Long before the Information Age made it unwise to disclose our real names online, I was comfortable with the idea of writing under names nobody else was using.

    Reply

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