Brain and Behavior Institute, 2003

Exploration and Emergence Institute 2003

Forum 1 - Getting to Know Each Other's Names

Name:  Anne Dalke
Username:  adalke@brynmawr.edu
Subject:  THE STORY OF YOUR NAME
Date:  2003-07-20 23:45:15
Message Id:  6044
Comments:
The first story we'd like you to tell in this space is the story of your name:

what is it? do you like it? where did it come from? how many people do you know with your name?

Here's my story: I was named "Anne" for my mother's best friend. A year after I was born, the Queen of England had a daughter whom she named "Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise Victoria." My grandmother would call me that whenever she was feeling particularly fond of or irritated w/ me. I liked sharing my name w/ a princess. I liked BEING the princess in my family (I was the first child and first girl). But I hated how common my name was, and my mother's insisting on the "English E" on the end, rather than the more common American "Ann," didn't help @ all.

I preferred my middle name, "Elizabeth"--it seemed more unusual, more romantic. And you could make all sorts of nicknames out of it: Liz and Beth and Betsy and Betty and...

My family got their last name, "French" when they invaded England w/ William the Conquerer in 1066. It was when they arrived in England that they were distinguishable as French-people.

My married name is "Dalke"; it means "little valley" in German ("tal"=valley; "ke" is a diminiutive). Sounds pretty, but this name has been nothing but trouble for me: no one can pronounce it or say it right the first time; ever since I took it (31 years ago) I've been wishing for the simplicity of "French," which everyone got right the first time.

Writing this, it seems curious: I didn't like my first name, because it was so common. I did like my last name, because it was so common. There's a contradition here.

Name:  Dawn
Username:  Anonymous
Subject:  name origin
Date:  2003-07-21 09:39:57
Message Id:  6045
Comments:
My first name, Dawn, doesn't have much of a story behind it-- my mom liked the name. My middle name is the combination of my 2 grandmother's names-- one named Annie and the other named Nettie--Annette. My last name comes from my father, Mackey.

Name:  dawn
Username:  Anonymous
Subject:  the reasons
Date:  2003-07-21 09:46:19
Message Id:  6046
Comments:
Growing up I didn't like any of my names for various reasons, my first and middle because they sounded old. I didn't like my last name because the children made up mean rhymes like- "blackey mackey". As an adult my first name is okay; I'm proud of my middle name and my last name is simply "Mickey" with an "A"!

Name:  Mo
Username:  Anonymous
Subject:  Name
Date:  2003-07-21 09:46:45
Message Id:  6047
Comments:
My name is RaMona Adams. I teach 8th grade science among other things at Turner Middle School. My name was given to me by my father, James Adams. He named me after one of his many sweethearts oversees. Yes, Poppa was a rolling stone. He was in the Marines and traveled constantly. I wonder what my name would have been if this sweetheart had been from Japan. I don't like the name because I was teased and called Mona Lisa. My middle name is not Lisa. My mother gave me Michelle as a middle name. I have no idea where she got it from. My parents argued over my name because Mom wanted Michelle to be my first name. Guess who lost?

Name:  Marita Wagner
Username:  mawagner@phila.k12.pa.us
Subject:  my name
Date:  2003-07-21 09:50:55
Message Id:  6048
Comments:
My name is Marita. My mother found my name in a book. For many years I did not know what what kind of name it was. It sounds Spanish but
hispanic people have never heard of it. I met nuns with the same name. I thought maybe it was Irish. I asked a native of Ireland. He had not heard of it. I met an Indian who had lived in Finland who said he had had a girl friend there who was named Marita. Last summer I flew on Finlandia Airline. I asked the flight attendants if it was a Finnish name and they said it was. More recently I was searching for pictures on picsearch and just for fun typed in MARITA. I got a lot of entries--some Finnish or Finnish-Russian.

Name:  Claudette W. Stone
Username:  cwilliamsstone@phila.k12.pa.us
Subject:  Claudette's name
Date:  2003-07-21 09:51:51
Message Id:  6049
Comments:
I am not familiar with the meaning of my name, however my mother decided to name me after the movie actress Claudette Colbert. Mom said she just liked the name. I guess I ought to learn its significance. It hasn't been very important to research it as it does not define who I am.

My middle name La'Verne was adopted from my mother's roommate in college.
Needless to say I don't particularly care for either name. I was always the last person in line, to get called upon for school responsibilities,etc. I could never find a key chain or any trinket at the shops in Atlantic City or any travel gift shop. My name has nine letters. Even now when I have to complete applications many letters are deleted. So therefore THE ORIGIN OF CLAUDETTE LA'VERNE WILLIAMS-STONE IS NOT an Urgent matter to define.

Name:
Username:  Anonymous
Subject:  My Name
Date:  2003-07-21 09:52:08
Message Id:  6050
Comments:
My name is Sylvia which means wood nymph from Latin. I was named for a
close family friend whose daughter was named Sylvia. As a child it was
always fun to find others with the same name to see if we shared anything
in common. Sometimes I still do that! Most of my friends call me Sylvia
rather than a shorthen form of the name. Lately I sometimes will use my
middle name Ann when writing my name.

Name:  Brian Malin
Username:  malinb1@yahoo.com
Subject:  introduction
Date:  2003-07-21 09:52:33
Message Id:  6051
Comments:
My name is Brian Malin.. My name means strong in the Irish language but I am not Irish. My parents liked the name and so I use it all the time now. I am of English and Russian descent so I don't know who picked out the name Brian.

Name:  Mitch Schwartz
Username:  tintindeo@aol.com
Subject:  The Story of My Name
Date:  2003-07-21 09:54:03
Message Id:  6052
Comments:
My parents named me "Mitchell". When I was old enough to go to school I found out that there were a zillion little boys named Michael, but no other Mitchells. Hmmm. I would much prefer to have been given the more popular name but my family's culture made that impossible. Using the Jewish tradition of naming worked against me in two ways: firstly, no child can be named after a living family member. Well, my father's name is Milton, so there's no problem there, but secondly, every person named in this tradition gets a Hebrew name and a secular name. My father's Hebrew name is Michael which,as luck would have it, is the same in Hebrew as in English. Therefore, giving me the name Michael would have been naming me after my father, which would never do.
When I was old enough to read I looked the meaning of my name in one of those little books expectant parents use to select one for their child. Under Mitchell, it said: "derivative of Michael". Grrrr.
Incidentally, I use the shortened form of my name, Mitch. I encourage all reading this to do the same.

Name:  Lois
Username:  loismackey@yahoo.com
Subject:  My Name: How Did Get It
Date:  2003-07-21 09:54:15
Message Id:  6053
Comments:
To the best of my rememberance, I was named by my mother's older sister who liked the name. My mother had already felt confident that if she had a girl (they didnot have the modern technology like ultra - sound) to name me Sylvia. So in order that she would honor her older sister's request, she named me Lois and put Sylvia in the middle.
While in school I really didn"t like my name. First, and foremost there were no other color/black students with that name. I believe that the name is of Irish Origen. Research have revealed that my name meant "warrior", while in the Asian culture is mean" a beautiful flower".You may safely assumed that I have well adjusted to my name. It is very ironic though how many of people like to refer to me as, Delores, or Dee. They believed that my name is short for this name.
Although my name is a simple four letter name spelling, you will be suprised at how many people are unable to pronounce my name correctly (that includes my mother ), or spell it correctly.They spell it " Louis". Well like the cat on one of my favorite commercial, I say, " Whatever", and move on.

Name:  Lois
Username:  loismackey@yahoo.com
Subject:  My Name: How Did Get It
Date:  2003-07-21 09:54:33
Message Id:  6054
Comments:
To the best of my rememberance, I was named by my mother's older sister who liked the name. My mother had already felt confident that if she had a girl (they didnot have the modern technology like ultra - sound) to name me Sylvia. So in order that she would honor her older sister's request, she named me Lois and put Sylvia in the middle.
While in school I really didn"t like my name. First, and foremost there were no other color/black students with that name. I believe that the name is of Irish Origen. Research have revealed that my name meant "warrior", while in the Asian culture is mean" a beautiful flower".You may safely assumed that I have well adjusted to my name. It is very ironic though how many of people like to refer to me as, Delores, or Dee. They believed that my name is short for this name.
Although my name is a simple four letter name spelling, you will be suprised at how many people are unable to pronounce my name correctly (that includes my mother ), or spell it correctly.They spell it " Louis". Well like the cat on one of my favorite commercial, I say, " Whatever", and move on.

Name:  Sheila
Username:  Anonymous
Subject:  What's in a Name?
Date:  2003-07-21 09:55:20
Message Id:  6055
Comments:
My name is Sheila Maureen Burnette Michael. I often hear my name spoken in a sing song rhyme as if it's one word "SheilaMichael"! My father liked the actress name Sheila--I don't remember her last name. I was given Maureen after two auntie's, "Maurice and Marie". My maiden name Burnette can be traced back to the Slave plantation and my father's great great grandfather, but our name has many variation throughout my family in southern Virginia--Burnett, Burnetti, Burnet, and Burnette. My married name "Michael" can be traced to the slave plantation also, with many variations throughout our South Carolina family--Mikel, Michel and Michael. The variations of our family names did not diminish the family in any way. Formal education during the early 1900's for rural African Americans was rare. During the depression our families were cash poor. Many of my ancestors learned to read and write, but did not continue formal education beyond the eighth grade, thus the variations of the names. (farming)

Name:  Regina Toscani
Username:  reginatoscani@hotmail.com
Subject:  my name
Date:  2003-07-21 09:55:36
Message Id:  6056
Comments:
Why my mother named me "Regina" is a mystery to me. My baptismal name is "Regina Frances". Frances is the middle name of 8 of my siblings, and the first name of my eldest sister. It is also the middle name of my 4 nephews. In some Catholic families, the children are given the name of a saint that the parents have a devotion to. In this case, the saint was Frances X. Cabrini, who was the first American (naturalized) to become a saint. My mother has several statues of her throughout her house, and insists that we (her children) wear a medal of Mother Cabrini when we are traveling long distances. Even though one sibling practices Wicca, another is a Mormon, and one an avowed atheist, we all all expected to continue the devotion.
I do not meet to many other "Reginas". I can count on one hand the number of women I know who share my name. I always enjoy my name since it comes from the Latin word for "queen". The only problem is I do not know what I am queen of. If I had to pick something I think I want to be "Queen of Trouble"

Name:  Geraldine Brown
Username:  brownthankyou@aol.com
Subject:  What's in a Name
Date:  2003-07-21 09:56:11
Message Id:  6057
Comments:
My name is Geraldine and I really don't know what it means. I can tell you that the G stands for Generous, the E stands for Energetic, the R stands for always Ready for a challenge, the a stands for sometimes Autistic, but I'm actually a Visual learner. the L stands for Leader in allthe things I do, the D stands for Dynamic, the I stands for Interesting, the N stands for the Nice person that I am, and the last E standsfor Enthusiastic. I am always anxious to learn new things and I know that i have the Intererpersonal ,and Intrapersonal skills needed to move ahead. I'm always looking for new cheese!

Name:  Wendy L. Marr
Username:  simplyMarrvelous@yahoo.com
Subject:  The Name Game
Date:  2003-07-21 09:56:26
Message Id:  6058
Comments:
My name is Wendy Lee Marr

I was name after my father's mother. Her name is Willie Lee Marr.
Grandma Willie didn't care for her first name because people ofter mistook her for a boy/man. So she changed Willie to another "W"-Wendy. My mother was okay with the first name but she wanted to change the spelling of the middle name from 'Lee-to-Leigh'. Yet the nurse wrote this middle name as 'Lee'.

I looked up my name whilst I in high school. This is what was found:
Wendy- Derived from Wanda 'for wanderer'.

Now-a-days, I prefer my first initial with my middle name. Why? I don't want to be pigeon-holed for just female job opportunities.

I am a wanderer of sorts.
I've lived in the following places: Virginia, Maryland, Wash., DC, and Pennsylvania.

Name:  Marlene Taylor Pride
Username:  marlene3k@aol.com
Subject:  MARLENE
Date:  2003-07-21 09:57:20
Message Id:  6059
Comments:
Hi,

Acccause it had a ring to itrding to my Mother, she chose to name me Marlene because her mother was named Martha. She took the "Mar" from Martha and and Lene from a cousin named Lena and BINGO she came up with Marlene. (No middle name).

Basically, its not a very interesting story or for that matter my name. I never really cared for my name. I can remember calling myself Rebecca because I thought it had a classy sound to it.

It wasn,t until I became married that I realized that my maiden name would be cool for a middle name..........

Name:  Alicia
Username:  Anonymous
Subject:  What's Up w/ the Name?
Date:  2003-07-21 10:00:21
Message Id:  6060
Comments:
Alicia:
it's the name that my dad gave me, in honor of his favorite sister.
I liked my name, because it meant a lot to my dad. I knew my aunt, and I like her. I like sharing her name.

Name:  Joan K. Johnston-Malin
Username:  malinb1@yahoo.com
Subject:  introduction
Date:  2003-07-21 10:01:08
Message Id:  6061
Comments:
Hi. My name is Joan. Joan Kathryn really - but usually Joan is the name I typically use. My mom explained to me the family history of my name when I complained to her about it when I was six years old. My name was to honor both of my grandmothers. Joan was for her mother Johanna, and Kathryn was for my dad's mom. Joan is the feminine of the Hebrew name John - which meant God's precious gift. Kathryn was for an Irish saint. My mom told me that every child deserved their own name - different from all others. So she shortened Johanna (Lithuanian) and combined it with Kathryn (Irish)to give me a name that honored two women from different cultures united forever in me and my name. I stopped complaining about my name. Moms are smart.

Name:  Geneva E. Tolliferreo
Username:  Anonymous
Subject:  ...in my name...
Date:  2003-07-21 10:01:22
Message Id:  6062
Comments:
Good Morning!
My father took the charge of naming me to heart. Our surname, Tolliferreo, is Cuban from Italian decent. My father's father was born in San Tiago, Cuba. The family migrated there from Italy. How they settled in Virgina is unbeknownst to me.

My first name is Geneva, truly taken from the city and lake. I have lived a life of loving the shore salt waters. My father was feeling regal at the time and coupled this with Elizabeth. Having served in World War II, he was quite taken with England. I believe this to be true, because I fell in love with the island before I went to live in London to study at the London College of Fashion. I have since returned to Cambridge to study for a brief period at the university. The fact that my father's mother was Black and British certainly has significance influence.

So you see it truly is all in my name...

My mother's family influence has surfaced in my nickname, which is a whole other sermon for another Sunday. My maternal family is from Georgia, with a slave heritage for a Jewish family. Yes, she has American Indian influence as well, so yes slaves included American Indians.

Name:  Anne Dalke
Username:  adalke@brynmawr.edu
Subject:  Our names, in order of "popularity"
Date:  2003-07-21 10:28:41
Message Id:  6063
Comments:
(based on how many people knew others w/ our name)
in order
from most popular
Lois
Brian
Joan
Wendy
Geraldine
Marlene
Ramona
Dawn
Regina
Sylvia
Marita
Claudette
Sheila
Alicia
Mitchell
Geneva
to most "uncommon"

Name:  Antoinette
Username:  tonisisco@aol.com
Subject:  name
Date:  2003-07-21 13:13:06
Message Id:  6064
Comments:
Hello! My name is Antoinette. When I was born my brothers Anthony and Rodney both wanted me to be named after them. My parents, knowing that they were not planning to have any more children decieded to name me after bith of them...so my parents named me Anoinette Ronda.

When I got married last year, beacuse all of my teaching stuff was in Sisco, I just adderd my married name.

Name:  Geraldine Brown
Username:  brownthankyou@aol.com
Subject:  What's in a Name
Date:  2003-07-21 13:16:05
Message Id:  6065
Comments:
My name is Geraldine and I really don't know what it means. I can tell you that the G stands for Generous, the E stands for Energetic, the R stands for always Ready for a challenge, the a stands for sometimes Autistic, but I'm actually a Visual learner. the L stands for Leader in allthe things I do, the D stands for Dynamic, the I stands for Interesting, the N stands for the Nice person that I am, and the last E standsfor Enthusiastic. I am always anxious to learn new things and I know that i have the Intererpersonal ,and Intrapersonal skills needed to move ahead. I'm always looking for new cheese!

Name:  Marlene Taylor Pride
Username:  marlene3k@aol.com
Subject:  MARLENE
Date:  2003-07-21 14:50:39
Message Id:  6067
Comments:
Hi,

Basically, its not a very interesting story or for that matter my name. I never really cared for my name. I can remember calling myself Rebecca because I thought it had a classy sound to it.

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