The Story of Our Names

When you add your story to this page. Follow these directions: click insert and then text box. Write your name in the text box and then your story. See how I've done it. If you have questions, ask before you add yours to this page. Thanks! Remember these stories are all in working form not final draft.

Lauren

My name is lauren my parents picked my name while searching threw many baby books. My parents dont have much to say they just decided it was the perfect name. I don't really have a opinion on my name yet i think it is pretty cool while others don't like their name but mine is i don't hate but dont love but it is still a good name to me.

The name Lauren which was originally was a boy name (laurance) but when betty Jean perske (1924) but when she used Lauren Bacall as her stage name that's when it was popular not that exciting i have looked up many people with my name most of them where models or actresses but i found one i decided to write about Lauren Jackson she was a australian basketball player and has two kids she was very good at her job. Well this is what i have about my name not very exciting but its the story of my name Lauren.

Sami

Name Meaning

Part 1.

1. Does my name have meaning?

Mom says it didn’t have any specific family importance or meaning.

2. Who chose my name?

Mom and Dad

3. How was my name chosen?

Mom and Dad found it in a book of names.

4. Why was I given my name?

Mom and Dad liked how it sounded and all its nicknames.

Part 2.

1. Does your name mean something?

Yes, it means listener.

2. Is there a famous person from history that has your name?

Yes, Samantha Reed Smith. She was from Manchester, Maine and in 1983 she wrote

to the Russian president, Yuri Andropov and asked him, “Are you going to vote to have

a war or not?” She received a letter back from him saying the Russians didn’t want to

start a war and invited her to visit Russia.

3. Is there a saint with the same name? What is he/she the patron saint of and why is

he/she famous?

Yes, she is the patroness of spirtualness. She spoke many words of knowledge and

Performed many miracles and healings.

Jacklyn

My name is a variant JACQUELINE my parents didn't like the “QUE” in Jacqueline so they named me jacklyn. I got my nickname Jackie from my friends in kindergarten or preschool they just started calling me that so it became my nickname. The name Jacqueline the meaning is "French feminine form of JACQUES, also commonly used in the English-speaking world” And JACQUES means “French form of JACOB (or JAMES).” And jacob means “in England, Jacob was mainly regarded as a Jewish name during the Middle Ages” So basically my name is just a variant for another name which is a variant for another name on and on.

Jaicey

My name is my moms and dads initials spelled out jc .and my mom and my aunt Jade thought of my name.because my mom and dad could not agree on any names in books or on the internet

There is no one I am named after. The meaning of my name is “Honest, Brilliant, And often inventive, Full of high inspiration.You are a leader, especially for a cause. Sometimes you do not care to finish what you start, and may leave details to others. You can do well in position of authority.” “You are bold and independent. Inquisitive. If you want to no where I got my information go to http://www.sevenreflections.com/

I would not like to change my name because i like it very much and its unique and all of the kids on my moms sidi of the family have j names.

Ms. Penny

First, I’d like to apologize to Mrs. Smith for balking at this assignment…..I was caught off guard and was thinking about all the things I needed to do at home tonight after being gone for 10 days…..but you know my motto is “no excuses” so here goes the story of my name and what is was like growing up with the name “Penny.”

My full name is Penny ( not Penelope) Lenore. My Dad’s mom (my paternal grandmother) chose the name Penny (and this is not a joke), because this was the name of her favorite character on her favorite soap opera, “As the World Turns.” My middle name “Lenore” was chosen by the same grandma. Lenore was the name of an aunt I never met bc she died before I was born. I don’t know much about her other than she must have been well liked bc almost all of my female cousins on that side of the family have the middle name Lenore ( however, it’s nobody’s first name…..I can see why bc I think it’s an awful name). I didn’t like my name growing up for a few reasons. First, no one else had the name Penny…..it was kind of old fashioned and I really wanted to be a Sharon, Michelle, Lisa or Stephanie which were all popular at the time. Also, many jokes were made about my name in reference to the coin, penny…...people would call me “nickel” or “dime” or “quarter” (not very original and not very funny, really). Kids would ask me if I had a nickel, dime quarter…..hahaha (NOT). When I got older, kids sang popular songs to me with my name in it. For example, Lionel Richie had a popular song called “Penny Lover.” I was serenaded by many teenage boys with this song. I guess I should have been flattered. For as much as I disliked the name Penny, I disliked Lenore even more and kept my middle name a secret all through high school. My only hint to other students was that it started with an L and no one ever guessed it. Much to my dismay, they announced it at graduation and I heard a lot of my classmates say, “Ahhhh, Lenore.”

I looked up Penny on behindthename.com. It peaked in popularity in the 1960s when I was born so I’m not sure why I thought it was an old fashioned name. It also says it means flower and bobbin (I think that’s part of a sewing machine- don’t understand that). According to the website Sheknows.com, people with the name Penny tend to be idealistic, highly imaginative, intuitive and spiritual. They tend to be visionary and may inspire others. Also, people with the name Penny have a desire to travel and love adventure. Some of this is true about me. There are no saints named Penny. In history, most Pennys are actresses and models…..nothing very impressive.

If given the choice, I would not change my name. As I’ve gotten older, the jokes about my name have stopped and I’ve come to accept that I was named after a soap opera star. I like that my name is not common, and in the end I’m happy not to be a Lisa, Michelle, Stephanie, or Sharon. Furthermore, when I have more time I will see if I can dig up some more information on the character “Penny” from “As the World Turns” to see why my grandma was compelled to name a grandchild after her.

Brennen

I got my name from my papa jakes middle name Jack Brennen Bulet (boo-let) I got my middle name from my uncle Todd Charles Newton and my last name from my dad uncle Todd and aunt Nicky and some more family members my last name is Newton so it is Brennen Charles Newton my name is Irish and English my middle name is French and English and my last name is just English that's all

Abigail (or Abbey

Abigail ( there’s no definition apparently)

When my parents were deciding my name, it was a little bit of like a debate. When my mom had my older sister Megan, my dad wanted to name her Abigail. My mom really liked the name Megan, so my mom promised my dad that he could name the next baby. So baby #2 was named Abigail (me!). So my dad named me:) My name also has a meaning. It means “a fathers joy”. “An intelligent beautiful Abigail”. My dad named me Abigail because it was one of his favorite names, also my mom loved it.

My parents spelt my name A-b-i-g-a-i-l because they wanted to spell it the traditional way. They also didn’t want people to spell it wrong. However I wasn’t named after anyone for my first name, but I was named after a few with my middle name. I was named after my Mom, Grammie, and Auntie Jjennie. The name Abigail is almost 100 years old, it was created in the 20th century- early 1900’s. It was also extremely popular when it came out. It was so popular most people used the name. Abigail is also a Hebrew name.

Cora

My parents liked the name Cora, and in my family there was a lot of people that names ended with lyn, so they named me Coralyn. My parents chose my name. The name Cora was rechearch and lyn was family. I was given my name because my parents liked it !

My name means ‘’Maiden’’ it is a Greek name. There is a copple famous Cora’s in Germany but no one we know. However there was a copple places named Cora. I was not named after a saint and there is no saint named Cora.

I think that my name is very unique and creative. I also think that Cora suits me! If I could change my name I would not I like my name.

Cole

My name does not have a meaning to it. My parents chose my name cause they liked the name Cole. I like my name to. My dad chose my first name and my mom chose my middle name.

What I found while researching about my name. I found that my name means an English origin and less frequently a given name. I also found that my name is of a middle English origin and it mean swarthy, coal-black, charcoal. I also found one more reason that my name is an americanized spelling of the Germany name Khol and of the Scottish and Irish name Mccool.

If I had the chance to change my name I would not. I would not want to change my name because I like my name and I could never be happier with my name I have right now. I feel comfortable with my name and that is why I would not like to change my name.

Jonas

My name is Jonas. My parents decided my name because of a song titled “My Name Is Jonas” by a band called Weezer. My dad wanted to name me Jonas but my mom immediately said no. After a few days and my dad asking again, my mom started to like it. They agreed that my first name could be Jonas if my middle name would be Danger.

I discovered that my name is a Hebrew baby name meaning “Gift From God”, it also means “Dove”. My name is a common boys name in Europe. Jonas is usually a first name but can also be a last name. The name is popular in Germany, Israel, and The Netherlands.

I would never change my name be cause I think my name is unique. I don't know anyone named Jonas except myself. I also think its unique because of my middle name, (which many people do not believe) my middle name is Danger. So that means I can say “Danger is my middle name” and actually mean it. I like knowing that I am probably the only kid with the name Jonas Danger.

Colin

This is a little essay on how I got my name and the history and backstory behind my name.

I have a meaning of my name and the meaning means. Victory of the people.

Also my mom named me and my brother. My mother also chose my name. How. My mom gave me my name because she named my brother Carter so she thought “something that would go good with Carter?” so she thought of Colin.

Also my mom and dad thought that they wanted my name to match my middle name Earl. And again they thought of Colin Earl Pennell.

I have no popular person I am named after in my history tree or any history. Also I have no saint.

That was the story of my name and its stuff that I never knew about my name.

Mrs. Smith

Years ago, I learned the story of how I was named. I was always fond of my name, Nancy but wasn’t sure which one of my parents named me or why. I knew the name meant little Ann. I wasn’t really sure what that meant at the time but I had done the research. I figured out that Nancy was a nickname for Ann, similar to Maggie or Peggy being another version of the formal name Margaret.

During different times of my life, I had some incredibly good fortune to spend some time alone with my parents. Being one of five, this didn’t happen often. But my memories can conjure up a few different times when I was with them both, me the center of it all.

We are in the house in Auburn, New York and Mom and Dad and I are alone. It must and I vividly remember asking them questions and my two parents giving me their undivided attention telling me stories of their growing up and answering questions that would come to my inquiring mind.

I often brought them quizzes I found in magazines. I was a voracious reader and sometimes I stumbled across things that were suggested a writer could ask their parents about to get ideas for story writing. Sometimes I just made them take ridiculous quizzes I found that would reveal their inner thinking about things.

The story of my naming most likely was told to me before those afternoons I spent alone with my parents. But when I think of learning about my family history it is in that home in New York where we lived as a modern 70’s family in a new house with shag carpeting, olive and gold appliances and the story telling would happen in the combined kitchen and the family area which was all connected and very new as a concept in time. Prior to that kitchens were in the back of many homes and not a place for families to gather and tell stories while cooking and enjoying time together.

My arrival came at a time that was inconvenient for my mother and father. My mother had my older sister and my older brother at home. She was a stay at home mom. My sister, Donna was three and my brother was only 10 months old when it became time for another Castle baby to join the family. My parents lived in Belleville, Illinois at the time. Mom stayed home with the children while my father was working full time as a chemical engineer and going to law school in the evenings.

My parents lived far from their extended family and my mother knew she would need help taking care of the newborn baby and the other two children. My grandfather, Charlie Wood, came from Rhode Island to stay with us. My mother’s mother had died when my mom was still in her teens. Her father and she were very close. Charlie was retired and his time was his own. I’m sure we called him Grandpa growing up but in family stories he was always known as Charlie Wood.

My father working full time and going to law school came down with flu the week I arrived. Just as the worst of the flu hit, my mother went into labor. The timing couldn’t have been worse.

My mother went to the hospital. My father was home in bed. The little ones were running around and Charlie was the guy in charge.

Charlie it was decided would take care of my sick father, get the two children settled into be and later that evening he would visit my mother to see how she was doing. I arrived, a healthy baby girl. During the busy days that led up to the arrival of me, no one had picked out a name.

Charlie was stunned to meet this nameless little girl and decided that I should be named as quickly as possible. No problem, he told my mother to “make a list’ of possible names, I will bring them home to Don and when he wakes in the morning, I’ll have him make his list and cross out the names , he didn’t like. For three days the lists went back and forth.

Charlie Wood ran the house, took care of the children, kept my Dad in bed so he could recover and shuttled to the hospital with the lists. Names were added, deleted and soon the list was whittled down. Josie had been considered, my father’s mother name. My aunt’s name (Jane) was considered and I believe my mother’s mother name Ellen was also in the running. Charlie, perhaps in his grief still couldn’t imagine another Ellie in the world as his Ellie had left him all too soon.

Eventually all the names were crossed out except one. Nancy.

Overtime, after I arrived home to join my brother, sister and parents and my grandpa, Charlie Wood.

Soon my parents talked with each other about the name Nancy.

“Barbara, why Nancy?”, my dad asked. “When I saw it on the list, I just loved it.”

“I thought you came up with Nancy” my mom replied. My father shook his head.

Charlie Wood began to laugh and then confessed. “Barbara the day she was born and you both dictated list of your possible names to me, I added the name Nancy. I’ve always loved that name and Don when you didn’t cross it out. I thought why not see where this goes.”

“Why Nancy?” they asked Charlie Wood.

“My favorite dog growing up was Nancy. I loved her more than anything in the world. Just like I love my grandchildren.”

And that’s the story of my name. I was named after a dog.

Ben