What's In A Name? Sometimes It's A Lot Of Family History

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At twelve years old I was sure that the first thing I would do when I grew was change my name. I hated it. "Melody," why couldn't I have been named something normal like the seven Jessicas who were in my class? My name was, in my opinion, very hippy-dippy. Obviously, I grew out of it, and with the exception of a few "Melanie" mix-ups I like that it is pretty memorable. When it comes to that middle name some people never grow in to it. Ask around and see how many people actually like their middle names though (don't worry, I'll wait)...

See what I mean? There are a lot of people that guard their middle name like it is a nuclear secret, and if they do tell you the disappointment in their voice is unmistakable. While parents will sit there for hours researching the personality characteristics they hope to endow their children with via their name selection, middle names are often the domain of the family. A lot of kids get stuck with grandparents first names as their middle name, they have passed down middle names, or sometimes the mother's maiden name becomes their middle name.

Names are a funny thing. Everyone knows of at least one parent that has played a cruel joke when picking out their baby's name (most of which have to do with the name Richard somewhere). So many people get all worked up about their middle name, but that is usually the name that carries the family history and the first name is sometimes just what was popular that year. If you think about it, first names give away your age because of the whole popular baby names trends but middle names give away a piece of your family story.