Family Middle Names

Originally Written Between 2013-2015

James.  John.  Michael.  Anthony.  Edward.  Anne.  Marie.  Catherine.  Elizabeth.  Lynne. Etc., Etc.  All perfectly good middle names.  And, ones that have been used, I’m sure, for centuries.  I’m a little hesitant to say that I’m as sure that they will be used as frequently in the 21^st century and beyond.  Because with names such as Taylor, Jordan, Reese, and others that can be either a girl or a boy name, I’m wondering what names will be used as middle names…. if any!

My husband, Norm, has a middle name that was also his father’s middle name:  Edward.  And so, when our little Michael was born, we decided to carry on that tradition and use Edward as his middle name.  Heck, we liked the name so much that we even named our dog Scooter Edward.

My mother wanted to have a daughter named Mary.  She also wanted a daughter named Barbara.  Well, her first child was a boy…. my brother Steve.  His middle name is John, named after her dad.  Mom had a couple of miscarriages after Steve and so, when I was born, she thought that she just may not have any other children.  Therefore, she used both of her favorite names and called me Mary Barbara.

I’d like to tell you about a time when naming a child was very important…….. to my grandma.    I was the first one in our family that was going to make her a great grandma.   Yes – four generations – my grandma was very excited.  So excited, in fact, that she asked me to name the baby after her!

And that was my dilemma.  While I loved my grandma, I wasn’t really ready to honor her request.  You see….. her name was Albina Philomena.   Her maiden name was Valenta – a nice Bohemian last name.  Her married name was Lehecka – another nice Bohemian last name.  So…. in total….. her name was Albina Philomena Valenta Lehecka.  Kind of flows nicely, doesn’t it?  Well, luckily for me, I gave birth to Michael.

Three year’s later, Grandma asked me again to name our soon-to-be-born baby after her.  We named him David.

We dodged another bullet when John was born just three months after my grandma died.  Poor grandma.  She never knew that between my brother, sister, and me, we gave her seven great grandsons and only one chance to have a great granddaughter named after her…… my daughter, Rebecca.  And I tease Rebecca all the time – telling her that I could have named her Rebecca Lehecka!