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I don't exactly know the significance of my first name. My mom's side of the family everyone calls me "Emy". My dad's side calls me "Em", as do most of my friends.

My last name, however, has quite the story behind it. A few years back when my grandfather passed away we received letters with evidence that family lineage was different from what we had always known. It's a long story, but I found out that I have a whole other family that my family is related to by blood through ancestry.com. Quite the twist!

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I was named Laura after Lara from Dr. Zhivago. My parents wanted to actually spell my name as "Lara;" however, were worried that folks would have difficulties pronouncing or spelling it. In grade school, I ran for Student Body President (and WON) with my slogan, "Say YA YA for LA LA!" and then nickname has stuck ever since. My middle name " Lynn" comes from my Grandpa. He really wanted my parents to name me "Sue Ann," but thankfully he got overode, and he was ok with his second choice, "Lynn." I took my husband's name Keever. His family is German and my family is Polish, so we go together, like "Shoobop a bop ring ga dee ding a ding."

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My mom says she chose my name because it has the same meaning as my Thai name (which no one calls me and is not documented anywhere) but if my memory is correct my Thai name came later in life (from my uncle) and was based on my English name. Regardless, Amy means beloved and my mom liked the meaning. I think the fact that it is only 3 letters was actually the real reason because my maiden name was 13 letters long!

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My mom won the naming battle between her and my dad. They went with Heather instead of Gisela. Heather is a flowering evergreen plant that grows on the heath or moors. Related to the word "heathen" (as in, those really rural hold-outs who hadn't yet been exposed to Christianity!).

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I received my name from an elder of the Couer d'Alene tribe. My mother asked if she could name me after her. And, Suzi's response was "What are you sure? I'm so old!" My mom said "Yes, it would be an honor for her to have your name." So, every time that I would see Suzi, she would have a special treat for me, and of course my sisters. When she passed away the family gave me one of her beaded necklaces that I still have today. I miss them so.....

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The Spanish version of "Anna." I often tell people I am "a one-'n' Anna." I don't think I was named after anyone specifically, but I do know that my parents were torn between naming me "Ana" or naming me "Sofia," so they settled on naming me both. There are different pronunciations of my name and as a young girl, it took me a while to understand that people would say my name a lot of different ways (especially my last name!). I respond to all iterations of "Ana" (Ah-na, Aw-na, Ahn-ah).

Magallanes comes from the Spanish conquistador who colonized the Philippines, Mr. Ferdinand Magellan.

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My middle name is Felice after my grandma, Felicísima. I always use to get made fun of growing up because....feliz navidad lol. But I love that I was named after my grandma; she was really special to me. I am Persian on my dad's side and my last name, Rastgoo, means "honest" in Farsi.

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Hi,
I am actually the 3rd generation of my name. I share this name with my father and grandfather.
None of us have middle names.
None of us use any suffix like "Sr.", "Jr.", or "III".
Sorry I don't have any other "fun" facts about my name.
I don't plan on having kids of my own, so the name will probably end with me. But even if I were to have kids, I would not choose the name "Nicolas" for the 4th time. That would be silly. 3 is plenty (probably too much).

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My mother liked the name. There really isn't much more to say.

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My grandfather suggested the name Amy Louise (his sister's middle name was Louise) to my parents.  My parents liked the name.  I do not have a nickname.  Amy is a French and English name meaning "much loved".  Louise is a French name meaning "renowned fighter".

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I was named after the Biblical Prophet and heroin in the Old testament "Deborah". The name means "bee". Am I busy as a "Bee" maybe sometimes! When I was young, my Mother nicknamed me "spider monkey" because we has poles on our front porch that held up beams that led to the roof of our house.. I'd climb up the pole like a spider monkey would (so my Mom says), than walk the beam over to the roof. Maybe this is when my love of climbing started.

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I was supposed to be named Heidi but my great grandfather convinced my parents that "Heidi Heuser" sounded ridiculous so they went with option 2....Kimberly (but I only get called that when I'm in trouble). I have always just gone by "Kim".  My middle name is a family name. Both my aunt and my great aunt (on my mother's side) have the middle name "Ann", and then after me, we have 2 more girls in the family with the same middle name.
My last name is full strength German. My father was born in Berlin. He and his family came to Washington state when my grandfather got a job as a Boeing engineer. The pronunciation of our last name varies based on where you are. In Germany, our name sounds very different (and not in a good way)! ha

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I'm not certain why my parents gave me the name Samantha, nor the middle name Cheryl. I have a Chinese name (which may not be entirely accurately written "Yip see yow" 葉拖拖), which gives a nuance of "to be in harmony" and "gentleness".  My last name was previously Diep and recently changed to Zhang within the past few years due to marriage. Zhang, which is composed of the symbols for 'bow' and 'long', means to 'stretch open a bow.

As a child, I've always been called either "Samantha" or "Sam".

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My maiden name 'Shea' was originally "O'Shea" when my great-grandfather came to the U.S. from Ireland. His family, like many others at that time, dropped the "O", probably in an effort to sound less Irish. We passed the name on to our daughter as her middle name. It was fun to visit the area in Ireland several years ago where my family was from and see lots of signs with "O'Shea"!

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My first and middle names come from my maternal and paternal great grandmothers. I was actually very fortunate enough to have a relationship with my maternal great grandmother (Daphne) before her passing at the end of 2019 so having her name is very special to me. Some people call my Daph or Daphers or even phne (my step dad thinks he's hilarious on that last one)
My last name is my spouse's and it's Romanian (Most people guess french!). My unmarried last name is Novak which is a very common czech last name.

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I was named Andrea because my parents liked the name and had never met an Andrea they'd ever disliked. I believe it means "womanly" in latin.

My Dad is a talented pianist and classical music aficionado hence my middle name--Amadea the feminine version of Amadeus. I believe it means loved by god but I prefer to think of it as loved by the goddess :P.

My last name Von Der Schmidt is German in origin--the story behind the name has been lost to time. My grandpa grew up on a farm in Kansas and his family had been there for at least 3 generations! They didn't spell it in three words back then, but my Dad took a German course in college and was taught that traditionally it would be spelled in three words. It's a title-- "Of the Smith" family. Personally I'd write it all in one word if it wasn't that way on my birth certificate!

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Rose is my middle name after my mother’s grandma. I have three older brothers, all of which were named by my dad as my mom only ever had a girl name picked out “since she was young”. So, when I came around (the 4th child), she could finally use it!

I hated it as a kid because substitute teachers would mistake it for “Kyle”, but now I love my name.

Osowski is polish, but I'll be taking Cole in July :)

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My parents named me Breanna Elizabeth because they liked it. I don’t have any relatives that go by either of those names… I think my parents just tossed ideas around until they came up with a name that fit. They thought about naming me Lindsey, but thought Lindsey Lindahl was too much. My last name is Swedish.

My family always call me Breanna. Many of my friends call me Bre. I like going by either name (just as long as it’s not pronounced bre-awn-na.)

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I was named Katherine after my grandmother on my dad's side and great grandmother on my mom's side (She went by Katie). My mom insisted that I always be called Katherine. When I was born and friend of the family from Texas exclaimed "Katie Jo" my mom said no way. Every year at the start of school I had to remind teachers that I was Katherine and not Kathy. In Kindergarten, I was mad that my name was so long to spell that I simply wrote "K" on all my papers. As I got older I have always had a close friend or more that has gone by Kathy so I was always the Katherine in the group. Lately, when making reservations or putting my name in somewhere I will use Kate (easier to hear in a crowd). My mom's parents nana and poppa called me their Bonnie Kate (yes there was a bit of Scottish in there).

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I was named Erwin because it was a male name that started with "Er." My older brother is named Eric and my Dad is Ernesto. It is of German origin, I believe, meaning friend?

My middle name is Legaspi, which is my Mom's maiden name. It is typical in Filipino culture to take on your mother's maiden name as your middle name. Legaspi is a prominent colonial Spanish name in the Philippines. The name is from the Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi.

My last name is Sarinas, which is a variation of the colonial Spanish name Salinas. It is my Dad's surname. The Sarinas name actually has ties to Greece!

At work, I go by Mr. Erwin.

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I believe that Hannah means “grace.”  My Mom wanted to name me Teal or Laura, but my Dad couldn’t agree on any of the names she proposed.  I don’t remember who thought of naming me Hannah but this was the only name that both of my parents could agree on.  I believe the origins of the name Hannah are Scottish or English.  I like that my name is spelled in the way that it is, making it a palindrome.

I have a few nicknames given to me by friends and family including Han or Hans.

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My father was raised Catholic, and before I was born, become very involved in the church. My mother was raised Baptist--but converted to Catholicism. In her conversation process (you have to take classes!), she connected with Mother Mary, and had a dream about her before I was born.

My family also loved musicals. The song "Maria", in West Side Story, completely captivated their attention. As a little girl, my parents and parents' friends would sing that song to me, much to my simultaneous delight and chagrin. "Maria" tells the story of my parent's history, the Catholic church, and the Western (mis)interpretation of Latin culture (yep, double entendre).

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My family collaborated on my first name. They wanted to name me after a certain ancestor, but ultimately decided that her name sounded "too Jewish". This was before my parents knew that we would move to the U.S. and there was a lot of antisemitism in our country at the time. So, they used the first letter of her name and gave me the most Russian sounding name they could think of! :)

Russian first names have a "diminutive" version, which is kind of like a nickname - mine is Raya. My parents told me that "Raisa" means "rose", but I'm not sure if they made that up just to give me an answer!

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I was named after my paternal grandmother and after the Virgin Mary. My middle name, Veronica, was chosen by my mom as she admired the bravery of Veronica, the woman who wiped Jesus' face with her veil. My family called me Mary Veronica, Mary V, and Mary Harmonica when I was younger but now they just call me plain old Mary. My cousins continue to call me Mary Veronica. You may have guessed that I was raised Catholic!

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My full name is Morgan Elizabeth Simkins. My parents wanted to name me Alex if I were a boy and Morgan if I were a girl. My dad didn't like the name Morgan, but my mom won that argument! They picked the names out of a baby name book. They did the same thing for my sister as well! Most of my family calls me Mo. It is rare that they call me Morgan. One nickname I do not like being called is Morg...

I had a roommate in college who would make up nicknames for people. When she was bored, she would make random ones to call me during that week. She started calling me Maggie Moo Cow because I was the only person she knew who still drank glasses of milk. That nickname has now shortened to just Maggie. So now, when I hear the name Maggie anywhere, I turn and answer to it...

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My mom was between Avery or Audrey and went with Avery. It means queen of the elves which works since on a good day I am 5 foot negative three.

My sister and I took a part of my mom's name for our middle name. My sister took my mom's first name and I took my mom's middle name which was Marie.

My last name is German and I don't know enough about it but it is always fun when people say it for the first time. Thank the lord I didn't take my dad's last name because it is Meaney (lol) Full blown Irish.

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My main nickname growing up was Nikki (other common nicknames were Nikk and Sgrigs). It was only when I started my SLP journey that I started going by Nicole more in workplace settings. (Also, when working with preschoolers, Ms. Cole is a lot cuter than Ms. Icky :) ).

My last name comes from my father, Joe. He grew up in a rural village in the region of Frosinone Italy. He didn't come to the United States until he was 17. Despite being an extremely intelligent man who likely would have gone on to be a doctor in Italy, he was often treated as less intelligent due to his accent. Because of this, he didn't speak to me or my sister in Italian as we were growing up, making it very hard to communicate with our grandparents.

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My parents saw a TV listing for the movie Annie and thought it'd be a cute name for a kid. When I was born, my parents were new immigrants and did not know what the middle name box meant when they were filling out the forms, so they left it blank. I think I read somewhere that Li/Lee is actually the most common last name in the world, but I don't see it spelled my way that often. Up until this year, I have been Annie Li. I also have a Chinese name (Qianyun) that, loosely translated, means beautiful rhyme. Coincidentally, my English name also rhymed.

I got married this year, and while I wanted to take my husband's name, I also didn't want to lose the name my parents gave me. Therefore, I decided to retain my maiden name as my middle name (so that I could finally have one!) I have no idea where Keyes came from, but I do enjoy being able to make multiple puns about my new name. =) At school, I have multiple names- Ms. Annie, Ms/Mrs. Keyes, Ms. Li; I don't really care, I just respond to them all.

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Hiu Tung Gloria is my full first name and Lam is my last name. My Chinese name is pronounced in Cantonese.

My first name was chosen from a list of names given by a fortune teller. I was told by my Dad that my overall name means someone who is smart and happy. My Chinese first name is super common in Hong Kong. I have at least two mutual friends who has the same Chinese name as me.

My last name means "blue" in Chinese. It is a very rare last name and not many people has it. The only people I know that has this last name are celebrities. As this last name is so rare, our family and extended family are very close to one another. Each of the Lam family have a genealogy book collection at home and my name is also recorded in there. It is supposed to be updated once every few years so we can remember the Lam's history. When I was younger, my Dad brought me to visit the Lam's village. He told me he used to live there and everyone there owns the entire village. Everyone who lives in the village also has the same last name, Lam.

Also, my last name is spelled LAM in English and 藍 in Chinese character. Many people often assume that my last name is 林, which is also commonly spelled as LAM in English.

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Mileah is traditionally spelled Malia, which is the Hawaiian version of "Mary" or Melia, which is the Hawaiian word for a Plumeria. Mary comes from the root word "myrrh" which is a very fragrant spice. My mom loved the way the name sounded, and that it was unique, especially with my last name being so common. My parents changed the spelling to "Mileah," because my mom thought people seeing "Leah" would help them say my name. She asked her high school students, which spelling they thought was best and they said "MIleah." This spelling has definitely NOT helped others say my name, and I'm often called "My-Lay-uh" or many other variations. People often do not spell my name correctly, so I get many humorous spellings at coffee shops, etc. When working at Costco, I had to wear a name badge, and there were many interesting conversations with others about my name.

Kathryn is my Grandmother's middle name and my aunt's first name. I plan to pass this name down, too.

Smith is a VERY common last name, and it is very hard to trace back my ancestry with such a generic name. While I am typically one of the only Mileahs most places I go, I am one of many Smiths. At my current school, I am one of 4 other Smiths.

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My aunt gave me my first name. My first name was created by combining my dad's name (Deon) and my mom's name (Erika) to make Deonka.

My former last name, up until the age of 4, was James. My last name was changed to Ceaser due to my father's unexpected death after I turned 3. My mom decided to change my last name to honor him.

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I am not sure where my name came from. I know that when I was growing up the name of Heidi was usually given to German Shepherds and Poodles !
Some people know the book and movie titled "Heidi". Those people always would ask me why my hair was not in braids and wrapped up onto the top of my head.
My maiden and now present name of Olson is Norwegian.

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I was named after my great grandmother Caroline Lynn. I never had the opportunity to meet her since she passed before I was born  but I was told she was an eccentric, head-strong woman. When she was a teenager she decided that she wanted to be called "Carye" and chose the unique spelling for herself. When I was born, my parents legally named me Caroline but called me Carye from day one.

Lynn is an Irish name that I believe came from "Flynn" at one point in history.

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I come from a very large family. My mom is one of 7, and my dad was one of 11. On my dad's side of the family there are lots of repeat names and birthdays. When my parents got married, they were talking to my dad's brother and his wife about having children. My Aunt Lisa told my parents that "before she left this world, she was going to have a daughter named Emily." When it came time to name me, apparently my dad thought Emily was the name I should have. Luckily they made my Aunt Lisa and Uncle Mark my godparents, so I guess you could argue they have a pseudo-daughter named Emily : )

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Skye is an island off the western coast of Scotland. My parents' close friends had recently visited there, so when my older cousin suggested the name, my mom and dad thought is was perfect. I was able to go to my namesake island for almost a week while studying abroad in 2012.

Ann is my mother's middle name.

Olson means "son of Ollie". It comes from my great grandparents (my great grandfather was Norwegian and my great grandmother was Swedish).

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I was named Kaleigh after one of my dad's high school girlfriends. Weird I know, but he always loved the name. My mom came up with the spelling of it. My nickname as a kid was kitty cat, which is ironic because both my dad and I are VERY allergic to cats. My maiden name is Livingston. It originates in Scotland. I took on my husbands last name when we married. Phyall can be traced back to Britain and Ireland.

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I was named Kaleigh after one of my dad's high school girlfriends. Weird I know, but he always loved the name. My mom came up with the spelling of it. My nickname as a kid was kitty cat, which is ironic because both my dad and I are VERY allergic to cats. My maiden name is Livingston. It originates in Scotland. I took on my husbands last name when we married. Phyall can be traced back to Britain and Ireland.

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I was named after my father, his father (Stephan & Stephen), and my maternal Grandmother (Hilda Marie). My mom wanted to name me Mahogany, but my dad wasn't having it. My nickname as a kid was Bird, because I was (and still am) a singer. I prefer to be called Steph or Stephanie. There are a few close family members who get away with calling me Stephie.

Stephanie is the feminine form of Stephen and comes from the Greek word "Stephanos" which means "crown/or crowned."

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I love my first name! I was not named after the Ruperto-Carola asteroid, although that would have been interesting. Definitely not named after the car...don't even think it. My mom's name is Carola. When my twin brother and I were born, we were named for our parents - Karl and Carola.

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Well, when I was a teenager, I looked up the name "Leslie", and it said it meant "From the Gray Fort"!  I HATED that!  I wanted something more graceful or exotic.  I kept dreaming of different names I might change to instead. However, it turns out that it doesn't mean that--it's Gaelic or something similar for "Holly Garden", which is a bit of an improvement.  I was named (sorta) after my grandmother, who was called "Miss Lessie". My last name, Dickenson, is English.  Son of Dicken!
So I married Dave Irizarry, which I like better. That is a Basque name. The Basques were one of the original Europeans--they were in existence significantly before the French, Italians, Germans, etc.

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I was supposed to be named "Jenice," but when I was born, my mom said I didn't look like a "Jenice" so I became a Lisa. Four siblings and twelve years later (I'm one of 6) my baby sister Jenice was born.  :) Ironically, Apple photos confuses Jenice and I all the time, and we look the most alike of all the siblings (once adjusted for age, heheh)! To this day, I tease Jenice and tell her she got my "second-hand" name!

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When my mom was pregnant with me, she was convinced I was a boy (no ultra-sound back then). She also was pretty drugged when she gave birth to me. So, when the nurse told her I was a girl and asked what name she wanted, all she could say was "Jimmy." Luckily, the nurse changed Jimmy to Ginny and wrote "Virginia" on my birth certificate. That's how I was named Ginny.

Interestingly, my brother Jim came along less than a year later. And my grandmother from Sweden never could get our names right. So, I was always "Yimmy" growing up, and my brother was always "Yinny." We didn't mind though since she butchered everyone else's names as well!

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My name was given to me by my Mother. She had a fancy blue hat that she wore and the name Valerie was on the label in the hat band. So she name me Valerie after the hat. The name means strong.

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I was named Vincent after my father and grandfather, but that was not my mother's plan.  I was supposed to be Michael Vincent Bence, but my Dad somehow forgot when he filled out my birth certificate.  Nevertheless, my mother still called me Michael and that is my name.

I went by Mikey as a kid, and still go by Uncle Mikey by my nieces and nephews.  At work I go my Mr. Michael with children and some parents.

I grew up Michael Bence, then became Self-Bence when I married Stephanie Self and we took each other's names.

Self is an ancient Anglo-Saxon name derived from Sea Wolf.  Bence is also an Anglo-Saxon name meaning "blessed," however, I got it from the Slovenian side of my family, although Bence is not a typical slavic name (e.g., my grandmother's maiden name was Travnik). I'm not sure how the name Bence got connected with Slovenia.

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