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I am the oldest sibling and my mom was very young when she had me. My grandparents wanted me to have a name from the Bible and my mom chose Naomi because she "didn't want Ruth or Mary." I used to make up a more meaningful story behind my name, but it makes me laugh and is a window into my mom's personality! She chose Justice as my middle name because Poetic Justice is her favorite movie. Was anyone else raised on 2Pac?

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My parents were products of the 60s. As it is told to me, my mother liked my name because, at the time, it was different. This, I suppose, a systemic "symptom" of wanting to be counter-culture. Little did she know that my name would be the least interesting and/or unique aspect of me. While I don't always find my name on a key chain, I have found plenty of other people with this name. We often find that our name is shared with many, but there is only one story that is us.

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My parents didn't find out the gender ahead of time, so they thought of names that would be easy to transition from boy to girl. So they had Samuel or Samantha picked out for me until I was born. My middle name is Jo named after my Great Grandpa on my Mom's side. I don't think they had a reason for Samantha, other than they just liked it! My maiden name is Harris, but got married in 2022 and now my last name is Wingstedt. I feel like I am still getting use to the change even 3 years later! I do love my name, even though it is long to sign :)

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My parents had a hard time deciding on a name for me. Right around the time I was born they were watching their favorite movie, The Long Kiss Goodnight. There is a character named Caitlin Caine in the movie, and when my mom heard Caitlin, she just knew it would be my name, so that is where Kaitlin comes from, or so the story goes! Jean was my paternal grandmother's middle name. Fun fact, my sister Elizabeth was named after our grandma in 2006. We each share a part of her name! I love my name, especially my last name, it is fun to see all the creative ways people use it when they hear it. (Old MacDonald had a farm, are you related to Ronald McDonald, etc.) well you get the picture! :)

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As the third girl in my family, my name was following a trend of traditional names as well as names that were other women in our family. My sisters names are Margaret and Sophia, named after some of our great aunts (although maybe a coincidence!) My middle name, Lauren, was a name my parents liked. However, my grandpa only called me "Emma Jean" because that's what he thought my name was until the day he died! So now my parents always say they wished they had named me that. I do like my name, short and sweet.

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My parents chose my name mainly because they liked it and it wasn't very popular at the time. It turns out, a lot of people had the same thinking at the time and I ended up graduating with 4 other Austins. There isn't anything very significant or cultural connection for my family, it was just a name my parents liked. I like my name as it is somewhat unique but am not someone that has thought too much about it.

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I am a product of the 80s where the popular name was some version of Katie! My mom wanted me to stand out however, and so she added a "Jo" in honor of of her best friend, Mary Jo. I now have two first names, no middle name, and a hyphenated last name that very few people can pronounce. Names shouldn't be this complicated, right?

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My first name was supposed to originally be Danielle after my mom’s favorite book author, Danielle Steel. However, after my dad pointed out my nickname could become Dan or Dani, my mom was not fond of that possibility so my name became Ashley simply because they liked the way it sounded. Since they both still liked the name Danielle, it became my middle name. My maiden last name is Flaschenriem and comes from the German heritage of my family. My family and I always get a good chuckle out of the German translation of our last name which is “rim of a bottle.” Before I got married, I had a difficult time with the thought of getting rid of my maiden name. This was because I grew up being an athlete throughout my childhood, high school, and collegiate career in which my nickname was “Flasch”. This was also the nickname my dad and two older brothers had growing up so it became a pretty big part of my identity. In fact, when I first started my teaching career, my students called me “Ms. Flasch” because my whole last name was difficult to pronounce for kindergarteners and first graders. With having this strong connection to my maiden name, but also wanting to take my husband’s name to become a part of his family, I decided to just make my name even longer! Although my husband likes to give me a hard time whenever I have to sign legal documents, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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My parents chose my name very last minute, as I was born almost six weeks early. My parents always knew they wanted my middle name to be Elizabeth, but didn't decide on Emily as my first name until I was born. My name doesn't have any special significance, my parents just liked the name. My dad had considered naming me Caroline so my initials would be CEO. However, I'm happy he chose Emily since I like my name!

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My parents chose my first name Allison because they wanted me to have a traditional name and my mom simply liked the name! The same goes for my middle name Nicole. I went by Allison up until I started middle school where I started to go by Alli instead because I feel like Alli suits me better! I am wondering if I will go by Allison when I'm older though:) Overall, I really like my name and love all the nicknames that come with it (Al, Allicat, Alligator, Al Pal, etc.)

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My name has a connection to both my grandfathers who were both named "Otto". My parents gave me my first name and then added my middle name ,Otto, to honor both their fathers. I never knew my Grandpa Jensen as he died in 1934. My Grandpa Bredvold was the best...huge baseball fan, kind, generous. He lived to the age of 91. I am proud of my name and sometimes wish my first name was "Otto".