No great mystery as to how I got my first name: I’m named after my father. For some people, it’s not quite so straightforward. I recently asked readers to share the stories of how they came to be called what they are.
“Around the time I graduated high school, I was going through old photos with my grandmother and found one of mom with two ducks,” Jeffery wrote. “Grandma exclaimed, ‘Oh yes, there’s your mom with her pet ducks, Jeff and Oscar.’”
The mystery was solved. Jeff was named after his mother’s pet duck. A final twist: The family ate Jeff and Oscar because the birds were, in the words of Jeff’s grandmother, “mean sons-of-guns.”
Fabia Harris Mahoney was born in Liverpool, England, shortly after the end of World War II.
Wrote Fabia, of Bethesda: “My mother told me she was supposed to name me Frances after one of our deceased relatives, but didn't want to because in England at the time, a girl named Frances was called Fanny, which she didn't like.”
Fanny is a rather rude word over there.
Instead, Fabia’s mother — an amateur thespian during the war — decided to name her after a British actress named Fabia Drake.
“When Ms. Drake acted in the British TV miniseries ‘The Jewel in the Crown’ in the 1980s, I would tune in at the end just to see my name roll by in the credits,” Fabia wrote. “So far, I have come across only one other Fabia. And, please, my name is pronounced FAY-bia, not FAH-bia.”
Dennis Van Derlaske of Woodbridge was born in 1948. His father’s family thrived on nicknames. His mother’s not so much. She detested nicknames, thinking they were demeaning.
“So she named me Dennis, thinking that there was no nickname for that,” he wrote.
In 1951, Hank Ketchum’s “Dennis the Menace” comic strip debuted.
Wrote Dennis: “Guess what I was called all throughout the 1950s?”
Carol Marino of Alexandria was born in the month of December. Her mother didn’t have a name picked out but knew she wanted one that couldn’t be shortened or be turned into a nickname.
“As she was mulling over names, she heard Christmas carols being sung in the hospital hallway and thought ‘Carol’ would be perfect,” wrote Carol. “I, of course, would have preferred a name that could be shortened, like ‘Elizabeth’ to ‘Liz’!”
When Richard Spachtholz of Springfield was born — in January of 1947 — there was a song near the top of the charts called “Open the Door Richard.” Wrote Richard: “There were five boys on my block born that year named Richard.”
Another song, another name: Linda Icenhour of Williamsburg, Va., is one of the many girls whose name was inspired by the song “Linda,” released in 1946 by Ray Noble and Buddy Clark.
“The song made the top of the Billboard charts for nine weeks in 1947, the year I was born,” wrote Linda.
Linda became the top girls’ name in the United States from 1947 to 1952.
Wrote Linda: “The song was actually written in 1942 for a little girl named Linda Eastman, who grew up to marry Paul McCartney. I usually had at least one or more Lindas in just about every class in school while growing up.”
Patti Kavanaugh is at pains to point out that her first name is Patti, not Patricia, and that she’s not named after pop and country songstress Patti Page.
“I was named after the opera singer Adelina Patti,” wrote Patti, of Arlington. “I have constantly had to correct people that, yes, it’s just Patti, not Patricia, not Patrice, not spelled with a ‘y,’ not a nickname: It’s just Patti.”
When Barbara Zigli was young, she never bothered to ask her parents why they named her Barbara. Much later, she learned that Saint Barbara is the patron saint of miners.
“My mother’s father was a coal miner, so I asked her if that was why they named me Barbara,” wrote Barbara, of Arlington.
There was a long pause, then Barbara’s mother said, “Uh, yeah, that’s it.”
Barbara was immediately suspicious. “No, really, mom,” she demanded. “Why did you name me Barbara?”
“Promise me you won’t get mad,” Barbara’s mother said. “You’re named after Miss Barbara on [the TV show] ‘Romper Room.’”
Helping Hand
Today is a good day to donate to The Washington Post Helping Hand, before you get tied up with this week’s holiday activities. To learn more about our three Helping Hand partners — Miriam’s Kitchen, Friendship Place and Bread for the City — visit posthelpinghand.com.
