What's in a Name?

For some reason my daughter and her friends decided recently that they would all begin calling each other by their middle names, or some variation thereof.  I am particularly fond of my daughter's name, as she is the namesake of my mother and maternal grandmother.  There was a tremendous amount of thought and research that went into naming her.  If you have ever had the daunting task of naming a child, you know that of which I speak.  We did not tell anyone what her name was going to be until she was actually born, even though we had decided months before the joyous day.  Mainly because I wanted it to be a special moment and an opportunity to pay homage to the woman that supplied me with my own name and helped shape me into who I am today.  But partly because I was nervous... what if we looked at her and she just didn't seem like a Madalyn?  What if it just didn't fit?  How you could tell what fits by looking at a red, squirmy, toothless bundle I have no idea.  But you're just supposed to know.

But does your name have a part  in shaping who you are as a person?  Would you turn out slightly different if your name were Barbara instead of Louise?  What if I screwed my kid up because I named her something that didn't fit her destiny?! Oh, so much pressure!!  What if her sixth grade teacher had a problem with a Maddie in her past and so therefore places some personal stigma on all Maddies in the future?  And what if, in the influential age of sixth grade, that causes My Maddie to have self esteem issues, or some other kind of problem?  Oh, geeze... now I've really done it...  That wouldn't have happened if her name was Elizabeth!

Then there is the issue of a name's ease of use as an adult.  It's all fun and games for a Maddie when she's 10, but what about when she's 25 and coming out of college (looking for a job while she works on a masters degree).  What kind of feelings would a future employer have about hiring an attorney named Madalyn with a "y".  Is it professional enough?  Maddie told me, during this foray into middle name usage with her friends, that she thought that in her professional life she might consider using her middle name and going by M. Cécile.  Now that sounds hoity toity to even me, her mother!

The other issue I have with names is that no one around our house gets called their actual given name.  Even the dog gets called a million different names.  I doubt that he'll ever actually learn what his name really is now.  Maddie gets call Mac, Tater, Boo Boo, Stinky Pants, Stink, Tater Biscuit Lollipop, Macaroni... the list goes on forever.  My husband calls me Lady Friend.  I won't get into what he gets called.  But why do we give nicknames to people? Sometimes they fit, but sometimes there is such a complicated back story that you never really know why you call that guy over there "Slim".  (Which fit in that particular case, by the way)

I know a lot of people out here who are pregnant or recently had a child and I would be interested to hear the names you've picked and why.  And then what you actually end up calling them after they've been here for a while...

Just as a side note for my own entertainment... in my line of work, I spend a LOT of time on the phone with insurance companies.  This involves a lot of required documentation for parties on both ends of the phone call.  When a rep asks my name for documentation purposes and they seem rude or short with me (or it's Friday and I'm in a good mood) I tell them that my name is Juliejuliefofuliefeefifofulie.  And then I spell it for them. :)