Okay, so I get it. Everyone wants to feel his or her name is special. My daughter, the GAP, hated hearing “Jennifer” at school. Fifteen girls out of eighteen answered, “Huh?”
Now the more unique, the more desirable. I have a cousin named Nivla. It’s her dad’s name spelled backwards. Another friend wandered into her kitchen during one of her cravings and came out with Saffrone for a girl and Cayenne for a boy. I wasn’t that creative. The nurse had pressured me. I couldn’t think straight, let alone name child No. 4. Rather than leave the hospital with an infant called Male, when I signed the birth certificate I switched the order of my older son’s first and middle names.
When I had asked my four-year-old granddaughter what her mom was going to name her new brother or sister before the birth, she said, “Spike for a boy, and Sparkles for a girl.” I made the mistake of laughing. “Grandma,” she said indignantly, “those are two really good names.”
And while they might have been, my daughter, #15-out-of-eighteen-Jennifers, named her cute new son Maddoc. “He could be a character in a Dr. Seuss book,” commented my friend, Sue Trueblue, who always says it like it is. Then she took the sound and ran with it. Boom, boom, boom, Maddoc is dramatic…Boom, boom, boom, Maddoc’s in the attic…
Most of the words that rhymed with my cute grandson’s name were personality disorders that run in our family — asthmatic, erratic, fanatic, traumatic.
When I told another friend about baby Maddoc, she asked, “Depressive?” And no, not one of my immediate family has been diagnosed bi-polar. Not yet anyway…
No one knows better than I do about teasing. “Gotta quarter, Penny?” I actually dated a guy whose last name was Nichols. You can bet his 5¢ wasn’t worth a cent in my pocket.
I googled Maddoc. It said suitable name for baby boys and power tools. Son of a benefactor, or “a fortunate person”. Also means “Child of Lord” in English.
Grandson No. 1 got off a little easier. If his parents had followed through with their original choice — Logan Jackson, we could have called him LoJac. But they didn’t. Doesn’t really matter. I call him Bug.
Today Maddoc was given a name and a blessing in the church. I couldn’t have been more proud. I’ll still call him Mouse. Or maybe Spike.
P.S. I love you, Maddoc — sewn into every stitch.
Related posts:
- Let me introduce you to my family
- Letting go, almost
- The secret of coping with bad days
- How NOT to parent
- List for the doctor
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Penny (or 1% of a dollar or 1/5th of Nicolas or 2 of you for your thoughts or whatever) you ought to read HB's blog on his name. I'll send you his site (if I can find it) on regular email.
Funny! Funny! Funny! And, I love the fact that it was so rich with meaning. I did not know Maddoc meant Child of Lord. They are our children and we get to name them. My father's name was Ellsworth Hunter DeWeese. Most of his life he was called "Pete". I wonder why? ha ha When I had my second son, I named him after both of his grandfathers. I named him Peter Thomas. Which by the way both Peter and I love. So, after the boys were born my father asked me why I did not name any of my sons after him, (which was silly, because after all Peter was his namesake) I just turned to him and said you had three boys and I did not see you name any of them Ellsworth. You had your chance. ha ha We both laughed. It was a moment.
The reason so many answered to "Jennifer" is because it's a great name.
Sweet little blessing outfit, Penny.
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