Saturday, March 10, 2012

Middle Name Pride Day

When we were little, you always knew if you were in real trouble if your parents (typically your mom) called you by your full name. That is when you hung your head low, trying to look apologetic and wishing you weren't caught for whatever fun, naughty thing you did, all the while trying not to smile as you remember how fun it was at the time and dreading whatever punishment was to come your way. If you have siblings (like I have my sister) and passed them on the way to your imminent doom, there was silent communication between the two of you, with  the one not in trouble saying stay strong, and don't you DARE rat me out! 
Middle names are also something to be proud of, they are as unique as you are. Many people know several John Smiths or Mary Jones, but how many of them have the same middle name. Your middle name is often selected to honor a friend or relative, typically with certain characteristics that your parents found admirable and want you to inherit. 
My middle name is one for the record books. My real name is Sonja Andrea Bauer. My first name was either going to be Sonja (which my dad wanted) or Sara Lee (which my mom wanted). They played one hand of poker and the winner got their choice of name, obviously my dad won and my mom insisted on the spelling to be with a 'j' instead of 'i' or 'y' which is more common. My middle name is Andrea after (I believe) my mother's uncle or grandpa (someone on her side of the family tree at least) who was named Andreas, so they just modified the name to make it a girls name by chopping off the 's'. 
Normally, people only have one middle name, with the rare exception of two middle names. This is not the case for me. While Sonja Andrea Bauer is my legal name, my sister would always yell at me for doing something when I was younger (sometimes still today) and use my full name. She would often yell this and it got rather boring, so one day she decided to add more names and finally came up with 'Sonja Elizabeth Victoria Sophia Maria Andrea Curtina Bauer'. So, whenever I'm in trouble with my sister or if she just really wants to get my attention, she will yell me full name and my family and I get a real laugh out of it. 
I hope you are proud of your middle name and hope it is after someone that your parents loved and found  admirable.

No comments:

Post a Comment