A Name is a Name is a Name

One of the things I have struggled with was why in the hell did my family only use about 10 different names for generation after generation after generation.  Were we really that unoriginal?  It's really difficult to keep my people straight in my head.  So I did a little research on surnames and naming patterns. I am not talking about surnames -- the last name that identifies us to a family group, but our first names or given names, the names given to us at birth.  I can understand a little now of how the names came into my immediate family.

My brother is Donald Duane Drake Jr.  My dad's name, of course, was Donald Duane Drake -- and everybody in the family, but my mother called him Duane.  My dad's dad's name was Donald Dee Drake.  My brother being named after my Dad and hence his dad -- the Donald was already taken when the second male grandchild came around.  He was named Dee or our grandfather's middle name.

My name is Martha Ellen.  My mom's mom was Illda Martha, her mom Minnie Martha and HER Mom was Martha.  But also, my dad's sister was Martha Jane and he loved her more than anyone on the planet.  I'm pretty sure I was named Martha to honor her and it was just luck that Martha was also my mom's mom's middle name.  I still don't know about the Ellen part of my name.  My dad's step mother's name was Ellen and I don't think he cared much for her at all.  Maybe Ellen just sounded good with Martha.

Anyways -- I've done a little research on naming practices and I came across "The Old Jones Naming Pattern."  According to Charlotte West Dade on her blog here:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/31-X-60-James-Thompson-Duck-Canvas-Cloth-Fabric-BROWN-NUTMEG-100-Cotton-/171020477861?pt=US_Fabric&hash=item27d19d65a5 The Old Jones Naming Pattern is also referred to as an American Naming Pattern.  It goes as follows:

THE BOYS:

The first son is named after the father's father

The second son is named after the mother's father.

The third son is named after the father himself.

The fourth through to the last son is named after a favorite brother or a friend (usually of the father). 

THE GIRLS:

The first daughter is named after the mother's mother.

The second daughter is named after the father's mother.

The third daughter is named after the mother herself.

The fourth through the last daughter is named after a favorite sister or friend (usually of the mother's).

And my own children?  My husband came home from the service and said that he loved the name Jessica and that he would name his first Jessica.  After making sure there were no ex-girlfriends named Jessica I agreed, even though I wanted a Maggie or a Courtney.  Jessica Margaret just never sounded right, but the more I said Jessica Courtney the more I liked it.  Nicole was named after my best friend.  Nicki is a cute name but I thought about "Nicki" for a 70 year old dowager and went with Nicole instead.  Lea (pronounced Lee-ah) fit well with it and while she's never been Nicki in this house, she has been NicoLea and Cole.  And sometimes Colby.  One time a boy soccer player asked me why I named my daughter after cheese.  John Jacob?  John for his dad and granddad (the bastard).  Jacob was a friend of the family.  My younger brother married his daughter.  Jacob was a good man to my family after my mom died.  We did it to honor him.  Before we settled on Jacob I double checked with Mike Drake if he wanted to use Jacob as a name if he ever had a son.  Apparently Jake Drake was never an option.