My sister and friends call me Becky, or Grover, or variations of the two.
But no one calls me Jessica. Because my name's not Jessica.
But it could have been.
Before I was born, my parents thought they were going to have a son. Not because they were told this by someone in the medical profession; just because that's what they thought. So they came up with a few boy names that they liked.
Then I came along - no Y chromosome in sight - and suddenly they had to think of girl names that they liked. This took a while.
Dad liked 'Michelle' but that got vetoed by Mum on account of it being the name of one of his ex girlfriends. Then Mum liked 'Jessica' but that was vetoed by Dad because of a television show. Yep.
Some Mothers Do Ave Em, which stopped airing a good ten years before I was born might I point out, had a character called Jessica. She was the daughter of Frank and Betty Spencer. As far as I'm aware, Jessica was a perfectly normal little girl and it was Frank with whom my dad took issue.
Frank, you see, was a walking disaster zone. He always managed to get himself into ridiculous situations and embarrass himself and his family. Everyone always ended up laughing at Frank, and I think this is why my dad didn't like the name Jessica. Because, according to his strange logic, people might remember this TV show and I may get teased (though this never happened to any of the Jessicas I went to school with.)
I don't really mind; I like the name I ended up with, but it's made me wonder whether anyone else has a similar story, and hence my question to you for today.
Question: Were you named after someone, or did your parents avoid certain names?
Also here's a clip if you've never been treated to the wonder that is Frank Spencer.
How funny that I landed on your blog today during the A to Z hop - my name IS Jessica, but I cannot tell you how many times people have mistaken me for a "Rebecca"! I don't know if it's the similar ending, or if I they just think I "look" like a "Rebecca". It's just uncanny how much it happens.
ReplyDeleteHad I been a boy, I would've been named Joe, after a great-grandfather I never knew. Still named for him, just as a girl. :)
Loved the story of your dad and his association with the TV character! Funny the way our minds work.
Jess / Blogging on the Brink
I've always loved the name Jessica. We had neighbors named Jennifer, Jeffery, and Jessica. We called them the J's. But I also love the name Rebecca :)
ReplyDeleteMy parents chose Megan because it was Irish and they didn't think it was popular at the time. But I was born in 1987 and turns out it was one of the most popular names that year. I had 12 Megan's in my class in high school.
I had three older sisters and an older brother. My mom let them name me so I'm glad it didn't turn out too bad. I remember my older brother wanted to name my little brother Johnnie Wagonwheels.
ReplyDeleteIf I'd been a boy, I was going to be named after my father who was named after my grandfather, so I would have been a Third. Which sounds very important. =)
ReplyDeleteGirls names in the running were Kelly, Olivia and Colleen. I'm pretty sure I'm Kelly just because that's what clicked the most with them when they saw me.
I'm not sure what other names they had lined but, but I got a name previously held by a dog. Said dog was dead by the time I came around, or maybe I would've have gotten it. But they had the dog and my dad liked the name so much, I got named it too.
ReplyDeleteI have seen a picture of the dog. She was cute.
funnily enough, my name is ALSO rebecca! but i wasnt going to be called rebecca. i was going to be called Sarah, but this was vetoed by my sister, who wanted to be called sarah herself!! she came up with the name rebecca herself as a replacement!! which... very imaginatively was her best friends name.
ReplyDeleteI was named after a grandmother and great aunt, but I never use the names. My parent's said when I was still very much an infant I'd lie around in my crib and go, "bishbishbishbishbish." They thought it was cute, they thought I'd outgrow it. But I never did. I've always gone by the name of Bish. So... I named myself.
ReplyDeleteMy parents wanted my middle name to Oliver, until they realized my intials would have been SOB.
ReplyDeleteMy parents also assumed I would be a boy. For some reason during the final month of her pregnancy, my mother suddenly said "What if it's a girl?". This was the 70s & my parents had been to the record store that day & a Ramones album was lying on the table and so my name is Ramona. I've always liked it & found that story kinda cool. I don't have a middle name though, because they couldn't agree on one!
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