Larry, Darryl and Darryl...

I watched this show when I was a kid called "Newhart" starring Bob Newhart. He owned a hotel and there was a trio of brothers who were in every episode. Only one brother ever spoke and he always said the same thing- "Hello, my name is Larry. This is my brother Darryl and my other brother, Darryl."

I always found that amusing...

Just like I remember them.

Until I got married. See what had happened was, I married a man who had the same name as one of my brothers. I also happened to have a very similar name to his mother, but we have common names so I guess I can't complain. However, I still plan to. Anecdote inserted here: my brother who has the same name as my husband went on one date with a girl whose name is the same as mine. He said she was nice enough, but he just couldn't be responsible for adding another couple with the same name to the family. Technically, they would be Pricketts and we would be Davidsons, but would we want to have to make those distinctions at family gatherings? Or be referred to as senior and junior or first and second. My mother already struggles with which man we are speaking of when using the common name of my husband and brother. She's really the only one who can't manage, but throw two of my name in the mix and she'd go into a tailspin from which she'd never recover. 

However, just to make things simple for myself, I started calling my brother by his first and middle name once Mr. D and I were married because there are certain situations where one needs to be able to call to ones husband from another room and have ones husband respond and not ones brother. For example, if one has found oneself in the "meditation chamber" sans toilet paper because the last time one looked there was plenty, but there are two very young little girls in the home who are still learning moderation in their toilet paper usage.

Whew! Tangent. Back to the point.

One more minute. I referred to my brother by his full name for ten years until one day we got into a discussion that led to a warm argument. At one point I used his name and he snapped that he hated that I called him by his full name and why did I start doing that? I was kind of stunned for a minute. I guess it didn't occur to him that the change started when I got married and it didn't occur to me to tell him why I started using it. So now I use his initials. It's worked out for our nieces and nephews, who have two uncles with the same name.

I never really liked my given name so my pen name suits me just fine. In fact, I prefer it. I have no problem answering to my given name if that is how one knew me originally, but the fewer people who know my legal name, the better. I wouldn't be sad if it was lost to the sands of time, but I digress.

Since Mr. D and I were, er, bestowed with common names, I was desirous to give my own children monikers with more distinction. Nothing crazy or impossible to spell (I thought) but something that would keep them from ending up being one of several in their class. They already had Davidson working against them (sorry babe, it's true) they needed something to help distinguish them from every one else. 

Oh boy.

When we named Eenie, I didn't realize there were so many different ways people could imagine her name was spelled. I thought I chose a simple direct spelling. It is almost never anyone's first choice. Or even third. Also, her name tends to sound like initials which leads to various and sundry letter combinations beginning with her first Thanksgiving when my cousin asked if she could hold "PJ". Well, shoot. It was too late to change her name by then. 

Then there was the time when my brood of two and I went to a McRestaurant where I let Eenie and Meenie play for a spell. When it was time to go, Meenie was at my side cheeking a bite of McBurger she'd been chewing for almost fifteen minutes, but still refused to swallow, when I called across the McPlayground, "Eenie! Come hither!"

I heard her sweet little voice echo from inside the McTube that she was on her way when this woman behind me asked if I'd just called for an Eenie. I told her I had just as Eenie popped out of the end of the tube. The woman looked relieved and mentioned she had a daughter named Eenie, too. She mentioned her Eenie's middle name was (insert middle name) and I was kinda irritated. Eenie's middle name is the same! Thankfully she has a different last name. For now.

I thought I was really mixing it up with Miney until we found another little girl with the same name living on our street.

Honestly, there aren't an abundance of people running around with the same names as my children. So it's not as bad, as say, having the same name as your brothers or sisters.

I promise I will never complain about names again.

Let me take you back about a hundred years to a place called Mexico. The population is mostly Catholic and it is tradition to name your children after Saints and family...but mostly saints. And the favorite Saints are Jesus and Mary (or Maria). My Gramma and I went to Humble to visit my cousin D for a couple of days at the beginning of this month. It was the first time in all my years I've really had the opportunity to talk to her (my Gramma).

My cousin is more Mexican than me. Her mother and father were both from Mexico. My grandfather was white so my mother is half white. My father is white so I am even more more diluted. My cousin is immersed in her Mexican side. She speaks fluent Spanish, listens to Spanish music and watches Telanovela. I have never been with my Gramma in this kind of an environment. She spoke Spanish almost exclusively herself and even though I don't speak much, I understood more and more of what they were saying. I loved every minute of it. 

Anyway, I managed to finally get my Gramma's mother's maiden name out of her, a task I have failed at for over ten years. It is crazy what one can find with accurate information. For example:

Gramma's mothers name was Maria... as was her sister's name. And her other sister's name, and her fourth sisters name.

All four sisters' first names were Maria. I kid you not. They did have different middle names. However, the brothers were a little more tricky. There were two Jesus and two Carlos. They also had clarifying middle names, but their last name was Gutierrez.

That's like the United Stated equivalent of Jones. Mary Jones and her sisters, Mary, Mary and Mary. And her brothers John and John and Carl and Carl.

I was recently working on my sister-in-laws family tree. Her family is just as name crazy as mine except their name of choice (one her paternal side) is Willie. Directly down her line is Willie, Willie, Carl, Willie and for variety, Willie. At one point, one of her ancestors, Willie, married a woman name...Willie. Do you know what her father's name was? Floyd.

Haha! 

Wait...Do you hear that? It's the bus I'm about to throw my sister-in-law under! It's not really her fault. We're all victims of what our parents named us. However, my sweet Doly, her mother loved her own name so much she gave it to all three of her daughters, in different variations. There's the root name and a unique ending; enette, eneth, and olynette. One of those endings belong to her mother. The third daughter was gifted with a mashup of her mother and fathers name. It's pretty creative.

They all have some version of Maria as their middle name. Maria, Marie...I feel like 90% of the female population sports Marie in some variation as their middle name. My mother in law does. Last night I was thinking about all the variations of Mary that I am currently aware of; Mary, Maria, Marie...Did you know Martha is also a variation of Mary/Maria? If I thought my name was common before, realizing my middle name is a variation of one of the most common names ever was a poke in the eye. 

Hello, I'm Mary, this is my great Grandmother Mary and my great Aunt Mary and my other great Aunt Mary and my other, other great Aunt Mary.