Inspiration for names comes from many places: family history, celebrities, baby name books and more.
This week, we've collected stories about your names.
Here's a sample of what we heard
Nancy from Grand Rapids said, "I was without a name for quite a while after I was born. My dad even received a telegram that started, 'Hope Merry and Nameless are doing well.' They tried Cynthia and Elizabeth, but my brother was missing his two front teeth and could say neither. How Nancy ended up being the choice, I have no idea. I've always liked it, except in 8th grade when I tried spelling it more uniquely and my teachers didn't get it."
Sharon wrote, "Being the baby, my folks let my siblings name me. They chose to name me after Miss America, the year of my birth, Sharon Kay Ritchie. It's as good as any name, I guess, though I get Shannon a lot."
Siri from Bigfork chimed in, "My parents wanted another 'S' name, and my sister Senya wanted to named me 'Snuffleupagus.' That didn't fly as they went with another Norwegian name instead. I have always liked my name. Now if I only had a nickel for every time some stranger's phone goes off (when someone says) 'Hey Siri!"...I keep waiting for my check from Apple."
We heard from Jan in Minneapolis. She said, "My name is a combination of the names of my maternal grandparents: James and Ann=Jan."
Dion from Grand Rapids said, "I was named after a girl my mom knew in high school. My dad had a soft spot for the name because it’s the feminine take on his own, and it also pays homage to his love of Dion and the Belmonts. When I was younger, I absolutely despised my name. It seemed like teachers could never get it right! I would have done just about anything for a name that was more common, especially during those school years. It definitely stood out as unusual, both in sound and spelling, especially for a girl. But, funny enough, I've come to appreciate it now! It feels unique and special."
Local musician McKeon Hugh Roberts told us, "My dad was watching Pink Floyd’s The Wall while my mom was pregnant with me and still searching for baby names. He looked up at her and said 'How 'bout McKeon?' as the actor who played young Pink in the film is named Kevin McKeon."
KAXE volunteer Sarah Sarah explained how she got her name. "Dad wanted to name me Charlie. Mom wanted to name me Amy Sue. Mom was looking at what my monogram would be. The monogram was A.S.S. I was then named after my dad’s great-grandmother Sarah Jane. There were so many Sarahs growing up. One day a friend was talking about me to another friend. They were asked 'Sarah, what Sarah?' My friend replied, 'You know, Sarah Sarah!'"
Read our Question of the Week post on our Facebook page for more stories.
Where did your name come from? Let us know!
