Dr. Suess

"And will you succeed? Yes indeed! Yes indeed! Ninety Eight and Three Quarters guarenteed!"


Friday, October 05, 2007

What's In a Name

Miss Moofie did a meme about her middle name the other day. I cracked a joke about being glad that she didn't tag me. She then commented that she didn't know my middle name, to which, I responded that, I did not either.
So, after thinking about it for a day or so, I've decided that my name might make an interesting blog entry. It certainly has caused enough *interesting* situations in my life. If Moof thinks her middle name is complicated, she will be grateful for it by the time she is done reading this. *grin*

I was born, in Harbor City, California. My mom, was alone, because my father had left her when she was 3 months pregnant. He left her the day she told him that she was pregnant. She had a sister named Peggy, and aunt Peggy and my Dad had an Aunt Peggy. The name Peggy ... was a family tradition. However, there was far more to the name Peggy being a family tradition than met the eye. (none of those Peggy's, by the way, liked the name, nor thought it should be a family tradition ...)

Peggy, was NOT the legal name of any of those Peggy's. Peggy ... was a nickname. An Irish nickname. How that nickname came to be ... no one is really sure ... but the real name is Margaret. To me, Peggy coming from Margaret makes as much sense as Jack being the nickname for John. But, that is neither here nor there ...or maybe it is ...but ...

So, November 21, 1964, Janet Mills had a little girl, and on the birth certificate, went the first name of Margaret. There had to be a middle name to distinguish her from the numerous other Margaret's in the family, so she named her after her favorite cousin in Portland ... Joyce Kathleen. So, the name on the birth certificate became Margaret Kathleen. The name that Margaret Kathleen was IMMEDIATELY called, was, by family tradition ... was Peggi ...

But, there were soooooooo many Peggy's in the family .... you can't have baby Peggi confused with Aunt Peggy and Aunt Peggy ... so ... what to call her to make it clear that she's not Aunt Peggy or Aunt Peggy Ann? (Peggy Ann is my mom's sister, Aunt Peggy, my father's aunt.) ....oh! Let's nickname the Kathleen as well!!!!!!!! Peggi Kaye ... well ... that would look much better, more unique as one word ... thus and so, Peggikaye was nicknamed ... at about 2 hours old.

The birth certificate would say Margaret Kathleen, the name would be Peggikaye. Forever to be called, Peggikaye ...by family members ... in California ...where double names are not common.

In kindergarten ... kids referred to her as Piggikaye ... or Piggi ... well, Peggikaye did not like that ...at all. Thankfully, the muppets were not around yet ...so Miss Piggi did not come up. But ... it was bad enough. So, when we moved to a new community, Peggikaye chose to go by Margaret at school. Which, she soon found out, she dispised. She'd asked to go by Kathleen, but she was told no one used their middle names. *blink*

The name gets far more complicated ... at this point ... her name is
Margaret Kathleen Peggikaye Mills. ...eh, some kids have it worse ... no big deal.

But ... This girl is going to school where her mom is teaching. Peggikaye's mom is remarried to Harold Pearson (she married him when Peggikaye was 13 months old.) People start to call her mom Mrs. Mills. That, really bothers Mrs. Pearson ... a lot ... A LOT. Mr. Mills really wounded Mrs. Pearson ...and she doesn't want to be identified as Mrs. Mills anymore. The daughters, who adore their step father, and see him as their father, have no problem taking on his last name for convienience sake.
So ...Margaret Kathleen Peggikaye Mills ... becomes

Margaret Kathleen Peggikaye Mills Pearson ...

So ... in some situations ... she's Margaret Kathleen Pearson ...or Peggikaye Pearson ... or Margaret Mills ...or Peggikaye Mills ...or Peggi Mills ...or Peggi Pearson ...just depending on what the situation is and what the legal implication is ...and what home she happens to be staying at (always Mills at Dad's house, Pearson at mom's house ...except at a doctor's appointment .... )

Are you with me?

So, then ... Peggikaye Pearson ...or Peggikaye Mills, whichever you want to think of her as ... grows up ...and gets married ...adding another name to the mix ... Rendon ...

Margaret Kathleen Peggikaye Mills Pearson Rendon.

She then promptly gets divorced. When she does, she decides to drop the Margaret ...the Peggikaye ...and finally use the Kathleen ....

and for a short time manages to be Kathleen Rendon.

No one in her circle of friends is able to make the transition, much to her dismay. Back to Peggikaye.

So, A couple of years later, she gets married again, adding yet another name to the mix ... Eagler

So ... her full legal name when she has to deal with the social security administration is

Margaret Kathleen Peggikaye Mills Pearson Rendon Eagler

You should see the faces of the people in the office ...as any combination of those names have been used in legal situations in my life

Who is Margaret Mills
me
Who is Peggikaye Pearson
me
Who is Peggi Mills
me
Who is Kathleen Rendon
me
Who is Margaret Rendon (I got a ticket while married)
me
Who is Peggi Rendon
me
Who is Peggikaye Eagler
me
Who is Margaret Kathleen Eagler
who? oh ..me

So ..what is my middle name ... I have NO EARTHLY IDEA!!

12 comments:

  1. Mills.

    You have 3 names before it and 3 names after it.

    ;)

    E

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  2. Wow ... where's the Advil ...

    *blink*

    Glad I didn't tag you, too! *LOL*

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  3. I use Mills on Medical forms to make sure the Peggikaye doesn't get separated ... so at the hospital ... I'm Peggikaye Mills Eagler ...

    or Peggikaye M Eagler

    Moof ... told ya it was crazy! Knew it'd make ya *blink* too!

    What gets me is my mom saying "But Peggi is a common nick name for Margaret!"

    Ok ..if it is so common ..why does everyone ask me "where in the world did they get Peggi from Margaret?"

    The only people who seem to know this information seem to be people who have a relative with this name/nickname combination!

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  4. PK, when I still had my retreat ministry, we had a group of ladies - all from the same extended family, and each of them was some form of "Margaret." Several of even had the same last name ... *blink*

    There were a couple of Peggies, a Margie, a Margaret, and a few other variants. When you asked them about so many sharing the same first name, they'd just smile at you ... ;o)

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  5. Wow! You'll always be Pk to me!

    You remind me of my daughter . . . Her middle name is my last name, but she goes by my last name (her middle) unless she is with her father. She was named after my great grandmother, whose name was Rachel on her birth certificate, but she went by "Jean." So, now my daughter, Rachel, wants to add "Jean" as her middle name, right before MY last name, which is really her middle name. So she would be Rachel Jean H . . . M . . .. Gosh, that is a mouthful, isn't it? ;o)

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  6. Seems to me your legal name should be Margaret Kathleen Eagler nickname Peggikaye

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  7. Wow!! Did you get confused when you were writing this? I got lost somewheres inbetween Peggi and Peggikaye :)

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  8. Raine ...nope .. Peggikaye is on my social security card, and I registered it legally with the state of Oklahoma to get 'legal usage' of it (only to find out that I'd PAID them to get legal usage of the name I HAD legal usage of because it was on my social security card, there by, making it my legal name ... *blink* thank you, Oklahoma, for taking my $$$$)

    That is why there is a difference between your LEGAL name, and the name on your birth certificate ..for 99.9999% of the population ..it's the same ...then there are the people like me who screw things up ..or rather ,people like my mom who screw things up.

    Truckers Wife ...unfortunately, no, I didn't get lost ... I think it's a matter of having lost my sanity over my name a long time ago.

    By the way ...there is some doubt as to whether or not in this post 9/11 world if I could fly or not ... Because of the issue with my name ... because my parents had Peggikaye placed on my social security card (which, made sense, that was the name I used ..and would have prefered they put on, had they put Margaret, I'd have had a major COW) My driver's license ...by Oklahoma law ...
    has in PRINT ..the name that is on my birth certificate ...but it must be SIGNED what is signed on my social security card ...which means ...my signature and my name do not match ...

    Which ...works for banks ..and credit cards ..and most situations ... because well, I look like me and I can show ID that I'm Peggikaye and can explain away the Margaret ...

    But, they wonder if airlines would accept the variation. Most likely not.

    However .... since Don can't fly with his oxygen, it's not a big deal at this time anyway.

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  9. FYI, Peggy comes from Margaret because people in England used to do a lot of shortening and rhyming to get nicknames. Just like Richard/Rich/Rick/Dick... The Margaret transition is something like Margaret/Margie/Meggie/Peggy. Incidentally, that's also why Polly is a nickname for Mary - Mary/Molly/Polly.

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  10. I have had social security cards saying Becky - with my maiden name. then it was becky with my married name. then it was Rebecca with the next married name. then it was Rebecca with my maiden name again, then it was Rebecca with another married name. now its back to Rebecca with my maiden where it will stay. You can switch em round LOL.All it takes is a marriage license or divorce papers. Going from "nickname to full name isnt a problem.Seriously- I have been Becky or Rebecca L****** with 4 different last names depending on who I was married to or if I was using my maiden name. You just have to make everything match up. If you want to be Peggikaye Mills Eagler then take your marriage license to DMV-change it there, then take a copy of your new drivers license and your marriage license to social security and change it there

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  11. Oklahoma (lovely Oklahoma) requires your name from your birth certificate ...tried the marriage license and social security route ... it got my last name changed, that was it.

    That is why my driver's license has both my names on it. They insist that your printed name be your birth certificate name, and your signature be what's on your social security. (exception, is last name change for marriage, legal name change, not legal USAGE of name) For MOST people it's the same name.

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  12. Good gracious! So, do you regularly have an identity crisis or what?

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