What's in a Name?

The boy standing to the far left is my great-grandfather Oliver Noah. Sitting next to him is my great-great-grandparents James Lake and Angelina Cordelia. All of their children are surrounding them.

A while back, when I was at work, one of my co-workers addressed me as "Laura Lou" I responded to her by saying, "Look, if your gonna say it, say it right. It's Laura Mae, not Laura Lou!" Ever since, whenever she addresses me, It's Hey, Laura Mae. This started me on thinking about how people come to receive their chosen names at birth. I started thinking of my paternal grandmother's family. And so it begins:

Lily Mae is my paternal grandmother. She is the daughter of Oliver Noah. Oliver Noah got his name in a strange way. His grandfather, Oliver Lake and all of Oliver Lake's children lived on farms in and around Huron County, Michigan. Oliver Lake told all his children that if they would name one of their offspring "Oliver", he would give them a sheep for their farm. Hence, James Lake (son of Oliver Lake) named one of his son's Oliver Noah.

Oliver Noah grew up and married a woman named Mary Ann. They had four children. Shortly after the fourth child was born, Mary Ann died.
The third child born to Oliver Noah and Mary Ann was my grandma, Lily Mae.
Lily Mae married Otto Dell. Now, I don't know where the Otto came from, but he received his middle name from his mother as Dell was her maiden name. Lily Mae did not like the name Otto, so she always called her husband Dell.

Lily Mae and Otto Dell had five children:
1.) John Leroy - Lily Mae wanted to name her first born Jack. However, back then, Jack was considered a nickname and you couldn't put it on a birth certificate unlike today where you can name your child anything you want. So she named her first born John, but she always called him Jack.
2.) Oliver Dell - (This is my father) Oliver Dell was named after Lily Mae's father and he received the same middle name as his father. Lily Mae didn't like the name Oliver, but she wanted a son named after her father whom she loved deeply. So she named her second son Oliver, but she always called him "Pete" as did everyone who knew him. Now how they got "Pete" out of Oliver, I'll never know. Your guess is as good as mine.
3.) Laura Mae - Her first name is the same as her paternal grandmother and her middle name is the same as her mother's middle name. Laura Mae became very ill at seven months old and died because this was a time before the discovery of penicillin and she was too weak to keep fighting off the infection.
4.) Helen Irene - This child only lived for three weeks. Her middle name is the same as the middle name of Lily Mae's older sister Velma Irene.
5.) Kenneth Otto was given his first name because Lily Mae liked the name "Kenny". His middle name is Otto because Otto Dell wanted one of his son's named after him, but since Lily Mae hated that name, they compromised and made it the middle name.
Are you still with me? Let's continue.

Oliver Dell married Arlene Marie. (These are my parents) and they had five children:
1.) David Dell - Arlene Marie wanted to take a name from both her side and her husband's side of the family. So she named her first born David after her step-father, whom she adored. Arlene Marie chose the middle name Dell, the same as her husband and her father-in-law.
2.) Laura Mae - (This is me) Arlene Marie wanted to name her daughter Lily Mae after her mother-in-law. Lily Mae told Arlene, "I am the only Lily in the family and that's the way I want it to stay." So Arlene Marie decided to name her second child Laura Mae after the deceased sister of her husband that lived the longest. Lily Mae approved of this choice of names.
3.)Beverly Ann - This child received her name for the simple reason that Arlene Marie liked the sound of the name.
4.) Jeffrey Michael - Jeffrey also received his name because Arlene Marie liked it.
5.) Louise Marie - The fifth child born to Oliver Dell and Arlene Marie was born one year after the tragic death of their son, Jeffrey Michael. When Arlene Marie was pregnant, she was hoping for another son and had tons of boys names picked out. However, the baby was a girl and she had no idea what to name her. Oliver Dell had always liked the name Louise, Arlene did not like this name. But when Oliver Dell suggested to his wife after the delivery, "How about Louise?" she caved in. Louise's middle name is the same as her mother's middle name.
Are you confused yet?

Laura Mae grew up and married Ricky James. Ricky received his name because his mother, Helen Angelina, loved the I Love Lucy Show. She took the name Ricky after the "Ricky Ricardo" character on the show. She gave her son the middle name James after his father, James Corbet. Helen and James had to fight the staff at the hospital to allow them to name their son "Ricky" because the hospital wanted to put Richard on the birth certificate. Now Helen and James would have none of this and they argued with the hospital staff until they finally relented and allowed Helen and James to put the name Ricky on the birth certificate even though it wasn't considered a "proper name".

Laura Mae and Ricky James had three children:
1.) Ricky James II - Laura Mae wanted to name her son after her deceased little brother and Ricky James always wanted a boy named after himself. So they compromised and decided that if the first child was a boy, Ricky James could name him and if it was a girl, Laura Mae could name her. Then whoever didn't get to name the first child would name the second. The first born was a boy, Hence, Ricky James II. Laura Mae insisted on the II at the end of her son's name instead of Jr. Because she didn't want her son to get stuck with the nickname of Junior.
2.) Jeffrey Oliver - Laura Mae and Ricky James were hoping for a girl this time around. Laura Mae was having this baby on Ricky James' oldest sister's, (Sheila Ann) thirtieth birthday. Sheila Ann had all boys and always had wanted a little girl. Laura decided that if this baby was a girl, she would name her after her sister-in-law, Sheila Ann. However, the baby was a boy so Laura named her second son Jeffrey after her deceased brother and gave him the middle name of Oliver, which was her father's first name.
3.) Sheila Marie - Six years later, Laura Mae once again was pregnant. Laura Mae and Ricky James decided to do like they did with their first child (Laura names a girl and Ricky names a boy). The name Sheila had stuck in the back of Laura Mae's mind since her second pregnancy. She tells her father of her decision to name the baby Sheila after her sister-in-law (who now has 6 sons and no daughters) and give the baby the middle name of Louise which is the same as her sister's first name. Oliver Dell doesn't like the way the two names sound together and suggests to Laura Mae that instead she use the middle name Marie, which is the same middle name of Laura's mother and sister. Laura Mae agrees with her father and Sheila Marie is born.
And the generations continue:

Out of Laura Mae and Ricky James' five grandchildren, Their grandson Evan James receives his middle name by his father in memory of James Corbet who had passed away before Evan's birth. Cassidy Marie gets her middle name at the suggestion of her grandpa, Ricky James because he thinks it sounds well with Cassidy and the parents agree. The twins, Laurie and Deanna are named for both their grandmother's. However, the parents make slight variations in the names as to ward off any confusion when the whole family gets together. Laurie is named for her paternal grandmother, Laura Mae and Deanna is named for her maternal grandmother, Dianne.

And to think, all this started over the gift of a sheep!!! Go figure.