What is in a name?

I knew a guy in middle and high school who changed names several times. From Dee Dee to Max and then on after that. I never understood it very well. But it sounded like the usual for him and his family.

Growing up a Jennifer, I have struggled not to blend in. In my 6th grade class of 35 kids, we had 6 Jennifers - two Jenny G's to be extra confusing. Yet I didn't have many alternatives. I could be Jen, Jenny or Jennifer. My mother gave me a family middle name that she felt I could use if I wanted to be taken in a more serious light - Mercy. Needless to say, I have never gone by Mercy.

Briefly in college I took on the nickname Penelope. I was the head of a dormitory (at Smith College we called them houses) and since we had 5 Jennifers, I decided to take on a different name. The entire house knew me as Penelope and some didn't realize I had a different name. If felt a bit like a persona and I enjoyed not sharing a name with 1/2 the other women out there.

Getting married, we flipped a coin to determine our last name. I felt strongly that I wanted us to be a unit - a family that shared a name. But we couldn't find a compelling reason for either one of us to take the other's name. We flipped and I became Mattis. It took about a year before I could say "Jennifer Mattis" without giggling or feeling like I was fibbing.

Now, going back to the clan name is a bit of a relief. At the same time, I have adjusted to Mattis. I called an old friend with whom I had lost touch during my married years and said, "Hi! It's Jennifer Mattis, oops, DeLano - or whoever I am..." I don't think it will take as long to revert... less time than the divorce paperwork. I'm happy to be returning to the DeLano family - we're an odd bunch.