What's in a name? (part two)

Madeline Mary

Of course it was only fair, since I essentially named our firstborn on my own, that daddy got a turn picking the name for our 2nd daughter.

I believe Madeline was on his list for our firstborn. We know how that turned out. I think he also pondered Megan seriously. I was unsure about Madeline as I had developed an aversion to it when years ago, before the "old fashioned" names became popular like they are now, my friend had a little flower girl in her wedding named Madeline and I thought it was such an odd sounding name for a little girl (I LOVE it now, as does seemingly half the population of little girls parents who also have used the name in the last several years),

Alas, it WAS his turn to name the baby and he wasn't swayed by my aversion. I told him I could agree to it if we actually called her Mady. He liked that and so she became "Mady" from the time she was in my womb.

I believe I suggested Mary as a nice complement to the big name of Madeline, and it also honored CJ's mom, whose name is Mary Anne. He like it and so it was decided...Madeline Mary, or Mady Mary.

Then, one day when she was four years old, this sweet but opinionated girl, who had NEVER EVER in her life been referred to as Madeline, came up to me and informed me ever so politely but firmly that she would from now on like to be called Madeline and in fact would not respond if we called her Mady.

I truly thought this was a passing fancy, but day after day as we stumbled over trying to remember to call her Madeline, she would gently but firmly remind us, her sisters, or anyone addressing her that her name was Madeline, not Mady.

Now, don't ask me why I chose the spelling M-a-d-y...I didn't realize there was a "normal" way to spell it until someone in my family, who shall remain nameless, [mom] implored me to consider the spelling of m-a-d-d-y or m-a-d-d-i-e. In my mind, the name Mady just looked like it was spelled m-a-d-y. I wasn't trying to be "cool" or "different"...as a matter of fact, I am against wierd spellings of normal names. And I have to say, I feel vindicated now that on Jon & Kate plus 8, their older twin daughter is spelled Mady. :)

(funny side note...this conversation took place with Evie shortly after Madeline made her proclamation:

Evie: Mommy, I've decided I want you to call me Eveliene from now on.

Mom: Evie, I am not going to call you Eveliene, that's not your name.

Evie: But, you're calling Mady Madeline!

Mom: That's because Madeline is her actual NAME!)

The writing was on the wall when I had to sign her up for kindergarten and asked her what she wanted to be called in class, reminding her that all her little friends have always known her as Mady, and Madeline is a longer name to write and, and, and....she was insistent, Madeline it was.

I really had to struggle to remember to call her Madeline and also remind everyone that had known her since birth to relearn her name. I got good at using other nicknames, which she was okay with as long as it wasn't Mady...Mads, Madel, Madelina, Madelly. We finally started to get used to it and I really started seeing her as a Madeline, and starting realizing what a beautiful name Madeline was. I gave her one more chance to revert back to Mady when I enrolled her in first grade, as she was beginning to allow her old friends to call her Mady again, and even when we slipped she wasn't jumping to correct us anymore. But she wanted to stick with Madeline formally, even though she was now okay with people occassionally referring to her as Mady.

I have come to discover that I am so glad she has incorporated her formal name into her life at an early age. I picture her as a Madeline as an adult, more than a Mady. And, schoolwise, most of the birth name Madeline's go by Maddy/Maddie in school, so going by Madeline is actually more unique for her.

And when I ponder where this sudden change came from, I learn something more about birth order. I believe it was her way, at age four, of climbing out from under the shadow of her big sister and out of the background of her younger boistrious and baby sisters to proclaim that she had something special and different about her that they didn't have...a big, fancy name. And by george, she was going to make use of it!

Here is Madeline Mary with her grandma Mary Anne around age 3 1/2 when she was still just Mady.