What's in a Name?

Since we are celebrating five years of Punky Jane and feeling all nostalgic, I thought I'd repost this from October 24, 2008 with the added picture of my Grandmother, Gertrude Jane.

You probably don’t know that Jane is my middle name. Growing up, I never really embraced it...for a number of reasons that today I can’t even remember.

When our second daughter, Ella was born, I felt a strange, warm and somewhat fuzzy feeling when we pondered middle names, and considered Jane. I was lucky enough to share my middle name with my paternal Grandmother, Gertrude Jane, and had always counted my blessings that my parents passed on the middle and not the first.

My Grandma was apparently relieved, as well. Whenever someone called me ‘Baby Gertie” she got quite angry, afraid I would grow up hating her because of her name.

Now I come from a long line of peculiar names...Ival, Skeeter, Denzil, Mervyn, to name a few, and had always felt a little plain....Sandra Jane...Sandra Dee...Plain Jane...Jane Doe. But to my mom, I was always Punky Jane. Short, I guess, for her little Pumpkin Jane.

As I began creating personalized jewelry designs, I got a similar strange, warm and fuzzy feeling. Not to equate naming a business with naming a child, of course, but as I was creating the jewelry, I hoped it would make people feel good, both giving and receiving these little trinkets.

Now that I’m older, have kids of my own, and have those moments thinking about the good old days, I appreciate my name and the history behind it even more. Punky Jane it is.

Here’s to warm and fuzzy.