What’s in a name? I think Shakespeare said best but when you are living a BiCultural life everything is in a name. If you know me personally you may know me as Rita Ledezma-Hernandez while others may know my maiden name hyphenated. Why is that exactly well many Latin cultures use both the husband and wife’s last names.
It was all very confusing for me when I first got married, I mean what name was I suppose to take? Here in the US wives simply take their husband’s last names and that is that. However if you think the last name is a big issue try having kids. What were we going to name them? Who should they be named after? What if we make someone angry?
A million different question ran through my mind and there are always a million different answers. My youngest brother said something to me though when he had his son, “I want him to have his own identity and nothing to live up to.” His son was given a non-family first name and then named after my sister in-law’s dad and my dad for his middle name of James. It worked out perfectly and my brother is right. While we want our children to have names that honor family members sometimes that is a lot to live up to.
I am named after my Grandmother and my mother. My Grandmother was the most kindess caring woman you would ever meet and I am sad to say I try but I don’t come close. my mother was super mom! She could do it all and again I don’t live up to that. Daniel is named after Edgar but is called Daniel so no one gets confused which is perfect as he is the first son.
I decided a long time ago that our children would have blended names! If they got a Spanish first name then they got an English sounding middle name. I felt that way we honored both cultures! For example: Magdelene Grace, doesn’t get any more blended than that! Although my mother prefers Meredith Lucia!
I live in a small Georgia town that you most likely have never heard of and I LOVE it! My house is more than full as I am a single mother of four & caregiver to my aging mother and uncle. Lover of all things Outlander. Goes to the beat of her own drum woman.
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“want him to have his own identity and nothing to live up to” that’s a really great point! My first son was named after his father but other two were given names that we felt fit them. It can be hard to please everyone but ultimately its your choice. I like magdelene grace its beautiful name!
Thanks Betty
It’s very interesting how different cultures have their own traditions regarding naming. I think the blended name is a perfect way to add a bit of representation from both cultures!
My sisters and I all ended up naming our first son after a family member. They both had husbands names James so they named their son James. My son was born and my son was named after his grandfather, another James. So when we had a party or something, when we say Jimmy or James, everyone answered…haha. What a mess that was but we all had our reasons for that name.
My son has a blended name as well. David Trinidad and it is for the reasons you talked about. Luckily David is my husband’s and my dad’s middle name and his dad’s first name so that worked out well. Trinidad is my husband’s grandfather’s name. Someone that everyone loved and admired so much. I think that a child should not have to live up to a name, but in some cultures it can be a touchy subject for sure.
My husband and I don’t have children yet but we have talked about names. He is named after his father. And my older brother is named after my father. It is always confusing later on. I remember often that my brother was confused for my father whenever an application of any kind was submitted. For this reason, we will have to think about if we want that because each person should have a clean slate and make their life their very own.
Diana C
I really like how you made it a blend of both names. I like how your brother thinks. We all dream of our children being their own person. The only name we have in our family that all the females have is Marie for the middle name. My grandmother started it with all 5 of her girls. She made all her daughters promise to name their daughters, and our mom’s have made us all promise to name our daughter’s Marie. so there is a lot of us with Marie for a middle name. And yes I have made both my kids promise that their daughter’s middle name will be Marie. LOL
I like the idea of blending both cultures for how you name your kids. I think kids do need their own identity, I’m not for having a Jr.