- It's time to start answering the list of get to know me questions. And what better questions to start it off with then: What’s your full name and are you proud of it? Are you named after someone, if yes then after whom?
My name has always been somewhat of a story for me, and it's definitely a conversation starter. And not because I have a name like 'Apple' or 'North', but more because my name is on par with supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. No joke.
My full legal name on my birth certificate reads - Rachelle Mercedes Dana Suzanne Walker Lupton
I like to say that because I am the third child I was given all the leftover names that my siblings didn't get. The truth is that each one of my names was deliberately chosen and comes with a story. Thanks mom, and I thank just my mother because my father did not have a hand in 4/6 names.
Originally my father wanted my first name to be Mercedes, at which point my mother vetoed it for fear I would be nicknamed Mercy or Sadie. I think she just didn't want to predispose me to becoming a stripper - either way, good call on that one mom. So my car loving father (and yes, that is why he wanted to name me Mercedes, for his love of cars...) was kicked out of the first name spot and given the first middle name spot.
The name Rachelle (Ra-shell) was chosen by my mother, and I was, in fact, named after someone specific. I am pretty sure that my mother named me after her very first girl crush. In elementary school my mom went to school with a girl named Rachelle Langwa, who my mother described as "having the most amazing blue eyes and fantastic sense of style". Now, if that doesn't sound like a girl crush, I don't know what is. It seemed fitting to my mother to name her blue eyed baby girl Rachelle, it's just a coincidence that I ended up going to school for fashion.
My second middle name Dana (Da-nah) was given to me after my godmother who, you guessed it, is named Dana. My godmother was present for my sisters birth, a major player in my brothers birth, and was once again there for my mother when I was born. She is a major element in my mothers life, has been for years, and is still a major role in mine to this day. Naming me after her just seemed right to my mom.
The name Suzanne, however, is really the most unnecessary middle name I have. Suzanne Vega. That's who I am named after. Why? Because my mother would only listen to Suzanne Vega on repeat while in labor with me. My mother has never met the woman or seen the woman in concert, yet she was so monumental during my birth that I will forever carry the legacy of Suzanne Vega. I couldn't even tell you a Suzanne Vega song.
Walker and Lupton are both last names, Walker being my mothers maiden and Lupton being my fathers last name. So I guess I really only have three middle names even though it looks like four. Either way, three is excessive. Two last names, in my opinion, is way more normal than having three middle names. And having a name that is that long is a real bitch because most times when you need to give your full name you only need to give one middle name. BUT if, for example, you are getting a travel-visa for another country and you only put one middle name on, but your passport has all three and the extra last name, customs gets a little confused by this and you can end up being detained in the Australian airport for an hour because the security guards can fathom why someone would have that many names... CALL MY MOM AUSTRALIA. (Flashback to my 2010 travel experience)
ANYWAYS. I got off topic slightly... So now that you know my full name and who I am named after I guess I should answer whether I am proud of my name.
I mean, it was the first birthday present I was ever given, so I quite like that. I don't like that I can never find my name on a key chain in a gas station (only ever Rachel). I do like that I can never get tagged in those memes about your friends who drink too much (Rachel can though).
So yeah, I guess you can say I am proud to be Rachelle.
Stay tuned for the next segment of "Ask Rachelle"
