Celebrating Names

Kerri Miller

As paper crafters we are always looking for ways to celebrate. And lucky for us, this week is all about celebrating names (and I’m not just making this up!).

I guess it’s only right to have a week to celebrate names. Think about all the time, thought, and effort it takes to pick just the right name for your children, pets, or even name of products or businesses. Sigmund Freud (who incidentally changed his name from Sigismaud to Sigmund) said, “A human being’s name is a principle component of his person, perhaps a piece of his soul.” I can’t argue with that!

Here is the official countdown for Celebrate Your Name Week:

Sun, March 4 – Namesake Day: Explore the birth of your given name.

Mon, March 5 – Fun Facts about Names Day:  Celebrate names by looking up interesting tidbits about names.  Here are just a few fun name facts I found: Donald Duck’s middle name is Fauntleroy.  The name of the Taco Bell dog is Gidget. Barbie’s middle and last names are Millicent Roberts. (Millicent? I can’t help but wonder who thought that would be a good idea.)

Tues, March 6 – Unique Names Day: Salute friends, acquaintances and loved ones who have unique names. A quick shout out to our very own Editorial Assistant, Ahtanya and Freelance Writer, Shelisa.  I love your unique names and I am very sorry you’ll never find a keychain fob or coffee cup with your name on it.

Wed, March 7 – Discover What Your Name Means Day. I had a little fun looking up everyone’s name definitions from the Paper Crafts team.

Jennifer: White wave (WELSH)

Kerri: Dark-haired (IRISH)

Susan: Lily (HEBREW)

Kelly: Of the Celts (IRISH)

Holly: Plant with red berries (ENGLISH)

Matthew: Gift of God (HEBREW)

Melinda: Honey (GREEK)

Cath: Name of a monster – sorry Cath! (ARTHURIAN)

Thurs, March 8 – Nametag Day: Today’s celebration of names stipulates that wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, you wear a “Hello, I’m [your name here]” nametag. I double dog dare you!

Fri, March 9 – Middle Name Pride Day: Tell your middle name to three people who don’t already know it. (This might be an awkward conversation if you say it right out of the blue. “Hi! My middle name is Lyn. What’s yours?)

Sat, March 10 – Descendants Day: Climb into your family tree. Jiggle a few branches. Start piecing together your personal history today.

Since it’s already Tuesday you better start planning your activities to celebrate your name week. Get out your crafting supplies and make some fun name tags or personalized wall hangings for your family and friends.

Finally, I leave you with a saying by the number one unique name inventor, Dr. Suess,

“So, be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

And now I’d love to hear some of your favorite names be they unique or full of meaning and definition. I’ll randomly pick a winner for this set of Thickers to use in your personalized crafting projects.

All comments must be received by Thursday, March 8th by 5  pm MST. Have a great week!

P.S. Yesterday we offered up a Silhouette CAMEO, and the winner is . . .

Maggie Smyczynski (March 5 @ 1:10 pm)!

Congrats, Maggie! Email Holly Anderson at handerson@papercraftsmag.com by March 21st to claim your prize! As for the rest of you, you can still get yours here! Happy crafting!