Taking on a name is something I take very seriously. My maiden name, Shreckengost, was okay given dad being a Marine and subsequently making a career as a physicist and analyst. And his mother was certainly a woman worthy of admiration. My first husband’s family name was even more to be honored given dad Linn's career which, I think, was more crucial than my own father's, and given that mom Linn possessed all of my mother's qualities but none of the negatives. To me, she was an ideal person to emulate. I did not hesitate one mini-second taking on the "Linn" name. My second husband’s family were good people but, respectfully, ordinary. I liked them a lot, but there was no reason to sign onto their name. I therefore retained “Linn” and passed it on to my daughter. Then came my husband of now 21 years. Between his father, whose political endeavors were highly respectable; his mother, who was a well respected professor and provided direction to several students who became influential U.S. policy makers; his uncle, who had a large following of his theological brilliance; and himself, whose career has greatly impacted our nation’s security throughout the Cold War, makes this an exceptional family whose name is an honor to share.
In my youth I heard the notion that names “shape” us. Behind the names are role models. My first name "Maeke" is closest found to the Latin "Maecus" which means person of letters. And, sure enough, I do write. Some gets published in the newspaper; some ends up on politicians’ desks and in e-mails, some gets into unassuming people's hands who never expected a note of gratitude for some kindness they extended. Had I never married into a family whose last name I was honored to share, I would have changed my last name to “Warren” after meeting and working briefly on a project for Robert Penn Warren. What a man of integrity and honor. He chose his friends carefully; stayed true to his own sense of morality and justice; was supportive and the care taker, as long as possible, of his first wife who suffered terribly with mental illness -- never complaining nor degrading nor feeling put upon; honorably served in the military; was just and fair to people, creatures, and the environment -- just an upstanding individual and beloved poet and author.
Growing up a “modern” American woman, I highly respect and cherish my freedom to align myself with a name of my choice. I also respect men who legally change their names, when doing so dismisses them from the characteristics of a less-than-quality family heritage, to one that provides them more positive and honorable role models. Yes – names help us identify ourselves and help shape us into the people we should or want to become.
In my youth I heard the notion that names “shape” us. Behind the names are role models. My first name "Maeke" is closest found to the Latin "Maecus" which means person of letters. And, sure enough, I do write. Some gets published in the newspaper; some ends up on politicians’ desks and in e-mails, some gets into unassuming people's hands who never expected a note of gratitude for some kindness they extended. Had I never married into a family whose last name I was honored to share, I would have changed my last name to “Warren” after meeting and working briefly on a project for Robert Penn Warren. What a man of integrity and honor. He chose his friends carefully; stayed true to his own sense of morality and justice; was supportive and the care taker, as long as possible, of his first wife who suffered terribly with mental illness -- never complaining nor degrading nor feeling put upon; honorably served in the military; was just and fair to people, creatures, and the environment -- just an upstanding individual and beloved poet and author.
Growing up a “modern” American woman, I highly respect and cherish my freedom to align myself with a name of my choice. I also respect men who legally change their names, when doing so dismisses them from the characteristics of a less-than-quality family heritage, to one that provides them more positive and honorable role models. Yes – names help us identify ourselves and help shape us into the people we should or want to become.
Copyright © June 2015 by Maeke Ermarth
Ocean City, Maryland
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