How I Was Named

(The letters of my name that I needlefelted using sheep wool.

(Taken on June 8, 2008.)

I asked my mom the other day why she and my dad chose "Ann Marie" for my name. She said that "Ann" was a name that was one that belonged to several of her relatives - including herself.

My mom as a young girl with one of her dolls.

My mom's name is Dorothy Ann Rinkenberger. 

My grandma (Clara who I found out had no middle name or initial), 

me, my mom, and my dad. 

I was in 9th grade when this picture was taken.

 My mom was born on April 24, 1930, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

My mom (Dorothy Ann) - with Sophia and Olivia.

(Taken on October 14, 2009.)

My dad's mother's mom (one of my great grandmothers) was named Anna Josephine Carolina Hartz. She was born on October 29, 1870 in Hamburg, Germany.

In addition, Anna J.C. Hartz's mother (one of my great great grandmothers) also shared a variation of my name. She was Anna Carolina Foote and she was born about 1850 in Germany.

Even further back on my dad's side are two more women named Anna. One is my great-great-great grandmother; and the other is my great-great-great-great grandmother. Anna Oyer was born in 1790; and Anna Garber was born on March 15, 1817.

Anna Koehner.

On my mother's side, my mom's father's mother (one of my great grandmothers) was named Anna Josephine Koehner. She was born in 1855 in Ohio.

Anna Kuehn

Also, my mom's mother's mother (one of my great grandmothers) was named Anna Kuehn. She was born on August 10, 1872, in Alsace- Lorraine.

In addition to a written family history that I compiled when I was in high school, I used a more current version of finding relatives: http://www.ancestry.com. It has filled in substantially more names on my family tree than I could ever have imagined.

In addition, I've seen pictures of my relatives, grave markers, phone directory listings, and hand-written census forms listing family members. It is a part of my history that has truly come alive via this resource. It is, for me, fascinating to look at how far back some of the lines of ancestors goes.

Another reason for such a short first name was that my last name is a long one - 12 letters. That, in itself, is a lot for a person to write, so my parents wanted me to have as short of a first name as possible.

The other part of my name is "Marie." When asked why they chose that name, my mom said, "It just sounded good with Ann."

When I was growing up, my parents (especially my dad) frequently called me "Ann Marie." My relatives and my dad's business associates also knew me as "Ann Marie" and not "Ann;" and would call me by that name.

When I attended elementary-senior high school and the teachers would read the children's names on the first day of class, mine was always said as "Ann Marie." At school, I didn't want other kids calling me by two names because no one else used two names. So, I just told the teachers to call me "Ann."

Yet, at home I was fine with being called "Ann Marie"...just not by other children at school.

Today, even years after being on my own and not living with my parents, I am called both "Ann" and "Ann Marie." Either one I will respond to and am comfortable with now.