Asking my parents about how I got my name always brings a bit of emotion to them. When picking out names, they of course had their whole list of classic girl names: Emma, Grace, or Lily and some out there ones as well: Margo, Ryann, and Tate, but they loved that Jenna because it meant “little bird”. This stood out to them because of my last name, Birdsell. After hearing Jenna, my parents went to see my mom’s mom and told her they liked the name Jenna. She immediately said yes and had her heart set on her second grand daughter being named Jenna. Shortly after that, my grandma passed away and left my family in shock, sadness, and sorrow. My parents knew that she would approve of the name and wanted to always be reminded of my mom’s mom when they said Jenna. Additionally, my middle name is Betty which many people make fun of or laugh at. But to me this is the most important part about me because that was my grandma’s name. Being named after my grandma makes me feel very honored because I was chosen to keep her name living. I’m so glad to be able to be named after someone so special to my family and keep her legacy alive.
My last name is a name that you do not come across very often. I get questioned where Birdsell is originated from all the time and before talking to my grandpa, I had no idea. He stated that my family name was first identified as being from West Yorkshire in Northern Europe. The origin of the name came from a business of selling birds, mainly pigeons. When this enterprise was no longer profitable because of communications that were being developed, my great great grandfather, Earl Birdsell, emigrated to Quebec Canada and immediately attempted to restart the business of selling pigeons in Quebec. But this attempt that was once thriving in England, also failed and the only thing left of the business was it’s name, Birdsell. Although the bird selling business didn’t have a success in Canada, the last name Birdsell has been continued from generation to generation and still lives on today. The unfortunate part about this is that I will be the last generation to have this last name. My 2 sisters and I will not be able to keep Birdsell and neither off my dad’s brothers had a son. So the name Birdsell will end with me unless I keep the name and pass it on to my children.
My last name is a name that you do not come across very often. I get questioned where Birdsell is originated from all the time and before talking to my grandpa, I had no idea. He stated that my family name was first identified as being from West Yorkshire in Northern Europe. The origin of the name came from a business of selling birds, mainly pigeons. When this enterprise was no longer profitable because of communications that were being developed, my great great grandfather, Earl Birdsell, emigrated to Quebec Canada and immediately attempted to restart the business of selling pigeons in Quebec. But this attempt that was once thriving in England, also failed and the only thing left of the business was it’s name, Birdsell. Although the bird selling business didn’t have a success in Canada, the last name Birdsell has been continued from generation to generation and still lives on today. The unfortunate part about this is that I will be the last generation to have this last name. My 2 sisters and I will not be able to keep Birdsell and neither off my dad’s brothers had a son. So the name Birdsell will end with me unless I keep the name and pass it on to my children.
My middle name was my grandmas name as well! Good blog post Jenna bean!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Jenna. I love how your entire post focuses on the significance of names. This is something we'll explore even more 2nd semester when we read "Song of Solomon." Stay tuned!
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