Namesake, an Honour.

I have never been sure as to who I was named after or how my name was chosen. I never did ask my Mom about that as well. Although it is not on my birth certificate, I do have a second name, it is Julian. I saw it spelled Julien on some Residential school documents. But I just spelled it the way I thought it was spelled and have kept it like that. My second name is a Baptism name given to me by my uncle Bob and Godfather. I always thought I was named after Stephen in the Bible as that is how my name is spelled. I don't like that spelling. As a kid the Teachers would pronounce it "Stefan" and all the kids would laugh. Or some of my friends would tease me by calling me "step-hen". Again another form of ridicule. Kids can be resourceful in their making fun of others, or make fun in the strangest ways. Anyway, my name has always been spelled as Steve by my Mom and Dad. Not sure why it is spelled Stephen in the birth certificate? I never even knew it was spelled like that until about grade 3 or 4. Looking at the original baptism certificate it is not in my Mom or Dad's handwriting. So I can guess it was filled in by the Nun or Priest.  In any case, I was thinking about namesakes and what that means.
My Dad's name is Andrew Howard. He is known as Henry, actually he is called Henreence, (only the older folk have called him that name) aka little Henry. He was named by the Courchene Women (Virginee and Margaret) for their little brother Henry, who had passed away. So Dad became their brother's namesake and their adopted brother. Funny how your name sticks, even in some of my Dad's identification documents his name is spelled Henry.

I have a namesake. His name is Jordan Steven Daniels. My nephew. He is a cool handsome kid. I love him very much. Can you imagine how I felt when I heard that Jordan was my name sake? Here he is with a Little Boy Water Drum. I made a pledge to myself to make sure I let Jordan know how much I care for him and to always show him kindness. Not sure if I am living up to that pledge but he does mean much to me.

I did have a namesake in the name of my Son Donovan. He was Donovan Steven Scott Ray. He is no longer living. I do think of him everyday and how I failed him. I vow not to do that with anyone that I care for. It is a constant struggle to live up to that

We named our bulldog puppy after Bruce Willis. Because of how great a hero Mr. Willis is and really how cool he is and looks.  It is no honour for Bruce Willis the actor, to have a puppy named after him, I am sure, but what the heck anyway. I wonder how many people name their kids after a super hero or a rock star? I even heard someone named their kid after a computer...Apple?  Steve Jobs must be their hero to name their child after his computer? Actually I think they named their child after the fruit.

But really to have a namesake is a big deal. We normally do namesakes for our parents or grandparents and of course our children. My cousin Brian and my brother Howard are named after our Mishom, Ambroise, aka Miscus. Brian is called Miscus as well. While my brother is Howard. I have a friend Sal and he is named after his grandfather. Sal named his son after his dad. His nephews are also named after the Dad. It is an honour to be named after a Father or Grandfather. I wonder though about George Foreman? I believe all his sons are named George? I guess that is something.

My Son Donovan has two namesakes. My niece Missy has named her boy, my Godson, Donovan. Poor Donovan lives with Cerebral palsy . Also my Grandson Jackson is named after Donovan and his Great-grandfather Albert.

I think being a namesake is more than just being an honour. I think it is a way to keep someone alive. Their memory alive. Or a namesake could be for someone important in your life, whether its a hero, a family member, a son, a Dad, or a very good friend.

Not sure what I wanted to convey in this post. In any case I like that we can have a namesake. Let's do right by our namesakes.