Today is Learn What Your Name Means Day.
Apparently, Jennifer means 'fair.'
Pffft.
And so I am reminded of this entry from the Archives ~~
I never liked being a Jennifer. It always felt so - what's the word? - normal. I'm a lot of things but normal is definitely not one of them. I always felt more like a Dominica.
Plus, there's the abundance factor. Let's just say the world is a cornucopia of Jennifers. I was never the only one in my class. To this day, when I sign a card for a bridal or baby shower, my mother still says "Write your last name in case there's another Jennifer."
And, as a kid, remember the magic of having something with your name on it? I was never worried they didn't make a Jennifer magnet. I was always worried they were sold out.
But, it's the excess of Jennifers that led to my nickname. In high school, in college, at work, in law school, with too many Jen's and Jennifers, I was Fern. Or Ferny, Fernice, Fernilicious. It's a plant, yes, but it feels more like my name than Jennifer.
As I think of this, today, I am grateful ~
1/ That at least I wasn't named Bertha (no offense to the Berthas of the world, if there are any left).
2/ That if I weren't a Jennifer, I wouldn't be Fern. And I wouldn't have the best name for an autobiography - A Fern Grows in Jersey.
3/ That it's really just a name. What's that saying? A fern by any other name...
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Here is a list of Famous Jennifers. I had to cut the list down to 20. They are in alphabetical order ... by last name, of course.
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Filed under: Celebrities, From the Archives, Gratitude Journal, Names
Tags: celebrities, Famous Jennifers, Gratitude Journal, Jennifer, names
- A Fern Grows in Jersey. love this!!
Aren't you glad you didn't grow up with my name. I do enjoy it now but growing up with it was hard. I never had anything with my name on it. People always tried to give me stuff that said Ann. I threw them out. lol
Thanks for putting this together. I haven't gone by "Jennifer" since I was a baby, but I'm in the heap!