Friday, March 4, 2011

Fearless Females ~ Day 3 [a little bit late]

Fearless Females: 31 Blogging prompts to celebrate National Women’s History Month is brought to us by Lisa Alzo at The Accidental Genealogist. Be sure to take a look at her post showing the whole month’s worth of prompts and then jump in and play along!

March 3 — Do you share a first name with one of your female ancestors? Perhaps you were named for your great-grandmother, or your name follows a particular naming pattern. If not, then list the most unique or unusual female first name you’ve come across in your family tree.

Hildegarde M Ritchie
My name, Diana, is not one that is anywhere in my family tree. My Dad used to tease me, however that they ALMOST named me after his Aunt Hildegard!! My Mom always said that they never even considered that, but to this day my Dad will sometime says, “We really should have named you after Hildegarde and maybe she would have left you some money” or variations on that theme.

I do something very similar with my nieces. I tell them from time to time that I wanted their Mom to name one of them Magdalena. That is a name that appears on the Swiss-German side of my Dad’s family.  I rather like it myself, but my sister wouldn’t go for it. Like my Dad, however, that doesn’t keep me from bringing it up to them in a variety of ways.

6 comments:

  1. Diana, now that is a funny story. We have a similar name, but for a boy --- Jabez. Tho I rather like it, that old family name has fallen out of use.

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  2. Hello Diana

    Would this Hildegarde Ritchie be the daughter of Thomas Leopold and Mary (Benzie) Ritchie? If so she's my 1st cousin 2x removed. I'd love to share information. Thanks. Everett Babcock, Stone Mountain, Georgia, bbberb@mindspring.com

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  3. It's a good thing because you don't look or act like a Hildegarde! My Mom was almost Genevieve, but her mother's cousin said, "You can name her that, but I'm calling her Pat!" So Pat it was!

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  4. Joan - yes, I think it's interesting to trace the names and see how they go in and out of fashion...although I don't see Jabez or Magdalena coming back anytime soon!

    Susan - I love that story :-)

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  5. Diana, did they call her Hildegard or did she have a nickname?

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  6. Hi Ginger ~ I don't know the answer to that question! I'll have to ask my Dad and see if he knows.

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