What'sHer Name?New Moon Girls' Stories

NEW MOON GIRLS * www.NEWMOONGiRLS.coM • march/aprll 2009

I think names are symbolicmessages of who we are as people.I have a special connection with thewind, the birds, and all the creatures of theair. Some people have made fun of "taku"because it's different. But I've learned to loveits uniqueness. My name fits me perfectly,and I'll always be proud of it.

By Mariah Alexander-Weaver, 11

My full name is Mariah Taku Alexander-Weaver. My parents wanted me to havea strong name to reflect my strongpersonality. When my mom was pregnant,she had a dream that my middle name wasTaku. My parents had no idea what thename meant, but thought it was perfect forme!

1 was born on a windy night, and my parentsnamed me Mariah. After I was born, mygrandma told my parents about the song"The Wind They Call Mariah" from themusical Paint Your Wagon. They thought itwas a strange coincidence that I was born ona windy night!

But that's not the only coincidence! We foundout that in the Alaskan Native language ofTlingit, "taku" means a fierce wind thatblows off the mountains. When my familyand I researched taku winds in Alaska, wefound that a big taku happened on January17, 1997—the day I was born!

Geography Counts

Emily was the most popular girls name

overall in 1998. But some states had

different No. 1 names that year. Ifyou

\Nere born in California or Nevada

that year, you were more likely to be

named Jessica. Samantha was tops in

New York and New Jersey! And v\/hat

do Arizona, Washington, D.C., Louisi-

ana and Mississippi have in common?

Alexis was their fave girls name!

If you want to know what the favoritenames are in your state, go toNewMoonGirls.com.

A Long, Strong Name!

By AnnaMaria Rosina DiPietropaolo, 10

Hey y'all! My name is AnnaMaria RosinaDiPietropaolo (long, huh!). Because I'm75 percent Italian, my heritage affectsmy name. It's an Italian tradition to namethe first-born girl after her grandmothers.AnnaMaria is my mom's mother, and

Rosina is my dad's mother. Most of my

friends just call me AnnaMaria or Anna.

When I was born, my grandmother gave mea prayer book, and in it she wrote, "To myAnnie Rose." It's a very special name thatonly she calls me, and I love it! Sometimes Ilike to sign my journal entries as Annie Roseso people don't know who it is!

The only thing that is hard about my nameis that it's so long, and people always askme how to spell and pronounce it. Eventhough it's kind of a pain, I do like to bragabout how fast I can spell it! When peoplehave a hard time saying it, I teach them howto pronounce it just like my dad taught me:" Dee-pee-thro w-pow-1 o w. "

I'm AnnaMaria Rosina DiPietropaolo, andI'm glad! Maybe, when I'm older, I'll decideto change my name, but for now, I love itthe way it is!

By Charlotte Clare, 11The first ^,, . , ,Ch 1 tt names are special; they

Ciare niake you unique! My full nameis Charlotte Emily Nissen Clare.I am named after my great-

great-great-grandmother, Charlotte, andmy mom's cousin, Emily. My sister and Iboth share our mom's last name insteadof our dad's last name, Nissen. There's areally cool story behind it!

My mom was born with the last nameTilson. At 22, she legally changed her lastname to Clare because she had always feltclose to her mother's side of the family.When her great-great-grandmother,Charlotte Ann Clare, was married, shehad to take her husband's last name. Backthen, women not only took their husband'sname, but they also were consideredhis property. Because many of the Clarechildren were girls, they grew up, gotmarried, and changed their last names.

There were few Clares left. When my momgot married, she decided she would keep

O NEW MOON GIRLS ' www.NEWMOONGiRLS.coM • march/april 2ÍXJ9

Oh, How Names Havt

Do you have a friend whose grand-mother has the same name as yourgrandma? Maybe you know a few girlsyour age who have the same nameas you. It's no coincidence! Differentnames are popular in different years.Here are some popular girl names,then and now.

Clare as herlast name tohonor thewomen inher family!

Even thoughit can beconfusingto havedifferent lastnames in myfamily, I feel

lucky to have a name that's meaningfulto me, and has such a great historybehind it! tf

Do you know more than one

girl named Emily? Maybe

you're an Emily! Emily has

been the most popular girls

name in the U.S. since 1996,

and it's been in the top 25

since 1982!

Top Namesof 1948:

1. Linda2. Mary3. Barbara4. Patricia5. Susan

Top X> Naof 1998:

1. Emily2. Hannah3. Samantha4. Ashley5. Sarah r

Do you have a unique story aboutyour name? Tell us about it on theArts and Culture page onNewMoonGirls.com!

Tell Us Online!