My first name is Michael. My middle name is Wayne.
But that isn’t what was planned.
“Why did you name me Michael Wayne?” I asked Mom. I was looking for a story about why those names were selected, thinking something inspired my name.”
“I didn’t,” Mom said. “Your father did.”
“What?”
“I’d just given birth and I was out of it. He filled out the paperwork and named you. That’s not what I wanted.”
“What did you want?”
“You were supposed to be Dwayne Richard.”
“Dwayne Richard? Why?” And also, “Rick’s name is Richard Dwayne.” That seemed like a weird part of the puzzle. Richard Dwayne is my cousin, born a month before me.
Mom nodded. “I told your Aunt Jean that I wanted to name you Dwayne Richard. She stole it and named her son Richard Dwayne.”
Wild. I later asked Dad, “Why’d you name me Michael Wayne?”
“I didn’t.”
“Mom said you did.”
“I named you what she told me to.”
“That’s not what she said.”
“She probably doesn’t remember. She was pretty out of it. Listen, you know your mother. Do you really think I wouldn’t do exactly what she told me to do?”
I never got any satisfying reason for why my middle or first name was chosen. It’s just is what it is.
Michael Seidel, writer 
That’s hilarious!!! My parents put three names in a hat and the one they drew was ‘Jill’. The other two were Wendy and Pamela. Personally, I’d rather have been ‘Maria’!
LikeLiked by 4 people
HA! I have NO middle name. What you see (hear?) is what you get. 😁
LikeLiked by 2 people
Do you or did you often had to explain that you had no middle name?
LikeLike
Actually, no. People might say something like, “Really?” when I told them, but that’s about all. The other thing about my name is there are few of us around. There are Nancy’s and a few Nanette’s, but very few “Nan’s” that aren’t short for something else.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hear you. My middle name was spelled one way on my birth announcement and another on my birth certificate. My mother had no idea which spelling she intended. Neither did my father. I hate both names. Ain’t life grand?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Your tale reminds me of my father-in-law. Went through his early life as James C. Graduated high school, went into the Army, served in Europe at the end of WWII. Go forward 30 years. He has to get a passport to go on a vacation to Europe. For that he now needed a certified birth certificate. Turned out his name was Carl. LOL. Cheers
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can definitely relate!
LikeLiked by 1 person
🤣I love this! I got my name because my father immigrated initially to Quebec and loved French culture. Nobody told him that “Suzanne” isn’t actually a French name. My mom wanted to give me the middle name of Elizabeth after the Queen, but my Scottish dad wouldn’t hear of it! So I got Margaret after my aunt. Suzanne Margaret—what a mouthful for a small child!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love learning about how peopl acquired their names. Thanks for adding to the conversation. Cheers
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is so funny! By the way, my brother’s name is Michael Wayne. The Michael my mom just liked, the Wayne is my cousin’s name who was also his god father.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Dorothy. Fun to learn of how people are named. I’ve met or heard of four other Michael Waynes. I wonder if he’s one of them, or is he number five? Cheers, Michael
LikeLike
He’s in Newfane, Vt, Born in Brattleboro if that helps.
I was named Dorothy Leola. Dorothy after my dad’s sister, and Leola after my mom’s sister. My daughter named her daughter Leola, so I guess the name has stuck!
LikeLike
I like that name history. Yes, it seems like Leoloa stuck. Wonderful name. Different and fresh. I’ll probably pin it on a character sometime.
Thanks for that info about your brother, but he doesn’t ring any bells, so he’s another Michael Wayne for me. BTW, one of those Michael Waynes shared the same last name. Both of us were in the Air Force and would receive each other’s mail. Cheers
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s wild that you have a name twin, and the fact you were both in the Air Force is wild!
LikeLiked by 1 person