What's in a name?

She came to us with Heaven spelt backyards. We adored it because we adored her. But at about 3 months, we had to call her something to make her ours. We knew we would adopter her, so she went from being "Vea Vea" to Marissa! It fit! But we never could agree on a middle name. Neveah? Fern? Dahl? Whitmer? Macy? Rose? Lynn? Pauline? Roxie? Shiniqua, no just joking on the last one. Why, because in the book freadonomics it says that a name really does help a child succeed. Why, because peope make snap judgements everyday. I don't like her because she buys foods with high fructose corn syrup. Or, She drives a pinto and has her nose pierced. We have already made a snap judgment on both of those individual. The first offence is horrific, I can't believe she is allowed to have children. Any way. Back to choosing a name.

Family name. Sonafrank, Sarah Jane, Bertha, Ethelyn, Myrtle...It doesn't get much better than that.

Nothing fit. And then I say the name Mary Ellen in my family history. My great-grandmothers mother's name was Mary Ellen. It would work because of Maryellen, our Urmston. Grandma Urmston has shown her excitement from day one of being able to call Marissa ours. Her excitement made me feel that she was a welcome part of the family. And She adored her when she came to visit. Mary Ellen just fit! (and it was not a completely white name). I share that with you...

I decided to google "Mary Ellen African American" and lone-behold there was a famous African American named Mary Ellen Pleasant. Youda thunk. Well this could not sound any more pleasant to my ears than this.

Mary Ellen Pleasant was born in 1817 and died in 1904.She was partly African American decsent. Known as Mammy Pleasant, who used her fortune to further the abolitionist movement. She worked on the Underground Railroad across many states and then helped bring it to California during the Gold Rush Era. She was a friend and financial supporter of John Brown and well known in abolitionist circles. After the Civil War she took her battles to the courts in the 1860s, and won several civil rights victories, one of which was cited and upheld in the 1980s and resulted in her being called “The Mother of Human Rights in California”.

So Here is Marissa Maryellen Ivins