Our Loreleis

Today is Wendy’s birthday! All those years ago we were trying to figure out what to name her. We hoped she would be a girl for any number of reasons, one of which was we used up all our boys’ names on Lance. We knew we wanted to name her Wendy though. That was a little problem. I like children to have the long form of a name, then call them by the nickname. In Wendy’s case the long form is Gwendolyn and I could just hear her teachers calling her Gwen every year the first day of class. So, we shortened it to Wendolyn and her being called Wendy was assured.

But what about a second name? I liked the names Laura and Laurel. One of those would do nicely. So when I went up to the hospital to visit right after our girl was born, Karen had been looking through the book of girls’ names and asked how I liked the name Lorelei. Wow! That was it. A Rhein siren, sailors being dashed to death on the rocks. How much more exciting could you get? Besides, it had 3 syllables so it went with Wendolyn more melodically. Lorelei it was.

Little did we know what would come of that!

Our next door neighbors when we lived on 21st Avenue, Ron and Charlene Brooker liked the name too. They liked it so much, when their daughter was born they named her Sayde Lorelei. Sayde has been to the scene of the crime so to speak, the actual Loreley Rock on the Rhein in Germany.

Then my sister Judy and her husband Bill Hierstein named their daughter, Jessica Lorelei.

It should come as no surprise then that my brother Ray and his wife Marilyn named their first daughter, Jennifer Lorelei. Lord help my poor sister Lisa. If she ever had a girl, the pressure would really be on to make Lorelei her middle name.

But it was a big surprise that our son Lance and his wife Cherise named our granddaughter, Rachel Lorelei. I didn’t see that one coming in a million years. I have to say I was quite touched when they named her that.

And finally, keeping up the tradition but giving it her own twist, Jessica (see above) and her husband Brian named their daughter Lorelei too. But Lorelei had now graduated to first name status, Lorelei Alexis

Well, there you have them, our 6 Loreleis, bless their hearts! And Happy Birthday, Wendy!