My parents were pretty good with first names since we have such a peculiar last name – Hamburger (yes, just like the food but you’d be surprised at how many spellings people can come up with – well, maybe not). We got tons of prank calls asking for “fries with that”. My mother specifically named my sister Mary Patricia even though she liked “Patricia” so it wouldn’t be pointed out during role call (“Hamburger, Patricia” = Hamburger Patty) and shockingly, my sister, who goes by Tricia, was not teased in this way until she went to college last year. I’m a victim of the common name-uncommon spelling trend – Karin Elisabeth – do you know how many pronunciations there are for this? I don’t even bother to correct the spelling any more unless it’s on a legal document.

Anyway, it’s the series of last names “married into” that makes it so funny. Obviously, my dad’s family name is Hamburger. His older sister married a Loignon (french for onion), his baby sister married a Bull and he married a Cowherd – that’s right, my mom went from Cowherd to Hamburger.

-Karin