Before I delve into my story, it is worth pointing out that the decision by prospective or expecting parents of what to name their progeny is often done without much consideration of what it will do to the life of the child. Usually it is something like passing on the name in the family, or looking through a book of names for a “unique” one that will stand out in a crowd. Sometimes one parent feels strongly about a certain name, and the other parent just gives in. I can tell you from experience that I am living proof of the importance of considering both the pros and cons of a name before saddling a child with it for life. Even then you can miss something that will come back to haunt the child later. I knew a lady once named Mrs. Strait. She wanted very much to give her child a name that would not lend itself to teasing, so she agonized over her choice for months. Finally she settled on single syllable names with the initials of I. and P. Before long she realized her mistake, and cried over it, as he is now Mr.” I Pee Straight”… ☺ Oh well, it could have been much worse if she hadn’t done her best to be careful.

It was decided by my dad long before I was born that I would be named after him. And of course he naturally assumed that I would be a boy. After all, he is directly descended from one John Clough who came to this country in 1639. John spawned a line of descendants that had already spanned 12 generations, every one with a son to carry on the name. Why should the 13th generation be any different? And it was very common to pass the first names from grandfather to son or grandson, and the same for the mother’s maiden name. My grandfather was named David after his grandfather and Henry after his father. According to tradition, he named his son, my father, David Monten, for himself and his wife’s maiden name. So following that pattern, had I been a boy I could logically have been David Dondlinger Clough. Ugh! Or maybe they would have taken pity on me and made me an actual Junior. But of course all that went for naught because I am a girl. Mom couldn’t figure out a girl’s name that was similar to David, so now we come the intricate story behind my name, which I will unfold tomorrow in part 2 of my naming saga.