- Reflecting on her son’s name, a mother shares how he transitioned from going by his middle name, Alex, to embracing his first name, Sheridan.
- The author explains how her negative experience with her own name led her to choose more common names for her children.
- Sheridan, now a professional composer, fully embraced his first name and the family tends to forget they ever called him Alex. The author appreciates the trend of unique names and values individual expression.
Additional Coverage:
- We called our son by his middle name so that he wouldn’t be teased. But he came to love his unusual first name. (businessinsider.com)
A mother reflects on her decision to give her son an unusual first name and a common middle name. Initially, the son went by his middle name, Alex, but later in life, he decided to go by his first name, Sheridan. The author sometimes forgets that they ever called him Alex.
The author shares her own experience of hating her own first name, Elise, as a child. She explains that the name was often mistaken for Elsie, which led to her being teased in school. This negative experience influenced her decision to give her own children more common names. However, she did love her family’s last name, Sheridan.
The author and her husband decided to name their son Sheridan, even though they had originally thought they were having a girl. They added the middle name Alexander to give their son the option of using a more common name if he wanted to. For many years, he went by Alex.
During his senior year in high school, Sheridan started using his first name, Sheridan Seyfried, at a conference for Presidential Scholars. He continued to use this name when he returned home, and the family eventually got used to it, as he stopped responding to the name Alex.
Sheridan went on to become a professional classical composer, known for his works performed worldwide. He fully embraced his first name, and the family tends to forget that they ever called him Alex. Some people from his early school years still refer to him by his middle name, but it doesn’t bother him or his family.
The author reflects on the trend of giving children unusual names and expresses appreciation for the variety of choices available to parents. She values the individual expression and imagination that comes with unique names. She concludes by expressing her gratitude for carrying on the Sheridan tradition and humorously mentioning that she wishes her own name had been spelled differently.