The Namesake

I am currently reading (via audiobook) The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahrir.  The story is about a Bengali couple who emigrate from Calcutta, India to the United States in the 1960s.  Once settled in the Boston area, the couple have a son and there is much explanation regarding the Bengali custom of giving a child a "good" name, as well as a "pet" name.  The couple look to the wife's grandmother who still lives in Calcutta to select the "good" name but her letter fails to arrive before or even shortly after their son's birth.  In fact, even at the point where I am in the book (the son is now 14 years old), the letter has still not been received or found.  The couple is not permitted to take their son home from the hospital until a name is placed on his birth certificate, so they decide to list his "pet" name of "Gogol" on the certificate and to change it later when the grandmother's letter arrives.  Gogol is chosen as the pet name by the father based on his love of the Russian author, Nikolai Gogol. The grandmother eventually has a stroke and cannot communicate to let anyone know the "good" name she selected and as such, Gogol becomes the child's good and pet name, which is very much against Bengali custom.  Early in the book there is much discussion about the author Gogol, as well as the other prominent Russian authors, including Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Don't you know that I happen to have a couple of books by Dostoyevsky and Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov in my basement packed away from my single days that I never got around to reading? Yes, well, I am now sidetracked into digging them up and finally giving them a read.

The Namesake has also given me the idea to write an essay about the meanings behind my own children's names, which I will start here: 

My daughter, Clare Aisling, got her name by way of a combination of influences.  Clare was originally put onto the list of names that my husband and I were considering because of a character by the same name from the TV show "Beverly Hills, 90210."  Then, we realized it was also the name of the restaurant where had our first date, though it was spelled the French way with an "i".  We decided to spell it C-L-A-R-E after County Clare in Ireland.  When it came time to select a middle name, we wanted to keep with the Irish theme as that is where Josh and I became engaged, and because both of our last names are Irish.  While in Gallway, we stayed at a particular Bed & Breakfast for three nights and got to know the proprietor and her young daughter during our stay.  The daughter was the epitome of a young Irish lass with shiny brown/black hair, chubby/rosy cheeks, and a plaid Catholic school uniform.  She absolutely loved Josh's laugh and we often heard her in the kitchen trying to mimic him.  Her name was Aisling, which means "vision," and we felt it would make a lovely middle name for Clare.

My son, Finnbar Patrick, got his name via the 1995 movie The Brother's McMullen, which was written and directed by and starred Edward Burns.  The main character is called "Barry" but in the first scene of the movie you learn it is short for  "Finbar."  Later, a girlfriend says something to the effect of "Come sit next to me, Finn."  This movie was released five years before Josh and I met.  I was aware of it and had seen it, but it was a very important film to Josh and that name, Finbar/Finn, stuck with him.  Before we were even married he said that if we had a son he wanted to name him Finnbar, which obviously we did.  Patrick was selected as a middle name mostly because it flows with Finnbar and our last name.  However, it is also the middle name of Josh's brother, Matt, so there is a familial connection as well.

 Clare & Finnbar

April 2011

 Clare Aisling - age 3 years, 10 mos.

 Finnbar Patrick - age 5 mos.