A Name more than Letters

I first learned the power and importance of connecting with our ancestors when a death certificate arrived at my Mum’s house for her Aunt Betty. I didn’t know much about Betty except that she was my Grandad's sister and that she had died when she was 19 years old. 

I looked at the death certificate and was mortified by the word spinster! That one word brought so much anger. I couldn’t believe that she was being defined like this. It felt so degrading for such a beautiful young woman. A spinster meant that Betty wasn’t married, and she didn’t have any children. 

 I started to wonder how Betty would be remembered if she didn’t have anyone to pass her legacy on to. In that moment, I decided that if I ever had a daughter, then her middle name would be Betty. This way, Betty’s legacy would continue, and she would know that her family had not forgotten her. 

When I found out my first baby was going to be a girl, I knew what her middle name would be. However, I was incredibly nervous about sharing my experience with Aaron. Learning about Betty had been such a sacred and personal experience for me. I had felt a real connection to someone I had never met in this life. I just didn't want him to hate the name. I had nothing to worry about because Aaron loved the story behind the name. He agreed that her middle name should be Betty. 

My Hannah carries Betty with her every day. Betty’s story continued the day Hannah’s began. Betty isn’t just Hannah’s name; it is their name: two girls, one name, with a legacy to pass on.