My first name was my Khun Yai’s (Thai for “grandmother”) doing. “I want them ALL to have Saint names”. Even though ‘Stephanie’ is not even a saint! St. Stephen is where she said she got it. My middle names, Liana and Nicole, are like apples and bananas. I don’t know how Nicole was chosen by my parents, but Liana was is my favorite and done by my Portuguese grandfather. Since I have four other siblings, I’m aware that not all the time and effort was put behind choosing my name… at least that I am know of. I am the middle child, and the only one with two middle names, so in yo face brothers and sister. My first middle name, Liana, fits me best, I think. My last name, Jones, is a slave name. When a few of my father’s ancestors were forced to this country, they took the name of their slave master, which must have been Jones. I honor the struggle of my last name the most, and it makes me shiver at the thought of how much painful, rich history lies behind ‘Jones’.
What history that lies behind a name
September 30, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: Byron Todd Jones, Liana Banana, Slave names