Namesake Day

Namesake day is a day that you think about where you got your name and if you were named after a special person. According to Wikipedia “If a person, place, or thing is named after a different person, place, or thing, then one is said to be the namesake of the other.”
Who were you named after and where did you get your name?



My oldest daughter Jillian was named after actress Ann Jillian. I was pregnant when I had the distinguished honor of meeting this wonderful lady soon after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. In the mid-1980s, the then 35-year-old actress made headlines when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and she became a vocal advocate for cancer research and prevention. Her own cancer was beaten following a double mastectomy and her battle with the disease was chronicled in a 1988 made-for-TV film, The Ann Jillian Story in which Ann portrayed herself. Ann Jillian continued to act and had a son in 1992. Her TV and film credits have been sporadic since the late 1990s, as she decided to devote herself to raising her son Andrew Joseph and to promoting breast cancer issues. Today, she mostly works as a motivational speaker and also performs as a singer in corporate and symphony pops circles.

It was in 1988 when I had the honor to meet this one - as she was an inspirational speaker at an event that I was involved with. I admired her strength and love for life and knew right away that I would name by child if she was a girl after this wonderful woman.

With my youngest daughter Christie - I did not have a namesake inspiration. When she was born, Ed and I looked at each other and said - she looks like a "Christie" so that is what we did.

Today is the opportunity for you to really connect to all of those people who share your name. Google them, look them up in the Yellow Pages and then reach out and say hello!