What’s in a middle name?

I used to think I had an unique name. My first name Anthea is Greek for the word flower (Anthos). I once dated a Greek guy from Athens and he used to call me Anthi which I imagine is the correct pronunciation of the name. I’m not Greek, however, my mother—when she was a little girl growing up in London—saw a photo of a wedding party in the newspaper and there was a little flower girl named Anthea. My mother loved the name, and she told herself when she grew up and married and had children, her first daughter would be called Anthea. And, wallah, that was me. It’s not a common name in the USA, so most folks mispronounce it and call me: Athena, Althea, and even Anthony.

My last name Appel is also uncommon. It can be either German, French, Jewish, or Dutch. From what I understand my family’s name originated in Alsace-Lorraine, a little country bordering between Germany and France. And depending on who won what war, Alsace-Lorraine can either belong to Germany or France. Right now, it is part of France. Of course, my surname is also mispronounced, usually I’m called apple, like the fruit. But, no, the “e” comes before the “l”. Think of the French word “to call”, as in, “Je m’appelle” (I call myself__). When I was in the Police Academy, the cadets were always addressed by their surname. And with me it was always “Hey, Apple”, the fruit, of course (I’m sure the academy instructors mispronounce names on purpose). After 6 months of being addressed only by my last name, one day someone asked me my first name, and I had to think for a second, and, oh yes, now I remember, “it’s Anthea” Duh!

Now, with two uncommon names together, I figured I’d be the only one in the world with my name. Then one day I got a message on Facebook from a teenage girl living in South Africa. It was signed Anthea Appel. Oh no, my name isn’t unique! We both had a good laugh, and a slap on the forehead. However, our middle names are different. Mine starts with a “M” and hers, with a “S”. I think I may have to start using my middle initial now.

A metaphysical friend of mine once said we pick our names before we are born. We pick our frequency at birth. Our birth energy is a statement of who & what we are in this lifetime, all abilities & attributes we’ll use in this journey now. “Before birth,” the metaphysical friend said, “we mentally transmit our frequency to the mind of the person who’ll name you at birth. The child says ‘This is who I am’ and that’s the name they transmit to the namer.”

Also, our first name represents our conscious mind (logic), and indicates our specific goals and reasons for this life time;our surname, the subconscious (creative), is our genetic background and traits; and our middle name, the super-conscious (pineal gland) balances the left & right hemisphere of the brain…at least, energetically. So, I guess people like Madonna, who only use their first name, are primarily logical & egotistical. And if you have no middle name is there an imbalance? Do life experiences tend to go from one extreme to another?

Yup, another reason to use my middle name ~ AA