Where did your name come from?

I was given a double name, like many other girls in my largely Catholic suburban Massachusetts hometown. It was very common in the 60s and 70s. We had a Mary Kay, a Mary Ellen, and a Mary Sue just on my tiny street. (My mother’s name is Sue, so at least mine made sense.)

In fifth grade, the teacher asked us to write our names on placards on our desks so that he could learn them. I wrote Mary so big that I had no room for Sue. He started calling me Mary and I just went with it and eventually dropped the Sue. It’s still my middle name though, which I like because it honors my mother.

Given that my last name is very difficult to spell and pronounce, I’m fine with having a boring, common first name that nearly everyone gets right off the bat.

“Mary Sue” in the 70s in our neighborhood full of girls with double names

Related posts:

Mary had a little lamb

Mary the badass