I'm Sorry, Noah.

For the greater portion of my elementary school years, and in most of my middle- and high school classes, my name was not Heather.
No, it was Heather L.
And, I hated it.


Don't get me wrong, I like the name Heather. It's a perfectly fine name. I just didn't like being Heather L.


You see, in 1977, the year I graced the world with my presence, Heather was the fifth most popular name in the country. Therefore, I was hardly ever the only Heather in my class, and there were often at least three of us sitting in the same classroom, looking up every time someone said our first names, getting the wrong papers back, and confusing the teachers and other students.


My mother always asserted that she had no idea the name was so popular when she gave it to me, and I never believed her. How could she not know?? Didn't she pay attention to what other people were naming their babies when she was considering names for me??


Now, I believe her.


We deliberately gave our first two children names that were not even in the top 100 for that very reason. Classic names, yes, but not common among today's babies.


I'm sorry, Noah. I only know one other person with a little boy named Noah, and he's older than you. I had no idea that it was going to be the number ONE name in the country for baby boys last year. I just didn't know.


So, in a couple of years, when you become Noah H. and remain so for at least the next twelve years, you can put all the blame on your dad and me. We should have paid closer attention.


My bad.