22 October 2009

I've Been Outed

Dan over at Down with Oz tagged me in The Name Game... He called upon me to unleash my inner geek and explain the origins of Sheridan's name. Many people mispronounce Sheridan's name Sheraton, but I promise you, he was NOT named after a chain of hotels...

SHERIDAN MICHAEL

Sheridan

Sheridan is the last name of a science fiction character (geek alert) who possessed all the qualities we dreamed and hoped our son would have. It's a Gaelic name that means seeker and to seek as in seeking truth, seeking knowledge, seeking justice (and no, we are nowhere near Irish - I'm full-blooded Italian and Gary is Black, 1/8 American Indian, and 1/8 English).

Okay, so back to the nerdy part... Captain John Sheridan was a lead character in the science fiction television show Babylon5 that aired a while back (when people know the show they think it is the coolest thing ever that we named our son Sheridan - everybody else just tries not to laugh in our faces).

If you're not familiar with the show, the best explanation of Sheridan's B5 character is: decisive, strong-willed (boy did we get that one in our son!), honest, charismatic, typically cheerful, just, loving, always fights for what is morally and ethically correct, and he doesn't take $#*% from anybody.

Michael

Michael is my oldest brother's name. I say oldest, because he is my oldest brother but he's still younger than me (by almost 8 years!). The words that best describe Michael are, oddly enough, very similar to those that describe Sheridan: very loving, stubborn strong-willed, funny, and definitely a fighter!

Michael was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia when he was 12 years old, and died in March 1998 at the age of 15. I love him and miss him more than I could ever convey in writing - he's a big part of my heart. And I'm honored that Sheridan carries his name!

Tag - You're It!

I tag Benjamin's dad over at Big Ben Benjamin to tell us the origin's of Benjamin's name... That's right! We're taking this international!

8 comments:

  1. I like your story. My husband is a HUGE Sci Fi "enthusiast", so he will be very impressed. We have an Anthony Michael. Michael comes from my father, who died in 1998. He had 6 girls and no sons.
    Sheridan is so cute!

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  2. Full disclosure - I made a huge push for "Ripley" when we were choosing names for Layla.

    Yes, the "Alien" Ripley.

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  3. Very cool explanation behind Sheridan's names. I didn't know about your brother -- I'm sorry to hear that. What a beautiful way to honor your brother by giving his name to your first child.

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  4. Love it! I think I remember reading a post about your brother once before. How wonderful to honor him through Sheridan.

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  5. So, you are Italien, and I can stop guessing!
    I thought you are German ;-)
    I love your blog and your cute son!
    Christine with Joshua from Germany

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  6. Thank you so much for sharing the meaning behind Sheridan's name.

    It must have been so hard to lose your brother at age 15 :( What an honor for Sheridan to carry on his name.

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  7. Yay! Another Bab5 fan! (yeah, I'm a geek, too!)

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  8. I love unique names!Sheridan is a wonderful name.

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