What's in a name?

 I've always liked my name. I remember asking my mom why she named me Zina. She stated that she used to watch a TV show, in the 1960s, called The Doctors and the Nurses, which starred Zina Bethune and she liked the name so she named me Zina. Even though this name is a lot more popular today (still not used frequently) than it was in the 1970s, when I tell people my name, I still get surprised comments about how unique my name is. At first, my mom thought of naming me after her - Senorita. Her father got her name from a poem entitled, Little Senorita. I don't know the author of this poem; however, I remember finding the poem in a book when I was in first grade, but have not seen it since. Thankfully, she did not name me Senorita, but she did come up with a middle name for me that was similar to her first name: Sheranda, pronounce Sha-ran-da (long 'a' sound), exactly as it looks. I have a cousin who is named after me. Her first name is Sharanda, pronounced Sha-run-da. Growing up, my brother would make fun of my name by making it a sentence: Zina, she ran da hall (my maiden name is Hall). Actually, it's kind of funny. But his name is also funny - Leroy Hall, Jr. named after our father. I've always called him Roy, though. 

My son's name is Cervantes Jeans Henry. However, this was not the name given to him at birth. He had another name, but his nickname has always been CJ. So you're probably wondering why his name changed? Well, in 1996 I married this awesome man named Eldridge Henry, II. I was eager to take his last name: Henry, especially since my initials would not change (lol - just joking). I love hearing his name and my last name. His nickname, Big El, is usually what I'm called when his friends see me. "Are you Big El's wife?" or "Hey, Mrs. Big El!" However, at home he's just El (or Big Daddy or Big Red or okay that's enough-lol) to me. However, when CJ was 15, we made the decision to change his name (for reasons I won't go into), by removing the first and last name and the Jr. he was given at birth and adding Henry to come up with Cervantes Jeans Henry. There's that name again. I even love saying it and typing it. I'm proud to be a Henry (okay more on this later). 

I've never dated anyone named Eldridge nor had I ever met anyone with this name. I remember after a year of us being married I wanted to surprise El with a tattoo of his name on my leg, but I had to look at my checkbook to make sure I was spelling it correctly (ha). Don't judge me...I wanted to make sure I got it right. Tattoos are permanent (lol). I was (and still am) proud to be married to El. I have heard women protest giving up their last name or hyphenated it with their husband's. I was proud to become a Henry. For me, this meant I was becoming a part of El's family. I was becoming his wife. I was becoming his. And I'm okay with that. I'm glad to say I belong to him. My new name signifies that I am married. I'm taken. I'm off the market. Our last names signify unity. And now that CJ is also a Henry, we are more unified than ever. When I hear CJ's name called at church or elsewhere, I perk up, because he is linked to his father and mother. He's ours. And other people don't have to question who he belongs to - he's a Henry. Hopefully, we're setting a good example and he's proud to be a part of our family. Hopefully, he's proud to be a Henry. (I think he is because he wanted to change his name as much as we wanted to). No more walking into the school and being called Mrs. Jeans. Ugh! That was not and has never been my last name. I would constantly have to correct CJ's teachers - "It's Mrs. Henry, thank you." Oh but when he got to high school - "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Henry! CJ has been..." You get the picture. We were identified by his last name which is also our last name. [For those of you that had children after marriage and have never lived in a blended family, this may not seem like a big deal to you. I grew up in a household where my parents' last name was the same as mine. My parents were married until my father died. However, as a single parent, me and my son had different last names and that didn't change when I got married. It means a lot to me (and always has) to have a unified family, not just in name but in Christ as well.] 

Maybe a name is not that important to you. That's fine. I was just thinking about how it makes me feel to be associated with my husband. I was thinking about the warm and cozy feeling I feel when I'm out and people recognize me as "Big El's wife" or "Mrs. Henry". Or when they recognize CJ as "Little El" or "Little Henry". I also like it when El is recognized as "Zina's man" (inside joke) "Mr. Zina" or "You Ms. Henry's husband? (this question is usually from former students and coworkers). My name - Mrs. Zina Sheranda Henry - signifies I belong to a wonderful man and we're family! 

H-honoring
E-encouraging
N-nurturing
R-respectful
Y-youthful



What does your name mean to you? Share your thoughts or your own acronym. 

Love,
Mrs. Zina Sheranda Henry (Big El's wife)