Definition Essay: My Name

When I was first told that I had to do a research paper on my name, I was nervous about what I might find. As I started my research, I was amazed at what I found about my name. The more I researched the more interesting it became to me. This research paper that I was nervous about was teaching me all the things that I thought I would never want to learn. Along with the research I did in books and on the internet, I already knew a little bit about my name. My parents liked the name Caleb and it was used in the bible a couple of different places. My middle name came from my dad’s father, Guss Jenkins. The only other thing I really knew about my name, was that my last name used to be spelled Shelley, not like it is today, Shelly. The reason my …show more content…
In my search I discovered that Caleb is Hebrew for faith, devotion, and whole hearted. Caleb, a companion of Moses and Joshua, was noted for his astute powers of observation and fearlessness in the face of overwhelming odds. His devotion to God is symbolized by the "dog" in some traditions. The name was popular among the Puritans, and was introduced by them to America (Carr). Next, I searched my middle name, Jenkins. The name Jenkins originated in Cornwall, England and originally meant “son of John”. Jenkins is an uncommon name, but is steadily gaining popularity. (insert citation) I received my middle name as Jenkins because it is a family name on my dad’s side. Finally, I searched my last name, Shelly. When I searched Shelly I was surprised at what I found. Shelly is an English name that means “meadow on a ledge”. People with this name tend to be passionate, compassionate, intuitive, romantic, and to have magnetic …show more content…
I first searched my first name, Caleb. On the top one hundred list of baby boy names, Caleb comes in at an astonishing number nine (Satran). Caleb is also known to be hard for foreigners to pronounce (insert citation). Next I searched my middle name, Jenkins. According to the data, Jenkins is the ninety-fifth most popular surname in the United States and the ninety-seventh most common surname in England (Powell). Lastly I searched my last name, Shelly. Shelly is a unisex name for both boys and girls when used as a first name. The popularity is only given for first name usage and it was most popular during the mid nineteen hundreds (www.thenamemeaning.com). In our family, my great aunt, whose maiden name was Shelley named her son,