Dineane was Named after Santa Claus
59Special thanks to Cris A for starting this thread on the forum and inspiring me to write this hub.
I have a pretty unusual name, and I kind of like it.
My parents named me after a man my dad knew who they tell me looked like Santa Claus. He was apparently a jolly enough soul, as well, and my parents thought highly enough of him to borrow his surname, DeNeen, for inspiration.
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My creative mother, DonnaCSmith, morphed the spelling and insisted on calling me by my middle name instead of my first name, Nora. She claimed my dad picked the name Nora after one of his old girlfriends.
For the record, I've never believed that part of the story. My dad insists that it's not true (he admits to dating Nora's sister), but says that he just always liked the name, Nora. And even though I can kind of believe that my mother might have been a timid and shy young bride, I just cannot imagine any mother allowing their child, their first born, to be named after the father's old girlfriend.
Growing up I was always embarrassed on the first day of school when I had to correct the teachers during the first roll call. Most called me Nora, but even those who somehow knew I used my middle name could not pronounce it.
I decided after graduation from high school that I would use "Nora" in college. It seemed like a good time to forge a new identity, and certainly Nora would make life easier.
It's not easy to name yourself, however. I found myself automatically introducing myself as Dineane, and it really didn't matter what your name was in most of those huge freshman classes.
Now-a-days, I like having a unique name. It's fun to pop up so easily in a google search. If I ever write that best seller, my fans might have to make an effort to pronounce my name, but at least they won't confuse me with anyone else!
And won't it be cool when I'm famous to retell the story of how I'm named after Santa Claus.
For the Record
Dineane Whitaker
- Born: Nora Dineane Smith
- Once: Nora Dineane Buttram
- Now: Nora Dineane Whitaker
Copyright Dineane Whitaker 2008 - Please do not copy and paste this article, but feel free to post a link using this url: http://hubpages.com/_ndwcopyright/hub/Dineane-was-Named-after-Santa-Clause
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Comments
When I first saw your name in hubpages, I thought it was an exotic foreign name, but now I know the true tale behind your name. :) I was going to be called Patricia but my parents had a disagreement and out of spite mom named me Dawn Marie, but I use Marie most of the time.
Cool - I can pretend to be excotic and foriegn! Online, anyway - can't shake the southern accent in person! Thanks for visiting Violet...er Dawn...I mean Marie :-)
Buddy Sister Friend always worked just fine to me!
Love ya, Deborah....that's another hub I'm going to have to write!
HOHOHO Dineane! Merry Christmas and to All a Good Night!
More from My Life
- About Time!
I've neglected not only this blog but ALL of my writing for nearly 6 months! Why? Oh, I could find dozens of excuses, but why bother. It's just time to get started again! The big news lately is our pending move. We've bought a house in Plymouth. I never would have believed, even just a couple of years ago, that I would be moving back home. And even when I started toying with the idea a year or so ago, I never thought it would happen this soon! We are excited, but still sort of stressed, too. Buying a house is nerve-wracking, and we had plenty of bumps along the way that might have made good blog material if the whole process wasn't so competitive. That, and my husband particularly likes his privacy - which limits my public blog material :-) My sister, Julia, is bringing Dad's trailer up tonight and we will move the first load of stuff tomorrow. The final move won't be until the end of January. We have a few things we want to do in the house, like restoring the hardwood floors in the living and dining rooms, before we completely move in. I'll be keeping Julia busy for the next couple of months! For those who don't already know, Julia is the bomb at everything home improvement related. I'm a lucky sister :) There. It's a start. Just like the moving and the Christmas preparation and pretty much any other big job in my life, it all gets done a little at a time. Likely, this post will lead to another - in less than six months!
- Camille, the World Traveler, is Home!
She made it back safe and sound! Her first words to me (while I was almost hugging the life out of her) were, "What kind of mom gets all her hair cut while her daughter is out of the country?" Ha Ha! I told her I updated my facebook photo just so she would recognize me, but at one Euro for 15 minutes online at the internet cafe, she didn't check in as much as I'd hoped she would. In spite of a bit of bad luck (they lost everyone's luggage on the way there,and someone broke into her hotel room in Paris), Camille had a grand time. I'm sure I'll be hearing more about it. We only talked an hour or so when she got home, and she's at her dad's for the rest of the weekend. I haven't even seen the pictures yet. She couldn't wait to show me all the cool clothes she bought, though! Now, maybe my writer's block will go away! I been able to write or think about anything but her!
- Camille is in France!
I have to write a retraction of my recent hub, Approaching an Empty Nest. I was totally unprepared for what a "baby" I would be when my "baby" headed across the Atlantic Ocean. It started Sunday night. Ken & I took a ride Saturday to eastern NC to look at houses. When Camille got home Sunday night, she asked why we were looking at houses in Jamesville and informed me, "YOU CAN'T MOVE AWAY! I HAVE ANOTHER YEAR LEFT!" After she went to bed, I boo-whoo'd my way through my journals from my trip to Great Britain when she was only three. I'm very excited for her, and I wouldn't say I am worried, just ridiculously emotional. Her flight out from RDU was delayed last night, so I was able to keep in touch via text message for a while. She sounded fine, of course, and she called me when they finally made it to DC. She said they were "power walking" through the airport and she had to pee and was afraid she wouldn't have time before they boarded again. But she sounded good. Today is Doug's birthday so he got the first call from France - and he missed it! But he called to tell me she had left a voice mail, she sounded good and in a hurry, and they lost her luggage!!! Poor thing! I hope she makes it to an internet cafe soon and catches us all up with some details. I know she will be home before I can blink, and if she was home she wouldn't be here...she'd be off with her friends. But I miss her!
Names in the News
- Motel Owner: Merhige Was "A Little Strange"CBS4 Miami13 hours ago
The owner of a Florida Keys motel where accused mass killer Paul Michael Merhige was captured is talking about the suspect and his capture. Merhige, 35, was arrested without a struggle Saturday night after authorities said they received a tip just minutes after the Thanksgiving night quadruple murder story aired on America's Most Wanted.
- BEN column - Things we'd like to see in the new year; strange occurrence in the Rite Aid parking lot; more Brett FauverBridgeton News2 hours ago
Good morning! The storm cycle will hold true again this week.
- The strange case of fraudster Tom WiseEDP24 - Eastern Daily Press18 hours ago
Tom Wise, the former UK Independence MEP for the East of England, spent Christmas and New Year behind bars after being jailed for two years for fraudulently claiming £39,000 of parliamentary expenses.












William F. Torpey says:
13 months ago
Nice story, Dineane. And Merry Christmas!