Way back in the middle of the 20th century, before sonograms were commonly used during pregnancy, couples could not determine the sex of their baby. They could only hope. They certainly hoped for a healthy, normal baby. But they often hoped for a specific sex, most often a boy. Like many others, my parents hoped their first, and probably only child, would be a boy. They had married and started their family later than most at that time. So, wanting and hoping for a boy, they had chosen to name their baby after my father.
On the outside chance that the baby turned out to be a girl, they also needed a name for a girl. My mother was an intelligent and clever woman, having graduated from high school at age sixteen and then begun a successful career in business, with lots of social and community activities. She decided to turn to one of her social networks for help with the crucial decision of a baby name.
At a meeting of her business sorority one evening, after perhaps a few cocktails, each member wrote down her favorite name for a girl and dropped it into a hat. In those days, every woman wore a hat everywhere. From some fashionably stylish hat, my mother drew the winning name, which was Carole.
People often choose to name their children after famous people and at the time of my mother's first pregnancy, Carole Lombard was a famous person. She had died in a plane crash while touring to promote war bonds for the Second World War. Apparently, one of my mother's sorority sisters wanted to honor her in this way.
As it happened a girl child was born and the famous name was applied to the birth certificate. Just Carole. No middle name. And herein lies even more cleverness. On each birth announcement that my mother mailed, she included the recipient's name for the baby's middle name; for example, Carole Lilian, Carole Jane, Carole Whoever, thus ensuring that the honoree would send a suitable baby gift.
Here's the thing: for many years, I resented that name and the implications of it. But now, late in my own life, I can enjoy the thought of that long ago party and how my wacky beginnings influenced my own life choices.
