Online+Journal+2

Most times when people hear my name, they can't help but chuckle, and honestly, I don't blame them. When's the last time you heard of a Paul Andrew Berry? I certainly know that I never have, and to tell you the truth, I'm glad. Not because it's unusual, and not because some people may enjoy it as a sort of novelty, but because like most things, there's as story behind it. No, I'm not named after a Greek god, or even a president, but the fact that my name has a meaning that most likely only pertains to me is something that I consider pretty cool, and within the following paragraphs, I think you'll be able to see why... My first name, being Paul, serves as a dogma for two main things; my grandfather (on my dad's side of the family) who was named Paul, along with Paul as in the saint. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to meet either one of the two, but from what I hear, they were both pretty great guys, and according to my dad, I seem to be a lot like my grandfather (although I don't know much about Saint Paul, I will say that another component that makes the name a bit more ironic is the fact that I was born and raised in a Catholic family). Another tie that my name to my family is that I have a cousin named Paul, along with a great uncle with the same name as well. Whether we're all about traditional names, or just plain lazy to think of new ones is beyond me, but personally, I like to think that it has more to do with the first. Andrew is my middle name, and to be honest, nobody has any clue why that is. My mom claims that I was (once again, another religious connection) named after Saint Andrew, and I suppose she figured it fit me well, and that it'd be an okay name for me to be stuck with throughout my life. Despite my ignorance behind the reasons of my middle name, I will tell you that it literally means serious, strong-minded and stable, and as time wore on, I think that it ended up fitting me quite well. My last name, Berry, the most unusual component of my name, truly show's my Irish heritage better than anything else. There isn't much of an elaborate meaning behind it as far as my family or the internet knows, but most of the claims that I've heard and read about include the name relating to a city. As I said before, I do know that my family immigrated from Ireland in the early 1900's, and that many of my relatives still have thick Irish accents, which I have to admit once in a while shows even when I talk. To further my point, I'd venture to guess that about 90% of my relatives have a definite taste for beer, proving that a taste for such drinks just might have to do with genetics... Between my Irish heritage, and the strong connections to my religious background, I'd say that my name dabbles in quite a few different areas. Although the reasons behind some parts of my name are unknown (or just plain random), I'm personally just fine with that. It's sort of a mystery, and most certainly not one I'm willing to solve. After all, our parents give us our names, but it's up to us to truly make it a name.