John David and Abbie 10: Selling Clothes on Poshmark to Make Ends Meet

[JermajestyDuggar]

My husband’s name was almost off the top 1000 chart when he was born. Because it was considered an old man name back in the 70s. Everyone had heard the name, they just didn’t use it. But it is much more popular these days. So it’s not weird that our oldest son has the same name. There are other kids his age with the same name. My husband says he’s never once met someone his age with his name. Just really old men or kids under 10.

[Cam]

16 hours ago, CanadianMamam said:

I find name trends so interesting, that you can guess how old someone is based.on their name/nickname. My name was in the top 10 the year I was born, but kind of faded after that and most people with my name are actually slightly older than me. 

 

So true. My husband worked with lots of different male bosses over the years. I could usually gage the general age of them by their name. If it was a Brendan or Ryan or Justin, the boss was under 40. If they were Bob, Craig or Jerry, they were older. 

[SassyPants]

18 hours ago, adidas said:

Libby was a popular nickname for Elizabeth in the 90s too.

Libby is one of our dog’s name!

[Baxter]

2 hours ago, SassyPants said:

Libby is one of our dog’s name!

That was the name of my aunt and uncle's cocker spaniel. 

[NotQuiteMotY]

I'm not a huge fan of nicknames as legal names, honestly. All of our kids have long old-fashioned formal first names (all family names, no less) with the potential for multiple nicknames. Sometimes it feels like the parent isn't acknowledging that the child will grow up to be an adult with the more cutesy nicknames as the legal name. Obviously, YMMV here! And that's not always the case even to me, depending on the name.

In the case of JD and Abbie, even if the baby's legal name is Charlie rather than Charles as speculated, that's not bad as a name that'll stand him his whole life.

[PlentyOfJesusFishInTheSea]

On 10/3/2022 at 9:49 PM, purple_summer said:

Similar occupation, but I actually only use my formal first name for work. No one in my family or close circle uses my legal first name so it helps with boundaries. Easier for me to keep my professional and personal life totally separate.

All of these “classic” names just mean you end up with 10 “Joseph.smith@email.gov” entries on the listserv 🙄

I used to work with a Mohamed Middleinitial Mohamed and he was the 2nd one at his government so he had a 2 after his name in his email. And of course the Mohameds got each other's emails all the time.

The uni I work at does something similar so w975wang@uni.ca is a common sight!

[Meggo]

On 10/4/2022 at 4:04 PM, SassyPants said:

My husband is from Ireland. His 1st 3 sibs are John, Ann, Joe. And the first names of one of their sets of cousins are John, Ann and Joe. I think the Irish had a strict name pattern. #1 son after X, #2 son after Y, #1 daughter after Z etc…lots of repeat names. 

 

I have found this a lot in Mennonite families. In the more traditional families - it's all biblical. Anne, Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth, Peter, Issac, John, Abe, Henry, William (okay - not biblical but still). So a lot of families have two Annes and a Peter, or Peter married Anne - just like his DAD Peter married his MOM Anne - it's all very confusing. 

[viii]

50 minutes ago, Meggo said:

I have found this a lot in Mennonite families. In the more traditional families - it's all biblical. Anne, Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth, Peter, Issac, John, Abe, Henry, William (okay - not biblical but still). So a lot of families have two Annes and a Peter, or Peter married Anne - just like his DAD Peter married his MOM Anne - it's all very confusing. 

Yes! My mom's family is Mennonite and recently my sister and I tackled the family tree. The amount of Peters, Annes, Elizabeths, Henrys, etc... nobody branched out very much!

[Nothing if not critical]

Yeah, my mom's family was the same. They had a tradition of giving the eldest son the same name as his father, which is fairly normal. But things got weird when three subsequent generations of eldest sons married women with the same first name. So my grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents are couples with the exact same names...

[lexiloumarie]

18 hours ago, viii said:

Yes! My mom's family is Mennonite and recently my sister and I tackled the family tree. The amount of Peters, Annes, Elizabeths, Henrys, etc... nobody branched out very much!

We lived in a smaller Mennonite area for awhile (we move every few years for my wife's work), and we had the opposite experience. The young girls (14-16yrs) at the local deli were Jalena, Lucinda, Tabitha, Valerie, Larissa, Lynette, two Sherry/Cheris, and several Heidis. Only one or two Becky's and a Beth for the Biblical end. 

[HideousGreenShirt]

Random name story. A guy I recently worked with is a not-identical twin.

His dad's family always give the first born son a specific name. He and his twin brother have the exact same first name but different middle names. 

I initially didn't believe him because how ridiculous, but he showed me id and said he uses only the middle name while the brother uses their shared first name. 

Currently they both are living in different countries. He said he constantly asks their mom why she agreed to it because its super annoying and stupid. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

I just saw some mennonites the other day and I was instantly bothered by the contrast between the men and women. The men blended in pretty well and no one would ever bother staring at them for sticking out. But the women stuck out like a sore thumb and it made me sad. They must get stared at all the time. Of course I didn’t stare. I try not to stare at anyone. I just noticed when looking around that they stick out and it didn’t seem fair. 

[viii]

I used to get so angry as a child at family functions because the men got to sit around and visit the whole time while the women prepared the meal, served the meal and then cleaned up the meal. I learned at an early age the inequality of being born a girl. 

[Meggo]

20 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I just saw some mennonites the other day and I was instantly bothered by the contrast between the men and women. The men blended in pretty well and no one would ever bother staring at them for sticking out. But the women stuck out like a sore thumb and it made me sad. They must get stared at all the time. Of course I didn’t stare. I try not to stare at anyone. I just noticed when looking around that they stick out and it didn’t seem fair. 

It's not all Mennonites. Coming at it from a mostly outsiders perspective (I just married a man who was raised Mennonite but never really believed in it). - there are the old colony Mennonite - which is like what you've noticed. The women in the long dresses, the married ones wearing headcovering (which seems to either be a scrap of lace on their heads or a full on bonnet with ruffles around it), the single ones with the LONG hair that is just worn down and not even in a pony - sometimes a braid. And I can spot those men pretty easily too. Jeans, boots, button down shirts that just seem... off? somehow?
My husband grew up in this type of family. No TV, most sisters all got married SUPER young (in my mind - 17 is young), most kids were pushed out of high school so they could go and earn money (and turn it over to their dad). They did a LOT of farm work in the summers - sometimes getting pulled out of school to go pick tomatoes for example (they didn't own a farm - this was a family that hired itself out as farm labor) 

But there are some Mennonites that wouldn't stand out. They are more "modern" as it were and look like everyone else. Their kids go to school and college and med school and photography school - and whatever. It's just their religion and their cultural touchstone. (the foods, the traditions) but they don't stand out as anything based on their dress etc. 

[fluffernutter]

I live in a heavily populated mennonite and Amish area. We have the old-school bonnet and dress wearing kind all the way to my next door neighbors who are completely modern. The guy and my husband hang and have beers sometimes and talk engineering (he's software, mine is hardware). Their kids go to private mennonite school. My great grandparents on my mom's side were the bonnet wearing kind, I don't really remember them at all but I have a pic of her holding me. My mom used to say she was her favorite grandmother because she would have so much fun going to their farm growing up. My sil's family is mennonite, and when they have family get-togethers its the same way. Old school and modern. I guess I'm just so used to it I don't really think about it. Ohhh but the food at those get togethers... 😍

[JermajestyDuggar]

I agree that there are many different types of Amish and Mennonite. It’s often hard to tell some apart. There are some Amish that are so “modern” that people assume they are Mennonite. And there are some mennonites that are so modern that people assume they are mainstream Christians. 

Edited October 19, 2022 by JermajestyDuggar

[viii]

1 hour ago, fluffernutter said:

Ohhh but the food at those get togethers... 😍

There is nothing like singing the doxology and then sitting down to a huge Mennonite spread!

[fluffernutter]

2 hours ago, viii said:

There is nothing like singing the doxology and then sitting down to a huge Mennonite spread!

I've never had to sing at any get-togethers but I about burst with pride when my sister in law's mom texted me and asked for my Mac and cheese recipe for some potluck at her church. 🤣 I'm curious about the doxology, off to look that up.

Edited October 19, 2022 by fluffernutter

[indianabones]

There are lots of Hutterites where I live (we do have Amish and Mennonites too, but they're outnumbered by the Hutterite colonies). I just learned that you can tell apart the different sects by the size and spacing of the polka dots on the head kerchiefs that the women wear. They grow amazing produce.

We also have an FLDS group, but they're the modern kind- same church as the Browns from Sister Wives. Can't tell them apart by their clothes.

[libgirl2]

3 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I agree that there are many different types of Amish and Mennonite. It’s often hard to tell some apart. There are some Amish that are so “modern” that people assume they are Mennonite. And there are some mennonites that are so modern that people assume they are mainstream Christians. 

I know of an author who converted after having some real tough times, homelessness among them. She is Amish but she has her picture taken, has been on TV and has an online bakery. She is a pretty neat person. Sadly, she has found out she has a terminal disease that is slowly taking away her ability to function. I feel awful for her. 

[viii]

18 hours ago, fluffernutter said:

I've never had to sing at any get-togethers but I about burst with pride when my sister in law's mom texted me and asked for my Mac and cheese recipe for some potluck at her church. 🤣 I'm curious about the doxology, off to look that up.

That IS a mark of pride, haha. Be proud!!

And I don't know if every Mennonite family grew up singing the doxology, but my family did at big events or holidays. It's just a short little song of praise but holds very special memories for me. We recently sang it at Thanksgiving and I couldn't even get through it because it made me miss my Grandma so much. 

[FiveAcres]

9 minutes ago, viii said:

That IS a mark of pride, haha. Be proud!!

And I don't know if every Mennonite family grew up singing the doxology, but my family did at big events or holidays. It's just a short little song of praise but holds very special memories for me. We recently sang it at Thanksgiving and I couldn't even get through it because it made me miss my Grandma so much. 

We sang this in my liberal Lutheran church as well. 

[viii]

Yes, it's not just a Mennonite thing for sure. 

[BadMurphy]

We sang the Doxology every Sunday in my Methodist church in Southern New England in the 1990’s. We sang it as the tithing collectors walked back up the aisle to bring the baskets to the pastor.

(They probably still do it but I haven’t attended since like 2009)

[AnywhereButHere]

We saw what I’m guessing was a Mennonite or Amish group at the Grand Canyon this week. The women were in pretty but plain calf length dresses and bonnets and the men were in black pants/white shirts. The dresses didn’t look awesome for scrambling on rocks, but they all made it work! (I was people watching while waiting for husband to finish a work call - I wasn’t going all judgy on my fellow park goers 🙂)

On another note: I think I talk about this forum too much. Husband took one look over the edge into the canyon and said “Damn. I feel like Michelle Duggar’s gynecologist.” 
(Okay - that was judgy…)