A short post for the week, to highlight that sometimes it is the pronunciation of a name that makes it unusual. At first glance, my grandpa’s name isn’t unusual. Gerald is a fairly common name. However, it is how it is pronounced that makes it unusual. The “G” is soft (like in Gary).

At birth, he was given the name Geralden. On the 1930 census, he is listed as “Geraldine.” But by 1940, he is simply Gerald.

And while my grandma was very particular in letting it know how Gerald should be pronounced, her nickname for him? Jerry (with a “J”). I wish I knew why.

This is a story hard to document, but important nonetheless.

(For last year’s prompt of Favorite Name, I wrote about my grandma, which you can find HERE. I wonder if they bonded over their unusual names).