I think its safe to say that I can give my dad all the credit for a my last name, VanElsacker, a name that has been a source of frustration. It's the kind of last name that you can never say once during an introduction, is always misspelled, mispronounced, and has an ending susceptible to many inappropriate nicknames. If you went to high school with me you know what I'm talking about. Frankly speaking, I used to look forward to the day I would meet the man of my dreams, take his name and live happily ever after. No more repeated introductions, no more botched pronunciations, no more nicknames. Never in my wildest dreams, did I think that my prince charming would find my last name charming as well. Not to mention the fact that he said it right the first time. He likes how it feels on his tongue when he says it, the way it sounds when he hears it and how the first three letters point directly to my roots.
The earliest VanElsackers came from Antwerp, Belgium in 1354. My ancestor was a mayor and beer brewer in the village of Loenhout, just outside Antwerp.
The name VanElsacker means "he from an acre surrounded by alders."
Van = from (a noble family that ruled over land)
Els = Alder (a tree)
Acker = acre (land)
As time has gone by, I've come to really love my last name. Its unique. Its old. Its mine.
My first name, on the other hand, was given to me by my mother. I have always liked my first name and from my own personal experience, it's still a fairly unique name. I can't think of one person that I know personally with the name Angie. Now, some of you might be thinking, yeah right, I know tons of Angelas, its not unique at all. This is where I step in to inform you that my name is Angie, not Angela. Angie Lee VanElsacker, and I have the birth certificate to prove it.
However, Its my middle name that played a bigger role in me becoming Angie, not Angela. My mom really liked "Lee" but Angela Lee was one too many la la la la's for her liking, so she traded the "la" for an "i" and there you have it: Angie Lee. What I really liked about my middle name is how my mom chose to spell it. When did "eigh" start making the "long e" sound anyway? (no offense christina leigh zerbel brawt :)
More recently, I've acquired a bundle of nicknames thanks to my lovely boyfriend, who rarely calls me by my given name. He seems to prefer Boo, Rabs, Rabbit, Booboo, Rabsy Babsy, Bunches, Boobini, Rabonctious, and Rabbizzle, just to name a few.
Needless to say, I started out as Angie and thats the way I'll stay.
