what's in your name?

Daddy and Mommy beg to disagree with Shakespeare when he wrote, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”  You see, little one, you have been named with great care and after much discussion between Mommy and Daddy.

We are naming you Anton after your Italian great grandfather Antonio (Daddy’s paternal grandfather. Daddy’s father, by the way, was also named Antonio); and Lee after your Chinese great grandfather Leon (Mommy’s paternal grandfather).  We want you to always remember how special you are, how different cultures run in your blood. We want you to have an Italian’s love for life and a Chinese’s sense of discipline and industry. 

Dear little Pebble, you are not only partly Italian and Chinese, you are also Australian and Filipino at the same time. Daddy, while born of Italian parents, has been raised and grew up in Australia, enjoying the freedom and opportunities the country has provided its migrants. Mommy is a Filipina and a strong believer that one day, her country will get its act together and be able to raise the quality of life of all its citizens.   We hope you develop a Filipino’s resilience and trust in Divine Providence and an Australian’s belief in equal opportunities for everyone.

We are also giving you a third name, Thomas, a name you can reflect upon in times of great challenges.

Sir Thomas More, who lived from 1478-1535 in England was a lawyer, a statesman, and a humanist. He was ahead of his time. During a period when women were not generally given access to education, he believed that women were just capable as men of academic accomplishment. In this regard, he attended to the education of his daughters. His eldest daughter, Margaret, was much admired for her learning especially her fluency in Greek and Latin.

Sir Thomas More was a loyal servant to King Henry VIII, the king of England at that time, serving him in the capacity of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1525-1529 and as Lord Chancellor from 1529-1532. His loyalty, however, had its limitations. He simply could not agree to the separation of England from the Catholic Church and accept the king as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Thus, he refused to sign the First Succession Act. He resigned his post as Lord Chancellor and became an ordinary citizen again, leaving behind the power and wealth that came with his position. The king, however, was not satisfied. Sir Thomas More would be imprisoned, then charged with treason and beheaded in 1535.

Ok, this beheading business is a bit grim. The point of this little one, is that while Mommy and Daddy love you very much and will protect you from all harm, it may come to pass that you will have struggles that you alone will need to face and overcome. If this happens, you can pray for clarity and steadfastness from your namesake, Sir Thomas More (he was canonised  by Pope Pius XI in1935) who stood firm in his beliefs and held on to what he believed was right and just.

P.S. Mommy’s only reservation about Anton Lee Thomas is that it may be a challenge writing your full name once you start school. When Mommy was a little girl, students who were noisy were made to write their name 100 times on the blackboard before they are allowed to go home. We do not know if this policy will still be allowed by the time you go to school but Mommy is a bit worried that by the time you finish writing your name for the 100^th time, dinner will have gone cold at home and that will upset Daddy (Not that Mommy is saying you are going to be a noisy pupil. This is just in case you get caught by your teacher one day more active than usual).