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     My name is Justin Irene. My family is Italian on my father's side (and German on my mother's side, which is why I don't look Italian at all), and the name Irene has been our surname for as many generations as we have been able to retain records of (about 5).

IRENE

- From Greek Ειρηνη (Eirene), derived from a word meaning "peace".

- GENDER: Feminine

     Although the name Irene is fairly common as a first name in the United States today, it is much more rare as a last name. According to data taken from the 2000 Census, "Irene ranks #51809 in terms of the most common surnames in America". The census reports that Irene had only 377 occurrences as a surname in the entire country. That's pretty cool to me! (Feel free to check out your own surname: http://names.mongabay.com/data/1000.html)

     Along with its rarity, my last name has put me in a few somewhat-comical situations. In elementary school, my friends and I joked about my last name being a "girl's name" and things like that. We all got a kick out of it, and some of my friends started calling me "Irene" rather than Justin. In middle school, a few of my teachers started calling me Irene (I'm not sure how that started) and it began to stick. When Hurricane Irene passed through North Carolina, my nickname changed from "Irene" to "Hurricane" for a while, which I didn't mind at all.

     My parents have received numerous letters in the mail addressed to women named "Irene Thomas", since my dad's name is Thomas Irene. Also, callers on the phone often ask my dad if they can speak to my mother, whom they believe is named "Irene Thomas". Sometimes these occurrences can be irritating, but overall my family and I think they are pretty funny.

     My name has never really had an ill effect on my life, at least as far back as I can remember, and I don't ever plan on changing it.

     In my opinion, names are part of what makes us unique. However, I characterize myself by my personality more than by my name. I rarely think of myself as Justin Irene, but rather as "me". I think that the name itself is more or less irrelevant; It can be anything. What is important is the person behind the name. I wouldn't have thought any differently about Beowulf had his name been Skagi Brynjolfson.

     Like Anna Quindlen, I believe that "there are two me's, the me who is the individual and the me who is a part of a family of four...". I act a certain way when I am around my family, not necessarily who I really am. I don't think that this is a bad thing, as it allows me to be an individual inside while still being a part of my family.