The History of My Names

Judah Leblang/2003
Word count: 742

I don’t have just one name. The accident of my birth provided my parents with the opportunity to give me first, middle and last names, as well as a Hebrew name that was really an afterthought. The names they chose have shaped my life and bound me to their dreams, the visions of immigrants and immigrant children growing in the new world of America.
My names reflect the blend of cultures that have touched my life. Bruce Edward Leblang is the big name given to a little boy born in the suburbs of Cleveland in the late 1950’s. Bruce, a Scottish name with no relationship to the insular Jewish world in which I grew up, was chosen for its simplicity. My father hated being called Billy; he preferred William and accepted Bill. Edward was selected to honor my father’s father, a Hungarian immigrant who died two years before...
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