I have a sister named Rebecca, brothers named Jonathan, David and Jacob, and nieces and nephews named Noah, Sarah, Leah, Benjamin, Hannah, Daniel, Joshua and Rachel. My family is obsessed with Old Testament names. I have decided that I will not burden any child I may have with this heavy tradition.
Even so, I have always had pride in my name. Esther was a fabulous heroine (she was also the deceased sister of my favorite Grandpa Noah). As the Queen Esther trading card puts it, "The King of Persia chose her as queen for her beauty, but it was her courage and keen ability to strategize that enabled her to save the Jewish people. She risked her own life for their survival." And then a Jewish holiday, Purim, was created to commemorate her story. With a namesake like that, how could I complain?
Not that my name is perfect. The various nicknames can get annoying: Esther McPester (Est McPest for short), Esther the Molester, PolyEster, Espadrille... And Esther is definitely a name for an older generation, not mine--I knew no other Esthers growing up. This was vividly driven home to me in high school, when a friend and I went to visit her grandparents at their retirement village in Florida. As we were lying by the pool, someone said, "Hey Esther." As I looked up, so did six old Jewish ladies.
