I've always been Rebecca, long and formal and fancy. I have never been a Becky.
My name is from the bible, in which Rebecca is considered to be one of the major matriarchs of the Old Testament. In my opinion, the biblical Rebecca did some shady stuff. Basically, she betrayed her husband to try to get a better deal for her favorite son, in an elaborate plan that involved goatskin handicrafts imitating hairy arms, among other things.
I grew up thinking my name meant "voluptuous, beautiful and ensnaring," because it said so in my parents' book about names. But later, when I looked it up in a bigger, better book, it said that Rebecca meant "the noose" and the voluptuous part was about tying up (ensnaring) animals to fatten them up for the kill. I was slightly freaked out about these carnivore/bondage associations but eventually recovered. Now I like my name better than ever.
