A "Starr" is Born

As promised, here is the story behind the name "Starr"

When Marc and I decided to get married I struggled with the decision over whether to take his last name. I had been married before and was carrying that last name for the sake of my son. I certainly was not going to keep my old married name with my new husband and I thought briefly about taking back my maiden name. If I had to take on a new last name and it had to be different from my son's last name then my initial gut reaction was to have a "brand new" last name for Marc and I. I asked him what he thought about that idea and Marc being the awesome guy that he is said that he would change his last name for me. Isn't that unbelievable?!? I cannot even tell you how he touched me by responding that way immediately and with no hesitation. Quite honestly, at that point it made me decide that I wanted to honor him by taking his last name, which I ended up doing.

During that time though, we actually discussed what name we could take on as our last name if we changed it. Marc wanted something catchy as he is in the entertainment business. We finally came up with a name we both loved and that was *Starr*. We thought it was perfect but as I said earlier I decided that we would not actually go through with doing it.

For fun we have always used *our special name* when making reservations or when we go anywhere that we have to use our name. People always tell us that they love the name and I politely just say thank you as I give Marc a knowing little grin :) Marc still calls me "His Starr" so that is how I sign my cards, letters and e-mails to him.

When it was time to pick out a name for our daughter; the choice was simple. Katie Starr Hongshan was named for Marc's beloved Grandma Katie, then our longed for daughter received our treasured private name as her middle name and then of course the second half of her middle name is her Chinese name, which symbols translate to grand and beautiful.

When we told our parents of the name that we chose for our daughter, of course Marc's mom was thrilled that her mom was honored in this way and then my dad was delighted to share with us that *Starr* was his maternal grandmother's family name. How is that for a red thread?!?

I could not think of a better name for our daughter and someday I hope that she is happy to know that she shares her special name with us and enjoys the history behind it.