Name of the Day: Wesley

When I was in high school, I had a friend who was into Star Trek.  We’re talking REALLY into Star Trek.  As in, she had a wall mural of Saturn, posters of the crew of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701D, and model starships suspended via fishing line from her ceiling.  When we exchanged notes in class, she always signed them LLAP.  If you know what that stands for, you are one of us.  Bwa ha ha.

Like any good devot, she dragged me down into her madness.  During my freshman year of high school, I had a vague sense of who Jean Luc Picard was, but that was about it.  By the end of my senior year, not only did I have a uniform, but I had actually worn it in public.  On a couple of occasions.  And it was a medical officer’s uniform, commander rank.  With a (borrowed) communicator.  That chirped.

As was the case with all truly devoted young Trekkers of the mid-90s, both of us shared a marked antipathy toward the wunderkind of the crew:  Dr. Crusher’s son Wesley.  That annoying, snivelling little smart kid.  Just because the captain had the hots for Wesley’s mother, Wesley got to be an “honorary” member of the bridge crew.  And — because he was clearly a genius — he actually did save the ship on several occasions during the first season.

Our mantra was, “Shut up, Wesley.”

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that we were probably jealous.  To two outcast-by-default teenage girls, Wesley represented those people to whom everything comes easily in life.  People whose talents were recognized and appreciated by the grown-ups.  Popular, arrogant people.

Man, how I hated Wesley Crusher.

But over the years, I have come to learn a few things about myself — one of which being the fact that things which annoy me are usually pretty good indicators of my own insecurities.

So the name Wesley no longer inspires the kind of mental retching that would have been typical for me fifteen years ago.  In fact, I have come to like the name quite a bit, now that I have been able to separate it from the character.

Wesley is originally a surname, which causes it to lose some points in the minds of some Namies.  I’m not wild about that fact, but it still doesn’t change my overall positive opinion of the name.  And, since I had a student named Wesley last year, I have seen firsthand how the name wears in daily life.  It stands out nicely from all of the other boy names out there nowadays.  Imagine, if you will, a teacher reading out the roll call:  “Aidan, Jacob, Cayden, Ben, Jayden, and … Wesley.”  The rhythm is very distinctive.

Go ahead and use Wesley with my blessing.  Resistance is futile.

Till next time, LLAP!

from AskOxford
From the surname of the founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley (1703–91), and his brother Charles (1707–88), who was also influential in the movement. Their family must have come originally from one or other of the various places in England called Westley, the ‘western wood, clearing, or meadow’. The given name was at first confined to members of the Methodist Church, but is now widely used without reference to its religious connotations.

from Behind the Name
From a surname which was derived from a place name meaning “west meadow” in Old English.

from NameBerry
Though not very fashionable — and with a feminine lilt thanks to its similarity to Lesley and Ashley — this surname of the founder of Methodism is still given to around two thousand baby boys each year.

from Baby Name Wizard
Style:  Last Names First, Timeless
Sisters and Brothers:  Lindsay, Whitney, Kristen, Courtney, Lacy, Marcus, Jesse, Bryant, Clayton, Bradley
Wesley was originally used to honor Methodist Church founder John Wesley, but it’s now well established as a secular name with a preppy style.  Action movie star Wesley Snipes has lent it some much-needed toughness, and the nickname Wes helps tone down the preppiness.