Denali?

I still want to change my middle name.

I’ve written about this before. Over four years ago, I wrote a blog explaining that seeing my middle name in print was becoming a bit jarring. (Click here for that post, and scroll down to the subheading “June 16, 2010”.) I wrote about it again in early 2012, writing that I was trying to decide on a replacement middle name.

So here’s what I’m thinking: I will change my middle name, legally, to Denali.

Here are the pros:

*It starts with a D. My current middle name likewise starts with a D, so my initials will remain unchanged. I like my initials – JDZ – so I’d hate to see them change.

*I once read a book about Denali National Park. It was a great book, filled with amazing photos of the park. I decided then (this was back in 2002) that I would like to visit there someday. So…Denali has been a goal of mine for some 12 years.

*It sounds cool. At least, I think so. I don’t know anyone else with that name. All too often, unique names equal weird names, but I don’t think so in this case. This time, unique seems really cool.

*It has three syllables. This is good because that means it fits well with my monosyllabic first name. It also means that I’ll have a grand total of 7 syllables in my name, which is what my wife and all three kids have. So…yay! We’ll match.

Okay, now here are cons…

*It sounds feminine. You know, because it ends with a vowel sound. Like Rosa…or Mimi…or Netanyahu. I know that in some languages, adding a vowel sound almost automatically feminizes a name or term but, thankfully, no habla españo. And, anyway, Denali ends with an “ee” sound, not an “a” or “ia” sound.

*It’s appropriating Native American culture. Okay…actually I’m mixed about this one. In the book Neither Wolf Nor Dog, the author noted how anyone who has the slightest bit of Native American ancestry makes a big deal over how great that is. People say things like, “Did you know I’m 1/16 Cherokee?” or “My great great grandfather was 1/8 Lakota.” So, it’s with great hesitation that I say…my great grandmother was a Blackfoot Indian. But since “Denali” is Koyukon and not Blackfoot, I certainly don’t have any more claim to the culture than I do to Greek, just because one of my other great grandmothers was German. To me, the bigger issue is…so what? We gave our first child a Scottish middle name even though we are not Scottish. I don’t think my choice of names should be limited only to those cultures that I, or my recent ancestors, have haled from.

So, I’m looking for some feedback. What do you think?