Teagan originates from Ireland and means “little poet”.  Teagan is a clear turquoise ocean with something growing underneath, constantly shifting and changing. It just needs time to settle and become a final form. Teagan is a sapling in a dense forest that has just enough light to take root and grow. 

Teagan was given to me because of its uniqueness and ability to change. Before I was born, my caring mother chose Teagan because she wanted a name that was unique. Not a boring name like John or Bob. She knew I would be unique and it was a very important decision. 

Unlike my mother, My father, humor as dry as the Sahara, liked the name because it rhymed with his favorite president, Reagan. My father is a simple man, he volunteered for the republican party and even bought a George Bush push to talk doll. So naming me somewhat close to Reagan was just his way of making me more special.

The mishmash of my parents’ expectations of my name, shifting, unique, republican, allowed me to grow as the years passed. I try to distinguish myself from other people while also trying to be someone you could sit down with and have some laughs.

No one calls me any different names. Not to my face anyway. Sometimes a name will pop up from a co-worker or a new friend trying to lighten the mood, but it always is forgotten a few conversations later. I mean, what rhymes with Teagan? Not a whole lot. But I guess that’s just another unique thing about it. 

Uniqueness is something that I feel everyone needs a little bit of in their lives. Even if you do not like attention, being unique in one way or another gives you more importance.

I like to believe that I am unique and that my name is just another part of that uniqueness. That added uniqueness is also why I have never wanted to change my name. Even when I was little, got mad, and thought about doing the whole “run away” drama you saw on tv, I never considered changing my name. It is part of me.