When Mary and Brian Heffernan found out they were expecting their first child, they knew they wanted to carry on an important family tradition.
Most of the women in Mary’s family share the same name: Mary. And so, even before she was born, their baby’s name was already decided.
However, the couple decided to go one step further. When they had another daughter — and another and another — they stuck with tradition, naming all of their four daughters Mary.
‘Once we started, there was no going back,’ said the mum, who lives in California.
‘We have a long history of strong Catholic women named Mary on both sides of our family.
‘Brian and I wanted to carry on the tradition with our first daughter…we honestly never thought about the fact we might have ALL girls.’
Sounds confusing?
In a Facebook post, 47-year-old Mary, clarified that all of her girls go by either their second names, or their nicknames.
And crucially, they’re all named after different people in the family tree.
First born, Mary Frances Borchard, who answers to Francie, is in tribute to Brian’s grandma, Bernice Borchard, who had recently passed away. Both Mary’s sister and great-grandad were named Frances too.
‘We loved the name and decided to call her Francie, honouring strong family members on both sides of our families, and Francie is just that,’ she added.
Their second daughter, Maisie, is named Mary Marjorie after mum Mary’s grandma (Mary) and great-aunt (Marjorie).
Mary says that Maisie inherited her ‘sweet and loving personality’ from great-aunt Marjorie.
The third time around, Mary and Brian were convinced that they’d be welcoming a boy, but again came another little girl.
By this point, they still had many Marys in the family to name her after. While she goes by Janie, she named Mary Jane, after Mary’s paternal grandma, who is also called Mary Jane.
She died when she was fairly young, but Mary always knew that she had a ‘strong and sassy’ personality, a perfect namesake for her third daughter.
‘The fourth baby had to be the boy, right?’ Mary wrote. ‘Tessa surprised us again, rounding out our gaggle of girls.’
‘She’s named Mary Teresa Katherine after my Aunt Tere (Teresa), Aunt Kathy, my godmother who died, and great-aunt Kate, who died when I was pregnant with Tess.
‘She was called Tiny Tess, which suits her and her huge personality well.’
The family — who run a cattle ranch and business named The Five Marys — have faced scrutiny since they shared their daughter’s unusual names online.
But Mary’s proud of their monikers, saying the internet ‘always has opinions.’
She told The Daily Mail: ‘Our family doesn’t need outside approval. The girls love their names, and that’s what matters.
‘Mary is a strong name. To me, it represents humility, steadiness and strength. It’s a name that has endured for generations, and I love what it stands for as a foundation for our family.’
Historically, it’s not been uncommon for parents to continue a family name.
For centuries, firstborn sons were typically named after their fathers, by way of continuing the family name, particularly among the wealthy. You need only look at the to see a few examples.
Do you have a story to share?
Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
