Jane is a four letter name. It means God is gracious in Hebrew. It’s a biblical name. A name as old as time itself.  It is a cup of hot chocolate by a crackling fireplace. It is like a rose. Simple yet beautiful. A soft sound. It means grass wisping in the wind. It means seeing Grandma on Christmas day. It is the moon suspended silently among the stars keeping watch over the world every night. Simple yet familiar.

I was going to be an Elsie, but people said, “Like the Borden Cow?”. My parents chose Jane instead. They didn’t want me being a cow all my life. It was also my Great Grandma and my mom’s middle name. A name familiar to my family. A name I have helped carry on. My mom calls me Janie Bird. I would flap my arms when I was a baby as if about to fly. Some call me Janie. It sounds more unique, and less plain. Janie adds a more light hearted spin to my name.

When I was younger I wanted something edgier and full of life. I didn’t want to have the same name as my Grandma’s friends. I wanted to have people call me Janie or JJ. Or even be an Elsie like the cow. To the world Jane is just a name in a popular rap song. It’s a symbol for innocence. It’s plain and simple in a bad way. A boring way. As if there’s nothing special to it.

Despite being a title of a rap song, now I love my name. I realized your name doesn’t have to define you. You define your name. Those four simple letters don’t confine me to be the plain boring Jane. It became a white canvas. Where there’s simplicity that has room for intricacy. It is now something familiar to me. It is something that means me. I would never change it.  

Jane is like the sight of snowflakes tumbling down to blanket the earth. It is a familiar sight. Yet we are always amazed to see it. My name is short and sweet. It is a simple name. But simple is good. Complication is overrated.  Yet Jane is more than just a four letter word.