My Fiance, Andrew.

Time for some random funny stories about Angel and his name:

There was some confusion about Angel's identity the first time he visited me in Malaysia when we got engaged. Some of my friends who heard of him found it hard to believe that "Angel" was really his name, and a rumor was started that actually, his name was Andrew. Because Andrew kind of sounds like Angel, right?

So, at our engagement party, we received more than a few cards addressed to Rachel and Andrew.

When my sister Anna found out that Angel didn't have a middle name, she bestowed upon him her favorite name of all time, taken from a character in a book, so now Angel is officially known as Angel Geoffrey G.

All too often, Angel introducing himself meets with a variety of comments:

"Is that your real name?"

"No, really, what's your real name?"

"You must be quite an ANGEL to have a name like that!"

"Isn't that a girl's name?"

*Someone immediately breaking into a song that includes the word angel in the lyrics*

And, the ever present,

"Oh, I know someone else named Angel." Which of course proves how cultured and educated in the ways of mankind the person is--look, this isn't the first time they've heard such a name. Sometimes they bring up the pro golfer, Angel Cabrera.

Or...

They say that they have a grandson-in-law from El Salvador (which clearly makes them experts on all matters involving Spanish-speaking people groups) and proceed to ask Angel if he moved to Michigan to be a farmhand and work in the onion fields.

Angel doesn't mind much. He tells the people who doubt that it's his real name: "It's my stripper name." And he points out that everyone who makes a joke about his name seems to think that they are hilariously original--but they're not. He's heard it all before. He would also like to point out that Gabriel and Michael, the named angelic beings in the Bible, are traditionally used as male names.

All this to say...it's enough to make me grateful for having one of the oldest and most common female names of all time. Also, Rachel doesn't rhyme with anything, and almost no one sings songs about Rachel. It's an awesome name. And no, there will never be an Angel the Third in our family. What jokes have people made about your name?

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Also, on the topic of misunderstanding, anything in this post was a complete and utter fib--in fact, all of it is pretty much the precise opposite of anything Angel and I are likely to actually do. My Dad's birthday is April 1st, so I always feel duty-bound to celebrate it in style.