Annmarie

A portmanteau blending the English Ann, derived from the Hebrew root for grace, with the French Marie. American parents began welding the two names together on birth certificates in the early twentieth century, bypassing the hyphen entirely. The single-word construction found particular favor in Catholic parishes along the Eastern seaboard after the Second World War.

The name suggests someone who was in elementary school when roller rinks were peak weekend entertainment. It reads as practical, organized, and quietly impatient with forms that demand a separate middle initial. An Annmarie is rarely mistaken for someone born in this century, though she is entirely at ease with that fact.