WHY DID PEGGY BECOME MARGARET?

I mentioned in my previous blog re my dual birth registration that on the second certificate my given name was shown to be Margaret and not Peggy.  On the original Ruston certificate the name WAS given as Peggy but there is a reason for the change.

I had never really liked the name Peggy/Peg nor the nicknames that came with it...Peg leg etc. The final straw was when in a letter from Mum's father who lived in London he made comment about my name (Mum always spoke or wrote of me as Peg) saying that he didn't much like my given name as it reminded him of a common household utensil!!!  You can imagine the effect this would have on a 'sensitive' child who didn't much like the name anyway so I immediately asked if my name could be changed to Margaret..."please Mum"!!!

At that time I was about to go to a different school and on the entry form for Perth College (a C/E school) there was a question that asked where had the child been christened.  As Mum had been brought up in the Baptist church in England where children weren't baptised until age 15 or more she had not bothered about it.  We didn't go to church and as Dad wasn't at all religious the subject had never arisen.  I guess I wanted to be the same as other kids at the school so off we went to meet with the Dean of St George's Cathedral in Perth to arrange for me to be christened.  In order for me to be christened Margaret, Mum had my given name changed officially.

It was thus that Peggy Anderson, Peggy Ruston became Margaret Ruston.  So this person has had various names:  Peggy Anderson, Peggy Ruston, Margaret Ruston, Margaret Lewis and now Margaret Elvis. I think I have managed to adapt to each name as I went along and am certainly more than happy with the name I now have as I share the surname with MOH which I am more than happy about as I love him so much.