My first name, Hannah, is a Hebrew word meaning "grace" or "favored." In addition to my mother liking the meaning (and the lack of overuse at the time I was born), I was also named, in part, after my great-aunt Hannah. I don't know if my name's being a palindrome had anything to do with Mom's thought process at the time, but it's something I enjoy. As far as I know, there really aren't any nicknames for Hannah, but that doesn't mean people haven't tried: "Hannie," "Han," and the list goes on. Luckily, none of them really stuck.
My last name, Potts, is the part I'd like to change. Potts is an English surname that actually has two possible origins. The first is a variation of the name Philpot, a medieval variation of the name Philip, meaning "little horse lover." The other is from the Old English word meaning "hole" or "pit." So my ancestors either lived near or in holes.
Something I do like about my last name, however, is that I share it with Tommy Potts, a very fine Irish fiddler. Being part-Irish, and a fiddler myself, I'd like to think there's some relation (although my dad's side of the family is not musical whatsoever).
On the subject of last names and musicians, the surname Ledford (from my mother's side of the family) has a special meaning for me. I recently found out I am directly related to Lily May and Rose Ledford, two of the founding members of an iconic early bluegrass band called the Coon Creek Girls.
So, the more I think about it, "what's in a name" may not actually be that much at all.
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