美国一家庭出现7位"总统" 孩子用总统名起名

    Family Gives Seven Kids Presidential Names 

    摘要：

    美国一家庭出现了7位“总统”，泰勒、格兰特、麦金利、肯尼迪、哈里森、麦迪逊和里根，美国几位前总统名字都在其中，因为这家的父母全部以美国历任总统的名字给孩子命名。

    If someone were to ask Richard and Regina Scheppler's children to name seven of the country's presidents, they wouldn't have any problem. They'd just have to think of their siblings.

    美国一家庭出现了7位“总统”，泰勒、格兰特、麦金利、肯尼迪、哈里森、麦迪逊和里根，美国几位前总统名字都在其中，因为这家的父母全部以美国历任总统的名字给孩子命名。

    据美联社2月21日报道，谢普勒家的孩子们都有着与美国总统一样的名字——泰勒、格兰特、麦金利、肯尼迪、哈里森、麦迪逊和里根。孩子们的父亲理查德说：“我们给第一个孩子起名叫里根，因为我妻子的名字‘雷吉娜’意为王后，我的名字‘理查德’意为国王，而‘里根’的意思为公主。”

    这位父亲还说：“我的一位姑婆是坚定的民主党支持者，她认为我们给孩子取名‘里根’是因为前总统里根。”孩子的母亲雷吉娜补充说：“但由于里根出自共和党，姑婆对他没有多少好感，所以从来都不直呼孩子为‘里根’。”

    在里根之后，谢普勒夫妇给第2个孩子取名“泰勒”，他们这才发现家里竟出现了两位“总统”。此后，谢普勒夫妇便有意让其他的孩子与历任总统同名，而自家的“总统”队伍也因此逐渐壮大。

    孩子的母亲说，当孩子们看见独立宣言的签名人之一为哈里森时都兴奋不已，因为我们家也有一个哈里森；而同样由于名字的缘故，孩子们对历史也特别感兴趣。

    但谢普勒家现年5岁的麦金利认为，虽然有和总统一样的“大名”，但由于名字字母繁多，她最初在幼儿园拼写时很困难。她对母亲说：“妈妈，别人的名字都只有四五个字母，而我的真是太复杂了。”

    If someone were to ask Richard and Regina Scheppler's children to name seven of the country's presidents, they wouldn't have any problem. They'd just have to think of their siblings.

    The Schepplers' children all have presidential names. There's Tyler, Grant, McKinley, Kennedy, Harrison, Madison and Regan — although Regan's name is spelled differently than Ronald Reagan and wasn't intended as a reference to the 40th president.

    "We named the first one Regan because her name meant princess; Regina's was queen; and Richard means king," Richard Scheppler said in a story in Monday's Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

    "I had a great aunt who was a staunch Democrat, and she thought — she swore — that we named her after Reagan the president," he said.

    Regina Scheppler said her great aunt didn't admire President Reagan. "She wouldn't call my daughter by anything but her middle name, and was very adamant about that," she said.

    After Regan Nicole, now 17, came Tyler Landmon Keith and the Schepplers saw the presidential pattern developing. They perpetuated the naming system intentionally with their third child, Madison Elaine. She was followed by Grant William Earl, McKinley Ann, Kennedy Kate and Harrison James.

    Regina Scheppler says that when the Declaration of Independence was a summer reading project, the children were enthused because Harrison was one of the signers.

    She said the children are more interested in history because of their names.

    But McKinley Ann, who is five, found it tough in kindergarten at first because of all the letters in her name.

    "She would tell us, 'Mama, other people have short names of just four or five letters,'" Regina Scheppler said. （蒋黎黎）