My name has set the bar for me because it's a popular name for athletes. So I’ve had the pressure to excel at sports. J-o-r-d-a-n. Jordan sounds like a popular kid name so I worry about my social status at school. Jordan doesn’t scream the name of a Mexican but my dad gave me this name because he liked Michael Jordan. Jordan isn’t a family name so I don’t have to worry about becoming a junior, taking on a family name or keeping the reputation of the name clean. Jordan titles the name of a country. Jordan means descending which ironically does not describe me because my spirits soar high. Jordan can be spelled in many ways because parents want to make their kids different but still pronounced it the same. Jacob could’ve been my name. My parents had a huge dispute of whether to name me Jordan or Jacob. They said they would name me Jordan if they name my twin brother Justin. The choices of Justin and Jordan or Jaden and Jacob drove my parents crazy. They decided to name us Justin and Jordan. 

Jordan, my first name, the name I go by in public. Del Mar. The terrifying times of when I hear my second name. My middle name. When my mother’s anger darkens the house with me called to her room, she uses Del Mar. When I hear Del Mar, I know I punishment will creeps around the corner. Otherwise, such a nice name. My parents chose Del Mar because the Latin translation parallels to Dylan. Both mean “of the sea” in Latin. I’m Jordan Del Mar and my twin brother, Justin Dylan. I have never ran across another person with the same middle name I hold and most likely will never because of the uncommonness of Del Mar. Del Mar. I love my middle  name. No one has it. I feel the uniqueness of my name when people have trouble understanding what I’m saying. But I love when girls other than my mom say it, especially Latinas. They say it with a nice ethnic flow. I feel like I’m an Aztec Royalty when Latinas say my name. For the most part, I keep my middle name a secret from others. I feel middle names should stay sacred and only your family and your future spouse can say it. But on the other hand, middle names don’t get enough attention even though they’re part of your full name. Most papers only ask for your first and last and totally forget about the middle. Your parents gave you the name in the middle for a reason. Del Mar will forever stay as my middle name. 

So it’s time to fully express my whole name every time someone new enters my life and asks for my name. Jordan Del Mar M., the response I’ll give them. M., the last name I possess but isn’t my maiden name. Pineda. Pineda, the last name my grandparents and what their parents wrote on their papers. M. came into the picture when my grandma married a man with the last name M. M. sounds super Scottish but Del Mar rolls off the tongue hispanic and Jordan originates from the area of Israel. I feel as if my name bounces around ethnicities like a pinball when my whole name goes through one’s ears. So what gave my parents the idea of Jordan Del Mar when creating my name. But for some reason I really like writing my name on paper. When writing my full name, I have to capitalize five letters. The capital J, the capital D, the capital M in my middle, the capital M for my last, and the capital P following the lowercase c. This fascinated me at a young age. I don’t know anyone else who has to capitalize five letters of their name. My name, Jordan Del Mar M., truly one of a kind.