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My mother named my older brother after her maternal grandfather, who died just a few months before he was born. Because my dad didn't have any say in that decision, he told my mom that it was only fair if he got to name the next one. When my mom got pregnant with me, she asked him what names he liked, and he said Ryan for a boy and Ripley for a girl. She asked if Ripley was in honor of Sigourney Weaver's character from "Alien" and he told her it was. Then she told him there was no way in hell any daughter of hers was going to be Ripley and to pick something else. Dad said he couldn't think of too many girl names he liked on his own, so he told mom to make a list of names SHE liked, and that he would pick his favorite from mom's list. Mom made a list of about 20-30 names, and dad picked Rachel, only he insisted it be spelled Rachael to look more like his name, Michael. My middle name is Ann because it is my mother's first name.

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* The Poster Formerly Known As Billina *