What's in a name?

To ol' Bill Shakespeare, it was a rose by any other name that would smell as sweet. But to every other person in the world, it's actually a lot more than that even!

Surnames, nicknames, sobriquets, nom-de-voyages, and countless other titles have been around for thousands of years, and all of them have a meaning attached to them which is so much more than just a group of letters that add up to a sound that helps in separating one person's identity from another.

If you've ever been expecting a baby, adopted a kitten, or been gifted a stuffed animal, then you know how important choosing a name for someone or something that you know will long be close to you on life is. And vetting an endless catalog of possibilities is something that many folks in this position regularly practice.

Knowing what your own name means and what it says about you is essential in my humble opinion. Even if what your parents may have chosen for you has never been to your liking or seems horribly out of place in translation.

And so with that in mind, I'd like to do a little sharing from our family of first namesakes to yours, by sharing the meaning of everyone who works at Townsquare Media - Wenatchee so you can get to know us all a little better.

Now we're only going to do first names this time around. That way we can leave some room to explore the last names of the T-Square - Wenatchee crew in a future article.
Okay! Let's get started, shall we? And in alphabetical order too by the way.

AARON
Aaron was originally a Hebrew name that means “exalted” or “strong.” It has also been interpreted to mean “teacher” or “mountain of strength.”

This one applies to our fun-loving mid-day host on 99.5 The Bridge, and we can't exactly disagree. Although this mountain sure loves to dole out his share of hugs around the building that's for sure...and we all know that takes a ton of strength to pull off every day!

ALYSSA
Our co-host on KW3's Breakfast Burrito morning show bears a Greek name meaning "rational" or "noble."

The six-letter effeminate title derives from the word alyssum, which is a flower known for its medicinal properties that was actually thought to cure madness at one point in history.

Huh? Not sure if our Alyssa is having much of an effect on the insane antics of her co-host, Connor, just yet...but there's always hope that with more time in her presence that he might not end up cured one of these days.

ANTHONY
The name Anthony can be traced to the ancient Roman family name Antonius.
Its actual meaning has long been debated by linguists, although many claim it means “priceless one” or “highly praiseworthy.”

Well, we couldn't agree more! This game-day engineer for NewsRadio 560 KPQ and 1340 The Hawk is truly one of everyone's favorite people at T-Square - Wenatchee. And that's more than just high praise for being worthy by name, it's a fact!

CHRIS(TIN)
Yep! This one's me.

Although I've gone by "Chris" on the air for nearly 25 years now, and in everyday life for going on 50 revolutions around the sun, my full given name is actually "Christin." And no, I didn't forget the 'a' between the second 'i' and the 'n'. My given name really is "Christin".

My mother passed about seven years ago now, so it's sadly too late to ask her again, but I was told many times over the years that I was named after a Swiss skier who participated in the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan. But I swear, since the internet became a thing, I've looked at every single dude who played every sport at those games and have never come across the Christin that I was supposed named for.
In any event, it seems dear mum got it right anyhow, since my name means "follower of Christ". And although I am not a practitioner of any particular religion, I certainly live up to this is my own unique way with every breath I take.

D.D. (DEE)
If you've ever worked in radio, then you know just how important any station's traffic department is. And D.D. is our on-site VIP who handles this most-imperative role.
Now from what I understand, she isn't really crazy about her given first name, Dee, so I'll beg of her forgiveness for referencing it in this exercise, but there's not an actual translation for the name D.D., since each of the acronyms applied to these peeps would have an individualized meaning.

Dee, however, is a name of Welsh origin meaning “swarthy” or “dark”, which is kind of ironic on two fronts, since she's probably got the best suntan in the building year round, and keeps all of our stations from going "dark" (off the air) year round too!

DAVID
We have two Davids here at T-Square - Wenatchee, and both go by the shortened variation of this Hebrew name meaning "beloved" or "favorite" - Dave.

Once again, "what's in a name?" comes up with the right answer, since we love both of our Daves, including our program director at NewsRadio 560 KPQ, and our host of the Big Rock Show weekday mornings at The Quake...who also happens to double as everyone's Uncle too!

JAROD
Another one of our brilliant game-day engineers for sports at NewsRadio 560 KPQ and 1340 The Hawk, as well as a spot color commentator for Cashmere athletics.
Jarod grew up in the radio biz, and I can remember when he'd watch me call Wenatchee Wild hockey games for KPQ years ago too!

He's an amazing young man whose namesake is Hebrew for "one who descends".
You know it! Seems we have another one that truly fits, since Jarod's an angel to everyone here at T-Square - Wenatchee.

JASON
It's not surprising that our news director, morning show host, and noon news host at NewsRadio 560 KPQ would have a name of Greek origin, since he makes sure none of us in the news department ever speak (or write) Greek to the audience.

His name means "healer", which also comes as no surprise, since we can always lean on Jason to remedy any situation which might arise in the chaos of the news room.

JESSE
The name Jesse derives from English and Dutch but can also trace its roots all the way back to the old Hebrew name Yishai, which means "God exists".

Alright, now knowing Jesse as well as I do, I'm sure he'd be expecting a witty wisecrack about this fact about right now. But seriously, as our lead technical engineer, this man truly does play God for thousands of Townsquare - Wenatchee listeners every day...by keeping us all on the air without a hitch...even when the other God decides to toss a few lightning bolts at our transmitters!

JOHN
Just like we have two Davids at T-Square - Wenatchee, we've got a pair of Johns too!
John is a Hebrew name meaning "God is gracious".

Yes indeed! We're still batting 1.000 Mr. Shakespeare, since both of our Johns are the most gracious of peeps and we love having them with us in both the marketing department and as co-host with Alyssa on KW3.

LAURA
The name Laura is the feminized form of laurus, which is Latin for "bay laurel plant".
In the Greco-Roman era, this plant was used as a symbol of victory, honor or fame and the name "Laura" represents the embodiment of victory and strength.

Well, chalk up another one! Townsquare - Wenatchee's Laura just happens to be our market president...in other words...she's the boss! And without her persistent strength and honor, none of us would be victorious in our positions here.

LEAH
One of our office managers here at Townsquare - Wenatchee owes her namesake to origins of both English and Latin, as well as Hebrew.

The name "Leah" is thought to mean "lioness", and that's yet another one that fits! Since our Leah can not only roar like a lioness, but she also kinda looks like one too!
She's also just like everyone's mother lion around the office too, since the rest of us all go to see her first whenever we have anything on our minds.

MADISON
Just like our two Daves and two Johns, we've also got ourselves a multiple of Madisons at Townsquare - Wenatchee too!

Literally translated, the name "Madison" means "son of Matthew", but our two Madisons are both female, so we know that's a bit off the mark.

Fortunately, the name Madison's earliest origins translate to mean "strength in battle", and that one tracks big time, because both of ours have positions which put them on the frontlines every day and each of them needs that strength to help the rest of us.
One Maddy is a warrior in the marketing department, and the other Madi makes like a battle princess at reception and an assortment of other tasks.

What in the world would we do without either of them? Let's just not think about that one, okay ;-)

MARK
Our newest addition to the newsroom at NewsRadio 560 KPQ is also aptly-named it would seem.

In just a few short months, Mark has already proven himself as a worthy warrior of news, and his name is related to the Latin word for Mars, the Roman god of war.
Interestingly enough, Marcus was one of the three most common names given to male children during Roman times. But there's nothing all-that-common about our Mark, he's one of a kind and lives up to his namesake for certain.

MAV3RICK
Okay, admittedly the origins of our operations manager's name when spelled with the '3' are all his own.

But if we can just turn that numeral around for a moment and make like it's an 'e', we find that the name Maverick means “an independent man who avoids conformity."
Well gee, anyone who knows Mav wouldn't be able to agree more. So it looks like what's in this name is once again right on the MON3Y ;-)

MICHAELLA
Michaella is one of our battle-tested troops from the T-Square - Wenatchee marketing department, and she's a total gas to have around.

Unique in so many ways that we all adore, her name is of Hebrew origins and means "one who is like God".

Yeah, that makes sense, since Michaella is kind of like her own little god for sure.

NOLAN
Our newest addition to Townsquare Wenatchee works in the digital marketing department and also appears to have the only namesake among our staff whose namesake is of Irish descent.

The name "Nolan" means "champion" or "famous", and although we're still getting to know our Nolan, we definitely can see how his name would be a fitting one for what he's already brought to T-Square's Wenatchee team.

RICARDO
Another one of our favorite peeps here at Townsquare - Wenatchee!

Ricardo is like a Ricardo-of-all-trades! From game-day engineering, to production, to technical assistance, there's really nothing he hasn't done for us...and can't seemingly do!

Ricardo's name is the Spanish or Portugese derivation of the name "Richard," which means "power", "brave", "strong".

Yes, sir! Check, check, and check!!

STEVEN
Another name from Greek origins here at T-Square - Wenatchee, our Steven prefers his name spoken without the 'n', so to us he's simply "Steve".

The name Steve(n) means several things, including 'wreath' and 'crown', and by extension 'reward, honor, renown, fame'.

Being our elder stateman of the office, Steve certainly gets the honor of wearing that crown and is also filled with every virtue his namesake represents. We love him dearly and are happy to have him as our very own "Steve"!

TERRA
This name meaning is perhaps the easiest one to guess among the Townsquare - Wenatchee staff...just think "firma" and you've got it!

Yes, "Terra" means Earth, and our Terra works in a down to Earth manner in the news department at NewsRadio 560 KPQ.

We appreciate her contributions to the team, as well as helping all of us come down to Earth when we need to from time to time!

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