Is Your Name Really Electra?

A question I get from quite a few people through the years is "Is your Name Really Christine Electra?'
Why yes, yes it is.

It's not a stage name, it's a family name.

I often get asked this question with attitudes of disbelief and speculation, so I thought what a better way to clear the confusion than to thoroughly explain my middle name.

If you've ever met my dad, Steve, he's one of the few people that calls me Electra, like it's my first name, or Christine Electra, like a double name.

My family takes great pride in the fact that I was chosen to be named after my Great Grandmother, Mary Electra, also known as "Mimi Lec".

Mary Electra was a matriarch of our family, from what I've been told since I was born.
I never had the chance to meet this incredible woman. 
She passed away before I was born.

Dad always describes Mimi Lec as the woman everyone wanted to be around.
Everyone in my family describes her a as a class act, the definition of a true lady.
The whole neighborhood wanted to come over to the Williamson's house after school because Mimi Lec made her home welcome to everyone. I'm told there was always a crowd at her house. She wanted to feed anyone that came through her front door and wanted her entire family to feel loved.

You couldn't walk in the Williamson House without hearing someone say "I Love You!" at least four or five times. Mimi wanted her family to know they were always loved. 

Mimi was very religious. She took her faith seriously and wanted her relationship with Christ to be as real and as intimate as her relationships with her family was.
Mimi Lec could barely say the name of Jesus without crying.
That's how real her relationship with Christ was. 

The men in Mimi's life took care of her out of love and respect.
My grandfather, Papa, bought her one of the nicest cars she had ever owned, a Cadillac, because she wasn't able to afford one. Papa wanted her to have one. He wanted his mother to have only the best.
Her husband made sure she always had everything she needed and lived a comfortable life. Her husband wanted the mother of his children to have everything she wanted.
My dad, her grandson, adored her and spent as much time with her as he could. Hearing him tell stories about her is always so heartwarming. His eyes light up and he could go on for hours about his beloved Mimi Lec.

One word my family always uses to describe my great grandmother is "precious."

She was selfless.

She was kind.

She was classy.

She was elegant.

She was lovely.

I'm proud to carry her name as my own now.

So yes, my name is Electra.

I hope I make my family proud every day that they chose me to carry on this incredible woman's name.

And I hope I make my great grandmother proud. I hope she's smiling down at me from heaven.

I hope I can be half of the woman she was one day.

So yes, my name IS Christine Electra. 
​Thank you for asking.