Talking 'Bout My Jen-eration

I just got around to catching up on a few blogs and saw Design*Sponge's post on jen11. I found this particularly interesting:

...each artist will be sharing their work, as well as contributing to a visual dialogue about this particular generation of women born with the same name (more than a million children were named jennifer in the course of 15 years, leading business publications to refer to them as “the jennifer demographic”)

I had no idea I was "part" of a demographic. I knew there were a lot of Jennifers. The name Jennifer was the most popular name in 1978, the year I was born. But I am not a Jennifer I am a Jenifer. The answer to the prompt "First name?" given by the pharmacist/customer service representative/phone company/etc is "Jennifer with one n" and then I wait for them to back up and delete that second n which they automatically typed when they heard Jennifer.

I am simultaneously of a group but set apart. Its an odd sensation, maybe only because my name is a derivation of such a popular name. When I asked my mom why one n, she said she just wanted my name to be different. The irony which I point out is that in being different she picked the most popular name of my generation and took out one letter. But it makes me smile thinking of it. I can almost see it as a desire by her for me to be someone that would fit in and be well liked, but just unique enough to stand out from the crowd.

I like my name, despite spellcheck telling me it's wrong every time. And surprisingly I am not the only one with one n. There is even one in the jen11 show, Jenifer Altman. I have met at least one other Jenifer in person and, oddly enough, there is a hallmark across the street from my work called "Jenifer's Hallmark Shop." I was so excited the first time I saw it I went in and I asked the woman behind the counter if she was Jenifer with one n. She was not. Nor were the other three women I have asked since. But I still hold out hope.

So what's in a name?  What's in a name that is simultaneously rare and shared by a demographic?  I don't know for sure, and in the end it may not make too much of a difference since everyone knows me as Jen.  And that is something I do share with jen11 and all the other Jennifers.  Unless of course you're a Jenn. Jenn with 2 n's? Now that just doesn't make any sense ;)

PS - given that one of the three show locations is in New Hampshire, my home state and current neighbor to the north, you can bet I will be checking it out this April. It looks like a great show!