My full, formal name is Madelyn Theresa Zampardo. I don’t know much about why my mom decided to name me Madelyn other than the fact that she always loved and thought it sounded beautiful. However, Theresa was my grandma’s name and my mom obviously named me after her because it’s her mom. My mom was the last one to have kids in her family, and she knew that if we were gonna carry on my grandma’s name it had to be with me because I was the last child. My grandma passed away when I was 12 and not a day goes by where I don’t think about and miss her. I feel honored to be named after her, and it makes me feel like I have a connection with her. 

Sometimes people call me Mother Theresa because Madelyn Theresa sounds so similar to it, which I think is funny. My last name, also starting with the last letter of the alphabet, Zampardo comes from my dad and it’s italian. When I was younger I didn’t like being a last name that started with “Z” because that meant I was last for everything. Now I’m grateful for it because it stands out; not many people have a last name that starts with “Z” and that’s unique. I even had an old tennis coach who would call me “Z” as a nickname. 

My name as a whole sounds very old fashioned and fancy. I love it. Of course I have many nicknames, the most popular one being Maddy. It’s a lot more rare for someone to call me Madelyn vs. Maddy. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone spells my name wrong. I’m not sure why, but almost everyone assumes that it’s spelt “Maddie.” I chose to spell it Maddy because I think “Y,” similar to “Z” is a very cool letter and my name goes straight from “Y” to “Z” (MaddY Zampardo). 

The letters of my name describe the person I am. M- Meticulous because I have all of my trophies and other belongings neatly displayed in my room. A- Ambitious because I always accomplish more and never feel satisfied. D- Diligent because I have very good time management and have to use my time wisely in order to be successful. D- Delightful because I love to have fun with the people around me, I’m entertaining, and I try to boost other people’s moods around me. Y- Youthful because I constantly have energy and want to take part in adventurous activities.

My mom, Marilyn, also decided to name my other two sisters with “M” names: Marilyn and Melanie. There are a lot of “M” names in my family and it’s kind of become a cool trend. I’d say my name is pretty popular and basic. I know quite a few people named Maddy, and let me tell you I definitely prefer being the only Maddy in the room. I don’t know why but sometimes I feel like it’s my name even though many other people around the world share my name. I used to be the only Maddy at Liggett when I was in middle school, but then I remember when Madi Szajenko came and I didn't like the idea of someone else having my name. Looking back, that thought was so silly, and now Madi is one of my best friends. Now, there are so many people named Maddy at Liggett. 

In the future, I might name one of my kids after me because I’ve felt proud of my name all of my life. Doing this would be very sentimental to me and my child. I’ve gotten a glimpse of how this feels because my middle name is after my grandma and maybe my daughter’s middle name will possibly be Marilyn (my mom’s name).