Webcomic character inspires spicy moniker
“I’m pretty sure she’s the only Pepper in the Yukon.” ALLISON BISHOPGREENWAY PEPPER’S MOM
While on bedrest for the last five weeks of her pregnancy, Allison Bishop-Greenway turned to reading to help pass the time.
Her husband, Adam Greenway, gave her a graphic novel based on his favourite webcomic Lackadaisy, that, in her boredom, she ended up reading over and over.
The comic, staged around a speakeasy in the 1920s — Allison likens it to “gangster Al Capone-ish, but with cats” — had never appealed to her before. “I thought it was stupid until he brought home the graphic novel and I thought I might as well give it a try.
“One of the characters, Miss Pepper, got stuck in my head. In the book she’s feisty and she’s adorable, and she’s fun and outgoing and I love her. Every time they said her name in the book — Miss Ivy Pepper — I said ‘that’s perfect.’ I love the way it sounds.”
Adam was convinced they were having a girl, and had suggested names based on television characters, like Castiel or Lilith from Supernatural; Allison was convinced their first-born would be a son.
“I thought for sure we were going to have a boy and he was going to look just like my husband and we were going to call him Flynn.
(“I had just watched Tangled,” she explains.)
But, as Adam predicted, they had a daughter. Pepper Florence Matilda Greenway was born Aug. 14, 2012, in hospital near the family’s home in Whitehorse, Yukon.
Some family members were upset at the choice, and others cracked jokes — asking when the couple was going to have “Salt.” A couple of nurses at the hospital told her Pepper would have troubles at school.
“I really didn’t see the problem. It’s easy to spell, simple to say, there are no silent letters,” says Allison. “It’s straightforward and I’m pretty sure she’s the only Pepper in the Yukon.”
Florence is taken from Allison’s favourite band, British indie musicians Florence and the Machine. Matilda is a nod to Allison’s German roots, and means “strength in battle.” Pepper’s nickname is “Pea.”
Adam liked the name Pepper from the get-go and didn’t need any convincing. “He’s a fan of the comics and it’s a little reference to his pre-baby life,” says Allison.
But being a busy new dad, she jokes: “He’s lucky if he gets to go on the computer, let alone actually read.” Did you give your child an interesting or unusual name? Email krushowy@thestar.ca