

   Why the name "Daniel Keys Moran"? 




From: Daniel Keys Moran
Date: Thu, 23 Nov 1995 03:20:37 -0500
 
On Nov 21, 1995 19:05:48, Victor L. Vescovo wrote:
 
 It just struck me what an odd middle name "Keys" is.  Too much free time I
 guess. DKM, could you give us a little personal trivia as to how come you
 get such a cool middle name?  Does it involve ancient ancestral names, 
 an unspoken-of relative, or pirate treasure?
 


This is a long story.


 
My father named me Daniel after the song "Danny Boy," which his mother used
to sing to him when he was a little boy. It's a classic Irish name.


 
"Keys" -- that's a very good question. Here are the stories I've been told
at various times in my life:



1.
&nbsp;&nbsp&nbsp;
 According to my father, he went to a funeral for an Irish Republican
Army freedom fighter (terrorist) name John Keys when he was about 14, and
was so filled with patriotic fervor that he decided to name his first son
after the man.



2.
&nbsp;&nbsp&nbsp;
 One time when I was about 15 he told me he'd named me after the book
"Keys to the Kingdom," which I've never read.



3.
&nbsp;&nbsp&nbsp;
 According to my Aunt Moya, I'm named after one of his girlfriends,
who lived down in the Florida Keys.




#3 is probably likeliest. But really, I have no real idea where that middle
name comes from. The only one who knows is my father, and he lies about it.

 


The name Moran is Black Irish -- it came from the Spaniards who ended up in
Ireland after the Spanish Armada was destroyed. (Which is why, living in
Los Angeles, most of the "Morans" I met were Latinos. It's weird to be here
in NYC where Moran is unquestionably an Irish name.)



Going back a little earlier, the "moranos" were the "Converted;" they were
Jews who were forcibly converted to Christianity by the Spanish
Inquisition. So, short form, "Moran" means "Help! Help! It's the Spanish
Inquisition!"



Okay? Jewish first name, via the song Danny Boy; middle name of uncertain
provenance; Jewish last name, via the Spanish Inquisition. All with several
centuries of Irish seasoning.


