What's With the Name?

It Started With an Internet Search...

Search "words for wise, older, beautiful woman" and you'll get results like "hag, nag, harlot, and shrew." Seriously. Our founder did it. 

Rebeca Seitz thought there must be something wrong with her Googling skills, so she went to her TikTok community (she's @rebeca_seitz) and asked, "What one word would you use to describe a wise, older, beautiful woman?" 

Responses included "auntie, queen, matriarch, mystic, crone, dame, stately, grandma, mum, matron" and - her favorite - "golden girl."

It seemed the language we use has a dearth of words for older women outside of their role in relation to others (wife, mom, grandma). It was as if the only way an older woman had enough value to be named was in relation to how she served everyone else. Words outside those relationships came with negative connotations about her appearance, behavior, or ability to contribute. 

This led Rebeca to research how other companies communicate "wise, older, beautiful woman." Her efforts yielded several goddess names or folkloric results. Athena. Minerva. Sibyl. Oshun. Asherah. Sophia. 

Then she reviewed the names of leading publishing houses. Simon & Schuster. Putnam. Macmillan. HarperCollins. Hachette. Disney. 

They're all the last names of the men who founded them. 

As she bemoaned the situation to her family, her 18-year-old son piped up with, "Why don't you just name it after you? The men do."

But this ran her right back into the problems stemming from a male-dominated language, society, and culture. (Which isn't to say men aren't great. Many are!) Unlike Simon, Schuster, Putnam, and the rest, a woman's last name isn't hers for life. She has one when she's born (often her father's, not her mother's) and then, more often than not, assumes the last name of her husband when she marries. This means neither of her last names ever fully feels like "her." 

But then an idea sparked. "What about..." She hesitated. It felt bold. Easily interpreted wrongly. A little scary. "What about...Rebeca Books? That's who I am. But wait," she rushed to say, "that's going to be seen as arrogant, isn't it?" 

Her son smiled. "Do you think Mr. Simon or Mr. Schuster was arrogant?"

And, with that, Rebeca Books was born.