Laurie Wallmark: Hello, my name is Laurie Wallmark. My first name, Laurie, is not the name that my parents gave me. I didn't like that name, so I changed it to Laurie and I've been using it ever since. I don't use my middle name, Seligman, for my writing. My grandparents came from Russia and that's where that name is derived from. It is related to the Yiddish name, Selig, which means happy or lucky. So I guess I must be a happy, lucky person. My last name, Wallmark, is my husband's family name from Sweden. The problem with a name that seems so simple and easy to pronounce is it gets confused for other similar names like Hallmark and Walmart, but it's Wallmark.