Monica Wellington: Hello, my name is Monica Wellington. My last name, Wellington, is a very English sounding name, so I'm often asked if I'm English. Well, yes and no. My parents are American, but I was born in London, England, and we lived in Europe when I was young. Otherwise, I've spent most of my life in the United States. You can hear from how I am speaking that I have an American accent, not an English one.

But going back in my family, I do have English ancestors. On the Wellington side of my family, my ancestors came to the United States from England a very long time ago in the 1600s and settled in the Boston area. I'm also often asked if I'm related to the famous Duke of Wellington who fought in Napoleon. I am not.

My first name, Monica, comes from my mother. She had a very long name with five different parts. Monica was one of her names, but it was never used. She was sorry about that because she liked it a lot, so she named me Monica. And that's the story of my name, Monica Wellington.