'Middlesex' did not offend Founding Fathers, Victorians
This is in response to the letter to the editor titled "Suggests Taking the 'Sex' Out of 'Middlesex County' " (Suburban, May 8), in the sincere hope that it was written as a jest. The author suggested calling it "Middle County" because, in his opinion, "the word 'sex' in the current name looks weird and does not look appropriate in our society."

My first bemusement came at the thought of the word "sex" appearing as inappropriate anywhere in today's society. Then I was hoping the author was new to the area and was not aware of the rich history of not just the state, but, in particular, of Middlesex County, of which I am proud to be a lifelong resident. A quick Internet search can take him to the History Buff 's Guide to Middlesex County (http://www.co.middle sex.nj.us/history_buffsguide.p df), which tells us that Middlesex has been the "current" name of our county since at least 1683. The guide also provides the following facts about the origin of the name Middlesex. Middlesex County, New Jersey, was named after the original Middlesex County located in southeast England. The first recorded reference to Middlesex as a place name occurred as early as 714 A.D. The name was used to designate the land of the Middle Saxons and to distinguish that land from Essex (the land of the East Saxons), Sussex (the land of the South Saxons) and Wessex (the land of the West Saxons).

To alter the name Middlesex for such a reason would be absurd, to say the least. And if we remove "sex" from "Middlesex" just because it may offend some sensibilities, we must also remove it from Essex County (Es County?) and Sussex County (Sus County?). And don't forget all mentions of these names throughout the state of New Jersey, not to mention the rest of the U.S.

If it didn't offend the puritanical sensibilities of our Founding Fathers and those of Victorian-era England, I don't think it should bother 21st-century New Jersey natives.
Wendy K. Bodine
Monroe