do you like your name?
My name, E**** is a shortened version of a longer name, but it's what I've been known by since high school.
When I was younger, I didn't like it much.
I didn't like the longer version either, with people, especially teachers, constantly mis-spelling it or mis-pronouncing it.
To me, my name was an old person's name, a grannies name. I felt it belonged to one of those white-haired, soft-skinned grannies who sat in porch rockers all day and knitted lap rugs.
That wasn't me at all!
As time went on I got more comfortable with my name and now that I am almost 60, I feel as if I've finally grown into it.
I don't mind at all hearing from a customer that their grandma or their great aunt, maybe their grandpa's sister, is named E****.
But now, in this new century, a lot of the old-fashioned names are being used again.
Including mine.
The shortened version, which is a name in its own right.
I've heard several tales of grand daughters, nieces, cousins, being born and getting my name.
Just this morning a young customer noticed my name tag and told me that his wife had given birth to a baby girl yesterday and they'd named her E****.
When I was younger, I didn't like it much.
I didn't like the longer version either, with people, especially teachers, constantly mis-spelling it or mis-pronouncing it.
To me, my name was an old person's name, a grannies name. I felt it belonged to one of those white-haired, soft-skinned grannies who sat in porch rockers all day and knitted lap rugs.
That wasn't me at all!
As time went on I got more comfortable with my name and now that I am almost 60, I feel as if I've finally grown into it.
I don't mind at all hearing from a customer that their grandma or their great aunt, maybe their grandpa's sister, is named E****.
But now, in this new century, a lot of the old-fashioned names are being used again.
Including mine.
The shortened version, which is a name in its own right.
I've heard several tales of grand daughters, nieces, cousins, being born and getting my name.
Just this morning a young customer noticed my name tag and told me that his wife had given birth to a baby girl yesterday and they'd named her E****.
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Awww, I think that's lovely! The reason the classic names are returning is because they *are* classic names.
ReplyDeleteI quite like mine - Katherine - but have shortened it because it's easier to say and is friendlier. I think that my mother - Pauline Florence, who hated both of her names - did rather well.
My Kath likes her name but hates her middle name. She also wishes I'd named her Alex or Olivia. Oddly enough, while disliking my name for so long, I never could find something I wished I'd been named.
ReplyDeleteTook me a while to grow into mine as well.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter named her daughter for her much loved grandmother, reversing the names from Lenore Caroline to Caroline Lenore. I love Caroline as a name and am so thankful she stuck Lenore in the middle. It's my middle name, too, and I'm grateful for that.
ReplyDeleteHi River,
ReplyDeleteI have a very common name - Dave. In the UK there is a TV channel called Dave because "everybody knows a Dave". And I know quite a few myself. One of my best mates is called Dave. It got bad at work once because there were four Dave's next to each other and our excuse if anything went wrong was "Dave did that".
My middle name is George - and I hate that. But apparently it is cool to be called George these days.
I guess I am struggling to grow into that one.
:0)
Cheers
Dave :-)
My first name is very uncommon its not bad but i still loathe my middle name which starts with J :-).
ReplyDeleteI dislike my full name - to the extent that I refuse to answer to it. I pay tax in the shortened version, my passport is in the shortened version... That said, they were considering something MUCH worse.
ReplyDeleteYou're spot on! Usually kids "wished" they have another name but overtime they feel more comfortable & eventually feels like their name was a good fit.
ReplyDeleteOnly guessing what your longer name is, being the Scottish version of another name, I think it is a great name, but the short version you use is such a friendly name.
ReplyDeleteI like mine but it took a great many years before I was comfy with it, after much teasing in childhood.
ReplyDeleteI like your shortened name and proper one ;)
Delores; I think growing into a name is much better than growing out of one. I know too many women who have names much better suited to a cutesy little baby.
ReplyDeleteJoanne; it's nice to see the family names remembered in this way.
Plasman; my older son had a similar problem. He was born in Queensland and I named him M, there weren't any more Ms around, but when we moved to Sydney 13 months later, every second kid was a M. There were 4 of them in his first class at school in Melbourne a few years later.
Windsmoke; I can't comment on your first name because I don't know it, but I like a few J names, Joe is a favourite.
EC; I know a few people who prefer the shortened versions of their name. I also know a couple who insist on the full version.
Joni Ibarra; when I was in high school there were so many Susans, I'm sure half of them must have wished their parents could have been more inventive.
Andrew; you're right, the short version is more friendly.
Jayne; now that I think back, I don't recall ever knowing anyone with your name. I still prefer my shorter version over the long name.
I really enjoyed your post because I have felt a little silly not liking my name in recent time.
ReplyDeleteI have always liked my name; it's a strong name, has loads of history and mythological value attached to it. But I really don't like the way it is pronounced in English and it's particularly bad with an Australian accent. It's not me. I have thought lots about it in the last month, because I'm in Denmark. It is so so so nice to hear my name pronounced correctly.
I know I will just have to get used to it, but it is really hard. You are so right to say that we associate identity and age to names...
Signe; you'll have to teach people the proper pronunciation then. These days of multicultural communities make it easier for others to accept and learn to pronounce what would have been called "weird" names just a couple of generations ago.
ReplyDeleteI don't like my name. I always introduce myself with the shortened version, which I much prefer. But I hate it when having said the short version is my name, people insist on calling me the long version. How do they *know* that is actually my name? If someone says they are "Sue" you don't then call them Susan, there are several other things they could be. Or they could just be Sue. But people just assume I'm the most common long version of my name.
ReplyDeleteI have developed an alter-ego whose name is a combination of my first name and my middle name (which I also dislike), which is a name I really do like. Maybe I should just change my name to that ;)