I've never thought of my name as particularly strange, odd, or Dutch for that matter. In fact, I remember, at a very young age, being grateful for the fact that my name was not only internationally accepted, but also fairly common in various countries. This gratitude wasn't so much related to any sort of linguistic awareness on my part, oh no, it was directly correlated to the fact that I, unlike my less fortunate (but more creatively named) younger brother, never had any problems finding a necklace, bracelet, rock, or keychain with my name on it regardless of which country I was in.
Now since I am kind of weird about privacy and this blog (I sincerely hope no one has seriously entertained the thought that I have two boys named "Ozzie" and "Jimmie" respectively), let me just tell that my name is old, very Jewish, and one I share with both a woman described in the biblical apocrypha as seducing and then beheading the enemy, as well as a woman playing a somewhat overworked mother in one of the corniest sitcoms to come out of the 1980s. It's popular among Dutch girls born in the 1970s, as well as a large number of Jewish girls living on the east coast of the US, while its abbreviated version seems to have been quite the fad among women born during the 1930s and 1940s.
At any rate, I've never had any problems with my first name, spelling, pronunciation, nada. Well, that is, until I moved to Georgia. Ever since moving here, whenever I introduce myself, the conversation always ends up going something like this (and for the sake of privacy, I'll be ancient seductress, OK? I mean, I suppose I could have picked 1980s sitcom actress, but that's just ridiculously long),
"Hi, I'm husband-dear, and this is my wife, ancient seductress*"
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Ancient seductress*"
"How do you spell that?"
"A-n-c.."(you get the idea)
"Ooooh, OK. Seducy!"
"Uhm, no, Seductress"
Yes, annoying. And also slightly confusing, since I've never had this problem before. Ever. The only issue I've ever had to battle is people abbreviating my name without asking first. Now, to be fair, the problem has really only been with truly native Georgians. Most military folk, academics, and people who have lived or traveled out of state get my name the first time around. But whenever I visit local events, churches, or restaurants, getting my name straight always turns into a ridiculously elaborate song and dance. I'm not sure if it's the fact that my name simply isn't very common in the south, or people are so used to hearing girls' names ending in "y" or "a", but it's a very strange experience to have to repeat your name two or three times before people realize what it is.
So this past Sunday, after another unsuccessful attempt to get a southern couple at a church we were visiting to grasp my name on the first try, I decided that this was just getting ridiculous.
"I think I'm going to change my name to something easy and simple." I told husband-dear
"Yeah, like your middle name."
I scowled, "My middle name is four syllables long. I don't think so. No, something simple."
"Simple. Because your first name isn't simple enough."
"Apparently not. I think I'm going to with Katie."
"Katie?"
"Yes, Katie. It's simple, short, and everyone gets it."
"Katie. Oh-kay."
Obviously, I wasn't entirely serious, as the thought of having to explain, after that first meeting, that my real first name wasn't Katie, but that that was just a name I had made up to ease the art of initial introductions, was too weird even for me. But as we headed out to brunch, I decided to give my little experiment a go anyway. After all, Georgian maitre d's' inability to understand my first name on the first attempt has always been a real source of frustration. I mean, why should anyone have to go through the trouble of spelling their name, or even worse, have to resort to giving their husband's name because "Ancient Seductress" is just not a name these lovely locals have ever heard before? We can't all be Madisons, Michelles, and Brittanys. So, I figured, if I couldn't introduce myself to people who might turn out to be new friends as Katie, I could at least ease the pain of getting my name put on a wait list.
"Hi, welcome to IHOP, how many in your party?"
"Six"
"Okay. And what's your name?"
The moment of truth, "Katie"
"OK. And how do you spell that?"
Oh.
My.
Stars.
6 comments:
I feel your pain. My parents decided to name me Casandra, with one 's'. The rest of the world uses two 's' to spell my name. When I got my current job, they put my email with the two 's' version and when I asked them to change it they told me since it was the most common spelling, they wouldn't.
People are absolutely ridiculous.
I feel your pain too.
Annemiek (aka Anna, Anemic, Annamiek, Annamick, Annemick, and I probably forgot a few). As I introduce myself by my full name, often get asked "what do they call you?"
lol:-).
I'm often asked if my name is short for something.
Same here! On the phone people tend to think I'm called Dominique, but I've also had people ask "can't we just call you Annie"? (Especially the "just" rubbed me the wrong way.) I don't really mind people mispronouncing as long as they're trying. For some strange reason most people say "Ennemiek", while they're perfectly capable of saying "aaaaaaah". Oh well :-). It happens quite a lot that people also say it's such a pretty name (after the spelling dance, that is), and they even remember it well, much to my surprise.
Oh yes, Ancient Seductress, I feel your pain! I was the one and only Aliza k-12, through college, you name it... And people are so very creative about what it rhymes with!!! And I just love it when people ask me if Aliza is short for Alizabeth, snort! People I have known for months, years even, still mispronounce my name...happened today, Sherry called me Eliza (like Doolittle), I asked if I could call her Cherie...
I went out with a guy who liked to give his name as "Next" for restaurant waits. He thought that was hilarious...he probably should have moved to our little metropolis here. Of course, I didn't marry that one!
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