A lot! This is coming from a girl whose name is not exactly simple. My Cuban parents wanted a fun, French name, but didn't like the original "Y" spelling of it, so they went with Ivette. When I was little, I would dream of having a more common name and for a while I made my mom call me Kim because I loved the character from "Different Strokes."
There have been a lot of articles lately about names -- CNN asked "Does your name shape your destiny?" (http://bit.ly/ddBPRw) I'm not sure, but I know that loving yourself and loving your name play a big role in your life and your level of confidence. As I got older, I learned to appreciate having a different name and have embraced it everyday since. I can't imagine having any other name.
My other big thing is making an effort to remember people's names and get the pronunciation right. This is a huge pet peeve of mine because so many people get my first and last name wrong ALL the time. I've learned to laugh it off because some of the pronunciations people come up with are hysterical. But I try my hardest not to be that person who massacres everyone's name, even if they've met the person a million times.
So I've made it a priority when I meet someone to learn their name and then use it as many times as possible while I'm around them to ensure it's ingrained in my mind. I especially make it a point to learn the names of servers at restaurants. I've never waited tables, but I can imagine how annoying it would be to have someone yell "hey you!" or "lady..." instead of asking for me by name. I find that learning a server's name and actually using it equals better service and more enjoyable dining experience.
What are your name issues? Do you like your name? Do you think a name can affect certain aspects of your life? Let me know your thoughts.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Great topic, Ivette! Having an unusual name myself, I completely agree with you about how it makes you extra vigilant in making sure to pronounce and spell everyone else's name correctly. I don't know how much your name affects your life, but I do know that embracing your name is all part of loving who you are and a big step toward becoming your own person.
ReplyDeleteI wrote introduction and awards speeches at a previous job. Many of the people I wrote about had unusual names or seemingly easy names that had unusual pronunciations. Every time there was an unusual name, I wrote it out phonetically and tried to say the name for the person giving the speech. And do you know what they would do? PRONOUNCE THE NAMES WRONG! So annoying.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of butchering names, though ... my husband's name is Joaquin (pronounced wha-keen). It's actually not hard to say. But man, once people see his name spelled out, even if they've heard his name said before, it's as though they can't believe that's how it's really pronounced. They come up with all kinds of ways to say it: Joe-uh-quin. Joe-quin. Joe-keen. Joe-queen. Joe-a-queen. Even Jack-a-lin (and no, I don't know where they the L came from)! The name-mangling is endless. And that's why every name badge/name tag he's ever had says, simply, "Chavez."
Karen -- I love the name Joaquin (being Cuban there are some Joaquin's in my family :)) -- but I could see where the butchering would happen especially in North Florida! I think some people are just not good at names. It does get annoying though. My biggest pet peeve is when I've met people, introduced myself and then the next time I see them they mispronounce my name...sigh.
ReplyDelete