#20826
03/01/2001 5:41 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
I've always thought it's curious how english speakers handle names. We "import" Leon as a name-- which is just the french for lion-- but it very rare for english names to be animal names-- or other "natural words" - there are some Glen, Forrest, Rose, Daisy, Opal, but in many other languages, names are often just that, natural words.
Still most of us have names that have a meaning-- Helen is origanally from the greek (duh!), and meant (a source of ) Light-- Similar to the helio-- but the original word had a clear meaning of be light (like the sun) but definately not the sun... ( an other source said it was definately from the word for "light- house" )
Some names are made up-- Wendy was never a name before the "peter pan " books-- and others (and a AWAD "name" made me think of this) are so old, that they are found on heirogliphics from ancient egypt!
So i have two questions: why don't we use natural words as names (Why am I helen and not "lighthouse"?) and what natural words (like glen -- have become common names in your culture?)
I notice plants, flowers and gems are much more common as names than animals or geographic features-- Glen is a real exceptions.. there are many more Ruby's, Opal's and Beryl's than Glens -- and i don't know any River's (except the actor River Pheonix) or Stream's or Hill's (except last names). --We have our Rhu here-- and i know, Rose's, Daisy's, Violet's, Iris's, Lily's, but who knows a Carrot-- or Peach's, or Rhubarb? why aren't these names of people?
And what is the source of your real (or AWAD) name? What does it mean? Why did you choose it? and would you consider it a name for you self, your children, or your grandchildren?
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#20827
03/01/2001 7:12 PM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 116
member
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member
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 116 |
And what is the source of your real (or AWAD) name? What does it mean? Why did you choose it? and would you consider it a name for you self, your children, or your grandchildren?Per your private request and the note above from your posting... YES, I do know the origin of my name... though, technically, my name is Suzanne - named for one grandmother (Susie) and one greatgrandmother (Susannah)... having lived in Israel for the better part of the past 20 years, I'm used to the name Shoshannah now and really love it! By the way, the name 'Susannah' also appears in the New Testament (Gospel of Luke chapter 8, verse 3)... but the most interesting story about the name I heard from the cab driver who drove me to Kennedy Airport waaaaaay back in 1979 when I was on my way to Israel for the very first time... he asked where I was going and I said Israel (he got so excited, he almost ran off the road...) and then asked my name, so I said "Shoshannah" and again, he almost ran off the road. Then, his voice got very quiet and sweet sounding and he asked if I knew what the name meant. I said, well, I think it's a 'rose'. "Oh yes," he replied, "but more than that. It's in a special old Jewish prayer which goes something like this: the Shoshannah is the most beautiful flower in the all the earth, the one that stands out from among the thorns and to which, all other flowers are drawn." You can imagine how that made ME feel! When I decided to register for this board (the ONLY one I'm on currently), I tried to think of the name I wanted to use and since more and more, as I live here in Jerusalem, Israel, I FEEL like my name is Shoshannah (instead of Suzanne), that seemed the most likely choice. In fact, my family name is Pomeranz... which has no real origin, except that it does sound a bit like the area my father's family was from (in the old old country - the Austro-Hungarian Empire... and as far as we know my greatgrandfather did NOT have a family name - the family lived in a little shtetel like "Anatevka" in "Fiddler on the Roof" and my greatgrandfather was known as "Natan of Pokrovicz"), but it also comes from the word "pomegranate" and so I'm thinking about just changing the whole thing from Suzanne Pomeranz (in English) to the Hebrew equivalent which would be "Shoshannah Rimon"... whaddayathink? Shoshannah/Suzanne... oh, and just like I am NOT a Sue or Susie or Susan, I am also NOT a Shosh or Shoshi... ( okay? s'all right )
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#20828
03/01/2001 7:18 PM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 52
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 52 |
of troy... My name des are initials for "dark eyed sentimentalist". In the 1940's someone gave me a dictionary inscribed "to our DES" with a drawing of a martini glass! This was to "read" on the train I was boarding in Philadelphia going back to Indianapolis! I guess I am still a sentimentalist! Hope others submit info about their names on this board!
There are few "Suthrin" women around named Pansy! I just love AnnaStropic spelling of Southern! It is pretty accurate! Thanks Anna...
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#20829
03/01/2001 7:47 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409 |
In reply to:
oh, and just like I am NOT a Sue or Susie or Susan, I am also NOT a Shosh or Shoshi...(okay?s'all right)
I know exactly what you mean. Max's alter ego has a name of only two syllables, but he still hates having it contracted.  
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#20830
03/01/2001 8:09 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Names interest me very much, because there are stories behind so many of them. The little genealogy book I mentioned told me that my last name was originally "Hunte" meaning the same thing as "Hunter" but in a dialect spoken only in a small area close to north end of Channel, I forget its name. I wish I had known that when wiseguys asked me if it was originally "dog" in German.
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#20831
03/01/2001 10:39 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981 |
Apparently it is possible to guess your age from your name.
Helen mentioned names from the natural world. In the UK if your name is Iris or Rose you are likely to be older than someone called Heather or Fern.
There are few young Ednas, Winnifreds, Ediths, Walters or Fredericks. Younger names seem to come in waves. We had a spell of Sharons and Kevins followed by Justins and Jasons followed by Kylies and Joshes but have now reverted to Charlies, Williams, Charlottes and Emmas.
Compared to the USA, we use relatively few names, apparently a huge percentage of boys are given names that are in the top ten for the year, a smaller proportion (but still a significant number) of girls are given names in the current top ten. Hence the ability to make a reasonable guess at the age of a person, given their name.
Celebs have had their own rules since Zowie Bowie, Fifi Trixibelle (Bob Geldof & Paula Yate's eldest) and now the Spice Girl offspring Brooklyn (good thing he wasn't conceived in Scunthorpe) and Phoenix, perhaps the UK equivalent of Chelsea.
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#20832
03/02/2001 2:18 AM
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
The same 'top ten' phenomena happens here. My son was baptized at the same time as four little girls (they baptize in batches here). All four girls were named Isabelle. When the priest came to Jonathan he said "and I baptize thee Isab.." A lucky, and quick "no, no Jonathan, he's the boy Jonathan" from me saved him from being called Isabelle. I guess it didn’t help that babies all get baptized in these white dresses – boys and girls.
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#20833
03/02/2001 4:17 AM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 85
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 85 |
And what is the source of your real (or AWAD) name? What does it mean? Why did you choose it? and would you consider it a name for you self, your children, or your grandchildren? My proper name is Alida, which means "noble" in Dutch, "archaic" in German, and "winged" in Latin. It was also the name of an ancient city. I didn't like it as a kid, partially because no one could get it right when saying it, or spelling it. I've gotten Aleta, Alita, Allida, Alisha... and so on. I like it these days, since it is different, even if the mistakes haven't stopped happening. I wish I knew how people got from a meaning to a name, when the spelling isn't even a connection. If anyone knows, I'd like to know too. As for my account name, I found it a couple years ago when browsing Brewers Phrase and Fable for the hell of it. Conveniently, I'd just typed it out for someone else: The Seian Horse - A possession which invariably brought ill luck with it. Hence the Latin proverb "ille home habet equum Seianum". Cneius Seius had an Argive horse of the breed Diomed, of a bay colour and unsurpassing beauty, but it was fatal to its possessor. Seius was put to death by Mark Anthony. Its next owner, Cornelius Dolabella, who bought it for 100,000 sesterces, was killed in Syria during the civil wars. Caius Cassius, who next took possession of it, perished after the battle of Philippi by the very sword which stabbed Caesar. Antony had the horse next, and after the battle of Actium slew himself. Like the gold of Tolosa and Hermione's necklace, the Seian or Sejan horse was a fatal possession. The people were unlucky, but I'd say the horse was about as lucky as they get.  Ali
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#20834
03/02/2001 6:44 AM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460
addict
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addict
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460 |
I've always been fascinated by the name Rose of Sharon (given to a character in John Steinbeck's The grapes of wrath). Is this a common name in the US? And are there any other phrases used for names (excepting hyphenated names, of course)?
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#20835
03/02/2001 8:39 AM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055 |
In German you can be 'of' someone, so a man I know is, for example called..
Florian von Bechtolsheim
It is offen seen as an honour to have such a name, as it signifies noble heritage [wink at Alida]
von Betts
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#20836
03/02/2001 1:09 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
Rose of Sharon is not common or popular-- at least not in the northest-- but it is also not so rare as to have struck me when i read the book, as an odd name. (where as the name Jode's was odd. i knew Jodie's-- abut had never heard of a boy's/mans name of Jode (Jude, yes, but not Jode)
But I want to thank everyone for sharing-- and to think about the other half of the question... natural words as names..
And Thank, Jo-- we have "runs" of names here too-- Some one i know has a young daughter named Ester-- not a common name anymore, and she get on mailing list for old age stuff, since most Ester are older. I am, by lists, thought to be older, since Helen had a 1 year run in the top 25 names in the US-- 4 years before I was born.
My daughter Emily used to complain as a child that commercial "personalize" products (Micky Mouse toothbrushes, etc) never had her name. They do now, about 10 years after she was born "emily" made it up to the top 10 list of US girls name. (i remind her when she is old, every one will think her ten years younger..)
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#20837
03/02/2001 1:49 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
There is a popular flowering bush also called Rose of Sharon. It is of the hybiscus family, grows large (5-6 feet) and bears large blooms from mid-summer to the beginning of fall. I have several in my yard which I regard with great affection.
The name no doubt was adopted from the biblical Rose of Sharon, which is believed to have been a tulip, narcissus or meadow saffron.
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#20838
03/02/2001 2:11 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,661
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 2,661 |
One can imagine how I felt being e-so close, yet never really ... Have made up for it since... My niece worked in a gift shop at Disney World and had a coffee cup customized, it's all I need now. Being different and specifically not Irish (not that there was anything wrong with that) was the only explanation for the divergence from Kevin that I enjoy.
Check my bio for my AWAD handle story.
It seems that occupations and objects seem to be considerably more pevelant in last name than in first name use in English, possibly following the adjective-noun form... is this different in Languages that don't follow that order?
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#20839
03/02/2001 4:31 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439 |
For my AWAD name : turn wow up side down and secondarily it means Wise Old Woman.My friends ranging in age from teens to mid-80s bestowed it. My "real" name is Ann ... no "e" so not Annie, please! It's a name that turns up in every generation which proved there are intelligent parents in every generation. It's also a name that ages well. I'm sure Sparteye agrees! Ann means gracefull or queenly according to name books. Also, it is handy to be named for Saint Ann ... prayer requests directed through her are rarely refused by her Grandson. wow
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#20840
03/02/2001 7:02 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
Anyone with a non-standard-ly spelled name (like Keven) can relate to having people screw up their name spelling. My name is spelled Cristina (NO H!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) because my father is Italian and that's the way it's spelled there - no superfluous letters to confuse things. My maiden name (what an old-fashioned sounding word - I never felt like I was a "maiden") is Spanu, yes, it ends in a U, nothing follows the U, and no, it's not a mistake, and yes, I do know how to spell my own name, thank you very much. My husband's name is Dag (not short for anything, not even Dagwood, all you funny people), named for Dag Hammarskjold (sp?), and between the two of us we can rant at length about name misspellings and other "improvements" imposed by other people. He was Doug for a period in high school, poor guy. It's funny because I just discussed this with my Turkish friend this week, as we were discovering that there are inter-generationally common mens' names in English (William, Michael, James, John, David, Daniel) but not as many extremely common womens' names (I did come up with Ann and Sarah and Elizabeth, but even those aren't worn by every third person - like the mens' names). I'd been asking her about common Turkish names - which of course come from the Q'uran, not the Bible! As for natural words - flowers are the best I can think of - as already mentioned. I once had a friend named Laurel with a mother named Iris. Not kidding! And my husband's name is even unusual in Norwegian, because it means "day". The AWAD name I'll leave for another post. It is derived from my real name...aside from the people I've told, can anyone make the connection? It's not simple or obvious, and there are two intermediate steps.
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#20841
03/02/2001 7:11 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289 |
names with meanings
While wer're on names and meanings, which doesn't usually extend to surnames as much as Christian or given names, I have to get in my father's favorite joke, which is a Pennsylvania Dutch joke.
A Berks County (Pennsylvania] Dutchman went in to Reading to look for a job in the silk mill. The foreman asked him, "Are you a weaver?" He replied, "Ach, no, my name is Biemesduerfer. Vy, did you t'ink you knowed me?"
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#20842
03/02/2001 7:23 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
A couple of branches back on my family tree is an uncle with the unfortunate name of "Forrest Stump."
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#20843
03/02/2001 8:50 PM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 85
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 85 |
He was Doug for a period in high school, poor guy.Ouch. I can sympathize. When I was in high school, they generally managed to get my first name right, at least for the paperwork. I'd long been resigned to the mutilations possible for "Alida". But oddly, sometimes they couldn't seem to manage to get my last name right, even when reading it from a correct paper. Saxon. "Saxon, as in Anglo-Saxon. You know, history of Britain, Saxons?" (I usually manage to say that in a way that isn't so snippy.) They spelled it Saxton, which baffled me, when they managed to make it through Alida. I got a little scholarship prize with plaque made out to Alida Saxton. I felt so loved. I might have kept it like that for the laughs, if it had been a prize for History. If memory serves me, it was for my grades in English... Ali
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#20844
03/03/2001 2:32 AM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146 |
My last name (Kinraid) has caused me unofficial and official grief all my life - except once when it was a positive benefit. You have Kincaid, Scottish and quite common. You have Kinnaird, also Scottish. Both are also quite common in Ireland for historical reasons which anyone who wishes can find out by LIU. So I've been Kincaid, Kinnaird, Kinaid, Kinkaid, Kirland, Kirkland, and half a dozen more than I've long since forgotten. Family legend has it that the name is Manx in origin, presumably partially left behind by various invading forces with murderous intent, like Tottenham fans after a match. I've never been able to find any corroborating evidence. I'd say it was destroyed long ago by the Spurs fans surrogates. Mostly it's caused me inconvenience, like my first passport having my name incorrectly spelled, like hesitation at school when names were being read out. My nickname was "Kinky", not because of what I did (I wish!) but because of That Name. My name has been crossed out, dropped off, passed over, laughed at or ignored by various official and non-government bodies. The one time it worked in my favour was the 18-year-old ballot for national service. The army (bless its ignorant, murderous heart) dropped my name out of the ballot because they didn't believe it was real. Even then, they screwed up because two days before my eighteenth birthday they dropped national service altogether! They could have at least waited until after that semi-auspicious event! 
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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#20845
03/03/2001 4:52 AM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 819 |
I'm used to the name Shoshannah now and really love it!... Shoshannah is the most
beautiful flower in the all the earth, I've long liked both the Hebrew and the English rendering of your name! Shakespeare, In Romeo and Juliet, mentioned it in Romeo's line, "What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." But another name would not sound as sweet! And Saint-Exupery, in The Little Prince, made one special rose the most important in the universe. As for my own name, Geoffrey (from French Godefois, from German Godfrey; God's peace) Sanders (akin to Alexander), I can say that Americans have made mincemeat out of it! They are convinced that my name is not pronounced the same as "Jeffrey," and call me many things, some of which I dare not repeat! The funniest was "Geeky." That was twenty years ago; today, geeks are in vogue, so maybe that malaprop was just ahead of its time. Even Sanders gets a "u" stuck in it half the time. As G.B. Shaw said, our two countries are separated by a common language!
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#20846
03/03/2001 9:53 AM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 116
member
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member
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 116 |
Actually, the "Rose of Sharon" is a lily - although I'm not totally sure which variety, but a LILY nonetheless, not a tulip or otherwise. Also - the implication is that there is only ONE such flower and it cannot be found anywhere else in the world except on the Plain of Sharon (which is not ON the coast but a bit inland, near the Mediterranean Coast, just north of the greater Tel Aviv area; look on a map to find Netanya and then look north to Hadera - it's basically inbetween those cities).
Shoshannah
(whose name comes from that expression (in Hebrew), haShoshannah shel Sharon... or in English, as you said above) - see my previous posting about my name!
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#20847
03/03/2001 10:03 AM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065 |
As some of you will know (and for those who don't zip over to http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=words&Number=17010 ) my identity is being kept a secret from the outside world. It has often been pointed out, particularly by librarians, that apart from one additional letter the name I go under in other contexts is the same as that of a well-known 20th century British poet and novelist. Why they think somebody who haunts their shelves as much as I do would be ignorant of this fact is a mystery. Bingley
Bingley
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#20848
03/03/2001 10:24 AM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 116
member
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member
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 116 |
In reply to:
paulb
I've always been fascinated by the name Rose of Sharon (given to a character in John Steinbeck's The grapes of wrath).
One last word about Rose of Sharon - the origin of the expression is from the Bible - Song of Songs (also called the Song of Solomon) chapter 2, verse 1: "I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys." From this verse, Christians later referred to Jesus (whose real name, by the way, was Yeshua or even Yehoshua...) as "the Rose of Sharon"...
Shoshannah
...and if anyone would like a tour of the Plain of Sharon to see the Rose of Sharon, come on over and I'll give you a 'special tour' at a 'special 'price'!
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#20849
03/03/2001 10:56 AM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 460
addict
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addict
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Posts: 460 |
One of the people I used to work with had the surname Ktori.
He claimed that he had examples of over 40 mis-spellings of his name!
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#20851
03/03/2001 3:40 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 427
addict
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addict
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Posts: 427 |
And why oh why does the second page of that thread take us to some other thread on "Hand Gestures"? Should we understand some indirect hint to "mind our own business"?
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#20852
03/03/2001 3:49 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 427
addict
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addict
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Posts: 427 |
I have a Spanish name that seems to confuse some English-speakers incredibly, but I am not usually too bothered, especially if I can see that someone is making an effort to at least approximate the correct pronunciation. However, one of my partner's best friends has for the longest time seemed completely unable to even remember my name, let alone pronounce it. Finally, he decided to call me Marianna, a completely different name, but one that he could for some reason associate with me. It's been a standing joke until just recently when we finally managed to drum the correct one into his head. But it has remained as my "alternative" name, which I use in AWAD.
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#20853
03/03/2001 4:15 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 427
addict
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addict
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Posts: 427 |
Spanish people have a name and two surnames. We retain our father's first surname and our mother's first surname in order to make up our full name. This is possible because women do not change their name when they get married, so everybody's name is the same all throughout their life. But, to the point about natural names, I knew a girl at university whose father's first surname was exactly the same as her mother's first surname: "Luna", meaning "Moon". For whatever reason, they thought it would be a good idea to give their daughter the first name "Luna", to go with it all. So there she was on the class list: Luna Luna Luna.
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#20854
03/03/2001 5:21 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Even Yankee names can become jokes. The daughter of the Sunday School superintendent was named Helen Hunt. A newcomer was a bit upset when she mislaid a pair of gloves and was told to go to Helen Hunt for them.
Also in my family we do not name boys Mike.
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#20855
03/03/2001 8:32 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,981 |
>And why oh why does the second page of that thread
Yes, we've had some discussion about that kind of thing. Once a thread sinks down the list it becomes hard to view in flat mode. Going past the first page takes you to strange and sometimes interesting places. You either have to view it in threaded mode, a post at a time or add a post and bring it to the top again. I'm sure someone worked out an explanation but I can't remember it.
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#20856
03/05/2001 2:16 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,004
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,004 |
First of all, just so as not to lose the thread topic: First name - Ravi - name of sun god in Sanskrit. Middle name - Shankar (one of Lord Shiva's names, and one my grandfather had) - contracted to the easy-to-pronounce 'shanks' for the internet. Phew - got that hoary old one out of the way. Now...
Shoshannah,
You speak of 'Yeshua' and 'Yehoshua'. In which scripts were these names written? My understanding is that Hebrew orthography includes no vowel sounds, hence the tetragrammaton (sp?) YHWH that is conventionally (but not necessarily authoritatively) rendered as Yahweh, or even 'corrupted' to Jehovah. What authority do we have for the pronunciation of any Hebrew vowels. Or has Yeshua ben Israel come to us from koine Greek or Latin?
Interested in London
the sunshine (from the 'sun god' Ravi) warrior ('Nair' - lordly caste of Kerala, and notionally, fighting people.)
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#20857
03/05/2001 4:44 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771 |
I've been waiting for a few quiet moments to tap this out... maybe this is my opportunity! I can relate to Bean's husband - my first name is Dagny (one of the female counterparts to the man's name, Dag). As Bean mentions, Dag means "day" in Norwegian. The "ny" suffix is actually an adjective, meaning "new". As this is a traditional Norsk name, I'm imagining that Scandinavia got a head start on the hippy movement. My last name is Haug - "hill" in Norwegian. The northern European convention (and I'm speaking broadly here...) is the whole "-son" and "-datter" suffix thing. If your father's name is Peter and you caught the y chromosome ferry, voila! Your last name is "Peterson" ("Petersen", "Pederson", "Pedersen", ad infinitum...)! Well, on that day in 1901 that my dad's parents went through US Immigration, the official felt he had seen his quota of Pedersons. "Pick a new name. Now." So my grandparents chose Haug at random, primarily because the farm they had just left in Norway was located on a hill. And here I am. My middle name is Pernille, but I have no idea on the origin of that one, other than it was my dad's sister's name and my mom liked the traditional sound of it. And you've got to admit, it would blow the euphony to smithereens if they had chosen to name me something like "Dagny Sue Haug".  When I was growing up, I wasn't really fond of my name, predominantly due to the mispronunciations. For a brief period in the 80s, my junior high and high school classmates got a real kick out of handing me flatware... so that I was "Dagny with a spoon" (let me know if that requires further explanation). I would imagine I was around 15 or 16 when it occurred to me that I had a unique enough name that I was almost guaranteed tabula rasa when it comes to making a first impression... I've observed a social tendency to make certain assumptions about people if you already know someone by the same name. (This seems to be less an issue for people of extraordinarily common names like John, Mike, Tom...) To wit: I have a friend by the name of Ian. There aren't a whole lot of Ians running around, but it's not inconceivable that one might run across another one. And when I do, there are aspects of Ian's personality that I automatically assign to the newfound Ian, be they right or wrong. But with a name like Dagny, I rarely meet anyone who has ever heard the name before, much less having known another Dagny. Of course, if my new friend has read any Ayn Rand, I'm pretty much screwed... that Dagny is not very nice! But I've found that it works to my advantage the majority of the time. And certain friends were keeping me apprised of my performance on the Norwegian women's Olympic soccer team last summer! So now I'm grateful for the uniqueness of my name. Anyone else have similar observations regarding the potential baggage carried by a familiar name?
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#20858
03/06/2001 1:38 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
Certainly the unusual name phenomenon, when one gets out of high school where all the pressure is to be a Lisa, Jennifer, or Greg, comes in handy. This happened with my husband a few days ago when he called a store which he used to visit all the time in Winnipeg. No need for "This is Dag Tollefsen" for him. Just "This is Dag" and the guy immediately remembered him. However, people are not really used to unusual names in Newfoundland yet (the land of Heathers, Pauls, Jacks, Amys) so we often wonder if the reason he never hears back on some job applications is because the person is afraid of trying to pronounce his name. My Turkish friend with the Turkish huband with the Turkish name seems to be suffering from the same problem, too. And also funny - just before this name thread came up, my husband and I were talking (in an abstract way) about potential baby names. Everything he said, I hated because I had known some terrible person by that name, and everything I said, he disliked for the same reason. I wonder if there are any names out there that don't carry emotional baggage for us? The only names I ended up liking were those of my very good friends! I'd better not get too chummy with the Board people or I'll end up with children named Sparteye, Fiberbabe, wwh, and Bobyoungbalt!!!!!
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#20859
03/06/2001 5:01 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289 |
My first name is so common and so pronouncible, that there has never been any problem with it. But Young (spelled and pronounced Jung until the 1880's) is something else again. An easy name for English speakers, but not to others. When my wife and I lived in Italy, the Italians could not pronounce it. Eventually she had to get used to being addressed as Signora Djungay or something like it. What's even stranger is that Orientals seem to hear it as a Chinese word, or they think it's John. Often, after being asked what my name is, I get the reply, OK John, ....
And at least 5 or 6 times in the last 10 years someone has asked me or my wife if we are Chinese.
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#20860
03/06/2001 8:47 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771 |
> ...Just "This is Dag"...Yeah, I can usually get away with that too! Although I have the same problem with people's reticence to attempt pronunciation ~ and more than once, people assumed I was a man because they couldn't envision a "Dagny" as anything else. Come to think of it, I came very close to being elected a prince of my high school winter court! Word travels fast when your gender has been unintentionally transmogrified. (Hi Max!) 
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#20861
03/06/2001 11:18 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 29
newbie
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newbie
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 29 |
Most of my friends call me Dave. I've heard it's short for David -- confirm anyone
Carpe whatever
Carpe whatever
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#20862
03/06/2001 11:26 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409 |
Welcome back Dave. As to what Dave is a contraction of, I would hesitate to be so presumptuous as to hazard a guess. I did onece know someone called "Mike" who was forever telling people that the name on his birth certuificate was Mike, not Michael. So, for all I know, your Dave might not be short for anything at all.
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#20863
03/07/2001 12:58 AM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
One funny thing about first names. At least by the time you can walk, you have a nickname. Why not start with the nickname?Only when my mother was angry with me did she use my given name.
I have never heard Dave except as a nickname for David.
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#20864
03/07/2001 1:59 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,409 |
Why not start with the nickname?
My younger sister was born when I was about 17 months old, before I began talking. When I did start, I had trouble with her name, mispronouncing it billabong. That nickname didn't really stick, except for jocular usage, but, thirty years on, she lives in the land of billabongs.
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#20865
03/07/2001 2:00 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
Alas, Bill, i have never had a nick name! Helen doesn't lend its self to one, and my mother hated nick names-- she had been "nick named" as child, and to this day, many people don't know her given name.. (no relation to her nick name).
So if you called on the phone and asked for Dee instead of Deidre-- and my mother answered-- you would get told that "there is no one named Dee at this household" The same held true for other siblings... no nick names.
I followed the same rule-- my son is Benjamin, not ben, or benny, or (ugh!) benji. but he has an alter ego name from his middle name.. Elijah-- and can be found many places on the web as "eli the bearded"-- but since he took down his web page, his name gererates few hits.
my ex never used a pet name or nick name for me-- so i remain plain old helen..
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