What’s In a Name?

Hello…my name is MUD!

When I was in grammar school I knew a boy named John who wanted to be called Mud…so we all called him Mud!  I don’t recall the reason why he wanted that nickname, but he did.  It wasn’t a bully nickname, it was one he’d picked for himself.  So when I saw this card in my SendOutCards catalog, I giggled and immediately thought of John.  Funny how something so simple can immediately bring you back to childhood in an instant!

But the real reason for my post today isn’t about mud…it’s about names!

So I ask you, what’s in a name?  When you are introduced to someone and you tell them your name, how do you feel about it?  Because I want to know if you like your name ~ the one your parents gave to you ~ the one that’s on your original birth certificate.   Not the one that perhaps you go by (like Mud) but the legal one.  It’s interesting to me how something so special, so intimate to our whole lives is picked by someone else and we have nothing to do about it.

My Mom tells the story that she and my Dad were walking through a cemetery in Canada and happened upon a gravestone which had the name Yvonne on it.  Since my family has some French ancestry, they decided to name me Yvonne.  It’s a name which I like and I dislike at the same time, but one that I’ve had now for so many years, that I can’t imagine any other name.  For awhile, and actually during one job in my 20’s,  I went by the name Tommie which I thought to be different and cute (and because shockingly there was another Yvonne in the office!)  In fact, I still have my business cards which read Tommie and all of my clients knew me only as Tommie as did the office staff.  The only people who knew my real name was Yvonne was the payroll department and my boss who had asked if I could use a middle name instead.  For me, it was fun to have a different name for awhile and akin to playing dress up as a young girl!  It was fun, exciting and I could change my outer image a bit to match what I thought my inner Tommie was!

I like my name because it’s different but I don’t like it because it’s different and if that doesn’t make any sense to you, don’t worry because it makes no sense to me.  It’s simply how I feel and sometimes feelings don’t need to make sense!  I have thought of changing my name like my good friend Amy who when we were 18, had her legal name changed to Lindsay because she wanted to change it.  In fact, her parents paid for the change and began calling her Lindsay!  More than 20 years later, I call her Lindsay, but sometimes the name Amy slips out simply because most of my childhood memories are with her being named Amy.

So what’s in a name?  Do you like your name? 

Have you changed your name?  Do you have a nickname like Mud? 🙂 

I find it so fascinating so I’d love it if you would please share!

Shine On ~ whatever your name may be!

xo

A little Romeo and Juliet for you ~ Enjoy a bit of the 1936 balcony scene!