Conference turris::womannotes-v2

Well, there's a guy in my group who keeps saying "Zuuuur-Ko". He likes the way
it rolls off the tongue (I do too!). And Z's are exotic.

When I was working with Russian emigres [sp?] it had obvious ethnic origins,
and that was to my benefit. But other than that, no one seems to have responded
to the Eastern European dimension (perhaps because of my anglo-dutch face).

Mary Ellen is a nice, difficult, two word, name. It symbolizes my recalcitrance
at forms.

And being Mez reminds me of other wonderful women who have gone by just one
name (Cher, Charo).

	Mez

    	RE: .1, .2
    
    	> And Z's are exotic.
    
    	Agreed!  :-)
    
    	- suZanne eliZabeth :)
    

    Dana Charbonneau
    
    Subject to mispronunciation, mis-spelling, being mistaken for
    female. Would I change it ? Twenty years ago, yes. Now, no.
    It just took me a long time to grow into it :-)

I like my name a lot...to me it represents Strength, and I have taken the
Goddess in my name to heart.  (Diana is the Goddess of the Moon, the Hunt,
and [believe it or not] Chastity.  She is an Amazon Goddess...including
the removal of a breast to allow for shooting a bow and arrow.)  I like
my name so much that I get terribly upset when people get it wrong (Dianna,
Diane, etc.) which is one of the reasons I call myself D.  I figure no one
could possibly spell that wrong.  

I wouldn't change it for the world.

As for people's names affecting how they are viewed, I have to admit I have
a instinctive prejudiced reaction to people who's names end in an "ee" sound.
I always think of them as girls (or boys) no matter how old they get.  Which
isn't at all fair...I mean, my grandmother has been Gertie as long as I've
known her, and hasn't been a girl for many, many years.  NEvertheless, the
diminutive connotations of "Cindy" and "Tommy" and "Kelley" and "Jimmy" stay
with me, much to my own chagrin.

(Side note on names: I have a pet peeve about people who shorten other
people's names without asking them if that's what they prefer to be
called...like Cynthia to Cindy or Matthew to Matt...I have a friend named
Stephen, and I always introduce him just that way...this is *StepheNNNNNN*...
and inevitably people decide that his name must *really* be Steve.  I
probably got this pet peeve because I HATED people to call me Die.)

D!

    
    I always thought I'd like one of those either-or first names...  
    
    I'm glad I didn't change my first name to Nichole like I wanted 
    to when I was 20-something (I thought it would be cool to be 
    called 'Nick').  
    
    I played around with the spelling of my first name when I was a kid 
    (Kris, Crys...) and hated my last name for the titters it inspired, 
    but now I like it.  No one ever knows how to spell it at first and 
    I'm always impressed with people who remember how to spell it.  I'm 
    begining to research my family tree and I'm excited about what I 
    might find -- I've already found out that one little branch of the 
    family changed their name to Carey.
    
    I don't like my middle name (Marie).  If I ever have a cat or a dog
    I think I'd like to name it Hazel, if it fits.
    
    CQ

    In re: .1, .2
    
    Zurko is also pretty forthright about where it wants to be in an
    alphabetical order. It even makes Zarlenga look a bit wimpy on this
    metric.
    
    In re: .5
    
    Dee - don't underestimate people's abilities to missspelll anything.
    

    What an interesting topic!  I've always loved names.  "Diana" is also
    one of my favorites.  
    
    My full name is Pamela Winifred Smith.  
    
      Pamela   because my parents liked it.
      Winifred because it was my dad's mom's middle name and she liked it
               a lot (the name is more common in England, where my dad's
               from)
      Smith    because it's my dad's name.  :-)
    
    I *HATED* the Pamela Winifred part when I was younger, and would refuse
    to tell anyone my middle name (hope you all can keep a secret!) until I
    knew them well enough.   Now I actively like Pamela (it's balanced and
    warm and feminine, I think) and can tolerate Winifred.
    
    Most people call me Pam; a few *close* friends call me Pammi or Pammy
    or Pammie. (The diminuitive is OK for me when I know people are
    expressing affection by using it -- I laugh when my cousins insist on
    calling my brother (who is 31) "Timmy".)  
    
    I have a quirk, though, in that I don't like to see the name "Pam"
    written down.  "Pam Smith" sounds so ... personality-less. So I usually
    sign things "Pamela Smith", except in MAIL and NOTES.  And I ask for
    checks to be written out to Pamela Smith.  
    
    Don't know if I'll keep my name socially when I get married.  (I'll
    probably keep it legally.)  I don't see any need to preserve the name
    "Smith" for future generations; how hard I fight to have people
    continue to call me "Smith" socially will depend on how great or
    horrendous his name is.  I.e., if it's Shmamela, I'll probably go with
    his; if it's Ffelchenbergeit, I'll keep my own.  (Same thing with the
    kid's names -- whoever has a nicer name gets to pass it down.)
    
    Oh, and I hate the name Pat because people mis-hear my name and call me
    that.
    
    Pamela Winifred Smith I
    
    P.S.  My best friend from 6-8th grade was also named Pam.  I was Pam1,
    she was Pam2 in school.  People joked and called us "Pam-squared." 
    When she moved away we used to do fun things with our names on letter
    envelopes:  Pamantha, Pabitha, Pamelawamala, etc.  The letters always
    got delivered. 

On Z's and names...

I was always somewhat disappointed that my mother (and therefore, through her,
me) didn't take back her original last name when she divorced my father:
Zickefoose.

I understand why she didn't - it made her miserable growing up.  People called
her Picklepuss and all sorts of other names.  And she was always at the end
of lines and role-call and stuff like that.  So "Carroll" was much preferable
to her, and she goes by that name to this day.

I like it though.  It is very unique...when you meet another Zickefoose (there
are a few out there) you know you are related.  It means "goat foot" or
more accurately "fleet foot" in German, and that's neat.  At it is a very
esthetic word, I think.  (One of my Mom's exboyfriends used to call her
'Foose, and me little-foose.  I loved it.)  I too think Z's are exotic.

My mother's father, Paul, hates his first name and calls himself Zick.
I didn't know until a few years ago what his real first name was! :-)

My middle name, Elane, is kind of neat, even if everyone spells it wrong.
(It has *no* 'I'.)  My Grandmother's original name (on Mom's side) was
Estelle Gertrude Lane...or, E. Lane.  So I am Elane.  That is my mother's
middle name too.

And that, combined with Carroll, makes me a *true* DECie!! :-)

(Carroll isn't my "true" last name either...when my great grandfather moved
from Poland to the US during the Depression, he changed his name from
Katz to Carroll. It was hard enough to find work with a nice Anglo-saxon
name like Carroll, let alone announcing yourself as a Polish Jew [or
Jewish Pollack, whatever].)

DEC!

Names are one of my obsessions, along with handwriting.  But that's
irrelevant when it comes to Notes.  When I was younger I longed to 
have a common name.  Now I'm relieved and proud that I don't.

Here in Notes, we're attracted to people for a bevy of reasons.  For
me, one of the biggest appeals is an interesting name.  Battle cries
aside, I've never been interested in someone with a common first/last
name.  I get confused by all the Jim's, John's, Joe's, Jeff's, Mike's,
Mark's, Tim's, Tom's, Mary's, Kathy's, Sue's, Linda's, blah blah blah
in the world, and chances are high that I'll forget a common name as 
soon as it's told to me.  If something doesn't capture my interest, I 
don't really pay much attention to it.

I love the names Mez, Maggie, Dorian, Lorna, and Abigail (hi sweets!).
They're unique, strong, and feminine names.

Carla

    I didn't address the base note directly in my last note, sorry!
    
    Pamela Smith is pretty white-bready.  I don't remember getting special
    treatment except I get a) "How do you spell that?!"  and b) "That's a
    pretty common name, isn't it?" and c) "Bet nobody asks you to spell
    such a common name?!"  and many variations thereof.  It's a boring name
    but not one that conjures up special treatment, except when someone
    forgets WHICH boring name I have and calls me Pamela Brown or Pamela
    Jones (no joke!).
    
    About other people's names, I grew up in a non-race conscious home.  
    It wasn't until I got to college and met lots of other people that I
    realized that there WERE ethnic stereotypes that people actually still
    repeat (the only ones I was conscious of even vaguely were black and
    jewish ones; and the Italian/Irish stuff in WEST SIDE STORY), and that
    you could identify someone into an ethnic category by their name. So I
    never knew that "Krakorian" was Armenian or "Larsen" was Swedish or
    "Naomi" was Jewish or "Dolores" was Spanish.
    
    I liked it a lot better when I didn't know ethnic stereotypes and
    ethnic names existed, because then I knew I wasn't making judgments
    based on them.  Now my mind is filled with irrelevant items I have to
    brush away to see someone as an individual.  I try to use knowledge of
    their ethnic background only as a frame for the person they are.  It's
    one feature that has helped to shape them as a person.
    
    Pam

    	RE: 957.8, 9, 11
    
    	My wife used to babysit for a Winifred Smith in Nashville,
    	TN. Winnie (as my wife calls her) is/was a professional
    	singer (beautiful voice); she used to be on Arthur Godfrey's
    	TV show in the 1950s.
    
    	One of the professors at Abilene Christian Unviversity in
    	Abilene, TX is named Ben Zickefoose. So, as you said in
    	257.9, there are a few out there.
    
    	I thought Critz was a very unique name until my dad found
    	the town of Critz, VA. There's even supposed to be a big
    	Critz reunion this spring. Letters were sent to anyone with
    	a name similar to Critz, i.e., Crites, Kritz, Kritzer, etc.
    
    	When I was a little fella (1950s), our neighbors were the
    	Kreitzers. What a coincidence.
    
    	Scott

 I have never particularly liked my name, probably because it belongs to me
and so couldn't possibly seem as "cool" as someone else's name. But I'd
never change it.

 The problem with a name like Levesque is that it lends itself to a multitude
of mutilated pronunciations. La vesk, Lev es cue, etc. Also, there is a
difference between the various french factions in what the proper pronunciation
is; some say Le veck, some say Le vake. Either of those is tolerable to me.
My grandfather uses Le vake, so that's what I usually go by. Whenever the
canucks come down to visit relatives, they usually say "Le vike," which at
this point only makes me laugh.

 Since the translation of Levesque is Bishop, whenever I order takeout, I
use either Mark or Bishop. Of course, when calling chinese restaurants, even
this is no guarantee. I went to pick up an order at a local chinese restaraunt
and asked for the order for Bishop. "No have." There it was though, Bisup.
Go figure. :-)

 The Doctah

    
    	I've never really liked my name, but I guess it grows on
    	you after a while.    By the way, it's Eileen Mary Thompson.
    	How's that for English-Irish-Scottish?
    
        Maybe because I never really felt like I was an individual.
    	My sister is Ellen Marie Thompson.  She is 1 yr, 1 day older,
    	same build and coloring, and 1 number different in the Social
    	Security Number.  Try convincing banks that you are different
    	people so you need 2 loans for school!!
    
    	But then there are the advantages.  I share a terrific set of 
    	initials with 2 other generations (Dad and Grandfather), as
    	well as a pretty famous alien.  And no one ever forgets your 
    	name if you introduce yourself as ET.
    
    	;^) Well, maybe I do like it more than I thought?!?
    
    				et
    		                             

    I don't really care for Kim, and dislike Kimberlee, altho everyone
    usually says to me "But it's so PREEEETTY spelled out!"  Kim sounds
    so terribly pert and cheerleader-ish, and that isn't me.  (The closest
    I get to Pert is the soap).
    
    I don't like my last name at all.  Very few can pronounce it, fewer
    can spell it and I get tired of saying it and having people look
    at me and ask "Can you spell that?"  (of course *I* can  ;)
    
    Besides, it doesn't look very good.  So halfheartedly I hope my
    boyfriend will marry me, so I can be justa 'nuther Rivers instead
    of Acapulco, a POD a ka, Apodala, Apodoco, Apadaka, or even an Apadace.
    
    (for those who care, and I'm sure you're all waiting with bated
    breath, Apodaca is pronounced a-POE-dak-ka.  I'll even let
    Ah-POE-Dah-kah slip by.)  :)
    
    --kim (just kim, pleeze)

Lisa was the second most popular name the year I was born (behind Jennifer).
I'm named after my uncle Louie who had died earlier in the year.  I'm glad
I'm named after him because if I wasn't then I'd be named Melissa Sue instead 
of Lisa Susan.  Melissa Sue....too "Little House on the Prairie" for me.  Blech.

As for the last name, there are the obvious ways to ridicule it, fortunately,
I didn't get too much while growing up.  The worst was probably this creep I
had for a math teacher in high school who insisted on calling me "gas pains".

The one thing that consistently happens is that people call me Lisa GALLOWAY.
I don't understand how you can mix up the two, but it always occurs.

Gassaway isn't the best sounding name in the world, but I'd definitely use it
professionally if I got married.  And in my personal life I'd just tack my 
husbands name onto the end of my own name, so it would be

			Lisa S. Gassaway <insert other name>

No hyphen.  When I handled the checks for fundraising at a college radio station
I was suprised at the number of people who took this approach.

And about prejudice and names....
If I was to marry my current beau, my name would be Lisa S.G. Hong.  With a name
like that, people would definitely be expecting someone oriental, and then I'd
walk up with my blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair-to-the-point-of-anemia skin
and freak them out! Ha!

Lisa 

    My given name is Carolyn, though no one but my doctor and my mother :-)
    ever call me that.  Since my twin sister couldn't pronounce Carolyn
    when we were little, I became Lynnie in the family, and that evolved in
    to Lynn.  I know a number of women named Carolyn and the name suits
    them well; I've just never felt comfortable with it.
    
    Hanley and Scott sounded well together, so I opted to hyphenate when I
    married.  I also felt a strong desire to keep my name somewhat "alive",
    rather than tuck it away as a middle name that wouldn't get used.
    The problems I've encountered run the gamut from insurance
    companies who don't know how to file me, the Registry which won't allow
    a hyphenated license (but registration, they will), and Social
    Security, which sent my new SS# without the hyphen.  I automatically
    spell my last name when I leave phone messages.  Arrggghh!
    
    I don't really think of different names as ethnic; rather I tend to
    notice names that will often indicate a part of the country, where some
    names are used more often (e.g. Billy Sue).
    
    

    Ever notice how anyone called "Jack" is usually named something
    else?  Ever wonder what they're hiding...
    
    -one whose father is a "Jack"

    re .5
    
    �	(Side note on names: I have a pet peeve about people who 
    �	shorten other people's names without asking them if that's 
    �	what they prefer to be called...

    I have a problem with just the opposite behaviour.
    
    My name is Douglas Charles Buckland, at least my official name,
    ie the one that appears on my passport, drivers licence etc.  Douglas
    is after an uncle and Charles after my father.
    
    However Bob is the name that I answer to in normal everyday situations.
    (I was adopted at age three and my name changed from Robert A. to
    Douglas Charles.  Being three I already knew what I was called so my 
    new parents continued to call me Bob.  Hence the two disparate names.)
                                                                   
    And now to the peeve, there are a number of people who insist on
    calling me Robert, even after explaining that it is not my name.  

    	
    	Bob (*not* Robert)

    It seems to be the general assumption here that women should still
    modify their names on marriage, at least "socially." Is this so? Why?
    Do men and women feel the same? Would women who have gotten married do
    it again the same way (whatever that was)?
    
    For my part, I have evolved (definitely a change over time) to the
    point where any name change seems slightly odd, hyphens or not. And
    certainly I have gotten used (in other people's families) to children
    whose last name is shared with nobody in the primary family. But if the
    situation should ever arise in the future, and I had a prospective
    spouse with other inclinations, I could probably be flexible; but I
    still can't envision changing my own name.
    
    	- Bruce NMN Collier

    Good grief.  I just couldn't let this topic go by without putting in a
    "consciousness raising" plug for the issue of the importance of names
    and how that does play into our identity, and how adoptees are
    systematically denied access to this information.
    
    So, for all of you who are talking about your names and how they
    connect to relatives and ethnicity, just think about what it would be
    for you if you had no idea about your origins.  Can you imagine being
    raised as Susan Smith and finding out in your twenties or thirties
    that both your birthmother and birthfather were Jewish?  Or picture
    yourself as a Korean adoptee who's been given the name Erin.  Or having
    your parents insist that you are of French national origin (or fill in
    French with any other national origin) and finding out that you are not
    of French origin, but that you are Italian, or Polish, or German or
    whatever.  Picture yourself as a bi-racial child or a child who has
    been brought to the United States from Korea, South America, India,
    Vietnam, etc., and adopted into a white, middle/upper class family that
    lives in a very white neighborhood where you are sent to very white
    schools.  Would you feel isolated?  Where would you find role models? 
    How would you develop racial or ethnic pride?
    
    I am not saying that all adoptive parents attempt to obliterate their
    children's racial/ethnic identities, many don't.  There are some
    parents who choose to live in integrated neighborhoods because they do
    have children who are Afro-American, Korean, Panamanian, Hispanic,
    etc., but so many do not.
    
    By the way, all these examples are real life stories from adoptees that
    I have met in my travels.  Think about it.  A name is just another form
    of a "label" that tells us a little something about the person.
    
    As for my name(s), I grew up as Laura Ann Ervin in an Irish family.  At
    age 30 I learned that I was originally named Anne Therese Trahan who's 
    mother was of French Canadian ancestry and who's father is Ted
    Kronenberger of Polish ancestry.  One of the most exciting and moving
    experiences for me was at my first Kronenberger "family" event.  A
    woman that I had never met before walked up to me and said, "I don't
    know your name but I know you're a Kronenberger because of your nose."
    
    Laura_thanks_for_the_nose_Ervin-Trahan-Kronenberger,
    Your local adoption activist/big mouth :-]

    Talking of "foreign names", Nusrat, if you read the IEEE journals you
    may have had the same very disconcerting experience I did:  to be
    reading the article credits and see a completely japanese name attached
    to a completely european face.  I was quite sure the wrong bio got
    matched with the photo until I read the parenthetical comment
    

    
    "(formerly Wlodymierz Przszczekowski)" 
    
    
    Straight up!  I can't actually remember the name, but it was as clearly
    and unmistakably polish as what I've contrived for the example.  
    
    It was surprisingly unsettling, much more so than my grammer prof's
    change to Walter Bond from Vladimir Bondarenko.   
    
    						=maggie

    To answer 'gail's questions in her basenote:
    
    I can't tell whether my name affects people's response to me.  My
    surname doesn't have an obviously ethnic origin (well, it does but
    nobody except a few scots and the odd paddy can work out *which*
    origin).  My first name is very common and not especially ethnic,
    though the two nicknames I prefer do have at least a celtic association
    even if not strictly scots.  As to what it means to me, hmmm, it means
    *me*.  And no I wouldn't change my name.  Or at least not markedly,
    though I have been thinking of regularising the funny spelling of my
    middle name.
    
    						=maggie
                

    
    glad you asked,
    
    well, I'm in the process of changing my name from "Maria" to
    Maia (My-uh), and not quite sure how to let everyone know.
    One of the reasons I'm changing my name is that most people
    say "Marie" instead of Maria, (no offense to the Marie's in
    the community, but it's not my name).
                                    
    My last name (which I don't repeat to anyone) at birth was
    extremely ethnic-sounding and I grew up cringing everytime
    I started school (how do you pronouce *that*); my present
    name really belongs to my ex-husband, so eventually, I'm
    going to simply drop it, and go with my middle name,
    Daly.  
    
    Maia Daly.  I like it!
    

    I have always felt that being a Bonnie meant I wasn't taken as
    seriously, especially intellectually.  Bonnie isn't that common
    but it's not unusual either, it's not feminine and pretty, but
    it's not strong and female.  It isn't dynamic or intelligent or
    insightful.  It's cute, nothing more.  You expect Bonnies to be
    reasonable, maternal, comfortable.  You don't expect them to be
    dramatic, opinionated, or profane. 
    
    There was a Bonnie in space last week, as part of the shuttle
    crew.  I told that to one of my friends and he said, "I thought
    Bonnies were always lost in space."
    
    Sigh.
    
    I don't know why I don't change it -- I guess because it's too
    much trouble.  Or maybe I'm defiantly determined to remake the
    entire image of Bonnies the world over.
    
    --bonnie

    My mother had a thing for spelling names differently.  Hence, I became
    Nanci and my sister became Cathi.  My maiden name was Shavlik which
    went through numerous permutations courtesy of the U.S. government and
    various mail order businesses.  Some of these included Shavlick,
    Shadlick, Chadwick, etc.  When I was young I swore I'd marry someone
    with a "normal" name.  So I married Phil Sneed about the time Sam
    Snead, the golfer made it big.  Guess what?  I became Nancy Snead most
    of the time.  When the marriage started to get rocky I decided that the
    best of me really came from my mother and decided to take her maiden
    name.  I legally changed my last name to Van Fleet on Dec. 31, 1983. 
    Now I'm still Nancy to a lot of people but they usually get Van Fleet
    right.
    
    Whatever.

	 Isn't there already a note in here (or HR) about this?
	 Either this is Dejavu or I'm correct. ;-)


	 Katherine is too stuffy for my likes.  In fact, there have
	 been times that I haven't even answered to Katherine because
	 I use it so rarely.  Plus, people REFUSE to put the first 'e'
	 in it, the want to spell it "Kathrine."

	 So, it got shortened to Kathy rather quickly.  It wasn't
	 until highschool that I started being called Kath.  In fact,
	 I consider Kath to be an endearing term, because the girl
	 that started calling me Kath was my dearest, best friend
	 (even though she later went on to get pregnant by my
	 boyfriend and he went AWOL...as far as I know, they are still
	 married.  He was a jerk).

	 Kat came because I'm lazy sometimes.  Plus it fits perfectly
	 in Wildkat (UArizona's mascot was the Wildcat).  I'll have to
	 get personalized plates on that one someday.

	 Earlene is my middle name, it was almost my first (mom wanted
	 Earlene Katherine).  Earl came from my mother's father who
	 was an ace pilot in WWII.  He was killed in a civilian plane
	 crash when my mother was only 13.  Hence, Earlene was a
	 feminization (is that a word?) fof his name.  I hear he was a
	 wonderful man and I regret never knowing him, but feel a
	 wonderful bond with him thru my name.

	 Gallup.  Can you believe that NO ONE can spell "Gallup"?!?!
	 I mean, I have to spell it out for people 4-5 times before
	 they get it right.  "G-A-L-L-U-P.  No, that's two L's, and a
	 U not an O.  don't people listen?!?!


	 FWIW...i love my initials.  KEG.  ;-)

	 kat

    Holy Moley, are some of these buggers hard to track down.  I looked for
    the related topic earlier, couldn't find it where I remembered seeing
    it, and thought "I must have imagined it".  Well, now since someone
    remembered there's a parallel topic somewhere, I dug real hard,
    and...voila....
    
    MENNOTES
    topic 313 - An Old Piece of Newspaper
    
    -Jody
    
    p.s. if this wasn't the topic you were thinking of, I have no idea
    where it is :(....
    

    I have started liking my name 'Manisha'. Mostly because most Americans
    can pronounce it. Indian names have a lot of sounds that aren't there
    in English and if your name has one of them it's always mispronounced.
    
    I wasn't very fond of it when I was in India. It was too common. I've
    always had at least one more Manisha in my class. Don't have that
    problem any more.
    
    Manisha

    As a kid, I always liked my name (Patricia) until
    I found out it meant"...of nobility". soooo....THAT"S why
    my mom called me "Queen Bee". ;-)
    
    BTW, I HATED my maiden name (Pry). When your a kid, so many things
    rhyme with it <yuck>.
    
    pat
    

    
    My feeling is that your name affects greatly how you feel about
    yourself, and also how others can react to you.
    
    To cut a long story very short, my christian name was changed
    in line with what a group of my close friends felt would suit me
    knowing my personality, appearance, character etc - we all changed
    our christian names like this! I liked their choice - it felt
    it "fitted" me and I love the sound of it and some of the historical
    overtones....
    
    I feel convinced that I'd not be the same person that I am today,
    and may even have followed a completely different path, if
    I'd stuck with my original names and images that had gone with
    those over the years.
                 
    'gail
    
    

    I understand second hand that the institution most skilled at fouling
    up names (and some other things) is the Army. A professor I knew went
    through WWII with a man named "R B Jones." No periods, no "stands
    for."  It took a few extra hours to get his forms filled out at
    induction (initails not allowed!).  The officer in charge finally 
    settled for putting the letter followed by (ONLY) in the first and
    middle name slots. They guy spent the next 3 years as Ronly Bonly Jones.

    i don't think people's response to me is coloured by my name. i 
    probably think that because i don't believe that a name plays a 
    part in my response to others.

    starting at the top and working my way backwards....

    aagesen is my ex's last name. his father is a naturalized american
    citizen from denmark. all of his fathers family still lives in denmark.
    i've considered changing it...but it never seemed liked a real big
    priority. besides, now it's easier to find myself in the phone book(-;

    i was born robin lori varnum...i like the robin lori part, but the 
    varnum has never done much for me. maybe because i know it was my 
    father's adopted name.

    so, if my dad hadn't been adopted - and i hadn't been `married' - then
    i would still be known as

                      robin lori outlaw

    hmmmm, that might work...kinda' goes along with my instrinsic 
    rebellious nature(-;

    I've often considered changing my name for purely pragmatic reasons.
    Usually when I get frustrated with dealing with officialdom which
    cannot or will not accept that one person can have more than one
    name.  I have two names, one which is official (passport etc) and 
    one which people know me as.  Same surname, different first names.
    
    The biggest problem in the past has been with the banks.  I get
    cheques in both names (even my payroll cheques have one name and
    expenses has the other) and banks generally have a problem with
    one person two names.  One place even wanted me to have both names
    printed on my cheques and pretend I was two people.
    
    Now I have a good bank who doesn't have a problem, so I'll keep
    them both for now.  Besides I've grown rather attached to both names,
    after all I've had them a long time.
              
    Unofficially Yours,
    			Bob
    
    BTW my wife had three *official* names and never had a problem.

    when I was in high school, I think we had a guy in our class named
    
    			ZOLTON ZOLLY
    

    As part of my dilema with 960, I have to admit that I agree with
    .5 here, and am legally upgrading my name this year.  There is nothing
    worse than being in a meeting with a group of suits (exec types) and
    having someone say "and if you have any further questions, see Cindy"
    UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh, I suddenly feel like Cindy Lou
    Who (from the Grinch Stole Christmas) with cute little blonde pigtails
    and freckles (and I'm worried about getting old! :-) ).  My parents
    HATED the name Cynthia, and when they heard I was going to have it
    legally changed they went through the roof, but I can't invision 
    myself being a 70 year old Cindy.
    
    Cyndi, soon to be Cynthia

    
    	Well my parents liked the name Judy but not Judith.  So Judy
    	I am.  I had an art teacher when I was in junior high school
    	that insisted on calling me Judith.  I asked him over and over
    	not to call me Judith as that was not my name.  I finally brought
    	my birth certificate into school, showed him and from that day
    	on he called me Judy.  I don't care for my middle name only because
    	it's too common..Ann. (no offense to the Ann's of the world!)
    	Could have been worse.  My mom's middle name is also Ann.  But
    	it was almost my grandmother's first name...Sybil.  She was
    	Sybil Irene Wheeler but uses Irene as her first name.  I would
    	have hoped though that my folks wouldn't have given me Sybil.
    	Judy Sybil doesn't sound right.
    	And Morrissey is Irish.  Some folks have a hard time spelling it
    	but most get really close.  And 's' usually gets dropped or
    	something.  I'm getting married in 3+ months and I've had a
    	lot of people ask me if I was going to keep my last name,
    	take Cary's or use both.  I'm taking his.  One, I like it;
    	Judy Chaisson sounds nice....and Judy Morrissey-Chaisson is
    	just too darn long!!
    
    	My favorite name is Jessica....when I have children a little
    	girl will be Jessica Leigh....  
    
    	

    I bet I'm related somewhere back in time to BSS::BLAZEK.  I know the
    Immigration officials changed my great-grandfather's name to BLACHEK,
    and it did have a Z in it.
    
    Hi there, Cousin.
    
    Even though people hardly ever spell or pronounce my name correctly, it
    does feel like my name and I wouldn't consider changing it.    In my 
    first marriage I changed it, and thought about changing my name to my 
    Mom's maiden name, Mangieri when I got divorced.  (Mangieri is Italian for
    to eat, which suits me fine.)  But I decided that it just didn't *feel*
    like me.  
    
    I also like my first name--Judith.  It is unusual enough that I hardly 
    ever have many other Judy or Judiths to be confused with.  
    
    My parents went wild with J names. Here is the Blachek lineup:
    John, Judith, Jean, Janet, James, and Jill.  Three of us even have the
    same initials.  It made it easy to swap monogramed sweaters in high
    school!  But generally, it was very confusing for people.  We got any J
    name in the book.  
    
    Right now I'm pregnant, and picking names is very much on my mind.  I
    want something a little different, but not too different.  If we have a
    girl, she will be called Gina.  But we just cannot pick a boy's name. 
    And the kid will have my husband's name, Paolillo, since they will be
    3/4 Italian.  It just makes sense to me.
    
    I too react to names a little more than I like to admit.  I don't like
    cute or pretentious names, but I guess that is a bias of mine.
    
    judy

    I used to think my mum had a fixation with Roy Rogers' wife.  I hated
    my name when I was young.  But now, especially as I'm *so* together
    (^' I love it.  It makes me feel very individual!  I keep my married
    name because thats how everybody knows me.
    
    But try to get somebody to pronounce it - hah!!!  Its Mynott as in
    Whynott (which I flag my ALL-IN-1 with).  I have had minow, mynow,
    mumble, etc.  So now when i get there in may, y'all know what to call
    me.  Oh, and by the way, i do answer to a whistle (^'
    
    ...dale
    

    I like my name, now, because it's uncommon, but when I was a little
    kid I hated it.  I used to wish my parents had named me Kathy or
    Linda or Susan or some other common name.  When I was a kid I used
    to meet a lot of people who had never heard  my name before except
    for the cookies.  I really wish that Nabisco had selected something
    other than Lorna Doone for their shortbread.  I have been called
    Lorna Doone so many times in my life it's just unbelievable.  It
    isn't funny.  It isn't original, and I would just as soon kill the
    next person who says it to me.  (It's been awhile.  Although, even
    5 years ago I worked with an engineer who used to call me "Doone."
     I told him I hated to be called "Lorna Doone" so he said ok, I'll
    call you "Doone" and he did!  He was very cute so I let it slide.)
    
    Besides, the "Lorna Doone" bit, I used to get sick of meeting people
    and having them say, "WHAT did you say your name was?"  or "Whatever
    you said your name was?", etc.  I didn't start to like my name until
    I became an adult.  Even now, because of my New England accent,
    people from other parts of the country sometimes think I said my
    name was "Launa."  Also, a lot of people still don't get it the
    first time, and call me - Donna, Laurie, Mona, Norma, etc. when
    they speak to me next.  But, it seems to me that so many people
    have the same names used over and over again, that now I'm just
    glad to have an uncommon one.
    
    I also like my last name, St.Hilaire, and even though it was my
    married name I kept it when I got divorced because I like it so
    much.  My maiden name was Burns, which I don't think goes as well
    with Lorna.  (too choppy)  Although, I was always aware of the ethnic
    heritage of Burns.  I can remember someone who had just met my father
    saying, "That a good Irish Catholic name!" and my father saying
    in an uppity manner, "In *this* case, it's a good Scottish Prostestant
    name!"  :-)  (I think it's sort of funny for people to feel proud
    about ancestry since I don't see what difference it makes.)
    
    My favorite name is Melissa which I named my daughter (Melissa Renee).
    But, even though I still think it's the prettiest name, if I had
    known 16 yrs. ago how common it was about to become I would have
    tried to find something more unusual.
    
    My mother's first name is Vera, and I have always liked that, too.
    
    I detest my middlename, however, and can't imagine what my parents
    were thinking when they chose it.  If that had ever been my first
    name I would have changed it as soon as possible.
    
    Lorna
      

    I never used to be able to introduce myself without being asked
    how Liz was.  Now whenever I'm asked, I am reminded that I got older.
    
    But, no it doesn't bother me.
    
    The name all my relatives use, now that bothers me.
    
    ed
    

    in re last two
    
    There was a brief period after the movie came out that everyone
    called my husband 'clyde'. That got old real fast.
    
    Bonnie

    I had a promising relationship with a very nice boy demolished by
    that movie.  I mean, at 16, who could take the flak of a Bonnie
    going out with a Clyde?
    
    --bonnie

A hint to everyone: if someone introduces themselves, and you notice a 
cute pun on their name (like Lorna Doone) you can *damn* well bet they've
already heard it a million times, are sick to death of it, and will not
be impressed by your stunning wit if you tell it to them again.

My friend, Hagan, for instance, is no longer at all amused by "ice cream"
comments.  

(I am reminded of Our Heroine, Wyoming Knott, in _The_Moon_Is_A_Harsh_Mistress,
who would introduce herself and follow it with "you can call me Wy", and how
much effort it took Our Hero [whose name I don't remember] *not* to say
"Why not?")

D!

    re .46 -
    
    Mm. I'm not sure what's been worse, people who say "Gray?", or being
    called some kind of a whatchama-column...  ;-)
    
    Dorian

    Re .48, I guess that's better than in a men's room! :-)
    
    Lorna
    

    RE several

    I knew a couple named Slaughter; when invited to their house, I made
    the comment about going to the slaughterhouse (why? because, as the
    scorpion told the turtle in the old parable, "it is my nature"); Ed
    said "You know, I heard every one of those by the time I was five."

    I suspect that it doesn't take a PhD in creative thinking to 
    imagine some of the, um, "variations on a theme" that have been
    played with my last name.  I have an idea that with such a name,
    people had the tendency to figure I couldn't be taken seriously.
    Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy. . .
    
    Steve

    Pity the poor fellow I once knew in Colorado - born in the late '20s or
    early '30s.  How were his parents to know?  His name was Adam Baum.  By
    the time I met him in the late '50s and early '60s, I'm sure he'd heard
    them all!
    
    Karen

	Re: 957.16 (Lisa Gassaway)

>If I was to marry my current beau, my name would be Lisa S.G. Hong.  With a name
>like that, people would definitely be expecting someone oriental, and then I'd
>walk up with my blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair-to-the-point-of-anemia skin
>and freak them out! Ha!


	I know what you mean.  I have red hair and fair/freckled skin,
	not the coloration that people seem to expect in someone with
	a last name like "Lee." :*]



	As far as my first name goes, I've always liked "Andy," and I've
	always hated being called "Andrew" or "Drew,"  whether it's due 
	to early brainwashing by my mother or something else, I really 
	don't know. :*]

	I went through periods where I wished for a different or more
	unusual name, like "Duncan" or "Alexander,"  but I've since decided
	that "Andy" fits me rather well -- I think I'll keep it.


	>>AL<<  

    How about this....my name is Jill...which I like because there aren't
    many of us, although it is becoming more common these days.  my
    boyfriend's name is Isaac Jacob....mind you , they call him Jack....
    
    No comments necessary,huh?
    

I won't even deal with the last name ... it's just something that people seem 
believe everyone should have ... have never had one of my own, but may someday.

Anyway,

My given name is Annie-Luise.  Derived from Hana = grace & Louis = barbarian.
I stopped dealing with reconciling them years ago...

This is a name I love and cherish dearly for its musicality and if one adds 
the middle name 'Siobhan' I'm in heaven.

HOWEVER, no one _ever_ spelled it right [if heard] or pronounced it right
[if read], so when I became a grown-up I dropped the 'Luise' part.

Then came the day that some ditz of a customer sang 'Tomorrow' from the musical
Annie! once too often and I dropped the 'ie' in business.  This Ann-person
doesn't take the grief, but she's not me so I stick to being me in the 'real'
world ... except now so many friends first knew the Ann-person that she's
beginning to take over ... 

There was a time when I feared that my name might gradually dwindle to nothing.
But *now* half the world thinks that I should be 'Anne' --  I refuse, refuse!!!
I'm afraid that that 'e' is just a bit too posh for my tastes.

  Ann[ie] nee Annie-Luise 

    
    
    	I hated my name when I was kid, I wanted to change it to something
    	simple and easy to say.  My name is easy to say but everytime
    	I said it I had to repeat it...  No one beleaved that is was my
    	given name.:-)  Now I love it, I think it is very unique and
    	exotic. People always commented on my maiden name "Zina S. Slade",
    	saying it was a good Band name, and no one ever forgot what it
    	was after I introduced myself.  My married name is nice too,
    	Zina S. Brown.  I kept the "S" number one, because it needed
    	something else and two, because it is the initial of ONE of
    	my middle names (which I will not tell anyone...)
    
    	I just LOVE my husbands name "Kendall S. Brown", I think it
    	sounds so nice and strong and very SPECIAL.  Now all we have
    	to do is come up with some unique names for our future children!
    	One name that my husband and I fell in love with is "Ariel"
    	from "The Little Mermaid".
    
    
    	Zina
    	
    	

    Re: Adam Baum
    
    A friend of mine back in college was named "Mark Baum."  Within a year
    after he came to the university his name was universally "Adam Baum." 
    Most people never even knew his real name...

    
    My real name is Harold. I can't tell you the grief
    Bill Cosby caused me when I was growing up.
    
    							Hank

I really like my name, and I'm glad I changed it.

I was born Carol Anne Johns.  "Carol" was common enough not to be a problem,
but unusual enough that we never had 4 Carol's in class (like we did Cathy's).
"Anne" had the "e" on it to make it prettier.  "Johns", on the other hand,
was harsh and had associations of toilets and men who frequent prostitutes.
It was also quite often mispelled to be Jones or Johnson.

I especially liked my name one day when my grandmother took me to summer camp
in Round Springs, Missouri.  The owners knew my grandmother's family and
were especially gracious to me.  I filled out the forms with my full name,
address, etc, and the owner looked up at me and said, "Well, Carol Anne,
we are really glad to have you with us."  I looked at my grandmother, and
she smiled at me, and neither of us said a word, so that summer I was
"Carol Anne".  It was exotic and loving.  Even now, my best friends in
San Diego occasionally refer to me this way.

I like the name "duBois".  It gets mispelled less than I expected.  Usually
people spell it Dubois, but I expected that.  Occasionally someone will name
me "dubious".  :-)  I've always loved French, and I pronounce it the French
way - du-bwah'.  However, my great-great grandmother pronounced it du'-boyz
when she had the name, so when someone mispronounces it then it reminds me
of her.
           Carol

    
    	Addition to my previous reply
    
    	I think the only thing that I don't like about my name is
    	as a teenager I had some <ahem> different versions of "Hey
    	Jude" sung to me by members of the opposite sex....
    
    	And I get "Judy, Judy, Judy"  said like Cary Grant (or was it
    	Bogie??)
    
    	JJ
    

I have a pretty vanilla first name: Sue (Susan, actually),
a pretty gross (IMO) middle name:   Louise,
and fairly unique last name:	    Nale.

All-in-all (is that like ALL-IN-1?), I'm pretty satisfied with my name.  Rather
attached to it, actually.  In fact, when my step-dad wanted to adopt me, I
declined.  Mostly due to the fact that I was SUE NALE.  I had always been SUE 
NALE (except before my legal name-change, but that's yet another story).  I 
couldn't imagine being anything besides SUE NALE.  Now I'm facing another 
dilemma: I recently got engaged and am not-so-soon to be married.  Will I stick
by my guns and keep my name?  I really don't know yet.


My mom came over from Germany and has a unique and beautiful first name:
Marlies.  (mar lees').  Well, it *had* been unique in all her travels throughout
the U.S.  She settled in the tiny town of Strong, Maine only to discover that
there was a high school teacher named Marlies Black!

Sometimes I wish I'd been given a more ethnic and unusual name.  However, I have
had compliments on my name.  I've been told it would be a great name to have in
a heavy metal band.

Sue

    I think names convey different impressions to different people;
    Brittany and Emily conjure up different images, I think.  Some people
    find Karen a pretty name.  I find it rather ordinary.  Quite by
    accident, I've acquired two nicknames with more "character":  KC and
    Chelsea (formerly chelsea, but I've grown up...).
    
    I got some really weird notions from books when I was growing up.  I
    believed that people were named after famous people or relatives. 
    Names weren't created, they were recycled....  I had read a lot of
    biographies of famous people as children; there was a whole slew of
    them in elementary school.  Once I came across her biography, I decided 
    I must have been named after Katharine Lee Bates, Karen being derived 
    from Katherine.  However, I preferred Kathryn to Katharine.  I recall 
    that I signed my papers that way for a while.  I think this was around 
    2nd or 3rd grade.  I don't recall what my teachers thought of it, but 
    I'm sure they were aware that I was not your run-of-the-mill kid.

    I like my first name (and, btw, I don't mind it being shortened to
    Andy). I dislike my middle name - Maxwell. I inherited it from my
    father, whose full name is Maxwell Harry Ernest Watson, so maybe my
    problems are few.
    
    There's nothing wrong with my last name. There is something wrong with
    the people who think that they must be the first to recognize it as the
    same as that of the companion of Sherlock Holmes. 
    
    I sometimes tell myself that I'd want a PhD were it not for the fact
    that I then really would be Doctor Watson.
    
    	Andrew.

            <<< Note 957.63 by ACESMK::CHELSEA "Mostly harmless." >>>
>>    Names weren't created, they were recycled....

    Isn't something like this true some places?  (France?)
    Essentially parents have a list of legitimate names from
    which they can choose a name for their child...

    As far as my own name:  "Linda" is pretty ordinary (although
    I like it), but "Huxtable" often gets a smile and a quip
    about the Cosby show.  I just tell 'em I wish I got some of
    the royalties.  :)

    -- Linda

   I've always been called Barbi -- to me it sounds familiar, fun and a little
playful (a quality I admire).  I never identified with, or even liked, Barbie
dolls (she has an "e") and NO ONE ever called me Barbi doll.  I don't identify
with Barb either.

   When I started teaching in college, I decided that my authority needed a 
boost, so I became Barbara.  I always introduce myself that way now -- so
I'm Barbara at work and Barbi to my friends and family.


   I feel pretty comfortable in this notesfile, so I sign myself




Barbi

     
P.S.  To mean   BONNIE   is a strong and feminine name -- I've never known a 
Bonnie that I didn't admire      ;-) 

    re .66:
    
    I think 'Bonnie' is a strong and feminine name also.  Anyone who doesn't
    think it's strong and feminine doesn't know of Bonnie Prudden, one of
    the great pioneer rock climbers in the Gunks in New Paltz, NY throughout
    the 50s and 60s.  Anyone who's seen it is in absolute awe of the impressive
    "Bonnie's Roof", put up by her.
    

    Norma Jean... Hated it as a kid! All the other classmates had somewhat
    common names. I was in the fifth grade before I met a girl with the
    name Norma, Norma Jean as a matter of fact. Until then, I thought my
    dad had found this name under a rock or something. I say my dad,
    because he named us three girls (I'm the one in the middle) and my mom
    named my only brother (who ended up being a Junior).
    
    I always felt the rest of my siblings lucked out with their names,
    Audrey Elaine, Nancy Lee, and (I love the sound of this one)...
    Robert Carlton Dwinells, Jr.
    
    Now, I sincerely like my name. It is unique, like me. I'm not one to
    follow the crowd or buy the brand names or the current fashions. I like
    making a statement that is Norma Jean and no one else. 
    
    The only time I make a comparison, is with Norma Jean Baker. Know who
    that is? 

>    The only time I make a comparison, is with Norma Jean Baker. Know who
>    that is? 

Marilyn Monroe?

D!

   Well, I *LIKE* Norma Jean (the name), but the most important woman in my
   life had that name!  :-)  And she said Grandma named her that after
   Marilyn Monroe, but eventually I figured out the timing on that and
   realized it was a spoof.
   
   I've got one of the top-ten baby-boomer names: Jim (James, actually, but
   I could NEVER go by James!  I always intoduce myself as James, and then
   have to make corrections when someone actually tries to call me that!).
   
   When I was little, I couldn't WAIT to be Jim.  I was "Jimmy", but I new
   when I grew up I'd be "Jim"!  Sort've neat, cause if I had been Jim all
   along, I probably wouldn't have even thought about it.  Instead, becoming
   "Jim" was a rite of passage, and I've always been proud of it.
   
   My middle name never really did much for me, but I always carried it
   with at least SOME pride, because it came from my Father's first name,
   Elmer (GOOD West Virginia name).
   
   And I NEVER tell people my middle name, so I must be feeling unusually
   comfortable here, to blab it in a Notesfile!
   
   Jim
   

        		-< Daniel V. D'Eramo >-
        
        I guess I have mixed feelings about my name.  First,
        there is that annoying apostrophe and the two capital
        letters in the last name.  Organizations rarely get that
        right in their records.  In the late 1970's my Multics
        account's username was D'Eramo, but here it is the 1990's
        and VMS and ELF can't do any better than DERAMO.  I used
        to go to great lengths to get it corrected ... one credit
        card company didn't get it right until the third card! 
        But lately I see the last name as my father's name, and
        no longer have that much attachment to it.  I suppose I
        could change it if I get married ... my sister did!
        
        In conversation (or mail or notes) it is always "Dan", but
        written out I always used to insist on the full "Daniel
        V. D'Eramo".  That's how it was in my p.n. until people
        replying to one of my notes addressed me as "Daniel".  So
        I shortened the p.n. to "Dan D'Eramo" ... strange how
        they picked up on the first name but still spelled the
        last name incorrectly.
        
        A long time ago I wondered what "D. Victor D'Eramo" would
        sound like, but then came Watergate and suddenly first
        initial plus full middle name meant you were probably a
        co-conspirator.
        
        As kids we had a collective subscription to Highlights
        magazine, which my mother had made in the name "D'Eramo
        children" abbreviated as "D'Eramo chil'n".  A few years
        afterwards we got some junk mail addressed to "Mr. and
        Mrs. Chiln" trying to sell them something for their "baby
        Deramo".  :-)
        
        Dan

re: .64 (CREDIT::WATSON)

>>    Andy). I dislike my middle name - Maxwell. I inherited it from my
>>    father, whose full name is Maxwell Harry Ernest Watson, so maybe my

Likewise for me. Maxwell is an old family name on my father's side, but my
mother didn't like it so it ended up as my middle name. I don't mind it, but 
then I only ever use it when filling in forms ;^)

Because my mother was one of 5 Dorothys in her class at school, she was 
determined that I'd have a unique name. Given her usual tendancy for extremes
in such things, I guess I should be grateful I only ended up with "Hugh".

If I could have changed it when I was at school I would have. It just rhymes
with too many things and inevitably got changed to "Hughie" (Blech!!!). And
some people seem to be incapable of pronouncing (or spelling) it, no matter how
many times you correct them .....(they seem to think  begins with a "K" or a
"Q"!)
Nowdays it doesn't bother me so much ('tho' I'm still not overly that fond
of it).

One name-related hassle that hasn't been mentioned so far is having a surname
that's also a common first name, and first and middle names that can be
surnames.... it allows for a certain amount of (unwanted) mixing and matching.
Sometimes I've filled out forms that want the "surname first" followed by the
given names, only to find that I'm registered as Mr. Tom  Maxwell.

Hugh.

    I've never really liked my name.  I don't care for names that end  with
    "y" or "ey", like someone mentioned earlier, they sound too childish. 
    And I've been told that I have a "young" face, so people tend to think
    I'm younger than I am, and I don't feel that I get a lot of respect at
    work. (Getting promotions have been tough, too, but that's a different
    story.) I still go by Becky, only because I don't like my other
    options. Rebecca seems to formal and forboding, and for a while in high
    school, I used Reba.  
    
    My maiden name was very difficult - Mowery - Nobody could say it or
    spell it.  We got Mobry, Morey, Mallory... When I got married, I
    changed to my husband's name, because I thought it would be easier-
    Mattson.  But everyone always wanted to make it Matison, or Madison. 
    Now that I'm divorced, I've stayed with Mattson, because its my son's
    name, and I didn't want us to have different names.  (and Mowery is
    still too difficult.)
    
    When my son was born, I wanted a name that couldn't be shortened.  I
    don't like nicknames like mine: Rebecca-Becky, or Robert-Bob,
    William-Bill.  So, I named him Keith.  It can't be shortened or
    changed, and it sounds ok for both a child and an adult.
    
    My  middle name, is Suzanne, after my mom. I think its pretty, but I
    always was called Becky Sue while growing up, and I HATE THAT! or
    Rebecca of Sunnybrook farm!  Don't ever call me either of these, EVER!
    
    (just) Becky_unless_I_can_think_of_something_better_
    

	<- .5  I do not like my first name shortened.  Say it out loud.
Michael.   That I like.

	Digital gave me a middle name.  "No Data Found".  It took me three
years to convince personnel(sp?) this is not the truth. 

	Also, many people find it strange that I have no middle name but
when they ask me to pronounce my name in Russian, a few extra syllables
slip in there.  A discussion on patronymics(sp) usually ensues.

	When asked how to spell may name, I usually reply "With a K" or
"ends with a Z"

	I most people just use one of my many nicknames.


			Michael (son of Paul) Kowalewicz

    Sometimes when people spell my name they say "Is that F-I-S"
    and I say "Yes, <pause> they both are."
    
    ed

    
      My name is Mavrone. The pronunciation is ma'-vron-ee. It is an ancient
    Gaelic name which is a form of endearment. William Butler Yeats and
    other poets, have used the name in their writings. It has brought me a
    lot of compliments, on its uniqueness. I have also had to endure a lot
    of mispronunciations, and embarressment. One time, the first day of
    junior high school, I didn't answer the roll-call when the teacher
    yelled out "Moron Alt"?!? Can you imagine? 
    
      I have had so many nicknames thrust upon me, and changes in my
    surname (because of deaths, and divorce, and marraige and divorce,
    etc.) that I'll just list the names I've owned the longest.
                   
        Mavrone Louise Murphy - Birth name (good Irish father)
        
        Mavrone Louise - Teresa   - confirmation name
                       - Murphy   - birth surname
                       - LeVan    - mother re-married surname
                       - Alt      - mother re-married surname
                       - Gardner  - I married
                       - Alt      - I divorced
                       - Katsoulis- I am thinking about re-marraige?
                       - Ronnie   - nickname (at work, it's easier)
    
      Maybe this time I marry I'll leave my name alone!!!
    
      /Mavrone...8-)

Roger Oakey, that's spelled O A K E Y

    Ok, Mr. Oakley...

No, my last name is like Christmas, Noel, No-"L".

    Huh?

There is No "L" in my last name!

    I don't have one written down here...

I'm sorry, you said "Oakley" and I just wanted to make sure you didn't have an
"L" in it.

    I don't beleive I said "Oakley"

Go on...

.
.
.

Please read back what you have written for my name.

    Ok, I have Roger Oakl... I mean Oakey, O A K E Y.

That's right, thank you.

[The magazine/order will still come addressed to OAKLEY, OAKIE, OAKUI, OAKUY
OAKI, OAKE or O'KEY about 25% of the time, still...]

I'm amazed at how hard it is to get my name right!

                              Roak

re:              <<< Note 957.77 by PEAKS::OAKEY "Support the 2nd" >>>


I know how you feel, My name is Jenna...just plain Jenna, pronounced exactly 
as it's spelled, what could be simpler? But still, no matter how many
times I spell it I still get stuff addressed to Janet, Jeannette, Jana,
Jenny, Jean, Gina....and I don't even wanna talk about the many ways 
they've found to mutilate my last name.. }-|

Jenna

    One of the funniest permutations of my first name has to be when I
    called some mail order house to order something.  When asked for my
    first name I said, as I usually do, "Nanci with an i".  I cracked up
    when the package came addressed to Nancywithani Van Fleet!
    
    Nanci

    re:.80 Huh?  You like "Michael" better than "Mike" but you sign off
    as "mike z".  Isn't that contradiction?  Or did I miss something?
    
    ed  (and I don't prefer any of the longer forms)

    I prefer the long version of mine, Debra.  Deb is ok too, but Debbie
    is not appreciated in the least.
    

    Two of my friends , Mary and Rob, got married. She didn"t want to
    take his last name as hers, so they made one up, MARTIL. Mary Martil
    and Rob Martil...but where did they get it from (I hear you ask)..
    
    Mary And Rob Together In Love 
    
                                                      
    and otherwise they are quite sensible ordinary english people.

    RE>.84
    	That's SO COOL!!  I didn't know you could DO that!!?   I thought 
    you HAD to take ONE of the last names...8^}
    
    	I've always liked my first and last name, but my middle name I
    could do without..STELLA!!   I get ranked on SO bad when I tell people
    that...Sandra I don't mind.. I too have written it in several different
    ways..Sandy- Sandi- SAN-D..etc.. I wanted to get a monogramed plate for
    my car...
    
    	My last name is pretty popular.. MAZOLA.. yeah, go ahead
    (a dream I've always had was to own a nice boat and christen it the 
    	" S.S.MAZOLA "  It'd be pretty personalized wouldn't ya say!?)
    
    -=[SANDY]=-
    
    	P.S. Stella is my grandmothers' first name I asked my mother.."Why
    ME!?" (I have an older sister), and she said, "I had to give it to
    SOMEONE!, and I wasn't about to have another!!"....THANX mom!
    
    
    

    
    	I'm engaged right now and upon planning our future together we've
    decided that when we have a baby, I can name it if it's a girl and if
    it's a boy HE can name it...(anything except Kenny) he hasn't told me
    what he would like but I already know that I would like my baby to have
    the name:  Randi-Lee Alexa DuShane.. I love it!  It has a nice ring...
    
    	*(sigh, but that's a little while aways...)*
    
    -=[SANDY]=-
    

    I can't imagine changing my name.  I suppose I won't know until the
    time actually comes (*if* it comes), but I don't think I'll change it
    for marriage.  My sister changed her name with her first marriage, but
    not with her second.
    
    And, even though there are hundreds of millions of us in the world, I
    like Susan.  It does irritate me that most people call me Sue
    automatically, without asking if I mind (I don't; I just want them to
    ask first!).  My middle name is Ellen, after my Godmother, and she
    always called me Susan Ellen.  I am very thankful that I was never
    called Sue Ellen.
    
    When I was in school I got lots of razzing.  First, in junior high the
    Purina Cat Chow commercials were popular, and I was in study hall with
    this wise-acre teacher.  He was calling the role, rhyming every
    surname.  Then he came to mine and hesitated a moment, then said,
    "Chow, Chow, Chow!"  It stuck throughout junior high!  I was called
    puppy chow, cat chow, dog chow, Purina, Furry-ina, and (of course)
    Chow, chow, chow.
    
    Then everyone called me Sue, and everyone used to slur my last name, so
    it came out "Frina."  Then they started slurring my first and last
    names together.  I went to junior high and high school with a girl who
    never knew my last name (we didn't have classes together, just went to
    the same schools).  She thought Sufrina was an obscure Italian name! 
    Then I was really happy they hadn't called me Sue Ellen - my classmates
    would have called me Swellin!
    
    My cousin legally changed her surname recently.  She felt her last name
    was too difficult to pronounce and spell, and her father had almost
    nothing to do with raising her, so she took her mother's maiden name
    legally.
    
    By the way, I work with two other Sues, and we work as team quite
    frequently (almost always!), and we call ourselves Sue Cubed.  I have
    so many friends name Sue that it drives my roommate crazy.  I even own
    a Su-baru.  My nephew and I were going to a party at one Sue's house,
    and he (at three) started out the door.  I said, "Where are you going? 
    We have to get in the car."  He said, "But we walked there last time." 
    I explained that this was another Sue, and he sighed heavily and said,
    "You got lots of friends what gots the same name as you!"  I love kids!
    
    On another note, my grandfather always called us Cream o'Farina, after
    the cereal, so when I was choosing a nodename for my workstation-to-be,
    I chose CREAMA, so people could mail to CREAMA::FARINA.  I thought it
    was funny until someone pointed out possible sexual connotations.
    
    As for treating people differently, I know it happens still.  It's too
    bad.  My ex-sister-in-law's first name is Clarita and she kept Farina
    after the divorce.  My mother said it was because she was hoping to
    qualify as a minority (Fari�a is Spanish).  Mom has a warped sense of
    humor, but she grew up as Mary Ellen Murphy, so what can you expect.
    ;-)
    
    
    Susan
                                                      

    What's been surprising since I appended John's name to mine has been
    the number of people who have asked, "are you really using *both*
    names???!"
    
    yes.
    
    Grins

    
    
    	My high school swim team coach started calling me "Bit"  
    	(as in 1/8(byte)).  Then people on the swim team started
    	calling me "Bit".  Then my friends started calling me "Bit".
    
    	When I was home last Christmas at a party, a friend from high
    	school walks up to me and says, "Bit!!  You cut your hair!"
    
    	So it took me back about 6 years when the Ultrix maniac  I work
    	with walks up late on a Friday afternoon and says, 
    
    	"Hey_Bit,_wanna_go_to_POETS_across_the_street_for_a_beer?
    
    							nancy b.
    

    There have ben referencs to the common name Cathy.  I was named a 
    nickname at a time when "it just wasn't done".  All through school
    I had to endure ... "what is your real name dear?" "cathy."  No, dear-
    your real name".  Then I would tack on the Lynn to say Cathy Lynn.
    No.  Your full first name....
    
    That was why I chose a "full" name for my daughter.  Kimberly Heather.
    
    Nopw my last name is Firth.  5 little letters.  Between Frith and First
    I have to explain that I don't lisp.... the name is F i r t h.
    
    Never had a naickname before Digital.  People just couldn't tolerate
    Cathy once they knew that it wasn't short for anything. Cath was a
    variation that I had never heard before.  Now, I've added one more ..
    Katie because they are going to get in a nickname by hook or crook.
    
    I was supposed to be a Catherine, but a 1lb. 11oz., my parents felt it
    was too heavy and long a name for such a tiny person.  Hence the
    shortened version.
    
    Perhaps one day I will change it to....That will take some more
    thought.

    I just got called a new one yesterday.  Someone remembered me as
    being "Lenore." "There you go, Lenore..."  :-)
    
    Someone else had a horrendous time trying to spell my last name
    yesterday.  When they finally got it they said, "Oh, like hilarious!"
    That was a new one, too.  One I hope I don't hear again.
    
    Lorna
    

    Re .92, Excuse me?
    
    Lorna
    

                             -< What's that mean >-

Lorna, I think that means that with a name like "Broomhead" you would get
far more comments. 

       Carol