28 October 2009

What is in a Name

I mostly use pseudonyms, nicknames, or initials on the blog. The only person I don't use one for is my ex-husband, Michael. Because I won't lie for that @#@#&(*%# ever.

Kevin is my husbands middle name. I love his first name. It suits him perfectly. It's fun to say, it's fun to write. It's just perfect for him. It's not common but not unusual. (this will be funny to only those who know him but the literal meaning of his name is appropriate as well)

It was to my surprise the other day when he mentioned that he's has wished he had a different name. I know he never uses his legal name because he hates it. He goes by a derivative of his legal name and was teased when he was younger. At one time, he asked to be called Kevin but it just never stuck.

I rarely slip when I write his name here. In fact, I've found myself writing "Kev" so I'm using a nickname for a pseudonym now. Well done me.

My nephew is a Fourth. He's always had the baby version of his name. For example: Timothy John IV, or Tim, or Timmy. Timmy being the baby version.
He's 25 years old now. He's trying to rebuild his life after making some serious poor choices. He's asked to be known by the grownup version of his name. After knowing him for nineteen years, it's been an effort to remember. But I completely understand his reasoning. He's ready to be his own person.

I, too, am not wild about my name. (I saw that eyeroll, D, stop it) I would never go to the lengths to change it but I certainly don't enjoy it. To boot, people tend to forget it easily.

Perhaps it's most everyone that doesn't like their name?

2 comments:

Swistle said...

I like mine, even though it and its many many variations were a huge part of the '70s. My parents have mentioned other names they considered for me, and I SHUDDER.

Not Your Aunt B said...

I don't particularly care for my name or any nicknames you can make of it. I tried to do a careful job of selecting my kids names, but they'll probably hate them too.