I have a first name that means nothing special in US English, but in UK English, it’s a word that denotes salacious behavior. Once, when presenting myself to an immigration officer at Heathrow airport, the officer, obviously nearing retirement age, peered at me over his reading classes for a moment, and then wished me a happy birthday, a fact I had forgotten. I thanked him. He then asked me if the first name listed on my passport really was my first name.
“Yes, it is,” I replied, “and I am.”
He gave me an almost imperceptible grin, but the twinkle in his eyes made my day.
That exchange was probably what saved my daughter from being named Alexa.
That is such an interesting point - names in different countries can have very different connotations in a different language. I had a German boss whose surname was very rude in English. I hope your daughter loves her name. I feel sorry for anyone called Karen, a lovely name ruined by social media.
I once met a man from Argentina whose Spanish last name was a four letter word in English for the most intimate of human interactions. I gently explained this to him and helped him print some business cards that substituted the final letter in his surname, “k”, with an “h”. It is the same with hand gestures. Something innocent in one country can be deeply offensive in another. It is always wise to listen carefully and speak cautiously.
I love this story about your name and its origin and spelling. My grandfather's name was spelled as the family name usually was, Boatwright. On my father's birth certificate, my grandfather's name was spelled correctly, with the 'w.' The remainder of the information was completed by someone else, as it was in a different hand, and that person spelled my father's name Boatright, sans 'w.'
I sympathise with you about your family name - both my family name and married name has a slightly different spelling from 'normal', and it remains a pain. I do wonder how many changes in surnames are due to inattentive clerks!
It definitely can be, especially if you have to search on 3 or 4 variations for each look-up. I bet it happens more than we think. My mother, who is in her 80s, just discovered her middle name was spelled differently on her birth certificate than she thought. I find a lot of variants and misspellings on death certificates also.
I do love some original names! The endless parade of John/James/William/George in all of my families is downright depressing. It brings me joy to run across a younger brother named Zimri - or to find a young man named Thor Glyde Day.
Hands down, my favorite name in my various family trees was Zelpha Hoot. (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hoot-75) Followed closely by Gladimere Schreck!
Thor Glyde Day and Zelpha Hoot are magnificent names. Some of the Victorian names were also grand, though I do wonder if some names were a burden. Being called Patience or Fortitude may have a negative impact on ones character!
I've also run across an astounding number of girls named "Freelove" - mostly in New England in the early half of the 1800s. (At least one distant relation was associated with the Oneida Community in New York: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneida_Community)
An interesting point. I am sure that historians can map people's names by the popularity of the name, often because they were named after a famous person. In my youth there were lots of girls called Kylie (after Kylie Minogue), but it does not seem very popular nowadays.
I was going to be called Sybil, after my paternal great grandmother, but my mother, disliking her, vetoed it. I've always wished my father had pushed on through and fought for that name anyway, I've always loved it.
My mom told me she named me after a red haired sweet but mischievous little boy she knew when she was a girl. As it turns out -- she was not far off the mark! !)
I was named after a cow who was the star of the ag school where my dad worked managing the cafeteria. True story. Like you, they had anticipated a boy and only planned for Robert. I was supposed to be another Bob. Thank goodness my mother said no to Roberta. Irony is that I don't drink milk.
This is great. My friend Dan didn't like his surname, so when he got married, he took his wife's name instead. The book Freakonomics gives some significant data too on professional positions and their relationship to their name. Thanks for provoking thought as ever.
It would be interesting to read professional positions and their relationships to names. Of course actors must change their name if there is another working actor who has the same name. Michael Douglas had to change his birth name to Michael Keaton, because there is already a Michael Douglas, son of Kirk. David Jones was called Davie in his childhood, so he had to change his name because of Davy Jones of the Monkeys. He changed his name to David Bowie.
This is true. Acting and singers need a persona I always feel so sometimes need that name change for performances. I am not a singer or actor but can see why it’s done for sure. Thanks for this 😎
My name was inspired by a character in a movie my mom had seen as a teenager. When she later married and was pregnant, she called the local library to ascertain the correct spelling of the characters name. Turns out the character was named Kirsten, but on screen whenever her love interest said her name, it sounded like Kirsi. So, officially im Kirsten, but never a day in my life have I been called anything but Kirsi.
I generally tug on my ear when I first introduce myself: “my name is Kirsi, like “ear”.. k-ear-see” That mnemonic usually does the trick.
It is hard when your name is spelt differently. I have a cousin called Cluny. It was an old Scottish name for a man (she is a woman), a castle, and the name of a river in Scotland. She hated her name when she was a teenager, but loves it now.
My birth certificate lists me as Kathrine Mary (despite my mother wanting me called Kathleen). Father's family won. But I have always been known as Katherine (or shortened by friends and family to Kay, Kathy, or Kate).
That is quite a story! My husband is from a huge family. My father was an only child and I only have one brother with the same last name. When I got married 30+ years ago I decided that we would both take each other's names. I still love the sentiment, but it is a LOT of names on official documents.
I'm also technically named after my grandmother - always spelt her middle name Mae. I got a copy of her birth certificate not too long ago - it's May. lol
I am sure there are a lot of examples! Hope you are happy with Mae. Many dates of birth are also suspect. We did not know my grandmother had ‘lost’ a couple of years until she died!
I have a first name that means nothing special in US English, but in UK English, it’s a word that denotes salacious behavior. Once, when presenting myself to an immigration officer at Heathrow airport, the officer, obviously nearing retirement age, peered at me over his reading classes for a moment, and then wished me a happy birthday, a fact I had forgotten. I thanked him. He then asked me if the first name listed on my passport really was my first name.
“Yes, it is,” I replied, “and I am.”
He gave me an almost imperceptible grin, but the twinkle in his eyes made my day.
That exchange was probably what saved my daughter from being named Alexa.
That is such an interesting point - names in different countries can have very different connotations in a different language. I had a German boss whose surname was very rude in English. I hope your daughter loves her name. I feel sorry for anyone called Karen, a lovely name ruined by social media.
I once met a man from Argentina whose Spanish last name was a four letter word in English for the most intimate of human interactions. I gently explained this to him and helped him print some business cards that substituted the final letter in his surname, “k”, with an “h”. It is the same with hand gestures. Something innocent in one country can be deeply offensive in another. It is always wise to listen carefully and speak cautiously.
I agree! It was great that you helped him.
I love this story about your name and its origin and spelling. My grandfather's name was spelled as the family name usually was, Boatwright. On my father's birth certificate, my grandfather's name was spelled correctly, with the 'w.' The remainder of the information was completed by someone else, as it was in a different hand, and that person spelled my father's name Boatright, sans 'w.'
I sympathise with you about your family name - both my family name and married name has a slightly different spelling from 'normal', and it remains a pain. I do wonder how many changes in surnames are due to inattentive clerks!
It definitely can be, especially if you have to search on 3 or 4 variations for each look-up. I bet it happens more than we think. My mother, who is in her 80s, just discovered her middle name was spelled differently on her birth certificate than she thought. I find a lot of variants and misspellings on death certificates also.
I do love some original names! The endless parade of John/James/William/George in all of my families is downright depressing. It brings me joy to run across a younger brother named Zimri - or to find a young man named Thor Glyde Day.
Hands down, my favorite name in my various family trees was Zelpha Hoot. (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hoot-75) Followed closely by Gladimere Schreck!
Thor Glyde Day and Zelpha Hoot are magnificent names. Some of the Victorian names were also grand, though I do wonder if some names were a burden. Being called Patience or Fortitude may have a negative impact on ones character!
I've also run across an astounding number of girls named "Freelove" - mostly in New England in the early half of the 1800s. (At least one distant relation was associated with the Oneida Community in New York: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneida_Community)
I guess it is not so odd if there are several of you with the same name, but you do wonder at the parents decision!
I never thought about that. Thanks Kate. I was named after a Portuguese soccer player, because my father was a huge fan of soccer
An interesting point. I am sure that historians can map people's names by the popularity of the name, often because they were named after a famous person. In my youth there were lots of girls called Kylie (after Kylie Minogue), but it does not seem very popular nowadays.
I was going to be called Sybil, after my paternal great grandmother, but my mother, disliking her, vetoed it. I've always wished my father had pushed on through and fought for that name anyway, I've always loved it.
It is a beautiful name, very elegant - like Eleanor (which is one of my favourite names).
🙌
My mom told me she named me after a red haired sweet but mischievous little boy she knew when she was a girl. As it turns out -- she was not far off the mark! !)
I love that your Mom had that in mind when she named you, and it follows the idea that a name influences a character!
I was named after a cow who was the star of the ag school where my dad worked managing the cafeteria. True story. Like you, they had anticipated a boy and only planned for Robert. I was supposed to be another Bob. Thank goodness my mother said no to Roberta. Irony is that I don't drink milk.
My goodness, I am beginning to realise how lucky we are to end up with a decent name!
This is great. My friend Dan didn't like his surname, so when he got married, he took his wife's name instead. The book Freakonomics gives some significant data too on professional positions and their relationship to their name. Thanks for provoking thought as ever.
It would be interesting to read professional positions and their relationships to names. Of course actors must change their name if there is another working actor who has the same name. Michael Douglas had to change his birth name to Michael Keaton, because there is already a Michael Douglas, son of Kirk. David Jones was called Davie in his childhood, so he had to change his name because of Davy Jones of the Monkeys. He changed his name to David Bowie.
This is true. Acting and singers need a persona I always feel so sometimes need that name change for performances. I am not a singer or actor but can see why it’s done for sure. Thanks for this 😎
My name was inspired by a character in a movie my mom had seen as a teenager. When she later married and was pregnant, she called the local library to ascertain the correct spelling of the characters name. Turns out the character was named Kirsten, but on screen whenever her love interest said her name, it sounded like Kirsi. So, officially im Kirsten, but never a day in my life have I been called anything but Kirsi.
I generally tug on my ear when I first introduce myself: “my name is Kirsi, like “ear”.. k-ear-see” That mnemonic usually does the trick.
It is hard when your name is spelt differently. I have a cousin called Cluny. It was an old Scottish name for a man (she is a woman), a castle, and the name of a river in Scotland. She hated her name when she was a teenager, but loves it now.
Such an interesting and well researched post, Kate. I really enjoy how you dig into a topic. And thank you for linking to mine.
Thank you for the re-stack - names are a fascinating side of our characters.
Indeed, they are!
My birth certificate lists me as Kathrine Mary (despite my mother wanting me called Kathleen). Father's family won. But I have always been known as Katherine (or shortened by friends and family to Kay, Kathy, or Kate).
Welcome another Katherine. It is a great name for shortening. I hope you prefer it to Kathleen.
That is quite a story! My husband is from a huge family. My father was an only child and I only have one brother with the same last name. When I got married 30+ years ago I decided that we would both take each other's names. I still love the sentiment, but it is a LOT of names on official documents.
A lot of names but great for ancestry hunters! I bet the Italians, with their love of official forms, love you!
I'm also technically named after my grandmother - always spelt her middle name Mae. I got a copy of her birth certificate not too long ago - it's May. lol
I am sure there are a lot of examples! Hope you are happy with Mae. Many dates of birth are also suspect. We did not know my grandmother had ‘lost’ a couple of years until she died!
I've noticed women do tend to only age 8-9 years out of 10 on some censuses lol
🤣