By Cheryl Mattox Berry
Apple, Audio Science, Banjo, Pilot Inspektor and Reignbeau, you have a new member in your tribe of celebrity offspring with eccentric names. Add Blue Ivy, the daughter of Beyonce and Jay-Z, to the roll.
Some people think a name like Blue Ivy is no big deal. It’s just a name. They say she’ll be rich and can do whatever she wants in life. That’s true for Blue Ivy, but let’s look at real people and the impact of unusual names on them. Your name says everything about you. It’s the first thing people see, and they pre-judge you based on your name. It determines whether you get past the first rung of interviews for college, jobs, promotions, etc. Eliminating someone based on her name is discrimination, plain and simple, but that’s the society we live in.
When I was growing up, kids with unusual names were the exception. One day in sixth grade, a new girl came to our class. The teacher introduced her as Cinderella. We thought Mrs. Harris was joking, but that was her real name. My friends and I assumed that since she was from Mississippi that people down there couldn’t tell a real name from a fairy tale name. Cinderella, who had mixed feelings about her name, was my first introduction to offbeat names.
Here are a few others that stand out: Aniqua, Female (fuh-MALL-ee), Hubzetta, Kaweeda, L’Omya, Majerry, Majurney, Neophansya, Philippia, Psychelia, Rusneisha, Thwana, and lots of names ending in “i-u-s.”
What if you’re saddled with a name you hate? One that is long on consonants, short on vowels and difficult to pronounce. A moniker that sounds like alphabet soup and makes you cringe when it’s said aloud in front of a lot of people. The answer is simple: Wait until you can legally change your name. For as little as $39 in some states, you can go to the courthouse, fill out a form and get your name changed to something that you feel good about, one that rolls beautifully off the tongue and makes those you meet smile.
However, be prepared for some fallout from relatives. Some parents think they’re being creative by giving their child a name that is different; one they feel distinguishes them from the pack. Beauty, as we know, is in the eye of the beholder. Don’t feel guilty about disliking your name.
When I was in college, the parents of a friend hit the ceiling when she announced plans to change her first name. They told her she was being disrespectful and insensitive because she was named after a relative. Instead of dropping her first name, she ended up using the initial of her first name and her middle name as her professional name. The old-fashioned name was gone but not forgotten.
At age 5, my daughter decided that she wanted to be called Sam. Not Samantha, just Sam. We bought a Sam nameplate for her bicycle, and she began signing Sam on her drawings. I thought it was cute and had no problem with the change. After a few weeks, she went back to her old name. I still have the Sam nameplate packed away in a box.
It wouldn’t have bothered me if she had wanted to legally change her name. I want her to be comfortable with her clothes, hairstyle and the name she carries. You shouldn’t go through life hating your name. It’s your identity. It says everything about you. If it doesn’t fit, don’t be afraid to change it.