Friday, October 22, 2010

What's YOUR Name?

The Infant Prude

The Prude had planned a short, straightforward question for today but is discovering that all those years of lectures render unable to be brief and pithy. So, introducing Something Else New today, we will have a Question Followed by a photojournalistic jaunt FOLLOWED by a recap of the question.

The Prude briefly mentioned a couple of days ago that, in the interest of Family Alphabet Equilibrium, you may need to change your name. And the gears started churning in Prude’s head. If she could change her name, what would it be?
She asks the same of you.

THE PRUDE'S QUESTION FOR YOU
If you could change your name, what would it be? Or are you happy with your name?
All right, begin thinking, and come with the Prude on a Walk Down her Photographic History.

NOW BACK TO THE PRUDE
The Prude’s parents named their blobby baby ‘Anita’. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Possibly they hoped she would grow into the graceful, willowy, sophisticated creature associated with a name like ‘Anita’. Hope springs eternal, but as is so often the case, hope trips over a shoelace and lands on its face.

At first little Anita had no problem with her name, although at various times she preferred ‘Dale Evans’ or possibly ‘Boss’.

Eventually, however, Anita began to think that her parents should have named her the lively, cheerful name ‘Debbie’ instead of Anita. She has proof.
Early Debbie-ish stage
Look at the toddler photo. Does not that child just shout ‘I’m a perky Debbie’? And while Debbieness is not so apparent in the grade school photo,
A little Debbie
(possibly due to the dozen bobby pins in her scalp) we can still see some bubbly Debbie qualities around the eyes.
Almost no Debbie

In high school any resemblance to a Debbie almost disappeared in the side part and round cheeks, but came galloping back in college wearing spiffy tube socks and a perky haircut. If you saw that young lady zip by you on a carousel, wouldn’t you immediately think, ‘She looks just like a Debbie’? Would it occur to you that someone with a pixie hairstyle would be named Anita?
The Merry Debbie Quality comes Round

You see my point.

A pink and vivacious Debbie type of couple
In early wedded and childbearing years Debbie still would have been an appropriate name for that pinkish, vivaciousish young lady who kept the pixie haircut. The handsome lumberjack-type at her side looks the kind of guy who would marry a Debbie too, doesn’t he? Or possibly a ‘Debby’.

Late in the Favorite Name Stage
For the next many years Anita and her alter ego Debbie had a new name. An absolute, all time favorite name.
Mommy.

And now The Prude mulls. Does she still feel like a bubbly, jaunty Debbie? Is she finally at peace with her inner Anita? Can she wear the name her beloved parents gave her with klutzy pride? Or should she expand on her Prude persona and be ‘Prudence’?

Yes, these are the things that dance around in my brain on days I am trying to publish a non-murky post. And The Prude will continue to mull about what name suits her best right now until that day, as yet unknown, when one of her children announces that her new name will be ‘Granny’.

You  haven’t forgotten the question in all these ramblings, have you?
What is your name, are you happy with it, and, if you could rename yourself, what would that resulting name be? If my blog is rude and doesn’t allow a response feel free to spend what could have been a productive weekend mulling over the query, and please come back Monday!

With Love, Your Prude

13 comments:

katstrange said...

Okay, Debbie, here's the deal. I'm Kathy, as you know, and my only problem with my name is that there are too many of us. However, the problem of changing it to something more exotic is that I would never remember I'd changed it and people would still have to call me Kathy to get my attention. So what's the point? Chances are pretty soon I'll even forget that I'm Kathy and people will have to resort to poking to draw my attention.

Wallydraigle said...

You were adorable!

The only Debbies I know are nothing like you, so I'm having trouble seeing it. Maybe... Christine. Yes, that fits.

My name is Naomi. I used to hate it. I always wanted to be something more common, like Jessica or Jennifer. And then my name grew on me. Now I like it again. I should have liked it all along. I got picked on in elementary school a lot, and Naomi is one of those names that's almost impossible to rhyme with. That, my friend, is a gift to a nerd child like me.

The Prude said...

Kathy, good point. Name changes are fraught with dangers. I could never remember my sons' names and they grew up believing their given names were 'Honey', 'Sweetie', 'Love', 'Poopsie' or 'Buddy'.
(Cathy was one of my choices if we'd had a girl)

I think Naomi is an absolutely lovely name. Not only non-rhyming, but no weird associations. 'Anita' sounds like 'I need a' Horrors.

katstrange said...

My husband went to school with a girl named Anita Nichol. No kidding.

The Prude said...

AHAHA! Anita Nichol!
I sometimes feel like 'Anita Life'
or
'Anita Million'

katstrange said...

Apparently you nita shoes. (Isn't Klumper Dutch or German for shoe?)

ScheltyDebate said...

Let me first say that I LOVE your name... and I love what it means in all the languages that were listed in the baby name book:

Origin:Hebrew
Meaning:Grace; favour

Origin:Spanish
Meaning:Grace; favour

Origin:Finnish
Meaning:Grace; favour

Origin:Sanskrit
Meaning:Without guile; leader

Now, you may be thinking because you weren't (notice past tense) graceful as a child, you aren't graceful now. I disagree... in Christ, you are filled to overflowing with His grace and it hits lots of us on a regular basis as it runs out of your life into ours. And then, that "without guile; leader" part is why we are able to experience the grace in your life. You don't hide it as you lead by example and in word. So, I am grateful that you live up to your name's meaning, which is so much more significant than how it "sounds" in terms of matching you!

As to my own... I also love my name. I went through phases of trying different spellings: Sandie, Sandi, etc. But I have been quite content with Sandy/Sandra for many years, especially when Rick says it! And again, I appreciate meanings of names and mine comes from Alexander: helper of mankind. I hope that I live up to what my parents blessed me with in a name. When I'm trusting in Christ's strength, I am able; and I'm trusting in Christ's grace to cover me when I fail.

Tammy said...

What great pictures! (And you're using a scanner. I'm impressed.)

I am a terribly unimaginative being so (aside from a brief period in which I tried to change the spelling of my name to Tami... an obviously much cooler variation), I have never even considered another option. But what would one expect from a person named "palm tree".

The Prude said...

Yup- Klumpers means something shoeish.We couldn't name our boys anything light and airy with a last name like that!

See, Tammy/Tami is a cute, spiffy name. Very happy-sounding. Palm tree, huh? No kidding!

Mark F. said...

Dear Prude(nce),

My cousin Anita likes her name as far as I know; I've always liked it fine. What's the problem?

Now as for my name: Mark,
1) The unwitting target of a scam.
2) A foreign currency.
3) What used to be called a point (in pre-pc days) on a student's paper; e.g., "This question is worth four marks."
4) What appears on a student's paper when it is corrected.

Need I go on? At least I'm not named Hosea, Hosey affectionately, after my grandfather.

Anonymous said...

You actually look like a friend of mine named Debbie in your "non-Debbie" picture. But, alas, Debbie doesn't begin with a "P" therefore it is unacceptable. - Purple Girl

Robin Steinweg said...

You have brought us a post fraught with emotion--undercurrents, riptides, even tsunamis, for some. I like and always did like my name. But other kids being what they are, it offered Opportunities to them.

Bird/Birdlegs/Twig (what birds perch upon)/Grubworm (what birds eat)/Bluejay/...

It also inspired the original "Hey Robin, where's Batman?" which caused my eyes to roll and twitch until I thought of the comeback, "In the Batroom" which unfortunately many of the askers didn't get.

Robin being a form of Robert, a favorite nickname with relatives was Bobby, usually coupled with my aunt's first name (my middle name), Bobbi-June. This fit well with my sister Vicky-Jo, except we are not from a Confederate state. We are, like the Prude, from WISconsin.

I liked being the only Robin in my grade. It eliminated the problems that all the Susans, Sues and Suzannes had. These days the main grief is that no one readily believes my name could possibly be spelled simply like the bird. It must have two Bs, or a Y, or two Bs and a Y. However, I enjoy being Robin on Meadowlark Lane. It suits. I like birds.

Prude, you would be a beautiful lady with any name.

Danielle said...

Aside for a brief period when I wanted to be called Dana (I blame the X-Files) I have always loved my name. It sounds so pretty to me. And my mom picked it because it was in a dream of hers while she was pregnant with me.... how could I not love it?! :)