Friday Five

[nwhyte]

I have never done this before, but agirlnamedluna has inspired me:

1. Are you named after anyone? If so, explain.

Yes. There were a large number of Nicholases in the Whyte family tree, going back to Sir Nicholas Whyte/White, an Irish judge in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, who died while a prisoner in the Tower of London.

2. Do you have your children's names

Comments

[flemmarde]

hahaha... imagine being called fritter my wig :)

i have the exact opposite of you problem with the first name. i always introduce myself as Barb as the full version of my name was only ever associated with getting into trouble as a child. but many people don't listen, extend my name and take the first syllable off my surname to compensate for not listening.

and then there's the problem of the correct pronunciation of my shortened first name sounding like "beard" in french, which causes all the africans to call me "bar", which is kind of disconcerting, though i'm used to it now.

[nwhyte]

When I first met you, I was sure there must be a missing "r" between the first and second letters of your surname; like the chewing gum. I guess I'm not the only one?

[flemmarde]

would that i were the heir to the chewing gum fortune!

but sadly no... just left with a weird surname that is persistently misspelt and was routined taunted as a child, and no fortune to compensate.

though i'm mildy pleased with the fact that my surname means "forest clearing infested with beetles"

can't get much more spectacular than that :)

[nwhyte]

"forest clearing infested with beetles"

Yes, rather that than "having a twisting or snake-like or worm-like motion" which it would be with only slight spelling changes and the same pronunciation!

[flemmarde]

yes precisely... but that's *not* how it's spelt :P

still we're precariously close to such interpretations.

you know, i spent so much of my life defending my name, and then accepting it and deciding as a feminist i could never change it because it is who i am. then here i am much later, *considering* getting married and pondering on whether to just accede to the archaic swiss law that says women have to take the surname of their spouse, so i can ditch my stupid name and just say it was the law that made me do it :)

[xipuloxx]

That's actually the law in Switzerland? Weird! I actually specifically requested my wife not to change her name when we got married because to me she's [her name], and if her name changed it would feel weird to me. If that makes any sense (I've had a few).

[flemmarde]

yes, it is in fact the law here that the woman take the man's name. still! unbelievable, i know. you can keep your own name, but you can't hyphenate it - it has to be in the middle. i found out the other day that you can have papers translated from your own country saying that it's their law that you can have whatever name you want, which is why, i think, the australian consulate gave me a paper saying that. but it's a big drama to sort it all out and i have to decide if i really want to. but i think if i took on a new name for the novelty of not having an annoying surname, it will undoubtedly wear off and eventually i'd feel wierd too, not just being who i've always been.

[nwhyte]

Well, in Belgium you have no option the other way - it is actually impossible for either partner to change their name on marriage. Aren't we progressive? (Or something.)

[flemmarde]

oh seriously? that's hilarious! one really should never try to imagine a homogenised european culture, should one? it's bad enough i have to keep reminding my... togolese friends (who i should therefore not always just refer to as african)... that i might be white, but i'm not european and i think and respond in different ways because of my culture.

removing choice either way seems strange to me. i would have thought the most progressive response is to allow people to determine for themselves. mind you... because of our own differences in culture, i don't know if i could face returning to the argument over names just between us. in some ways it's easier to have the law decide...