3.20.2007

What’s in a name?

I guess if there is a down side to my marrying Max, it would be this: I don’t like his last name. At least when coupled with my first name, it has a funny ring to it.

I’m quite happy with Mandy, thank you very much. Although Max doesn’t insist that I take his name, he finds one teeny tiny problem with my current one. It actually belongs to my ex-husband. I never got around to changing it after our divorce. The pairing, Diane and Mandy, has a nice sound to it. And since I had been using it professionally for over 10 years, changing it seemed like a bad idea at the time.

“Why don’t you take your maiden name back? I like your maiden name.” Max asked trying to be helpful.

He is a dear to suggest it, but quite honestly, Gerasimov, my original surname and of Russian origin, doesn’t really float my boat either. In fact, having a five-syllable, completely ethnic last name brought my siblings and I nothing but trouble back in rural Franklin County, Virginia, our home and land of Brown, Jones, Williams, Smith, and Flora. It wasn’t easy to spell; it wasn’t easy to pronounce. In high school, I wouldn’t have a chance at being popular with a name like Gerasimov. Class officer? Homecoming Queen? Who’d vote for me with a name like this?

Of course, Gerasimov surpassed, by leaps and bounds, my first husband’s surname, Weeble. Yes, I know-- “Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down.” If I heard it once, I heard it a million times. The name, alone, proves I that married foolishly because it certainly wasn’t an improvement over my family name. Most importantly, while Weebles don't fall down, their marriages can certainly fall apart. Mercifully, I only lived as a Weeble for five years.

So with this marriage, Max’s name will be my fourth name in 20 years. And even though by taking it I’ll probably be asked if I know someone who’s being unlawfully held in Guantanamo Bay right now—it’s worth it. I may hate the name, but I love the man that comes along with it.

6 comments:

egan said...

So sad to see you've changed your name so often. My wife kept her Russian last name and I couldn't be more pleased. I mean it. Her name is such a part of who she is that I would hate for her to lose that identity. I think the whole name changing thing is a very bizarre ritual.

Weeble, now there's a name.

Bluepaintred said...

sawyer? thats my guess at it LOL

kenju said...

I know what you mean. The first guy I was engaged to had what we call an "alphabet" name; hard to spell and impossible to pronounce. I didn't end up with him, and it was probably good, since I didn't like his name either. Of course, my present name is not easy for some people to pronounce either....LOL

SassyAssy said...

Just getting caught up on events. Well, sounds like hurdle 1 went very easy so maybe the rest of them will go as smoothly. You always did have the luck o'the Irish.

Will the black leather dominatrix costume be part of the craigslist partings????

Anonymous said...

Your name must sound better than Bernice Matisse (Of Hope Floats)?

Hope this name sticks with you for quite some time.

*CHEERS*

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