Monday, September 22, 2008

It's Just a Name

My first grader is kind of friendly with another boy in his class.

My child: "You know what Germy did today?'
Me: "Germy?"
My child: "Yes. Germy. Anyway, do you know what he did?"
Me:"Wait. His name is Germ -y, like he has lots of germs?"
My child: "Yes. That's exactly his name. BUT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT HE DID??"

Of course, when I looked it up in the school directory, Germy's name is really Jeremy.

That made me think of all the names I've misunderstood over the years. Here are two from my much younger years:


  • For two years, we lived across the street from a Greek couple. I have no idea how to spell their name, I now know that it was pronounced, "Morto-arrow." For two years, I called them Mr. and Mrs. Mortal-arrowhead.
  • Then there was the boy I went to school with named Victor Langdon. In middle school I was absolutely sure that his name was Victor Hugo.
And what of my own name? A while back, I realized one of my colleagues didn't know my name. We've worked together for years. We are pretty good work friends. She used to call me Lisa Marie, and when she introduced me to her husband, I became Lisa Marie Presley. I am neither Lisa Marie nor a Presley. But you know what? I always answered when she called me by that erroneous name. Maybe that's the mystery in and of itself.

I suppose we all have those temporary misplacements of someone's name. For my favorite pastor, unfortunately, it happened during a wedding. The couple was Jonathan and Debby. Simple enough, but the pastor referred to them throughout the ceremony as Jonathan and David. I guess there are those who would say he was way ahead of his time.

And what about odd names? I went to school with a girl whose first name was Jane. Her last name was also Jane. My boys attend school with a girl named Venus, and my daughter attends school with a boy named Mary.

So now the truth, have you butchered anyone's name recently or met someone with a name that puzzles you?

19 comments:

Mental P Mama said...

I just heard of an engaged couple yesterday who will be Eric and Erica Erikson when they are married. How 'bout that?

Julie said...

yes, it happens to me all the time in Hungay but if I tried to explain that wouldn't make sense!

Julie said...

I do hope you win the books!

Unknown said...

Germy still has me rolling...that is too cute. Instead of saying, : I love you more then the whole world"...my son who was three at the time started saying, "I love you more then the HOLE in the world!" He is sixteen now, but he still tells me the second version!!!

Laura ~Peach~ said...

a boy named MARY i must hear more about this poor guy.... I have met several guys named KIM over the years but MAry???

Laura ~Peach~ said...

ok that totally makes sense... parents from another country do know know or realize the name game... still i feel for the guy... I hope he goes by his middle name.

Anonymous said...

I kept insisting it was Murray, like the guy from the Lord of the Rings. No such luck.

Big Hair Envy said...

I knew a boy named "Germy"! I think I was eleven years old before I realized that his name was Jeremy! Bahahaha!

I am so bad with names that I usually just say, "Hey!" or, "How are you?" It keeps me out of trouble!

Grandma Tillie's Bakery said...

Our mayor's last name is Dapcevich (pronounced Dap-Suh-Vitch). My brother in law calls him DumSumB _ _ ch

I cannot see or read the poor man's name now without that passing through my brain.

As Cape Cod Turns said...

Nothing as avant garde as a boy named Mary. My dad used to call me a "boy named Sue" after a Johnny Cash song. And one of my friend's son's calls his friend Jeremy, Germy as well!

Jeannelle said...

When my daughter was a toddler, she pronounced her cousin Elizabeth's name as "Wiff-buff". It took me the longest time to figure out what she was saying.

I once knew a boy named Boy Baker.

Nowadays there are so many unusual names out there that nothing is odd anymore......I would probably have thought that "Germy" was actually a name.

Anonymous said...

Ok, here's one for you. You know my son's name, it's Biblical. How can people mess it up so bad? How are they so clueless? They can say it fine in it's entirely, but when we take the first part off, and call him by his nickname, the last four letters, they can not pronounce it! It makes me cringe. It's not that hard people. Really. (sense my sarcasm?)

* oh, and about your camera comment on my blog, I WANT to take a picture of you and your family!

Pleasing Procrasinator said...

Growing up it was my name mispronounced. Now it is my girls' names. Oh well, we're unique.

Gombojav Tribe said...

Don't know that I've done it so much as had it done to me. I have an odd name. And my children have Mongolian names because their daddy is Mongolian. We get our names butchered and tripped over at every turn.

My name is Daja and my husband is Gana. Sometimes people put it together and call us Gaja or Dana. But, it's REALLY bad when they call one of us Ganja! (as in marijuana...) That's always good for a laugh. I mean I know we're addictive, but that's going a little far! LOL!

Anonymous said...

My name is Sandra Kay. My husband has called me Sandra Ann for most of our marriage. We've been married 43 years. If he called me Sandra Kay now, I'd look around to see who he was talking to!

Anonymous said...

BTW, I hope your daughter is misunderstanding the little boy's name and that it is Maury -- not Mary!

Happy Elf Mom (Christine) said...

Ok, maybe the kid's name is "Merry"?? I can't imagine naming a boy Mary. No way. Even those "avant garde" people have to have limits LOL!!

Thanks for stopping by my blog and admiring our hair maggots.

Michelle said...

I was wondering from the start if it was a Jeremy (having wee ones with very similar name issues).

Shall I tell you about my all time favorite? The twins in my husband's school a decade and a half ago named Lemonjello and Orangejello (leh-mohn-ghell-oh and ohr-ahn-ghell-oh)?

Rechelle said...

Jonathan and Davie??? That is hysterical! How was the congregation not splitting it's gut with laughter?