Saturday, June 20, 2009

Just Thinking about Names...

I'm up waiting to take a young man who has been staying with us to the airport for a 4 a.m. flight to the States (so we'll have to leave here around 1:45 a.m.), so I'm just killing time Facebooking and surfing the internet and I thought "Hey. I could actually do something constructive like blog," so here I am. It's been a while.

I was thinking awhile ago how weird names are here. It seems like people find a sound they like and go with it. I know a brother and sister whose names are Scarley and Scarla. Then there's Wallynda and Wandalyn and Wallyson. There are Eileen and Heileen--

Aaaaahh! Earthquake! We just got a shake!! Okay--just a little one.

ANYWAY, there's Marlene and Maylene and there are the twins, Marcy and Marsha--maybe not so unusual for twins.
Another thing I don't get about names is Bo-boy. It seems like everyone has a son that they call Bo-boy--the Filipinos and the Islanders. The boy has a real name, but he's called Bo-boy. I don't get it. Juniors they call Jun (June), but he may also be called Bo-boy. It's confusing to me, but it's not unusual for someone to have 2 names that they're well known by. For instance, in my class I have a young man who goes by "Sev," but he also goes by "Ton." Sometimes I call him Sev and sometimes Ton--trying to go by what seems to be most popular among the other students at the time. The Secretary of Health's name is Joseph Kevin Villagomez--sometimes the newspaper uses "Kevin" and sometimes "Joseph" or "Joe," and it's the same with people around island--about 50/50 "Joe" or "Kevin." Of course, there are probably 2 or 3 "Joe Villagomez"-es that all have government positions.
When somebody dies and their half-page color obituary goes in the paper it gives their name and then the name everyone knew them by which doesn't seem the slightest bit related to their real name--like the name may be "Margarita Sablan Camacho" and underneath it will say "Tun Chong" which is what she was known by.
There are some really beautiful names like "Sioloa" (the "Si" makes the "sh" sound). Then there are the misunderstandings that stick, like the brothers, Jim and James, who didn't realize that they were just two different forms of the same name when the US came on the scene and they chose American names. Or one Korean student who chose the American name "Jenny" but her mother made her change it to "Jeiiny" (pron. Janey), because she was told (probably by other Koreans I'm sure) that it would be luckier (maybe) and easier (huh?).

Well, I've got to go to the airport. It's 1:45 a.m.--I'm interested to see how this is going to read tomorrow when I can think straight.

4 comments:

andalucy said...

The earthquake interlude cracked me up!

Names are funny. I was recently considering changing my name, or better said, adding a legal middle name. I don't have one. My mom said she decided not to give Ave and me middle names because we'd just use our maiden names as middle names after we were married. That always bugged me, so of course when it came time for me to change my name after I was married, I didn't use my maiden name as a middle name. So I don't have one. I've found that it can cause trouble sometimes when I'm obligated to put down a middle initial on a form or something. Also, I would really just like a middle name.

But when I try to think of a name to actually name myself, it's hard!

Unknown said...

I have never been a nickname type of person. I always call people by their real name...boring, I know! I don't get why someone would name their child one name like John and then call him by another name like Jack. Why not just name him Jack in the first place? I would have a hard time with all of the different names there!

ML said...

A couple of years ago I "gave" Alexa a middle name for her birthday--it's Aoibhe (we pronounce it "Eve" or "Ave") and it means "beauty." She uses it now whenever she needs a middle name. Mallory uses "Conner" or "C." I think.

andalucy said...

So you didn't give your daughters middle names, either? Is this a Conner thing? I have never met anyone else who wasn't give a middle name at birth.