For the past month or so, I've been working on our annual 40-page graduation tab. It features pictures and names of all graduates in Litchfield County.
It's tedious work, placing photo after photo after photo - all of the same size, lined up in a row. But it can be fun, too, because some people have odd names. I found myself reflecting over a lot of strange things, such as names that can be both first and last names in the U.S., or names that can be both for boys and girls. See my lists below.
Names for boys and girls:
Leslie
Cory
Leigh (Lee)
Frances/Francis
Hailey/Haley
Jesse/Jessie
First names that can be last names:
Alexander
Christopher
Cole
Dillon (Dylan)
Donovan
Kelley (Kelly)
Lee
Leslie
Morgan
Ralph
Renate
Richard
Ryan
Thomas
Fun names that have a meaning:
Archer ("I use my bow and arrows every day")
Ashburn (ha, and this one is a reverend!)
Beavers ("are we building a dam?")
Best ("I'm the best!")
Bridges ("I cross the waters frequently")
Cash ("I don't carry any on me, sorry")
Couch ("No, I'm not a couch potato")
Cry ("I always cry")
Diamond ("A girl's best friend")
Gasser (can you even imagine?)
Godburn (are we burning God now?)
Grey ("gosh, I feel blah")
Farmer ("Yes, I live on a farm")
Flowers ("gee, it sucks to be a guy")
King ("I'm the king of the world!")
Mica (the mineral?)
Minor ("No, it's actually my major")
Parent ("I'm too young to have kids")
Pope ("No, I'm not THE pope")
Saltman ("I could use some licorice!")
Seaman (pronounced "semen," need I say more?)
Smart ("Of course I am!")
St. Sauveur (pronounced "saint savior" - the almighty)
Weeks ("I've been trying to graduate for weeks!")
White (that can be tough)
Woods ("I'm an outdoor kind of guy")
Yard ("I like being outside")
Names that mean stuff in other languages:
Finkelstein ("finch" and "rock" in German)
Himmel ("Sky" in Swedish)
Knaublauch ("Garlic" in German)
Nygren ("New branch" in Swedish)
Summa ("sum" in Swedish)
I actually came across one guy named the same thing for first and last name, but now I cannot remember what it was.
I know we have some weird names in Sweden, like the ones that mean "bear" (Björn) or "path" (Stig) or "stone" (Sten), but I cannot imagine anyone being called Anderson Anderson or Johnson Johnson (I have, however, met someone whose father's name was Mårten Mårtenson).
Showing posts with label names. Show all posts
Showing posts with label names. Show all posts
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Old names vs. new
When I first heard of the floods in Myanmar, I said... "WHERE?"
Then I read on Aftonbladet's Web site that the floods happened in Burma. "Aha!" I thought. "I know where THAT is!"
Our newspaper wrote about local reactions to the shootings in Mumbai, and I overheard editor Jordan ask someone about "Bombay." Wait a minute! That's the same town! Again, Aftonbladet wrote about Bombay.
Turns out, the city changed its name to Mumbai in 1995, but the name Bombay is "still popularly used in the West." Not in the United States, apparently.
While Myanmar has not officially been adopted as a country name by the U.S. government, according the CIA fact book, the United Nations approve of it since a country can be called whatever it wants to where they are concerned. The name is somewhat of a derivative of the full official name of the country, but because the military authorities are trying to promote it, most other countries deny its use. The U.S. media only uses the new name - Myanmar.
What does that say about the United States? What does it say about the media?
We should all use the name that is accurate, but at the same time, isn't it better to use the name that people know? People are caring less and less about the rest of the world, and if they constantly have to learn new names of countries and cities, they might just give up altogether. Especially when that country goes back to being called what it was called 10 years ago because a new ruler took over.
Then I read on Aftonbladet's Web site that the floods happened in Burma. "Aha!" I thought. "I know where THAT is!"
Our newspaper wrote about local reactions to the shootings in Mumbai, and I overheard editor Jordan ask someone about "Bombay." Wait a minute! That's the same town! Again, Aftonbladet wrote about Bombay.
Turns out, the city changed its name to Mumbai in 1995, but the name Bombay is "still popularly used in the West." Not in the United States, apparently.
While Myanmar has not officially been adopted as a country name by the U.S. government, according the CIA fact book, the United Nations approve of it since a country can be called whatever it wants to where they are concerned. The name is somewhat of a derivative of the full official name of the country, but because the military authorities are trying to promote it, most other countries deny its use. The U.S. media only uses the new name - Myanmar.
What does that say about the United States? What does it say about the media?
We should all use the name that is accurate, but at the same time, isn't it better to use the name that people know? People are caring less and less about the rest of the world, and if they constantly have to learn new names of countries and cities, they might just give up altogether. Especially when that country goes back to being called what it was called 10 years ago because a new ruler took over.
Monday, May 5, 2008
What's in a name?
When people hear that my name is Viktoria, they say “What’s your secret?”At first, I tried to think of funny answers. Then I started saying, “Well, if I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret anymore.”
If I get mad, I tell them “It’s Viktoria with a K,” so I won’t be associated with the fancy lingerie store.
It’s getting old fast. But I guess it’s just something you have to deal with when you are named after a Swedish crown princess.
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