Last night it occured to me, I don't know why, that not everyone may know how my name is pronounced. And I'd like to think it's pertinent, should I one day be published.
Both my first and last names are pretty easy, I've always thought, though I've had awhile to get used to them. Especially my first...
I've been called John-uh. Jane-uh. And even Yawna. But it's just plain ol' Jan-uh. Like Jana, just not as naked. It's Scandinavian, which I bet my parents didn't know when they picked it. Story has it (at least at one point, I'll have to ask if it was a fib), I was to be named Valerie until some friends of my parents "took" it for their newborn. So in looking for a new moniker they stumbled upon Jan, whom my big sister liked from the Brady Bunch, but gave it a twist. I'm glad they did, because I sure don't look like a Jan. Janna (even with my spelling variation) is the female form of John, which means "God is gracious." Indeed He is. And I think that's pretty cool.
My last name, Qualman, is a bit trickier. It's German and, though misterwrites may be pulling my finger, I'm told it means Dungeonmaster. Neat, eh? Even if not, there aren't too many around whose name starts with that funny lookin' Q... Many struggle over pronunciation, but it's easy - there's no bird, no quail. It's pronounced Kwallman, simply put.
Nicetameetcha.
What about you? Do people mess up your name? And is there any special meaning behind your moniker?
I love your name! I'll think Brady Bunch when you are famous!
ReplyDeletePeople always mess up my name ever since we moved to Florida. They call me Tiffany all the time as though it is my first name. I've come to the point where I just answer to it and let it go.
I always told my husband I married him for his name--it sounds good together I think --unlike the German sounded name I had!
Angela (angelic messenger LOL)
ReplyDeleteMarie (for Jesus' Mommy) DiBenedetto (a variation of "welcome", in Italian).
My twin's name is Alaine Mary. I've always wondered if I should've hyphenated my name when I got married. How's DiBenedetto-Ledbetter sound? :)
My name is Tricia...just Tricia. People always say "Oh, Patricia?" No. My aunt is Patricia and I'm JUST Tricia. I've said this about 4 million times so far. I'm getting a bit of a complex. Is just Tricia not good enough? :) My maiden name is Ferreira. Now that was a bad one. I was often called by the name of a sports car. I guess that's ok...as long as it's red and shiny.
ReplyDeleteTerri - Those darn Floridians. ;)
ReplyDeleteAngie - My, what a name that would be! LOVE the way DiBenedetto flows off the tongue, though.
Tricia - I went to elementary school with a "just Tricia" - she even spelled it the same way! I can understand with your maiden name; the "ei" throws me off. Is it pronounced as just an "e", like a schwa sound?
Um, YES. Not so much my first name, but almost no one gets "Cebula" right. I defy any of you to guess! Is it:
ReplyDelete1) CHE-boo-la
2) SAY-byuoo-LA
3) say-boo-LA
4) Ca-BYUOO-la
5) suh-BOO-la
I could go on and on with the variations.
Wendy, you do have a hard one. I've always read it as Seh-byoo-luh, which is closest to option #2. *shrugs* Do tell!
ReplyDeleteThat's actually pretty close. It's suh (or seh, whatever)-BOO-la.
ReplyDeleteIt's Polish and means "onion." Not quite as interesting as yours!
Wendy, I'll never look at you the same way again. ;)
ReplyDeleteSara. Easy, right? Everyone always says, "Without an H?" Er? Yeah. And I'm from New Jersey, so I say "Sah-rah" but around here, they say "Ser-ah," which is just plain weird to me.
ReplyDeleteAnd Spock? Don't even get me started. SPOOK, SPAK, SPAKE. Until you say, "Spock, like the Doctor or the Vulcan," then they get it. Weird, because Spock is so easy and straight forward. Before Ellis Island it was Svak, or Svasky, but that must have been too hard to say and the officials changed it to Spock.
Ohh! I was looking for something to blog about. Great idea! Mind if I take this idea to PT?
ReplyDelete:)
Oh I should add....
ReplyDeleteI've been pronouncing it correctly in my mind! Yay!
Ok.. that was weird... It posted under the name of The. Hmm...
ReplyDeleteThe above post was mine.
Turkey! Absolutely, you can use this same idea. And kudos for my name. You get a brownie for pronouncing it right!
ReplyDeleteThe? How odd!
Sara! I love your story about the name changing at Ellis Island. So neat! And I like how your name sounds with a NJ accent. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised people have issues with your name. I never had a second-guess as to how it should be pronounced. The fact that people can't figure it out gives me reservations as to the intelligence of the human race.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to think about it, but people have issues spelling my first name at times. I give people a pass on my last name, but my name isn't really *that* hard to figure out.
Okay, Aaron, you get a brownie, too. :D The only "issue" I have with your name is that my fingers fumble to put two r's instead of two a's. But I certainly know how to say it! ;)
ReplyDeleteHey, I pronounce your name AND Wendy's names correctly! And Cebolla is onion in Spanish, go figure. :)
ReplyDeleteI never had a problem with people pronouncing Melanie until I moved to Mexico. Meanwhile my maiden name has ALWAYS caused problems. Hooyenga. It rhymes with Oing-ga (oinga boinga...) But those double O's really trip people up and they just start making things up by the end. That's why I stuck with Hoo. My brother goes by whodad. :)
as you know, people have issues with Leadbetter....I dont know why, its not that hard lol
ReplyDeletePeople always throw an extra "a" in my name, but at least they get the pronunciation right. I grew up with a little plaque that said Rachel means "little lamb" in Hebrew, which I always liked. Come to find out, it just means plain old "ewe" or "female sheep." Not nearly as cute. My middle name is Leah which I think means "weak eyes," though I could be messing that up. Weak-eyed Sheep here, pleased to meet you!
ReplyDeleteRachel, LOL!
ReplyDeleteNot much to say about my last name, King...
ReplyDeletePeople often mispronounce my first name, Dominique...I get dom-i-neck, dome-i-neek, dom-i-no, mo-neek, dom-i-nick, dan-yell (no idea where they got that last one!).
It should be dom-i-neek (rhymes with unique!)
I also get a good bit of mail addressed to "Mr."
Dominique supposedly means "of God".
I have so much trouble with my first name, I don't even bother to tell most people my middle name! But, for the record, it's Desiree...which means "desired"
:)
Hello Janna, your name is unique to you. You know this is my second blog title I have bumped into tonight. I visited someone's blog, and they also had the same title 'what is in a name'. I think it is catching. I think I have always payed close attention to my names until now, where I just don't pay any attention as I don't feel I associate myself with them, or have a character within the name. I feel I don't call anyone by their names, if i want their attention. Only mabye at work-the manager. Though in general I feel at most ease without the name indentity, though they are still interestingly nonetheless. Lovely to meet you again Jenna. (truelyana from AW)
ReplyDeleteBy the way my full names are Ana Patricia Ferreira Goncalves with the cedilla under the c.
ReplyDeleteWow, Melanie! What origination is your maiden name?
ReplyDeleteI know, Josh. Who'dathunkit?
Weak-eyed sheep? Man, Rachel, you and Wendy are both askin' for it... ;)
Dominique - Thanks for stopping by! And your name is so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteAna - I love the amount of thought you put into things! Thanks so much for sharing this comment. And how funny; we're the opposite. I always try to use people's names, to both show I care and let them know I've paid enough attention to remember who they are. :) Thanks for coming by again!
Ok, that's too weird...another Ferreira reading this blog and a Patricia Ferreira to boot. Thanks for letting me know. I'm going to check out her blog.
ReplyDelete-Just Tricia
Oh! I have a 'just Trisha' friend here. :)
ReplyDeleteJanna, Hooyenga is Dutch, but if you bear with me I can make this even more confusing. My step-dad adopted me when I was a kid so that's not my original last name. That was Waara (which is now my middle name). Waara is Scandinavian (I forget if it's Swedish of Finnish) and pronounced War-uh.
My mix up is always Joan!
ReplyDeleteloved wall-e
ReplyDelete"Full of grace, mercy, and prayer"
ReplyDeleteNancy Katherine Marian.. [gotta point out that's an A in the last half of Marian...]
btw- Wendy? Dzien Dobry! I guessed the pronunciation and meaning! :D
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ReplyDeleteI get the double-r thing many times. Sorry to make your fingers stumble!
ReplyDeleteI guess I get a brownie too 'cause I know how to pronounce both your
ReplyDeletenames! Could be 'cause I've known
you for years... I have to spell my last name a lot now, but no where near as bad as when I was "Story." Its a noun people.
PS-- I'm bloggy now too! Come visit :-). designsofminebykm.blogspot.com
ReplyDeletemyfamilyfarm.blogspot.com
Kelly! Yay! I'm so excited to see you here. Goin' to check your blog now...
ReplyDeleteOh my....do people mess up my name?
ReplyDeleteMy first name is actually spelled "Michaél" but I added the "e" to make it feminine because I have had more mail addressed to "MR. Michaél" too many times.
My maiden name was Davey. Hard to mess that one up.
Then I went and married a guy named "Alegria." And if you remember any of your Spanish, you'll know it's pronounced "al-uh-GREE-uh." You would not belive how people pronounce it.
Algeria -yes, just like the country in Africa.
A-LEG-ria - close, but emphasis on the wrong syllables.
The pricipal called my son by "A-LEEEG-ria" at his 8th grade graduation. You'da thunk he would have known how to pronounce it after my son had been there from K through 8th grade!
I have learned to answer by anything!
My poor daughter...her first name is "Amadi"....pronounced "AH-madee" but she gets a lot of "a-MAH-dee." That and Alegria? She's hoping to meet the man of her dreams by the name of Smith, Jones or Johnson!
Oh, Alegria is Spanish for Joy.
That's how I've always pronounced it in my mind! Yay for being right so I don't have to re-train myself!
ReplyDeleteI was named Colby because my mom was watching Dynasty spinoff "The Colbys" the night before I was born.
Well then you rock, Colby! :) And I think that's neat how your mom named you. It happens a lot, I believe. A friend of mine was named after the heroine of a romance novel!
ReplyDeleteHow did I forget the dungeonmaster???
ReplyDelete