LIVING LIFE

When people decide on a name for their baby, there are many diverse reasons why they choose a particular name. My parents named me after a famous actress whose movie career spanned from 1940 to 1960. I was never sure why – all I know is that the choice of my name was my father’s idea. My mother’s request was Robin, until a family member commented that she should not name me after a bird. My apologies to all of the Robins out there.

In reality, the name they ultimately chose has been consistently misspelled and mispronounced for 72 years. Throughout my life, I learned to just answer to whatever name people used since it was easier than correcting them. I suppose that I should be grateful for their choice since I fared better than my brother, who was named after a Russian tyrant. I think it is safe to say that naming children was not my parent’s forte.

I reflected on this fact when naming my own child many years ago. Not wanting to continue my parent’s legacy, I chose a name that was easy to pronounce and write. I also avoided choices that could easily have nicknames. I truly disliked my nickname and in my early teens I informed my family that I would no longer respond to anything but my given name – yes, the one that is misspelled and mispronounced.

To quote a famous line in Shakespeare, what’s in a name?

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