Writer's Block: By Any Other Name
I guess these "Writer's Block" questions are for those of us who update very infrequently... *blushes* But I was actually inspired to answer this one, so here goes:
If you could rename yourself in real life, what would you choose, and why?
Wha'd'ya mean, if you could? Of course you can, and why not? In the state where I grew up, the law is that you can call yourself whatever you like, as long as your official documents bear your legal name. But changing it legally is quick & easy. You go to the courthouse, you pay a small fee, you fill out the form, you tell the judge that you're not intending to defraud anybody through the name change (and sign a paper to that effect), you publish it in the classifieds section of the newspaper, and that's it! I found my name in my teens (yes, it really is Aliena), and changed it legally a few years later, when I was getting a new passport. I couldn't see having a name I no longer used on my passport for the next ten years, so I figured then was the time.
And why? Because names are very important to me, and I think a name should be a true identifier, to some extent -- more than just a word, or something others call to get your attention. It's common for parents to pick a name they like before a child's birth, but that name doesn't necessarily suit that child. I never felt that my name suited me. Even several of my classmates (particularly one who was annoyed that we had the same name) noted that it just didn’t fit.
Then one day, I was reading Shakespeare's "As You Like It", and I read Act 1, Scene 3 with a shock of recognition: "Oh, yeah! That's me!" And the rest is history.
In Ursula Le Guin's "A Wizard of Earthsea", people are given names at birth ("The name he bore as a child... was given him by his mother..."), but they are given their true names by someone (hopefully) wise, who knows them well, around puberty. That's always seemed a very sensible (if fictional) system, to me. I wish it were standard practice.
BTW, here in Israel, legal name-changing is even easier. (It has to be, because many new immigrants select new [Hebrew] names.) You just go down to the Ministry office, wait in line (well, that part's not easy -- it can take all day), and (when it's finally your turn) tell the clerk what you're changing it to. She updates the computer records and asks for the new ID card fee. You hand it over (with new photos), and they print you up a new ID card. Done.
I actually had to do this, because the woman who met us at the airport (bearing our official papers), when we arrived eight years ago, misspelled my name (an easy thing to do, in another alphabet)! But there’s still confusion, because "Elianna" is a common Israeli name, and my name is often mistaken for it. Oh, well. I tell people who have trouble getting it right to "call me anything but late for dinner" (which is cliche'd as hell, but often gets a laugh).
If you could rename yourself in real life, what would you choose, and why?
Wha'd'ya mean, if you could? Of course you can, and why not? In the state where I grew up, the law is that you can call yourself whatever you like, as long as your official documents bear your legal name. But changing it legally is quick & easy. You go to the courthouse, you pay a small fee, you fill out the form, you tell the judge that you're not intending to defraud anybody through the name change (and sign a paper to that effect), you publish it in the classifieds section of the newspaper, and that's it! I found my name in my teens (yes, it really is Aliena), and changed it legally a few years later, when I was getting a new passport. I couldn't see having a name I no longer used on my passport for the next ten years, so I figured then was the time.
And why? Because names are very important to me, and I think a name should be a true identifier, to some extent -- more than just a word, or something others call to get your attention. It's common for parents to pick a name they like before a child's birth, but that name doesn't necessarily suit that child. I never felt that my name suited me. Even several of my classmates (particularly one who was annoyed that we had the same name) noted that it just didn’t fit.
Then one day, I was reading Shakespeare's "As You Like It", and I read Act 1, Scene 3 with a shock of recognition: "Oh, yeah! That's me!" And the rest is history.
In Ursula Le Guin's "A Wizard of Earthsea", people are given names at birth ("The name he bore as a child... was given him by his mother..."), but they are given their true names by someone (hopefully) wise, who knows them well, around puberty. That's always seemed a very sensible (if fictional) system, to me. I wish it were standard practice.
BTW, here in Israel, legal name-changing is even easier. (It has to be, because many new immigrants select new [Hebrew] names.) You just go down to the Ministry office, wait in line (well, that part's not easy -- it can take all day), and (when it's finally your turn) tell the clerk what you're changing it to. She updates the computer records and asks for the new ID card fee. You hand it over (with new photos), and they print you up a new ID card. Done.
I actually had to do this, because the woman who met us at the airport (bearing our official papers), when we arrived eight years ago, misspelled my name (an easy thing to do, in another alphabet)! But there’s still confusion, because "Elianna" is a common Israeli name, and my name is often mistaken for it. Oh, well. I tell people who have trouble getting it right to "call me anything but late for dinner" (which is cliche'd as hell, but often gets a laugh).