What's in a name?

[outlander]

cristovau got me thinking...Would it confuse matters terribly if I changed my SCA name? I actually like Elisa quite a bit, it being the diminutive for my middle name, from which I also got Isabel. (Elizabeth for those of you who can't follow my rather odd train of thought. I assume that is most of you, cause lord knows I can't follow it half the time

Comments

[siderea]

I think there are few Elisas and many Isabels, so I'm for it. My impression is that now would be less confusing than later. :)

Confuse a Cristovau

[cristovau]

Are you trying to confuse me? I just got used to Isabeau.. er... Isadora... I mean,Isabel. Maybe we can just call you Izzy.

Being serious, both names are good, but name changing can be difficult. Some people, like Orlando, have done a good job. Other people, siderea, have yet to train me to their new SCA name because they established such a strong identity in the old SCA name. Whatever you use, spread it well, and use it often. I wouldn't suggest using more than one name.

Re: Confuse a Cristovau

[outlander]

Or perhaps Dizzy...

I am not TRYING to be confusing...honestly, I am just sort of mulling the idea through. Need to think on it a bit more. I have a feeling that I am the type of person who never really likes a name forever...and because of that, wants periodically to change it just for the sake of change.

Perhaps because I don't really care for the name 'Heather'. In 4th grade, we all looked up our names in class to see what they meant. One kid had 'gift from God', another had 'Great leader', etc. I had 'brush or shrub'. Not good for learning to like a name.

Plus, there is the pun thing. My name is Heather White, and one of the various forms of heather is white heather. So I have a rather large assortment of white heather parafinalia. And I honestly don't know how I feel about that.

[jducoeur]

Well, if you think you're likely to want to change it, sooner is probably better than later. In general, these things get steadily more set in stone, and it gets steadily harder to get people to actually change. Now, it probably wouldn't be too hard, since many people are still calling you Heather anyway. Later, if folks get used to Isabel, it'll be harder.

I *strongly* recommend against using both -- it'll just confuse folks. If you do change it, just be firm in telling people to use it; they'll gradually get the clue. (Ciana's doing a good job with this, with the result that I think she'll get people trained to the new name in just a couple of months.)

[outlander]

I think right now I am just musing with the idea. Not enough time or energy to change it, let alone really work at getting people to use a new name. Maybe once the school year is over, and I have a summer of unsuccessful job hunting before me...