Only people with unusual names understand that having an atypical name is both a blessing and a curse. While it is nice having a name that is completely unique and uncommon, this luxury comes at a price. For example people get very taken aback when they hear your name and it takes them quite sometime before they actually get used to pronouncing it. So if you are part of the ‘people with unusual names club’, you can probably relate to the following scenarios.
This problem is most common while you are in school. Here you are sitting in class on the first week of school and while your teacher is trying to learn everyone’s name, you hear a pause. You automatically raise your hand because it is more than likely that she has stumbled on your name and was perplexed by its nature. You are probably used to this by now and therefore have developed this natural reflex of raising your hand when there is a stop in roll call. However believe me you are not alone, all of the people with unusual names can relate!
No matter how many times and how hard you try to teach someone to pronounce your name, they don’t seem to get it right. It get’s so difficult that over time it is just easier for new friends and acquaintances to just make up their own version of your name. However, you learn not to be bothered by it as most people do just the same.
Whether it is in school, at the register or over the phone whenever someone asks you for their name, you automatically spell it out. It just saves a lot of time and eliminates any confusion. How easy would it be if your name was something like ‘Bob’?
Back when I was only just about seven years old, I would always want to buy a keychain with my name on it. However my search for a personalized keychain always ended up in disappointment. No matter where I went or what place I visited, they never had my name on it, but can you blame them? It probably wouldn’t be very profitable to sell things that only few people in the world can purchase.
There comes a point in your life when correcting people is just useless. You have done it so many times and put so much effort into it to only see people go back to their old ways and pronounce your name incorrectly. You can’t really blame them for having a hard time, so you just let them have the freedom of getting creative!
If your name is unusual enough, it wouldn’t be atypical for people to start a conversation about the roots of your name. Typically it is a very nice icebreaker but as the time goes on, it gets tiring to tell the same story over and over again.
What is interesting is that from this whole experience you learn how to relate to other people. Therefore you put extra care into remembering and pronouncing people’s names correctly. You understand the frustration so you try to avoid being the cause of that frustration to others!
Although there is a downside to having a unique name, it becomes a part of your personality and makes you stand out from the crowd. So embrace your little idiosyncrasy that comes from your name! What are some other things that only people with unique names understand?