Someone said to me the other day “how do you pronounce your name again?” And for the one thousandth time that day, I attempted to teach another person how to say my name using common three-letter English words as a guide. 
![sherryficklin-com-whats-in-a-pen-name.png](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1519997122/svica8zhavqklmpmnm8z.png)
*[Image source](sherryficklin.com-whats-in-a-pen-name)*

She tried to say it once and then said to me “Your name is too hard. You should change it.” She laughed and I had to laugh along with her just to be polite. However, after I walked away, I thought about how what she said made me feel. 
I knew I was slightly hurt that she didn’t even try more than once to learn my name. I also knew that I was slightly angry because - how dare she tell me to change my name? LOL. Now that I think back to how I felt, it sounds funny.  She obviously didn’t know the meaning behind my name. She didn’t know that where I come from, your name largely defines who you are. Anyway, this peaked my interest and I decided to investigate how different cultures name their children. 

This is what I found so far:
In some cultures, children bear names which have been passed down from generation to generation, while some others may believe that a name carries with it some sort of curse and attempt to end that curse by giving their child a different name.

![download.jpg](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1519997642/cqnze722jrxcz3cmgea2.jpg)
[Image source](https://www.checkpregnancy.com/baby-boys-names/) 

A friend of mine from Ghana told me that his name represents the day of the week in which he was born. His name is Kwabena which indicates that he was born on a Tuesday. Isn't that interesting?
![stldreamcenter-org-event-baby-dedication-sunday.jpg](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1519997218/ag2dhsvsqy2zy35iqzte.jpg)
[Image source](stldreamcenter.org-event-baby-dedication-sunday)

If you have Chinese friends you will probably agree with me that Chinese names are not the easiest to pronounce because of the different tones. However, I do try my best to pronounce their names and make a point to find out about what they mean. I learnt that you always call the family name first, before you call the person's first name. One friend of mine told me that her name roughly translated, means "why worry?" and I thought to myself "really, why should we worry?" So whenever I catch myself worrying I just call her name and have a little chuckle.
![why-worry.jpg](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1519998139/abjjuxanfm7phgzkhge4.jpg)


*[Image source](http://coub.com/view/bmabj )*

In the bible, there were several instances of people's names being changed to signify a different direction in their lives. A popular one being Abraham whose name was changed from Abram signifying that he will become the father of many nations.
![www.timeofgrace-org-media-video-162-abram_becomes_abraham.jpg](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1519997387/un8w1qw4bgqvva8ah8md.jpg)
*[Image source](www.timeofgrace.org/media/video/162/abram_becomes_abraham)*

While growing up, my mum once told me that in our tribe, some people might give their children names in order to send cryptic messages or just annoy their neighbours. You may hear names like Onoriode  (Who knows tomorrow) or Diemirhuaye (What did I do to them) *(I don’t know the correct spelling but this is how I think it’s pronounced)*.  I also read that in some Native American tribes, a person is given a name to mark the different seasons in a person’s life. 

I could provide you with countless examples of these but as you can see from the few examples above, a person’s name typically has a story attached to it no matter what culture you come from. 

Going back to the lady at the beginning of my story, Instead of asking me to change my name because she was having a hard time pronouncing it, I would have preferred that she asked me about the story behind my name. I can assure you that we both would have left that conversation having learned one or two things from each other. 

Now, you may want to try a fun exercise today and ask that friend or Colleague of yours  to tell you the story behind their name. You too may end up learning something.

Thanks for stopping by. Chat tomorrow!