What's in a name?

When I was a tiny little thing, still learning how to talk, I couldn't say "mommy" so ended up saying "mimi" instead. As these things happen, it stuck. Mimi became my nickname, and was what my family called me for years and years.

It's a good thing I had a nickname to answer to because I sure didn't like my given name. Marianne. No one else in the whole wide world -- well, in my little girl world, anyway -- had such a name. Who calls a little girl a name like that? My mom told me I was named for my grandmother but I don't think I was very impressed at the time. I still didn't like it, not one little bit. It wasn't a pretty name like Theresa, or even Helen, my mom's name. Oh no, I had to end up with an ugly name. Great. Since I was the only person I knew with that name, I thought it made me "different" than everyone else. And I didn't want to be different... not then anyway.

So, I kind of grew into it as the years went by, but spent a lot of time telling people how to spell it correctly - all one word, M-a-r-i-a-n-n-e, i not y, e at the end, yada, yada, yada. I had a friend for over 30 years who never did spell it right - he always used two r's! Erg!

It wasn't until I reached high school that I finally came across anyone else with my name. She spelled it with a "y" though, no "e" and two words -- Mary Ann. It was then that I decided I really liked my name better because it was, well... different...and pretty. Funny how that works, isn't it?

Now it seems like every time I turn around, I come across another Marianne. Well, not quite... most still don't spell it "right" so I'm glad my mom decided to name me and spell my name the way she did - it's me.

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