You Are Naming Your Baby.....What?
My name is E-l-o-d-i-a. I wouldn't make that up. My mother did,
but I wouldn't.
People often ask me if I got teased, when I was a child, because
of my name. I tell them "Nope". Children didn't have a problem
with my name. It's the adults that seem to have a problem."
Looking back, I have two theories why I wasn't teased for my
name. One is that children tease the obvious and they had plenty
of material to work with, due to my nose. Two, they love to
rhyme and there are not too many words that rhyme with the name
Elodia (E-low-dee-a). Think about it. So far, I can only come up
with one........Cambodia. Trust me, after all the nose jokes
"Elodia from Cambodia." couldn't' have hurt my feelings one bit.
I can remember clearly, telling the teacher my name, on the
first day of school, when I was five years old. She was not as
prepared for the first day of kindergarten, as was I. She should
have worn gingham and black patent leather shoes. They helped.
She bent down and looked me in the eye and asked "What is your
name?" I said "Elodia." She then had this look of sheer horror
on her face and she actually jumped backwards. I might as well
have said Lucifer. Now that I think back, I guess I can
understand her position. Here she was looking at this cute
Caucasian, blonde, freckled face, pigtailed little girl (and I
was cute) and then hearing this strange and "ethnic" sounding
name escape from my lips. This wasn't in the teacher's manual. I
could tell.
She became extremely nervous and said "Well. We'll just have to
think of something more appropriate to call you." Now, can
someone tell me what could be more appropriate to call me than
my name?
She pleaded "You must have a nick-name. Don't you?" I shook my
head "No." I wasn't about to tell her my family called me "Baby
Ann". Next, I'd be telling her that I sleep with two of my
sisters and I still wet the bed. No, she'll just have to learn
to deal with the cold hard facts. Hey, I thought I was the one
coming to school to learn?
That was the first of many name adventures to come.
My name is Spanish. It sounds more like "E-lo-thee-a" with the
accent. Try to imagine Antonio Banderas and how he would sound
pronouncing my name. I do it all the time. Not that he would be,
but I can dream. I asked my mother where she got my name and she
says she named me after a friend. Not just any friend, but her
best-friend. However, I am over forty years old and I have yet
to meet this friend. She doesn't call, she doesn't write. I have
my suspicions.
Maybe she gave me a difficult name due to having had a hard time
bringing me into this world. Call me crazy but I asked her and
she said I almost killed her.
I asked about two of my sisters and did she have a hard time
birthing them. She said one labor was only an hour and the other
she didn't even feel a cramp. She just pushed once and the other
babies came out. Their names are Julie and Cathy. You decide.
My name is a great conversation starter. Here are some of the
things people tell me after an introduction and what I am really
thinking when I reply to them, politely, with a smile and a nod.
Not too big a smile because I would hate for them to see me
gritting my teeth.
"That is such an interesting name. Where did you get it?"
Thinking: "Um, Ebay?"
"Is it a family name?"
Thinking: "No, the people in my family...they have other names."
"Your name is so pretty. It sounds so, so melodious."
Thinking: "Take the "M" off melodious, you idiot, and you'll
find out why Elodia sounds so melodious."
Then there are the funny people who say real slow and with a
wave, "Hellllo- to- ya", and that's always cute. (Serious eye
rolling going on here.)
It might sound like I am complaining but I honestly LOVE my
name. I can't imagine having had another one. Not that I've
never been called anything else. I'm sure that's happened. Once.
I wouldn't trade my name, even if I could find personalized
souvenirs while on vacation.
Because of my name I think I stand out in a crowd and I am
remembered. Oh, never mind that's my nose again, standing out in
the crowd, but it does help me to be remembered. I think they
remember me as the lady that they can't remember how to say her
name.
My name has given me a voice, as I have learned to tell the
stories about my name over and over and over again. And best of
all, it has taught me a sense of humor.
I now have eight daughters of my own and I have named them all
Elodia. No wait. I didn't do that. George Foreman did that. No,
he didn't name his daughters Elodia. He had lots of little
George Foreman's but he added the name "Grill" on the end. I see
them everywhere.
No, I did the intelligent thing when I named my children. I gave
them all names that start with the letter "D". You should hear
how smart I sound when I try calling one of them. I sound like a
broken CD player "Da,da,da,da,da,da.......you whatever your name
is. It starts with a "D". Get over here!"
To confuse me further, my mother and my sister's son, lived with
us for a short time. Their names are Dora and Danny. We just
referred to them as "Da-motha" and "Da-nephew".
My point is...no matter what you name your child, they may or
may not wind up liking their name, but they are still going to
wish you had given them a nose job at thirteen.
To find out more on baby names visit
http://www.babynamesebook.com and to contact Elodia visit
http://www.elodiatate.com