How Do You Say That?

No really how do you say that? Sounds familiar? Welcome to the club! The ‘my first name is mispronounced all the time’ club that is. When my parents named me ‘Dahiana’, some 19 years ago, I am sure that they never imagined the dilemma I would have in classrooms filled with Samantha’s, and Jessica’s. Or how about the perplexed look people would get when trying to read my name? With questions like, why is your name spelled that way and not simply ‘Diana’? If I had the energy, I might have told them that in San Jose De las Matas, Dominican Republic where I am from, Dahiana is the more common and appropriate spelling. If I could not find the energy, I would simply explain that in Spanish the letter ‘H’ has a silent pronunciation. Once I explained this, most people would compliment me on the spelling of my name and how pretty it is. But the mispronunciations of my name are nothing compared to that of my friends with names like Cruzmery, Ignacio, Argenis, Inocarli, Dariyely and Yanitza! I am sure that their parents could not even imagine how often people would mispronounce their children’s names. Instead they probably thought something along the lines of “what a unique, beautiful name for an even more beautiful child”.

Perhaps this has to do more with the Dominican diaspora and the immigration of our families to the United States. But still, our names are mispronounced and our reactions vary. To make life a bit easier for us, we pick up nicknames such ‘Seni’ for Arsenio. There are others, like Ignacio who would rather not use nicknames but would eventually be forced to accept his/her name. Maybe we love our names, maybe we don’t. In another 10 or so years when we start having our own children, maybe we will give our children names that are more mainstream in the American culture like John, Andrew, or Sarah.  Perhaps we may even seek names as distinct and as Latino as the ones our parents gave us.

In speaking to the above individuals about their names, I was relieved to know that I wasn’t alone and if your name is anything like the above then don’t worry, neither are you! For my dear friend Arsenio; having his name mispronounced is the story of his life. As he states:  ’hardly anyone gets it right the first time’. Being able to use a nickname makes life so much more simple for him. My friend Inocarli, simplifies his life as well and goes by ‘Ino ‘. Although he has come to appreciate his name, the embarrassment that he has undergone has sometimes made him hate it. On the other hand Ignacio, would rather not use any nicknames. Despite how many wrong ways people have found to say it, pronouncing it like ‘ignatio, egnacho, ignacious’, he still loves his name and is very proud of it. Something else that also came up with my friend Cruzmery was that as she got older, people got better at saying her name the first time around. When she was younger, teachers would never get her name right the first time, but in college professors never had a hard time saying it and would always get it right. Could it be that education has something to do with it? Or is that with a growing Latino population and a greater awareness of our culture, Latino names are getting easier to pronounce?

Vamos a ver! But here is a question for those of us who belong to the ‘my first name is mispronounced all the time’ club. As we move forward into the future, what will we name our children? Personally, as crazy as it sounds, I think I have an idea of what I want to name my children. Something along the lines of Catalina for a girl and something like Maximiliano for a boy (with nicknames like Cat and Max).  But I’m nineteen years old, and I still want a Master’s and possibly a PhD and in another ten years or so when I find Prince Charming (who by the way should have a very Hispanic name), I can think of names again. But until then, for the rest of my fellow club members, appreciate your names!