What's In a Name?
I have a confession to make. My "legal" name is not Zelda Zapp, no matter how much I wish it were. My incredibly boring, undistinguished name is...Patricia Martin. My parents gave me and my sisters plain, ordinary names, because they both disliked their own unusual names. Mom's name was Evie Easter Willis and Dad's name was...are you ready?...Knut Fagerbakke. They were both teased unmercifully about their names, all through school. As soon as he turned 21, Dad changed his name to Kenneth Martin. And when the babies started arriving, he and Mom agreed to give us unnoteworthy names, to reduce the chances of peer harrassment. Of course kids, being as creative and evil as they are, found plenty of other subjects to torment us about, but our names were not one of them.
My sisters and I did not, however, appreciate our parents's thoughtfulness and wished we had more interesting names. I experimented with different names over the years, using my middle name, Marie, for a while, but I didn't feel like a Marie, and it was too common also. I tried Maggie, and Sadie, but they didn't feel right either. And then, one day when I was in my thirties, the name ZELDA came to me, out of the blue, and I knew that was me! ZELDA! WOMAN WARRIOR!
Now, if only I could summon up the ambition to make it legal. The last name, of course, would be Zapp. I don't know if my father would approve, or not. Probably not.
9 comments:
Try Peggy if you think your name was dull. In my mind Peggy is very very white and always had a weight problem. She was always a blond. She will keep her hair some artificial shade of yellow until the day she dies. And she's unrelentingly cheerful. I just hate her. Thank god I don't actually resemble her. Why I still use her name is beyond me.
Do it, Z !!!
I'm changing my middle name for my 50th; from Gary (zzzzzzzzzz) to Trouble.
Then I'm going to speed around on my Vespa all night looking for a cop to arrest me and ask the question...
Zelda Zephyr would also be nice.
Or maybe Zelda Zirconium, Zelda Zeppelin, Zelda Zither, Zelda Zoom, Zelda Zen or Zelda Zip-code.
Peggy, I think you should change your name to XENA! You and I could be Women Warrior Superheroes!
Dear Trouble: I think you should upgrade your wheels. Try a Harley!
POBOX, you have opened up a whole new world of name possibilities for me. I could be Zelda Zoom in the morning when I'm feeling energetic. Zelda Zeppelin when I'm high on herb. Zelda Zephyr when when I'm feeling breezy. Zelda Zen when I'm feeling contemplative. Zelda Zither when I'm tired of playing my violin and want something more rustic. Zelda Zirconium when I feel like pretending I can afford a big diamond ring. Zelda Zip-code when I'm working at the post 0ffice. Ooooohhh, I'm getting diZZy!
Great name... sounds like she can give Red Sonja a run for her money ;)
Make it: Zelda Zip Zam Zowie!! <with both exclamation points. Then, I'll just call you ZeeZee. :)
B.B. - Red Sonya is toast!
Harry - I like it! You call me ZeeZee and I'll call you HeeHee!!
It's a deal!
I think you have earned the right to bear any name you please,but more important than a name don't forget to build the person you want to be,don't let anyone stop you from being your best.
Remember words are important because they have moved the world since the beginning,so strenghten your language,it's free and it will empower you beyond all expectations.
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