Is my name that difficult to pronounce?
Today I had someone call me Maura and I wondered how on earth could you get Maura from Rhonda. hmmm!!! To be honest I think I made them nervous so they just blurted out the first name that came to mind. I just have that effect on people, sometimes.
To be honest it's never really bothered me because when someone's mucked up my name it's either
a) Someone that I really don't give a shit about or,
b) Someone who's calling me to do something I really don't want to do anyway.
But it got me thinking why Rhonda - why not Sally? I did some research on my name and found out that it is of Welsh origin and means - "Good lance" or "noisy" and it was popularized in the US during the 1960's by the Beach boys with their song "Help me Rhonda" (which I personally hate, so please don't sing it to me.)
There are 11 varations on my name which range from LaRhonda to Rondelle (trust me when I say I got the best of the variations). So it got me thinking why Rhonda and why not something exotic Alexandra or Zoie. Mother is in town for a couple of weeks, so I decided to ask why and the convo went something like this:
Today I had someone call me Maura and I wondered how on earth could you get Maura from Rhonda. hmmm!!! To be honest I think I made them nervous so they just blurted out the first name that came to mind. I just have that effect on people, sometimes.
To be honest it's never really bothered me because when someone's mucked up my name it's either
a) Someone that I really don't give a shit about or,
b) Someone who's calling me to do something I really don't want to do anyway.
But it got me thinking why Rhonda - why not Sally? I did some research on my name and found out that it is of Welsh origin and means - "Good lance" or "noisy" and it was popularized in the US during the 1960's by the Beach boys with their song "Help me Rhonda" (which I personally hate, so please don't sing it to me.)
There are 11 varations on my name which range from LaRhonda to Rondelle (trust me when I say I got the best of the variations). So it got me thinking why Rhonda and why not something exotic Alexandra or Zoie. Mother is in town for a couple of weeks, so I decided to ask why and the convo went something like this:
Me: Why'd you name me Rhonda?
Mother: Well your maternal grandmother wanted to call you Rosemary and your grandfather wanted to call you Sandrine.
Me: Huh? No I asked why'd you and Father pick the name Rhonda?
Mother: Well your grandmother liked the name Roger and if we had a boy that was going to be his name.
At this point in time, I got up to pour myself a glass of wine - because it appears that this was going to be a loooong conversation.
While Dora is my niece's favourite tv character I couldn't imagine what it would have been like to have grown up as Dora in the 70's and 80's. So when I sat down to take stock of all of the different ways that my name has been written or mis-pronounced
honda
Randa
Rohonda
Rohondah (how the heck do you pronounce this)
Rounder (I know that I could stand to lose a few pounds but really is it necessary to point it out)
Brenda (usually said by people for whom English is not their first language)
Brenna (same as above)
Rolonda
Rawlanda
It's really not that bad cause it could have been a WHOLE LOT WORSE!
Me: Oh that's a nice boy's name!
Mother: What's the problem don't you like your name - I picked it cause I liked it and after all you were born close to Christmas and we wanted to have a saints name we used a variation of St. Nicholas for your name.
Me: I never said I didn't like my name it's just that I'm curious as to to why that name. I never ...ah knew... that Rhonda was a variation of Nicholas
Mother: You are not listening to me! I said I knew a lady named Rhonda and I liked her name. Quite frankly you should be happy I saved you from a life of ridicule because your father's mother wanted to call you - Dora!
Me: Thank yoooou Mother!
Mother: I thought that you'd see it my way. When are we leaving to go shopping?
While Dora is my niece's favourite tv character I couldn't imagine what it would have been like to have grown up as Dora in the 70's and 80's. So when I sat down to take stock of all of the different ways that my name has been written or mis-pronounced
honda
Randa
Rohonda
Rohondah (how the heck do you pronounce this)
Rounder (I know that I could stand to lose a few pounds but really is it necessary to point it out)
Brenda (usually said by people for whom English is not their first language)
Brenna (same as above)
Rolonda
Rawlanda
It's really not that bad cause it could have been a WHOLE LOT WORSE!
3 comments:
OMG.....so you left her in the shopping mall then?
There was always a serious debate about how I got my name...my mother claims she just liked the name, however, my grandmother insists it was because my mother was OBSESSED with a soap opera star whose character's name was Laura...turns out she was beautiful but always at the center of the drama....hmmmmmmmmmmm....my father (who I always suspected wasn't fond of children) wanted to call me Elaine.......
I've got you both beat. There was a debate on whether I should be called after one of my grandmothers. Thank the Darwin she stepped in and told them if they named me that it would be over her dead body. Her name:
Charlotta Mabel
Which is worse? I'm not really sure.
I also ended up with no middle name because my parents fought over it minutes after my birth. My mum wanted Linda Marie, my dad thought "Marie" sucked donkey turds. Therefore, I am Linda (Blank). Oh, and I was named Linda because the neighbour next door was Linda and she was a lovely child. I'm really not sure what happened to me...
Oh dear ladies we could have been Charlotta Mabel, Elaine and Dora - I'm sensing we have some new club names.
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