At this point in my life, I genuinely love my name; actually both of my names. I say this because I feel like I have two different names. My name is Ifeyinwa but the majority of people call me Ify. I used to not only dislike my name, but I used to hate it. When I was born in London England, I was given the name Ifeyinwa, meaning "there's nothing like a child." It's a Nigerian name, which is where my family is from. Despite the whimsical meaning of my name, at a young age that wasn't my main concern. My biggest insecurity about my name was how much different it was from everyone else around me and how it made me stand out.
I was born and raised in London, so having such a unique name was as struggle for me. This led to me hating my name. It was so different from everyone else and so difficult to pronounce. When I was younger, I was made fun of because of my name, but that wasn't the worst part for me. What I dreaded most was when teachers took attendance in class. It may not seem like such a big deal, but it was one of the most embarrassing aspects of having my name in elementary school. I personally don't think my name is terribly hard to pronounce, but teachers always found a way to mess it up and transform it; sometimes even adding letters and sounds that weren't originally there. Eventually I'd just resort to Ify, which I preferred at the time.
Ify is a common Nigerian nickname. It is the shortened form of many names in the culture. When I was living in London, I was so glad to have the second option to go by the name Ify. It was much easier to pronounce, spell and write. I hated constantly correcting people on how to say Ifeyinwa, or having to spell it out for them but as I grew older, I began to warm up to my name. I started to like it, because it was unique, because it was different and funnily enough because most people couldn't pronounce it. My perspective of my name changed when I found the beauty in it; I was proud of my name and had started to feel my confident about it.
The nickname Ify was given to me by my parents and it is also shared throughout my extended family. Today, about 65 percent of the time, I'm called Ify and the other 35 percent of the time I'm called Ifeyinwa. Back in London I would've preferred it this way, but as I've grown older and grown to love my given name, I wish it was 50/50 or even the other way around. I think it's funny to see the transition from me hating my name to me solely wanted to be called Ifeyinwa, but ultimately I'm glad I no longer have the desire to change it.
I was born and raised in London, so having such a unique name was as struggle for me. This led to me hating my name. It was so different from everyone else and so difficult to pronounce. When I was younger, I was made fun of because of my name, but that wasn't the worst part for me. What I dreaded most was when teachers took attendance in class. It may not seem like such a big deal, but it was one of the most embarrassing aspects of having my name in elementary school. I personally don't think my name is terribly hard to pronounce, but teachers always found a way to mess it up and transform it; sometimes even adding letters and sounds that weren't originally there. Eventually I'd just resort to Ify, which I preferred at the time.
Ify is a common Nigerian nickname. It is the shortened form of many names in the culture. When I was living in London, I was so glad to have the second option to go by the name Ify. It was much easier to pronounce, spell and write. I hated constantly correcting people on how to say Ifeyinwa, or having to spell it out for them but as I grew older, I began to warm up to my name. I started to like it, because it was unique, because it was different and funnily enough because most people couldn't pronounce it. My perspective of my name changed when I found the beauty in it; I was proud of my name and had started to feel my confident about it.
The nickname Ify was given to me by my parents and it is also shared throughout my extended family. Today, about 65 percent of the time, I'm called Ify and the other 35 percent of the time I'm called Ifeyinwa. Back in London I would've preferred it this way, but as I've grown older and grown to love my given name, I wish it was 50/50 or even the other way around. I think it's funny to see the transition from me hating my name to me solely wanted to be called Ifeyinwa, but ultimately I'm glad I no longer have the desire to change it.
I'm really happy to hear this development in your life. I think a lot of people don't realize how a name can define you in so many aspects of your life. I think the cultural context you provided was so interesting, and I think you have a beautiful name.
ReplyDeleteI found your story very thoughtful. I like how you used parts of your life's history and integrated it with your thoughts of your name. It really puts a humanizing effect on the readers and allows them to learn better, the conditions that your name brought upon you as a person.
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