Mispronounced names

Given how important our names are to our self-images, having to constantly correct others wrt spelling or pronounciation must be very hard, especially through childhood.

The story of my friend Chyrisse comes to mind.
(Perhaps you can't tell, either, just how to say Chyrisse: It's pronounced Shur-eese.)

She and I spent most of our school years in the same classrooms and I heard many stumblings and butcherings that poor Chyrisse had to correct.
The most common pronounciation I remember is "Krissy."

Very annoying for Chyrisse, but she was and is a strong-minded person.
I can imagine there are children who found it even more distressing than she did, and who suffered ill-effects.

Please share your stories of having your name constantly pronounced incorrectly.

Native American naming rituals

There are many different groups of First Nations peoples in North America, so it stands to reason that there would be many different naming rituals.

According to http://understandingoccults.com/category/naming-rituals-rites/ and http://www.garynull.com/documents/nativeamerican.htm here are a few:

The Delaware: A person's true name is a sacred gift, and only visionary name-givers are allowed to choose it.

The Shawnee: Two name-givers ponder various possibilities during a night vigil. The next morning each name-giver offers one name to the parents, who choose the one they will give to the child.

And this story describes choosing for a grown person who has already "made a name for himself":

"Legal names are given, but Native American names are earned. Gabriel Horn gives a personal account of why and how his Indian name was chosen: "By the time I graduated from college, I had already done my battles for the people. I had protested against stereotypes of Native Americans, I had fought for a Native American literature course on campus, and I had asked for participation in the United Nations. My immediate family believed that I had earned a name. The name came to my uncle, a traditional Cherokee man, who had a vision of a white deer coming to him and singing my name. He knew it was to be White Deer."

Nicknames

I’ve had a ton of nicknames, but none as permanent or perhaps as powerful as a name like ‘Killer Kowalski’ seems to have been. Walter Kowalski, an ex-wrestler, passed away recently. He got his nickname because of an unfortunate wrestling incident. Once he had it, the name stuck with him. It became a powerful influence on how others saw him. Fans jeered at him and threw things at him. He was even forced to have escorts to help him get into and out of the ring.

He retired in 1977 and opened Killer Kowalski’s School of Professional Wrestling. Walter originally called himself "Tarzan", but the “Killer” label is what really made him stand out and become famous.

What nickname(s) have you had that stuck with you? Did you think the nickname was fair? Did it bother you? Who gave it to you? Do others still refer to you by your nickname?

Implications of your name

When I was born my parents were originally intending to name me Christian or Jacob. They liked these names for a variety of reasons. But, they decided these names might have strong religious implications. There were other names too. As new parents, they worried a great deal about what others first impressions would be when they heard my name. I guess all parents do. Ultimately, they named me after my father.

Marianne Bertrand, a researcher who teaches at University of Chicago, has done research on the implications of our names. More specifically, she has looked at how particular names can hurt your chances, or give you an edge, when it comes to looking for work. The results of her research showed that names that sounded ethnic tended to be discriminated against. In her research, she found that job candidates with ethnic names were contacted less frequently than other candidates.

Naming ritual in India

Naming rituals are fascinating to me. Naming is such an important event that it should have a ceremony attached to it. I think we don't celebrate enough in North America!

Here is an excerpt from http://festivals.iloveindia.com/rituals/naamkaran.html, about a naming ritual in India:

"The father leans towards the baby's right ear, and whispers its chosen name. Usually, the father does not whisper directly into the child's ear, but uses a betel leaf or its silver imprint, or a few leaves of kusa grass to direct the words to the child's ear.The Rig Veda prescribes the formula of giving a name with four components: the nakshatra name, the name of the deity of the month, the family deity's name, and the popular name by which the child will generally be addressed. This system, however, is rarely followed these days. The usual practice is to give one formal name and, if necessary, a short name by which the child will be called. Some people coin a suitable name from a combination of the parents' names. In certain communities, the first child is named after the paternal grandparent; in others, the first son is given the same name as the father. Sometimes, the baby is named after the nakshatra, or star, of its birth. The child could also be named after the family deity or guru. "

Names can be a life or death affair

In the movie Breaking and Entering, Juliette Binoche was a Bosnian woman who emigrated to the west. When asked about her son's name, she said that she and her son were only be able to get out of Bosnia, past the soldiers at the checkpoint, because her son's name was a Muslim name.

"In my country, names are like flags. You can live or die because of your name."