Friday, March 4, 2011

What's In a Name?

Alternate title: What's up with YOUR name--is it Christine or Christina?

I'm asked that question so much, I thought I'd clear the air.

Plus it goes so well with my post from yesterday, about my parent's immigration to this country!


I was a surprise pregnancy and my mother was very ill during my birth (and for all of her years thereafter). Pair that with English as a second language and you kind of get the picture of how I was named. I figure, whoever helped my parents filled out my birth certificate may have been the one to spell my name CHRISTINE.

But all of my life, I heard my mother calling, "CHRISTINAaaaa...." or another European version of my name, but definitely always with an A on the ending. And somehow during my school years the name I used was "Chris"--do not even try it, despise despise despise!

Fast forward to college years when I looked at my birth certificate and realized there was no A on the end of my name. *pouty lip*

So CHRISTINE is my legal name, but CHRISTINA is the one I prefer, and definitely the name I want on my future novel! *fingers crossed*

Did I clear the air? :D

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

23 comments:

Gina Ciocca said...

I just had to comment on this. I was supposed to be Gina, nice and simple. Then my aunt suggested hyphenating my first name, and God only knows why, but my mother went for it. So I became Gina(after my grandfather Gino)-Marie(after my grandmother Maria) AND they decided to get one more grandparent in there by giving me the middle name Luisa.
And after all that, I was called Genie my whole life, until I decided Gina would do just fine.

Talk about confusing!!

Stina said...

I prefer Christina as well. :D

I hate telling people that my legal name is Kristina (my parents never used the name so I don't know why they registered me with it) because some individuals will then call me Kris (which I hate). So I'll only tell them Stina is short for Kristina if they really can't figure out my name.

Ellie Garratt said...

Christina is definitely nicer.

I had was name Eleanor. I hate Eleanor; it sounds so posh and formal. Much prefer Ellie!

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Crossing with you!

I feel your pain. My birth name is Sheri, and even though it is spelled correctly my French relatives never called me that. It was Sharon or Shannon or Cheryl. Nothing wrong with those names; they're just not mine. LOL

We named my daughter Katelynn...yeah, won't even go there right now. I think you've inspired me to write my own name post.

Enjoy your weekend.

Erica Mitchell said...

I like whatever name it is you prefer to be called ;) Is it weird that I like a cool story behind someones name? Maybe it's because my mother wanted to name me after the meanest woman she'd ever seen. Suzanne Lucci's character on All My Children, Erica Kane. She had a hard pregnancy with me and that's how she got me back...lol...she's weird.

Matthew MacNish said...

I remember when we talked about this a little, but it's interesting to get all the details!

LisaDay said...

Unlike the cat, I found your story enthralling. But that pic, makes me laugh.

LisaDay

Kelly Polark said...

Interesting stories! And you have a fabulous weekend, Christina! :)

mshatch said...

I love stories about how people got their names, so interesting. and Eleanor is actually still my all-time favorite girl's name.

very married said...

ha - how funny. well, funny to read. i imagine it's a pain to deal with :)

Meredith said...

Very interesting! And don't worry--I would never call a girl "Chris." Just seems off to me.

Little Ms J said...

You are so not a Chris. I don't know why and I'm not sure what it is about you that screams "I'm not a Chris," but I'm putting it out there. Chris' of the world - please no hate mail. I'm very busy next week.

Laura S. said...

That's an interesting story! You could legally change it to Christina if you wanted. :)

My name is Laura, but my parents, siblings, and close extended family members always called me Lo or Lolo or Loey. I was fine with the nickname at home, but in public I was embarrassed because it sounded so babyish. Then in 7th grade my friends started calling me Lo or Loey too, and now that's what everyone calls me! I like the nickname now though. :)

Abby Minard said...

Wow, that's really interesting! It's funny how one little mistake can change someone's name. You're like Oprah!

Melissa said...

I always thought your name was Christina... And I like the sound of it! That's so odd that a mistake can change someone's name so much. but it's kind of cool too.

I love how expressive the first cat is.

Pamela Gold said...

That's insane! You didn't know your real name was Christine until college. I learn something new about you every time I come here, which I need to do more often!

Maddy said...

HAhahaha!! We had this convo before :) Glad we got all that cleared up! Have a great weekend, ChristinA!!!

Lindsay said...

I'm with Melissa, I always thought it was Christina. So I shall just keep calling you Christina ;)

Unknown said...

Names are so important and it seems like those birth certificate errors can happen a lot. My college roommate was Kate with a K but whoever filled out the birth certificate wrote Catherine with a C instead of a K.
I like that you stayed with Christina even though you found an E on your birth certificate.

Devin Bond said...

It's always interesting to learn about how people got their names--or the story behind them. It can be so interesting!

I've always thought your name was Christina, so I didn't

K. M. Walton said...

I think I may have a few emails in which I addressed you as Christine. You are 100% Christina in my head now ; )

Dianne K. Salerni said...

Okay, now here's a tale for you! My grandmother's name was Margaret Joan, or so she thought. That's what her parents called her.

When she was about 50 years old, she and my grandfather decided to visit Italy and she needed a passport. So she had to acquire her birth certificate for the first time -- and that's when she found out her name was Jennie Margaret. (I still remember her hollering, "I hate the name Jennie!")

It took awhile to piece together the story, but as near as we can figure, her parents (Italian immigrants who spoke little English) asked a relative to fill out and file the birth certificate. THEY named her Margaret, but HE named her Jennie, after his wife.

How'd you like them apples?

Anonymous said...

I had different nicknames growing up, so I didn't know what my name was until I was about 4.

Interesting story. There are many cases of names being spelled wrong because of people helping out or making decisions for those with English as a second language.