My Namesake
I actually really like my name. A lot of people assume that I don't like my I don't really have a nickname that I personally go by but some people refer to me as Bless, which I don't mind. I like how it is unique here in america and it also shows my heritage. Sometimes people don't know I'm from Nigeria, so when people ask me about my name I like to talk about Nigeria.
My Mom named me Blessing because she felt blessed having me as her first child and she also named me after my father. Blessing is unique in America but it's not uncommon in Nigeria, where my family is from. My last name is also fairly common in Nigeria as well but my Mom's last name is more uncommon as it refers to only one family in Nigeria. It's similar to how many people in America have the last name smith, although not nearly as common as it.
While I do like my name, what I really dislike is when people make puns on my name. Countless times people have made comments like "Bless you Blessing". While I get that people think it's cool that you can make a pun with my name, It become tiring and a little irritating. Another thing I "dislike" about my name is that it sort of numbs the meaning of the word Blessing when it is said. This is because I am so used to hearing the name it sort of feels different when people say my name.
I remember when I was young I asked my mom about my name. I felt out of place because so many people had many different names from me and mine stood out. I felt that it didn't help that people always wanted to say something about my name, whether it was good or bad. I didn't really like the attention that came along with it, mainly because some people would puns or teasing that would make me a little upset. I feel like I always truly loved my name but I felt that society made it hard for my to truly appreciate it.
My Mom named me Blessing because she felt blessed having me as her first child and she also named me after my father. Blessing is unique in America but it's not uncommon in Nigeria, where my family is from. My last name is also fairly common in Nigeria as well but my Mom's last name is more uncommon as it refers to only one family in Nigeria. It's similar to how many people in America have the last name smith, although not nearly as common as it.
While I do like my name, what I really dislike is when people make puns on my name. Countless times people have made comments like "Bless you Blessing". While I get that people think it's cool that you can make a pun with my name, It become tiring and a little irritating. Another thing I "dislike" about my name is that it sort of numbs the meaning of the word Blessing when it is said. This is because I am so used to hearing the name it sort of feels different when people say my name.
I remember when I was young I asked my mom about my name. I felt out of place because so many people had many different names from me and mine stood out. I felt that it didn't help that people always wanted to say something about my name, whether it was good or bad. I didn't really like the attention that came along with it, mainly because some people would puns or teasing that would make me a little upset. I feel like I always truly loved my name but I felt that society made it hard for my to truly appreciate it.
I thought it was interesting how "Blessing" went from having a very positive meaning, it eventually became just a name. Though it may have no positive or negative intention, society can change the way we view things, no matter how hard we try to avoid society.
ReplyDeleteI liked how I could relate to the idea of our names being popular where our family is from, versus where live, and how they are unique here.
ReplyDeleteI like that you brought up the meaning behind your name and the roots from Nigeria, because I think that its good to know where the name came from. I like that you brought up how common your name is, because I didn't know that it was so common in Nigeria.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRelateable. Except mine is literally just all bad. People refer to me as Naan Bread. I don't really remember my own name meaning in my own language so it doesn't really have any special feeling to it. It does get annoying sometime but at this point I feel like I don't really care anymore.
ReplyDelete