Do you like your name?

I like my name. It is unique and not too complicated. Though people sometimes make it complicated. They’ll ask, “how do you pronounce it? Is it AR-riel or like AIR-riel?” How is it spelled? Some people like to spell it like it’s the aerial view of something. Or like the font-Arial. Or, something more understandable, like Michelle, with two Ls and Es. Nope. It’s just Ariel. Spelled like “the mermaid” but not named after her. If I had a quarter for every time I was asked “Ariel, like the mermaid?” I’d be so rich! 🙂 It is a Hebrew name, a unisex name, meaning Lion(ness) of G-d. And yes, I have met male Ariels. I was excited to go to Israel, not just because I had not been there before, but I was expecting to see memorabilia with my name on it. Like a pencil or something. I was always obsessed with looking for things with my name on it when I was little. I think that the only way I got things personalized was by asking for it specifically. I like when people make other connections with my name other than The Little Mermaid, such as Ariel, the character in The Tempest. I tried getting people to believe that I was named after that Ariel character, and not named after a Disney princess. They didn’t believe me. Then I explain the Hebrew thing, and then get into a Jewish thing. I like my name, but I do not like the conversation I have with people about it when I first meet them. I like the people who say, oh, that’s a pretty name and move on. I like having a unique name and I like that it is only five letters and that’s it.

My last name is a whole different story. Always knew when it was a tele-marketer because they would mis-pronounce the name. I do like being in the middle of the alphabet. I always felt bad for those toward the end. It was good during graduation, I did not have to be the first and not know what to do, and did not have to wait too long for my name to be called. I also usually got out of doing something because the teacher would pick people alphabetically, and by the time they got to me, they had enough people for what they had to do. I didn’t mind sitting alphabetically in class. Sat next to some nice and interesting people that way.

So yes, overall, I like my name. Will I be happy to change my last name when I get married? Only if it is easier for people to pronounce and spell. Otherwise, I will be happy because I am marrying the man of my dreams and the one I love, and that’s what matters the most.

How about you, do you like your name? Do people pronounce your name and spell it correctly on the first try?