What's In a Name?

Would a rose by any other name not smell as sweet? Probably not, but if her name is Rose & you call her Lily, You are mostly likely getting the stink eye. That alone, not a big thing. I forget names all the time. Luckily, I live in the south. I can call nearly anyone Sugar, Honey or Darling & get away with it.

My true complaint is the attitude of people when you correct them on your name. Don't act like I am asking you to develop a cure for cancer when I correct you for calling me by a name that is not mine. Maybe you call someone Rob & their name is Ron. Close enough some say.

Um. No. You might be off by a letter, but you are still wrong.

Having taken nearly 2 years to stop accidently calling my friends Brett & Brent by each other's names, I know it's not done on purpose. Thank goodness I could blame it on the alcohol & the incredibly loud bar we all drank at. Again, it's the attitude of the person being corrected that gets to me.

Laughing it off & doing better next time, totally acceptable. Getting offended that you were politely corrected, asinine. It is rude to call someone by the wrong name. It's disrepectful. It is saying to them that they do not matter enough to you to try & learn their name.

I have some exceptions, those of you with 42 nicknames. You don't get to be offended that someone can't remember your name. You have too many & it's confusing. Families that use the same first letter in more than 5 kids' names. I will never keep that straight. I panicked when hubby told me all his brothers & sister had names beginning with letter J. One of them goes by his middle name, one is a female & that makes the the other 2 are easy to remember.

If you are like me & forget often here are some tricks to keep a name in your head.

1. Repeat it often during conversation. Some say at least 5 times. if they ask, tell them the truth, you are trying to make sure you don't forget the name.

2. Ask a QUIET friend. No need to ask someone who is going to shout it out so the whole neighborhood knows you forgot that one guy's name again.

3. Write it down. I was at the park, met some cool moms & their kids. I wrote down all the names when I got home. So I don't have to worry about forgetting who goes with who.

4. Tie it to a song. There are a few bajillion songs out there with names for titles. Ex- you meet Dan- You think Daniel's Song by Elton John. Might suck to have a song you hate in your head, but might keep the name in your mind.

5. Tie it to Tv or Movie. The episode of Friends when Rachel is dating Joshua. She keeps saying Josh- ua. Joshua. I will never forget a Joshua, because I can hear Jennifer Anniston saying Josh-ua in my head when ever I see them.

6. Make sneaky introductions. When you have someone who's name escapes you, have one of your friends introduce themselves. You get their name again & they don't know you forgot. You can always play it off that you thought they had already met.


Again, no one expects to have their name emblazoned in your memory, but it is a sting to the pride to have your name forgotten. Be cool when you are correcting someone & hopefully they will be cool back.