If you are a female and married, did you keep your last name or change?
Though I like my maiden name, I couldn't wait to change back in 1999 and I'm still happy I did. That's my man's name!
I changed to N-E-T-T-L-E-S.
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| Not related to him. |
Before my last name started being printed with my first at other places on-line, I kept my last name all top secret on here. Why? I don't know. It's not like I'm expecting paparazzi. Why I look out on the front lawn for big cameras and run to my car shielded underneath a dark blanket every single day, I also don't know. I can be dramatic.
You'd think that someone could see that there are two T's right in the stinkin' middle of the word, but they miss them all the time. Once when I worked at a hospital, I received a phone call. The receptionist called over the overhead speaker for everyone to hear,
"Kelley Nelly, you have a phone call. Kelley Nelly, you have a phone call."
I didn't answer it. No one is thinking my name is Kelley Nelly. If I answered that phone in front of a waiting room full of people, they'd all think, "That poor soul has the name Kelley Nelly." So, I hid inside a cabinet full of gauze and band-aids until the moment passed. Or maybe I jumped inside a sharps container? It was so long ago that I can't remember exactly.
Yesterday, someone said "Ms. Needles". NEEDLES? Needles has TWO E's, son! I've got two T's! For goodness sakes!
On mail, we often get "Nertles" and "Netless", so that's nice. Those are my favorite.
You can imagine my relief when I saw my girl, Jennifer, from Sugar Land had my same last name. I have seen her in concert twice. That girl can SANG.
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| I. Love. Her. |
One of these days, I'm going to meet her and we're going to have lots and lots of laughs over the experiences we've had with this last name that means one of the following:
- (n) any plant of the genus Urtica, covered with stinging hairs.
- (n) any of various allied or similar plants.
- (v) to irritate, annoy, or provoke.
- (v) to sting as a nettle does.
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| Those nettles look a little naughty. |
Those definitions actually made me laugh out loud just now. Here are some more things I learned about nettles while writing this post (for anyone that gives a flyin' flip) from DryIt.com: they can be made into pudding, beer, and other types of food; they are high in protein and good for soups, stews and casseroles; they are great for medicine and help to stop bleeding and congestion; they can be made into tea to help relieve acne and eczema; added to chicken feed, they will increase egg production; for cows, better milk production; nettles help produce a healthier, glossier coat in animals.
What REALLY cracks me up??
In Britain, there is a National Be Nice To Nettles week in May. Ha! For real, I'm going to start a new tradition in our family where I learn to make some of those nettles dishes. I'll make banners to put in my house that say: "NATIONAL BE NICE TO NETTLES WEEK". We'll all have to be EXTRA nice to each other in our family. I'm LOVING these ideas! (Maybe I'll make some pins to wear while out and about). I just thought of them. Give me a minute to bask in my great ideas.
(A minute.)
Okay. Done. Now, what I need to know now is any stories you might have about YOUR last name. Do people always say it right? Does it mean something funny? Interesting? Historical? Does it somehow build character? Come on with the details! You know I want to hear!
37 people eligible for free Pepto Bismol:
Isn't that Eeyore's favorite thing to eat?
I get famous Texas politicians or Police Academy. All in all Hightower seems to be a well respected name... despite what I do. ;)
With the last name Looney you can imagine the comments we get. I can remember on time a lady asked my husband if he was a psychiatrists. When he asked her "Why". She told him that it would be a funny name to have as a doctor.
Gallagher. "How do you spell that? Two 'L's or one? Oh, there's an 'H' in there? Where? Are you related to the guy with the sledge hammer?"
Um, no.
Feeling your pain....
Gallagher. "How do you spell that? Two 'L's or one? Oh, there's an 'H' in there? Where? Are you related to the guy with the sledge hammer?"
Um, no.
Feeling your pain....
The only reason I would ever get married would be BECAUSE I want a new last name. Well, that and dual incomes, but whatever.
I hate--HATE--my last name, mostly because I have been estranged from that side of my family for more than a decade, so the association isn't pleasant. I would love my mom's maiden name, but that would be too confusing, so I just stick with what I have. Sigh...I also keep it hidden when I can ;) I wish it was "Gates" or "Jobs" or even "Stallone" though...
I think you TOTALLY deserve your own week. Promote the heck out of it this year. Celebrate. Tell mean old ladies in line at Target to chill out, it's Nice To Nettles Week.
I took my hubs name because I liked it better than my maiden name. And, strangely, it was my mom's maiden name. And the name I was going to use as a stage name when I dreamed of becoming a famous actress.
Karma? Kismet? Or just plain weird?
Happy New Year, Hon...
My maiden name was Smith, so that was pretty hard to goof up. My married name of the last 26 years has been fouled up plenty of times.
I like my Dad's last name, which is a portugese name. It sounds very pretty and romantic, like all things latin. My hubster's name is very boring and english. But at least people don't spell it wrong or say it wrong.
Too funny. I love the idea of a National Week. Positively brilliant.
My last name is Shirtliffe. I kept it. It's my maiden name. There aren't many of us. But boy, can you make fun of it. Here are 10 ways:
http://ironicmom.com/2011/06/08/whats-in-a-name/
I'm Italian, my last name is Delizia. When I first started in business, I tried to keep a list of all the various misspellings of my last name by customers and colleagues. I stopped at 37. Deliso, DeLizzo, DeLeza, deLizzia. Usually a capital L, sometimes a lower-case d.
My wife, who does not have a drop of Italian blood, is named Celeste. Celeste Delizia. I will let you run that through Google Translate. Suffice it to say that when we visit Italy, the folks at the hotel desk always do a double-take. Either they don't believe her, or else they ask if she is an, um, entertainer of some sort. Personally, I think the name fits her to a tee.
Not so much with my last name but you would be surprised by how many people can't properly pronounce my first, which you can see is Christian. Like the religion that about 1/3 of the world claims to belong to. How are there people out there that don't know how to pronounce it?
I thought I had a really good last name story but then I thought twice and realized it was boring.
Sorry.
I haven't used my last name on my blog either. Mostly because I write about crap and I don't want my customers to Google me and find me. However, I have an unfortunate last name. Not only boring, but with awful connotations. My husband defined it for my 8 year old last week. Classy.
I once was asked if I was related the the Mitsibushi Galant.....
My favorite misspelling of my last name (Nolen) is Knowlin. What?
We've also been asked if we're related to baseball great Nolan Ryan. What?
The most common misspelling switches an "a" for the "e." We learned that our good old Irish peeps generations ago intentionally spelled one branch of the family with "a" and the other with "e" so that they could tell the Protestants from the Catholics. Don't remember which is which now, though.
I like Nertles. You could misspell your first name too and be Kerlley Nertles. Say that out loud. It's funny. OOH - it could be your mild-mannered alter-ego! ;)
I both kept my maiden name and took my husband's last name. I was known by my maiden name my entire life before we got married, and I couldn't seem to give that up. I loved having my family's name. That being said, I wanted my husband's name as well. It meant and still means so much to me that I am married to such an amazing man and he wants to share his name and his life with me. :)
That being said, both names are constantly misspelled, but the thing that gets to me the most? Hubster's name is unisex. So we've gotten things addressed to us as Mrs and Mrs before, like we're a lesbian couple. It's understandable when it's from a company that is just sending us junk mail, but it's irritating, when it's a place where we've got a membership. You'd think after 25 years of marriage we'd earned the right to be called Mr and Mrs. :)
Oh. And when you get that banner made up, make sure you check the spelling. Be Nice To Nertles Week would take on an entirely new meaning! ;)
oh man Kelly - my maiden name was a nightmare - two tt's in the middle, an i at the end and I knew my whole life I would be saying..."No, B as in boy!!" I traded up quicker than a monkey eats a banana when I married my hubs.
My last name is Bender. As in did you hear about that fender bender on I-25 this morning. Or bender-over (stupid high school kids). Or to people on the phone who can't hear "Vender".
We've actually traced it back and it was originally Von Bender when my ancestors crossed the big ocean. How cool is THAT?
And for the first name... Jill? Yeah, like Jack and Jill. Also known as Jo, Bill or "hey, where's Jack?"
I hated my last name when I was younger, but after I was divorced I found going back to my maiden name took me back to the real me. Maybe I should go all the way back...
Jill Von Bender.
My last name is Falk. My children are the Little Falkers. I've been called Martha Falker and Mother Falker. And my husband is a big Falker. I took a gamble by taking my husband's last name, as you can see :)
Dude, my last name is Lee. Even a dog couldn't mess that up.
It's not traditional to take on married names where I am, but I wish it was as my husband's last name is awesome. I can't reveal it, but it's been mangled many a time, it's hilarious.
Good thing Willy Nilly didn't work in that same hospital !
I was so excited to change my name when I got married. I didn't even hyphenate it, I just threw out the old and took on the new.
--Kelley,
I use Sisto-Robinson...
A bit boring, really.
I work with somebody who has he last name "Strange." Now, that fits me perfectly.
Xxx Kisssssss
What...and hold on.
Listen to this.
Rosas.
I was called Rose Ass all through grade school.
NO FUN.
I used to work with an attorney with the last name Nettles. Ha, relate? I love my last name. Back when I used to think there was someone out there for me and I still hoped, I used to say that I would never change my name. Not even when I got married.
Dilusional girl.
Salvatierra -that's my last name. Try saying that really fast. My name has always been butchered. And apparently, I am many ethnicities. I'm hispanic, but in high school I was Italian. They just took off tierra and put in tore. Salvatore. And in elementary school, the kids found out that Salvatierra means "Save the dirt" or "Save the land" Guess which one they decided on!
What's in a name...apparently a TON! Let's see my maiden name is Kaatz so people pron. it cats or kotz and then too many people to count assumed we were jewish b/c it's so close to Katz and would ask why we could go to mass if we were Jewish? Now my married name is Vann and oh how I wish it were Vaugh because I wasn't able to name my daughter Cora (a name I LOVE) because it sounded too much like caravan :-(
People are the worst with names...I mean just with my first name I've seen Natily, Natilie, Natilly, and all kinds of other ways. My name does not have a Y in it!
Let me tell you a little bit about working as an ER nurse in DETROIT....those names? are pretty messed up.
I've seen kids with more than on hyphen.
One kid's first name was Luscious and her last name was Titts.
I kid you not.
Detroit is a very weird world.
My maiden name is Stone - yea, enough said, you can imagine.
I love the singer of Sugarland!
I ate nettles once-on a foraging day, they taste like spinach, you can only eat the tops as the rest is a little tough. I often get my name pronounced as Tobbin or Toebine. I had a 30th birthday party years ago (as you can see)and a friend came wearing a paper painted flat-like a sandwhich board of a dustbin-with pink things on it, it took me a minute to realise they were toes-she had come as a toe bin. Very funny! I thought that showed real imagination.
Kelley Nelly...LMAO How does one get that from "Nettle"? I LOVE my last name now. Not that I didn't like my old one, Markey, but people would always say Markley or just Mark and leave off the rest..uhhh. Of all the last names I could've ended up with, I'm grateful..lol.
My last name is Caffee. First is Kelly (yay!) and I often say it's C.A.F.F.E.E., like cOffee but with an A! I still get Kathy Kelly, Kelly Kathy (uh, your LAST name is Kathy??) and my poor husband, whose name is Brian, often gets mail to a one BRAIN T. COFFEE! Ugh!
And Kelley - Google is AMAZING! You should totally Goggle Bing - you'll be hooked!
I took my husband's name when we married. Despite telling people, "It's pronounced how it looks," everyone gets it wrong. They can't spell it either. But at least I moved up in the alphabet.
My last name is boring.
Jones.
Keepin' up with the Jones'
Jonesin'
Jonesy.
Annoying.
My first name is what caused me the problems.
Leighann.
So many people had a hard time pronouncing it and in grade nine, the first day, my homeroom teacher skipped it and went right for my middle name.
I was so embarrassed.
My maiden name (Christianson) and my married name (Gardner) are fairly boring. Not much to wreck or ruin.
But.
My sister's friend was named (gag) Truly Gold when she was born. Her parents thought it was precious. I think it's ridiculous, but whatever.
She married (I swear it's true, not urban legend) a man with the last name Boring. And you gotta love that she loves her man enough to change her name to:
Truly Boring.
For reals.
I will be nice to your nettles all the time.
I didn't change mine for the first 5 years. Then my son was born and our birth certificate logged his name as my husband's and my last name as my maiden name. That bothered me so I changed it. Now I wish I wrote under Donovan. So much easier to spell and recall and better for privacy for the kids.
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