The name thing has been a struggle for us, I think it is for most people.

I didn’t want to take his name mostly because it is common and while significant to him it doesn’t have any resonance for me. The whole who is going to carry on the name was a bit of a moot point seeing that it is a common name, but I can see where it is a concern for some.

He didn’t want to take my surname as it is too “feminine” for him.

Sometimes I think that we will have seperate last names, but I’d rather find the middle ground. Which we seem to have settled on but it really depends on him getting his arse into gear and organising it.

Hopefully we will be taking a new last name and each combining it with our current last name.  Hopefully if we do have a baby then they will just have the new last name.

I had thought about doing the legal name change prior to the wedding and then for him to just use the wedding certificate to update his.  But I spotted this on the SA Office of Consumer Affairs website:

Is a change of name necessary?

It is not necessary for a married woman wishing to assume her husband’s surname to register a change of name. However, should the married man wish to assume his wife’s surname, it is recommended that he formally register a change of name for it to be recognised in society.

Seriously?  It’s recommended because Australian society is still so backward that if a man goes against the norm to adopt his wife’s name he has to incur further cost and inconvenience.  But if a woman adopts her husbands name all she has to do is wave around the wedding certificate.  It’s so wrong that this even needs to be a recommendation, if it was only me who had to go through the inconvenience then I would be changing my name before and his after just to challenge people and to normalise the idea that either partner, or both, or none should be able to change their name on marriage.

Why do things that should be simple remain a pain in the arse?

Anyone who works in business knows the importance of language. Businesses, products, and services require names with the right connotations and associations. It is therefore of more than academic interest that around one in five young people are putting off starting a pension because they do not like the word ‘pension’, according to new research by YouGov.

The research, commissioned by AXA, has revealed that if all the one million 18 to 24 year olds continue to delay starting their pension by five years, this could potentially lead to a combined shortfall in their retirement income of more than £44billion.

In addition, almost 75% of 18 to 24 year olds associate the word ‘pension’ with old age, which AXA warns could result in the younger generation leaving things too late when it comes to retirement planning.

It appears young people are not alone with their dislike for the word pension, as around a fifth of the total population aged over 18 associate the word with ‘grey’, while one in ten people think the word is old-fashioned.

[mood | frazzled but okay]

[listening to | Read My Mind (Like Rebel Diamonds) by The Killers]

…the less happy you get.

“Victoria: a name derived from the Latin word for ‘victory’. Also the name of the Latin goddess of victory, who was based off the Greek goddess Nike.” ~Courtesy of 20000-names.com

So why do I not feel very victorious?

I’m not usually one to gripe, but lately my life has been…a little disappointing. Two friends are essentially talking shit behind my back, I’m barely one week into the six weeks and I’m already failing two classes, and on top of it all my parents are taking advantage of the fact that I love my brothers and are forcing me to care for them all on my own. Add the pre-Thanksgiving frenzy of cleaning and getting the house ready, and I’m frazzled and at the end of my proverbial rope.

@_@;

But you know what? Despite it all, I’ve actually managed to find some creative ways to see a good side to it all. Those friends are probably just angry that they can’t be like me. Those failing classes? It’s only the beginning of the six weeks! I can totally bring those grades up! Caring for my brothers? I’ve been meaning to hang out with them for ages now. And Thanksgiving? Piece of cake: It takes two days tops to clean the whole house. I can pull that off before Thursday.

So see? Every cloud has a silver lining! I won’t let the haters and the jerks ruin it for me this year. Right now I’m smiling and laughing in their faces because you know what? They’re the ones who are wasting their time insulting me when they could be doing something better themselves. And everything else? Nothing I can’t handle; I’ve seen scarier stuff at my dad’s old house on the Southeast Side! My motto has basically become this: Every storm cloud is bound to have a solid gold lining. Make that your mantra for the rest of the year, and be happy! Lord knows that the way things are, we all could use a little happiness in our lives.

Much love and blessed be,

Victoria

One of the things I love most about team sports is the memorable nicknames that guys pick up for the weirdest of reasons.  The most colourful characters didn’t always have the best nicknames but a good nickname was generally earned by the guy identified by it.

I made my high school hockey team in my grade 10 year but it was a pretty fair squad so I didn’t get a lot of ice time, especially early in the season as I was a 4th line player.  I had never played above the house league level and many of the guys on the team had played triple A (or “all-star” as it was modestly called back then).   I can remember one game in particular, early in the season, where some guys were missing and we went with three lines.  Lo and behold, I got a regular shift for the first time.   There I was sitting on the bench with my two linemates, both named Pat (not unusual as this was a Catholic high school in Peterborough) and as we were getting prepared for our first shift, Pat Maloney points to my other linemate and says to me “this is Boney, and I’m Rev.”   I nodded – Boney and Rev.  Got it.   Those were pretty cool nicknames and way easier than yelling “Pat!” and confusing the hell out of them when I called for the puck.

Pat Martin was a pretty skinny lad so I can only assume his nickname came from there.  But a heckuva hockey player.  Great puck handler, fast and a goal scorer.   He was the guy teams always underestimated.  He didn’t look the part in the warm-up compared to some of the other bigger, faster, stronger players.  But as fun a player to watch as I every played with.  Pat Maloney’s nickname, Rev, I believe was shortform for “The Reverand”.   I think half the priests in Peterborough at the time were named Father Maloney but I don’t recall Pat ever having any priestly ambitions, so I’m not sure how he earned this one.

My high school linemate was Dan McDougall.  Another skinny kid but one who could shoot the puck like no other.   Like his older brother before him and his younger brother that followed, Dan was Doog or Doogs.  Pretty simple, no great story there.   Andy Shaughnessy was Shag from the earliest years I went elementary school with him.  Big shaggy head of hair and easier than spelling his whole last name.

In my house league days, Steve Hickey was a player who, while never a star player, had a knack around the net and while going on a tear for a number of games in a row at one point, our coach christened him “Shotgun Hickey”.  I think there was a fair bit of humour in this one though because I don’t recall his shot being that hard.

In later years, in the Grand River industrial league, our team captain was named Darren Howe.  One of the funniest people I ever met and a great leader, I think one of his goals in life was to hand out as many nicknames as Santa had handed out toys.   Dave Schenk was named Hollywood, Jarrod Luchsinger (perhaps the best player I ever played with or against) he nicknamed Smooth.   Greg Nowak was Wack, and Jeff Kecknie was Big Red (yes, big guy with red hair).    Our goalie, was dubbed Ace because who wants a goalie with a wimpy nickname?  Darren himself got labeled with a couple of good ones by Smooth – Derwood, because that was the nickname of the husband named Darren on the TV show “I Dream of Jeanie” and Bernie because he was a dead ringer for the Cleveland Brown’s quarterback of the day, Bernie Kosar.

Eric Rowe was a pickup player I played with for a number of years.  He was one of those goalies-who-wants-to-be-a-forward and he went by Darth.  Don’t ask, I don’t know.  There was also a guy from my summer league a few years back.  He was a pretty big boy but he was a superb player for a big guy.  My kids were little at the time and when I told them about this guy named Pete who was really good, they asked who he was.   I simply said Pete the hockey player.  It stuck.

There were a couple of guys named Bag along the way as well.  Bag Mahon was a high school buddy who worked at the Kinsmen arena.  On days off school, we’d go over and he’d get us on for shinny for free.  The second Bag was….hmmmm….can’t recall his real name.   Super smart guy who played for Hounds of Notre Dame out west and was at Queen’s U. at the same time I was for first year.  I think he may have dropped out but can’t recall.  Lost track of him when I moved out of residence.  I remember one Saturday afternoon Kingston in the winter time heading up to the open air rink at the park South of Princess street with Bag and we played hockey for several hours.   I was beat and finally went home but he kept playing.  Fabulous skater, he may still be there.

Black has always been in fashion at the rink and Blacker was our goalie’s nickname on our intramural team at Queen’s.   Andrew Black was his name so no surprise there.  I used to chuckle when he’d light up a smoke either before or after the game.   Then there was Blackie, as colourful a character from the Grand River league as there ever was and that was Bob Ferguson.

In more recent days, I’ve had the honour of playing with “Colonel”, a fellow Woolwich oldtimer whose last name is, you guessed, it – Sanders.  There’s a host of names that get the “e” sound added to the end for effect, Webb-e, Erb-e, Jones-e, McTavish-e (ok, there was never a McTavish-e on my teams but perhaps out there somewhere, there is one.

As for me, I’ve never been one of those guys who was given much in the way of nickname.  My last name had no obvious hooks but because I did continue to wear my maroon hockey pants from my high school days well into my late 30’s in the Woolwich league, some of the guys took to calling me Purple instead of learning my name.  The pants finally disintegrated when I washed them in the laundry tubs a couple of years back just before the start of the season.   Since there aren’t any stores that sell Maroon pants in this area, I went with black and my nickname disappeared shortly thereafter.

Rita Feriche es una joyera motrileña actualmente afincada en Madrid. Licenciada en Arquitectura,  Rita traslada sus conocimientos al diseño de joyas creando piezas fuertemente marcadas por los volúmenes y la geometría, piezas que elabora artesanalmente, buscando resultados únicos de aire industrial.

Letty Luk Man Wai (Miss), student, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare

Move over, big ape comin’ thru’ …

About car plate, licence plate, number plate, registration plate, vanity plate

This blog loves names and labels, in whatever shape or form!

In 2006, Henry Tang Ying-yen (then Financial Secretary) announced a relatively minor money-making scheme by allowing the auction of personalised car number plates. This scheme cleverly undermines the intellectual property rights of creative types, and rewards those who have the means (i.e. money) to buy unique car plates. The HKSAR Government justifies this scheme by saying the annual net proceeds from auctioning these car plates would be used to fund poverty alleviation initiatives. HKSAR car plates must use a combination of eight numbers, letters or blanks.

A positive effect of the scheme is that Bloggers like HKSARblog profit (albeit not financially) by being able to comment on the potentially weird and wonderful car plates that zip along Hong Kong’s roads. It’s always nice to be able to take a picture of weird vanity plates (search this Blog for “Vanity Plate“).

Here are some examples reported at some auctions:

16 September 2006 Government Auction

1 L0VE U [HK$1.4 million (US$180,000)]
TVB [HK$800,000]
P0RSCHE [HK$700,000]
C00L [HK$450,000]
K1NG [HK$300,000]
AAR0N [HK$250,000]
SKY [HK$$220,000]

4 August 2007 Government Auction

FC [HK$450,000]
RS [HK$360,000]
NOSIE
JUICY
TOYZONE
INVENTOR
PAPER

15 September 2007 Government Auction

JW [HK$500,000]
JP [HK$400,000]
CM [HK$400,000]
MACAU 1 [HK$80,000]
BILLION [HK$30,000]
DAB [HK$15,000]

17 October 2008 Government Auction

AK [HK$230,000]
HANDSOME [HK$130,000]
OOPS [HK$20,000]
LAZY BOY [HK$10,000]
PHYS10
SOCIAL
HORMONE
UPSET

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Idiots

You know, it’s not very often that we call our girls by their actual given names.

Why is that?

I don’t know, it’s just something we’ve always done.

The nicknames are getting a bit out of hand now though – when even Millie starts calling AmberG “Bozza Jozza” (after Boris Johnson, who, to be fair, AmberG does resemble a little) you know things are getting out of hand.

Anyway, here’s a list of the girls’ multifarious nicknames…

Amber Grace Carter

Amber Grace

AmberG

Hubbub

Bub

eBub

Bubbah

Hubba-Bubbah

Bubbah A

Bubbah G

Amber Camber

Bubbalicious

Monkey

Monkton

Bozza Jozza

Millie Harriet Carter

Super

Supe

Super-the-M

Super-M

‘Lays

eLays

‘Layses

‘Layses H

Millays

The Millays

Millayses H

The Millayses H

Monkey

Monkton

There, I think that’s all of them.  We only use a couple of those outside of the house, but it is, frankly, somewhat miraculous that either of our children know their own names!

I’m going to keep this short and to the point.

Friday was Transgender Day of Remembrance and I attended the vigil in my area.  I had such an intense Thursday night, and got very little sleep going into Friday.  During the day on Friday, I had meeting after meeting and seriously didn’t now if I was even going to be able to muster up the energy to go to the event that evening.  I knew I would be something powerful, and since it was my first TDOR I figured I really did have to go.  I went home and grabbed my camera and went to meet up with some friends before heading over to the church.

I’m not sure if I purposefully distanced myself, but I went into complete photographer mode.  I didn’t really let myself process what was going on in front of me.  The service at the church was nice.  Completely non denominational, just a time for some community members to get up and speak.  After that, we lit candles and walked through Rita Hester’s neighborhood.  It was eerie making that walk with all those people and all those candles.  It’s a walk I have made so many times, and I never thought about Rita or her death in combination with those streets.  We all gathered at an open square to stand in solidarity while community members read the name and a short description of each victim that passed away this year  at the hand of someone else, due to discrimination and hatred.

I stood there, and listened, and took pictures.  After all of the names, far too many names, were read we walked back to the church.  At the church there was a reception with hot apple cider and cookies and treats.  Once we got back to the church, I pulled away and sat by myself for a while.  I tried to make small talk with some people, but I just felt numb.

Pretty soon after, a friend of mine gave me a ride home.  That night was really tough for me.  I sat, and finally processed all of the emotion that I wasn’t able to process at the event.  I think a lot of my emotional release had to do with my own identity, and the fact that I can’t hide from myself any more. 

I spent all day developing and scanning the negatives I took on Friday.  So far, it looks like I have about 40 frames that I am happy with.  A bit more tweaking and editing and I should be able to get them up online and share them with the community.

Love.

Goddess Lacey

Also, why are there so many words for the most common of geological formations? Such as pebbles; couldn’t we just call them tiny stones or rocks? Or, perhaps the number of words there are for stones and rocks comes from society’s dissatisfaction with all the names. In that case, could we call all stones & rocks ‘Steven’? Wouldn’t the world be a lot simpler, and possibly funnier, if you could say: ‘Wait a sec, I’ve got a Steven in my shoe.’

Lemuella Ng Ling Yan (Miss), student, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare

Just a quick etymological post.

Did you ever wonder why we call money ‘money’? Or how the Mint got its name despite its notable lack of peppermint fragrance (or taste)? It’s all because of the Romans.

When the Romans established their Mint, they did not set it up in its own building, but in a temple. This was probably to give the roots of their economy divine protection from robbers and other problems. The temple they chose was the temple of Juno who Warns, or in Latin, Juno Moneta. The little stamped metal discs which issued from the temple were called ‘Things of the one who warns’- monetae. Gradually these “monetae” took on a life of their own and spawned their own deities, the three Monetae, one for every type of metal used in coinage: gold, silver and bronze. They are always shown together, each holding a set of scales and a horn of plenty. Here’s a nice example issued by Commodus:

I find ancient money really interesting, but I’ll try and space out the posts a bit- I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea!

A lot actually. Or that’s often what parents hope when they name their child. That the name will somehow influence or be a reflection of the person they are going become… strong, creative, one-of-a-kind, successful. More and more we hear about celebrities and their unique choices for baby…Bronx Mowgli, Rocco, Apple. For them, Jane is just, well, too plain.
Often times, names are given so that the child will aspire to be as “great” as his namesake. And in Latin America, sometimes these aspirational figures are not Hispanic ones but ones outside their culture or history. Some even reflect political views of times gone by, but nonetheless remain fixed in current baby name books. Names like Yuri and Lenín for example. I have a second cousin named Lenín (that’s LEH-NEEN, with an accent, not Leh-nin) and know 2 Yuris (YOO-REEH): one from Ecuador and one from Colombia. Sadly, I know no actual Russian Yuris.

In the case of my grandfather, his love for all things “American” played a big role in the naming of his children. Galo Jorge Washington, Tomás Edinson (close enough), Benjamín Franklin and Abraham Lincoln. Yeah, for real. He had great admiration for the U.S. and boy did he show it. (I’d also like to give a shout out to my uncle, Salvador Bolivar, who while not named for an American personality, was in fact named for El Libertador, Simon Bolivar, a great man in his own right. S’up tio!)

We can still see evidence of U.S. admiration today as more and more “American” names make their way into the name registries in Latin America…albeit with “alternative” spellings. Jhonny, Yenifer, Michel. An English name may just give their kids a certain cachet…a je ne sais quoi.

Hoping their kids will stand out, parents sometimes get really, really creative and make names out of other English-language words that sound cool to them. Words that were never meant to be names. Here’s what I’m talking about:
Usnavi- US Navy

Usmaíl- US Mail
Milady- My lady
Yesaidú- Yes I do
Juan Jondre- 100
Crismas- Christmas (I’m not kidding, and wait, there’s more…) his son Crismasito, little Christmas.

I’m waiting for an Obama Pérez, Sánchez, or Gómez to be delivered in a hospital near you. I’m sure it won’t be long. The question is, will it be a boy or a girl?

Mariella Vargas
Creative at GlobalHue Latino

“Joshua” is a melodious name; a strong name; a name that in all forms—in its entirety and in abridgements—does not suggest, imply, echo, or rhyme with any colloquial or clinical term for genitalia.  The name’s resultant popularity is evident.  In 2008 alone, 18,924 boys were christened “Joshua.”  In comparison, 22,272 boys were named “Michael”—the year’s most popular name—but only 196 babies were dubbed “Cornelius” (rank: 998th most popular).

Though zero American presidents and only 41 NFL players have borne the name, “Joshua” appears unstoppable.  In the 120 years that the Social Security Administration has tracked the names of infants, “Joshua” has never fallen below the rank of 729th most popular name.  This historic low occurred in 1929, a year in which the otherwise-preoccupied nation fell back on old stand-bys like “John” (4.7033% of births) and lazy descriptors (“Guy”; 0.0740%).  There are “Joshua” trees (Yucca brevifolia), a Dolly Parton album named “Joshua” (RCA, 1971), and even a “Joshua,” Texas (population: 5,574).  “Joshuas” have been Nobel Prize laureates, as well as honorees in People magazine’s “Sexiest Men Alive” competition.  Jesus of Nazareth himself was a “Joshua”—“Jesus” being a transliteration of the Greek, from the Hebrew “Yehoshua.”  Since 1953 the popularity of “Joshua” as a boy’s name has increased exponentially; by mathematical extrapolation, in the year 2547, 78.255% of the male population of the United States will be named “Joshua.”

Perhaps, millennia hence, when every baby, publication, and artificial intelligence created is named “Joshua,” our civilization will gradually forget all other words.  “Joshua” will become our entire vocabulary: both noun and verb, article and preposition, adjective and adverb.  “Joshua” will be the woman we love, the hovercraft we fly to work, and the loneliness we feel, late at night, surrounded by insensate holograms.  We will turn to one another and say, arms outstretched, “Joshua joshuas joshuaed? Joshua?  Joshua.”

-Sara Joy Culver

|| Om Sri Vishvaya Namaha Om ||

amrutaamshoodbhavo bhaanuh shashabinduh sureshwaraha |

oushadham jagatahsetuh satyadharmaparakramaha || 31 ||

Pronunciation guide:

amrutaam-shood-bhavO-bhaa-nuh-shasha-binduh-surEsh-waraha |

ousha-dham-jagatah-setuh-satya-dharma-paraa-kramaha ||

Name: Satyadharmaparakramaha

Pronunciation:

sa-t-ya-dha-r-ma-pa-raa-kra-ma-ha

sa (su in such), t (th in third), ya, dha, r, ma (me in mercy), pa (pu in punt), raa, kra (cru in crush), ma, ha (hu in hut)

Meaning:

One who has true attributes and valor

Notes:

Namavali:

Om Satyadharmaparaakramaaya  Namaha Om

Our name is something we are all given at birth and it accompanies us our whole lives. Some people are better at remembering names than others, but no matter who you are or what you do, there is nothing better at making a good second impression than remembering somebody’s name. I’m very fortunate, because I have always been very good at remembering the name of somebody new. It is also something I have worked at improving, and I’d like to share some tips I use to help you do the same.

I would say the most critical factor in remembering somebody’s name is making it important. Think about how YOU feel when somebody you’ve only met once or twice comes up to you and says YOUR name. Well, the same is true when you have made an effort and get somebody else’s name right. If it’s of importance to you to really remember their name, the likelihood of you doing so is much higher.

Don’t be in a hurry. When you first meet somebody new, don’t rush the introduction. As you shake their hand, observe their face and repeat their name back to them in your greeting, “Hi John, it’s nice to meet you.” As you look at their face, is there anything striking or particular about their appearance that can help you remember their name? Do they look like another John you know? If other friends are around you, introduce your new friend – repitition is a great tool to memory – “John, I’d like you to meet my friends. John, this is Mandy… Mandy, this is John…” and so forth.

Building upon repitition, if you are at an event with others, test your memory. Ask your friends questions, “Isn’t that John over there by the buffet?” The more you make a practice to remember, the better you will get.

If it’s a business event where you exchange cards, write some notes on the back: Tall, dark hair, big nose, has a Great Dane. In this case, I’d actually categorise this person as “Great Dane John” and picture him with his dog. The more images you can create in your mind associated with the person, the stronger the memory.

Try this simple exercise the next time you wish to remember names and faces. You’ll be surprised with just a little practice how much you’ll improve, AND how much it improves your memory as a whole.

This is a great added bonus to self-improvement, it is almost impossible to improve one area of your life without it improving other areas too! See how quickly all these little 1% improvements can add up to a whole new you very quickly indeed.

Have fun with this exercise and notice the change…

William Haefeli in the November 9 New Yorker:

Caption: “Will Kristen, Kirsten, and Kiersten please choose new names?”

What, no Kristin?

Hebe HH How (Ms), lecturer, Department of Building & Real Estate, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

About Novel HKSAR Names
Name Category: Rare