What’s Your Name (¿Cómo te llamas?)
What’s In A Name?
Just the other day, on social media, I read a friend’s story of why they changed their name. In their case, there was some family baggage, so they thought about making a fresh start by changing their name. For them, the new name felt more real than their birth name. It made sense to me.
Then, I thought about one of my favorite movies, (Mi Familia) by Gregory Nava. In it , there was a character, Guillermo, who decided to go by “Bill,” presumably to assimilate into “mainstream” American culture pass with people including his future in-laws (whom he brought to meet his own family).
Lastly, I look at my own relationship with my name. When my parents were thinking of a name for me, they liked José. A neighbor boy was, also, named Jose and he had a middle name. They wanted a middle name for me, too, so they found one that sounded good in Spanish.
I have written a few times about growing up: no one said anything negative about my name. Nonetheless, I went through a phase, where I didn’t really like my name. This was something that was all in in my head. Overnight, I decided that I wanted to go by Joey. As it turned out, this change never stuck. It wasn’t until my teenage years that I grew into my name and began to use my middle initial. Now, I proudly bear the name that my parents gave me.
