I am doing NaBloPoMo this month. 30 blog posts in 30 days. You can read more about it on San’s blog the in between is mine. #nablopomo2022
We thought long and hard about the names for our kids. We spend weeks before their birth coming up with a list of names we both liked and then ranking them with a number system finally deciding on one with the highest score. Neither me, nor my husband have middle names (San wrote about middle names in one of her older blog posts), but both of our kids do (they are Americans and Germans after all). I like the idea of middle names because I always thought it would be nice to have another option in case you did not like the first name in the end. Who knows if they would like the name we came up with (luckily for now they seem to be happy enough).
One important thing to me was that the names work in both languages. My daughter’s name is even pronounced the same in both languages and my son’s name is at least obvious when it comes to the spelling. It’s funny since he will say it differently in English and in German depending which language he uses to introduce himself. My name is a different story. If I order in a restaurant I never know what to say when they ask my name. Meike is not a very common name here in the US. I always say it’s pronounced similar to Michael without the l in the end. If I wrote it Micah, it gets the closest pronunciation in the end. I don’t though. If I spell it out for the cashier at the coffee shop it always is a surprise what name they will call. I really don’t mind though when someone pronounces it incorrectly. I actually find it interesting – and I mispronounce my fair share of names (and words), too, so I consider it payback for that.
I tried for a short while to use a different name when ordering, something more American. The problem was that I always reacted late to that name when called since I was not used to it. It did not last very long.
Meike or Maike is a fairly common name in my generation in the northern part of Europe and comes like many other girl’s names from Maria/Mary. Apparently my mom wanted names that couldn’t be shortened into something else. She did a good job. She probably did not think I would to move the US.
When writing this post I remembered a picture book I read with the kids when they were little. It is called ‘The Name Jar” by Yangsook Choi and the story is about a Korean girl named Unhei who arrives to the US from Korea and thinking about taking an American name to fit in better. In the end she decides to keep her name because it is beautiful to her and it has meaning (grace). I thought it was a really heartwarming story and taught something about acceptance and diversity.
Did you ever think about changing your first name? Never crossed my mind.
I always try to get names right but I also hope that all the students with unusual names forgive me for not always managing as much as I forgive everyone to not get mine right.
Interestiong fact: It’s very unusual to change your name in Germany (if it’s not through marriage) and you need a good reason for it.
Home here and there 
I really love my first name and would never think of changing it, but I have a sister who HATES her name. That said, because I have an “s” instead of a “z” – even though it’s a common name, it gets misspelled a lot.
I assumed your name was pronounced Mee-kah, so I was on the right track…sort of!
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I love the name Elisabeth, too, but it’s one that is pronounced differently in German. Do you mind if you see it missspelled?
Hating your name sounds rough. I even can’t imagine.
That’s actually how most people will pronounce it – maybe I should just go with it 😉
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My first name isn’t terrible common, but it’s not unheard of. I will never change it, but I do give a different name when I’m ordering at Starbucks or something (generally I just pick Emily or Sarah or something absolutely ordinary) so that I don’t have to spell it or say it repeatedly.
It was interesting to hear you talk about your name because in my mind I do just sort of think of it as “Micah,” but I imagine it would be wrong if I said it aloud to you in that way. I’m sorry I’m messing up your name (even if it is just silently)!
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It really doesn’t bother me so you are already forgiven. The only thing that makes me crunch is if I get an e-mail that starts with “Hi Mike”. I try to blame auto correct but sometimes wonder if the sender did not read my e-mail correctly or assumes I misspelled my name.
I tried the exact same thing giving a different name, but more then ones the name was called multiple times before I remembered ” oh, hey, that’s me today.”
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We named our daughter a name that is always mispronounced, and we knew it going in. She is named for our sisters (her first name is the same as one of my sisters, and her middle name is my SIL’s middle name), and my sister has always had her name mispronounced. It’s not a terribly uncommon name, just that 99% of the world pronounces it differently. She could change it, but she’s 26 and has not done so yet, so I guess it will stick.
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I am sure that the people who know her get it right after a while? All that matters is that she’s ok with it and you were happy with the pick. Sounds like you like your sisters, too, if you named your daughter after them. My daughter has the same name as one of my husband’s aunts what I only realized later.
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I’m glad I now know how to pronounce your name! We have a long, complicated, and constantly mispronounced last name, so I really wanted to give both our kids a common first name. With my son, we agreed on “Paul” right away, but my husband and I could not agree on a girl’s name. I finally agreed (in a moment of insanity) to name our daughter Angela, which, I hate to say…. I don’t really like. She doesn’t like it either and she goes by “Angie” which I do like. She used to talk about changing her name, but I think she’s okay with it now.
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I am glad your daughter found a way to like her name. Naming is tricky! I never even thought about changing my name but then again, it’s not really done in Germany.
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I do love my name. Its not common at all. Unfortunately for the. first 25 years of myeline I was usually dress as a man. Since. then people have realized that there are more divers names and dont predict anymore. My observation though is that is mainly man who will not get my name right. The ladies either ask or call ahead to hear me talk and the know how to address me. I do have another name. Interestingly enough its my first name and I go by my middle name. It used to be underlined (in my birth certificate) but they canceled that habit and now no one can recognize the name I go bye. Not particularly a fan.
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Interesting! I did not know that they used to underline second names if that’s the one you go by (or that they stopped it).
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This was so interesting to read! I would imagine wanting a name that works well in two languages/cultures can be quite challenging. I love your name and was pronouncing it (I think) correctly in my head, but was nonetheless surprised when you compared it to Micah! They are such different names, even if they sound similar!
I am not a huge fan of my name. I don’t know why. But… it’s my name and I wouldn’t want the pressure of figuring out what to change it TO, you know?
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Yes, I get that. After growing up with a name you kind of get used to it and it becomes part of you even if you are not 100% happy with it. But there are probably plenty of people who would not agree and feel differently, what is ok, too.
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I know a few “Meikes” and obviously knew how to pronounce your name correctly – haha – but I totally get how difficult it can be to find a name that works in two different languages.
My name was terribly common in the late 70’s, so I am not especially fond of it because I know SO MANY Sandras (and I even had a very common maiden name, so that didn’t make it any better). However, I have never thought of changing it… and Jon says he actually likes my name a lot and it’s not very common in the US (at least not for my generation, I think most “Sandras/Sandys” are older than I currently am). People do ask me how to pronounce it still… and I often pronounce it the American way, because it’s easier to pronounce it that way when I am speaking English then trying to change the intonation to how I would pronounce it in German.
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I also know a lot of Sandras but I like the name. Isn’t it interesting how names get out of style and then later they suddenly are used more often again?
I get the using a different pronunciation part. We do it for both my husband and son and it just became the normal thing to do.
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*than
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I have a pretty common name, but it’s spelled differently than all the other Stephanie’s in the world. BUT… I have a very German last name (my father’s side of the family is German) and I kinda hate it because it’s so hard to pronounce and nobody gets it right. I always wanted to marry someone with a very easy last name just so I could have something that was easier to pronounce! Haha.
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I always liked the name Stephany and I also kind of like that it’s written differently – at least you will almost certainly know if something is meant for you and the person cares. Makes it special. Now I am curious of you last name but I can see people getting it wrong. I have an accent in English but I am sorry to say most Americans have an accent, too when they try to speak German.
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This is very interesting – I knew about the middle names, but I am in awe of the in depth process you used to select your children’s names.
I knew someone named Meike but she pronounced it “meek-uh”. I suspect that is not correct for you. 🙂
People often add an “I” to my name, and call me “Annie”. I am very much – VERY much – not an Annie. There are maybe 3 people who are allowed to call me that and they are my parents’ oldest friends. They get special dispensation.
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In German you put a i/ie at the end if someone wants to make it cute – works with my name but with neither my kids’ names. I get why you only let certain people use it.
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