By Any Other Name

A Rose Would Smell as Sweet

Names, that's my subject today. I thought I should address names and pronounciation. I've actually had this post in mind for awhile, but it's time.

Jim and I chose the name Sera for our daughter. Though it has a unique spelling, it is still pronounced Sarah. We chose this name for a couple of reasons. I've always loved the name Sarah. In fact, I've even been called that by some friends from my long-ago past. Since my name isn't even close to Sarah, it was always funny. I got coined with that nickname because of my flare for the dramatics. I'm no where near as dramatic as I was in my teens and twenties, but I really did give the famed actress, Sarah Bernhardt, a run for the money.

As I've mentioned here before, Jim and I met online. We met in an interactive game where we all had character names. Mine was Serafina, but everyone called me Sera. It comes from the word seraphim, one of the orders of angels.

For well over a year, we kept a baby book in the car. Whenever we were in the car for more than 10 minutes, I'd pull out the book and we'd start debating names. There were several we considered for months and months, but we kept coming back to Sera. We decided that Serafina would have been too cruel. We've already saddled her with a unique spelling.

I have learned in the last week that she won't be the only Sera. There's another out there with two adorable younger sisters from China. Hi, Sera! And there's even a Cera, who also has two adorable younger sisters from China.

You might wonder why I'd give my child a different spelling. Finding her name on any product will be next to impossible. But that's okay, it's too easy to order anything you want with your name on it now. I did it because my name is unique, and I love it.

You might have thought that Magi was my internet pseudonym, it's not. It has in many ways, however, been my secret identity. People who knew me professionally, only knew me as Margarita. Magi was the name my family and friends called me. It's a nickname from childhood, and I've never heard of anyone else with this name. It even has a unique pronounciation. That's why it's always been easier to use Margarita professionally. The first syllable is pronounced just like it looks, Ma. Pretend that you are Laura Ingalls Wilder and you are calling for your mother. The second syllable is pronounced with a hard g. It sounds just like ghee, the clarifed butter used in Indian cooking. Now put it all together, and you have Magi.

And that concludes today's lessons on the pronounciation of unique names.