Take a last look at my extremely nifty blinkie, handmade by golfwidow. My contest has not been a raging success.
In fact, I received three entries, which are summarized below. All of them really, really good tries, but sadly, none that I can use. Why, you ask?
First Entry: This wonderful suggestion came from l-empress.
"Chayala (I'm transliterating). It's a diminutive of Chaya, which is chai -- sort of. I've been told that, in Israel, they use another form of the name so no one thinks they're talking about animals."
I answer:
This is actually a pretty good one. My mother -- Shirl -- was named at birth for her grandmother, Sarah, but a kindly American-born cousin suggested a "more modern" name: voila, Shirley. (Good one, huh?) But my mother's name in Yiddish was Chaia Sora, the grandmother's full name on the other side. So Chaia (as she spelled it) would be somehow for my mother, too. (A good English translation, by the way, would probably be Eve, the mother of all life.)
However, a little discordant with an Italian last name. Also, having lived 50 years with a name that always has to spelled for everyone, I really really need to avoid that particular problem. Simplify, simplify!
Second Entry: from golfwidow
"I was going to think of a name that began with "R", but I have an unreasonable prejudice against "R" names. I like "Elizabeth", for the following reasons: it's got flow, it's got "L" and "Z" sounds, it's got four syllables, and it's versatile: premade personalized items always include not only the full name "Elizabeth", but also most of the nicknames ("Liz", "Lizzie", "Beth", "Betsy", and so forth), so you can pick and choose -- or even change it depending on your mood!
I answer:
I have always loved this name, have used it for characters in stories I've written. But there's a super-huge problem with it, which of course, no one else could know: it's The Psycho's name, my insane boss. (It's one of the reasons that Chum and I often refer to her privately as The Lizard. It's one of our kinder nicknames for her.)
Third Entry: from cosmicrayola
"The name is Abichail. It is Hebrew and it means "Gives Joy" Why is this the perfect name??
1) It is Hebrew
2) It means "Gives Joy"
3) It will appear almost first in any alphebetical listing.
4) "A bich" ail (when you want to be)
5) Abi "chai" l (still have the chai in there)
6) It sounds neat when you pronounce it correctly
7) Saying it really strongly removes hairballs
8) I came up with it
9) It is a pretty name
10) It doesn't start with "R"
I answer:
Again, requires spelling, not to mention a compatible last name. I do like all the suggested names, and thanks! And reading them all and thinking about them has helped me to come up with one of my own.
Simplifying has always been important. Not only do I always have to spell my first name, I've always had to spell my last name, too, both before and after marriage. I need to spell the name of the street I live on, as well as the name of the town I'm in. So I'm a big fan of simplification. I've been heard to say that in my next life I want to be Sue Smith, at 1 Elm Street, Smallville, UDA. But no, not Sue.
After giving my firstborn the perfect name -- it's my mother's last name, my mother-in-law's last name, and then, of course, my husband's last name at the end -- I had a bit more trouble the second time. We thought of all kinds of family names, but I kept sticking in a name I really liked: Anne. We could call her Annie. Her middle name could be Marie for my husband's aunt. But Anne Marie Italianname sounded just too ethnic for a kid who wasn't even all Italian. It didn't seem to fit, it didn't sound right.
I'm sorry it took me so long to remember.
When I leave a guestbook entry, or send email to a fellow (rather, sister) dlander, I usually sign it chai, since I don't have another name to use that I like. From now on, when you see Annie R, it's me.
I like it. It's actually very close to my real name, but I like this one a lot more. I should have made them all start calling me this when I was four, but I didn't think of it until today.
"ANNE: French, English and German form of HANNAH. From the Hebrew name Channah which meant 'favour' or 'grace."
So it's good. And we can all spell it, too.
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