naming of names

[ilanarama]

I'm reading The Devil Wears Prada (and I'm only about halfway through, but so far I really like it - I haven't seen the movie) and I just encountered a character named "Ilana." And I can't help it: I always get a little weirded out, a little thrilled, and a little tossed out of the story, because that's my name, damn it, that is me, and what am I doing in this story?

At least in this book I seem to be a sympathetic character, unlike most of the others in the book (and if I turn out to be a supervillain, please don't tell me!). I was a little depressed when reading The Source because I got killed fairly early on. Ditto that really bad movie, The Arrival, and hey, that character was even actually named for me (although she was modeled on Susan Solomon), so I was totally justified in my over-identification. Then there was the Harry Potter fanfiction story I read (because it was a meme: search on your real name at ff.net) where I was a History of Magic teacher who'd gone to school with the Potter, Sr. generation, an animagus from the age of six, and a half-elf with waist-length azure hair and a nice set of dragonfly wings. (All at the same time.)

Do the rest of you get this weird jolt when you read your name in fiction (or hell, in a newspaper article)? I feel ridiculously proprietary about my name, maybe because I was thirteen years old before I met someone else who shared it (and she didn't spell it "right," so she sort of didn't count). I can't imagine what it would be like to be named Lisa or John or something like that.

Comments

[melusina]

It weirds me out a bit, and my RL first name is relatively common. I think it would be even stranger if you had a relatively uncommon name. . .

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine what it would be like to regularly hear someone calling your name, turn your head, and have it NOT BE YOU.

[kar0na.livejournal.com]

I get that way about "Karen", though I can still find seashore souvenirs with my name on it, so I can't imagine having an even rarer name. Ditto on folks who don't spell it right, though I think there are some pretty spellings out there (Caryn). I'd hate to have to spell my name out for everyone all the time. I have to do that for my last name as it is.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Hee, there are so many Karens in film, literature, and lj :-) that if you have this reaction, you are probably getting it constantly!

And oh, let me tell you, the one thing that is annoying about my name is that in the US, at least, if someone hears it they can't spell it and if they see it written they can't pronounce it. Native German or Spanish speakers (or anyone who speaks a language following similar long/short vowel rules) get it right off. But I am unfortunately used to the phenomenon of spelling it three times on the phone and still getting the package addressed to Illana, Ilaina, or Elana.

[frosch.livejournal.com]

Every generation has a set of trendy names that are extremely popular for a few years, and then give way to new trendy names. I have one of the names that was really hot for eight or ten years after about 1958.

A long time ago I got used to the idea that when I hear my name anywhere but at home, the speaker is usually talking about/to someone else.

I have more of a proprietary sense about my last name, although that's not exactly rare either.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

A long time ago I got used to the idea that when I hear my name anywhere but at home, the speaker is usually talking about/to someone else.

And for me, that is SO WEIRD.

But your name, yeah, pretty common for our generation.

[laurelwood.livejournal.com]

I almost never come across your name, so I can imagine that it would be odd to encounter it.

Laurel used to be uncommon, to the point where I'd get annoyed if I heard that anyone else had it because, dammit, that's MY name! But working in a health food store where the Laurel's Kitchen cookbook was so heavily referenced and THEN meeting another Laurel (with my same married surname!!) sitting right behind me at a wedding sort of wore away at the novelty factor. It's still not super common, though, so when I ran into another Laurel at Zoe's school, our mutual response was to high-five each other. :)

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Hee, it must have been REALLY weird to meet someone with your same exact name! Once I got email from someone (back in Usenet days, when I used my real name and work email all over the place) asking if I was the same Ilana Stern who sat behind him in third grade in some NYC school in 1960, and I had to tell him sorry, I wasn't born yet then. :-)

I actually can't remember ever meeting another Laurel up until very recently.

[triestine.livejournal.com]

I feel all special too - not many Mias in fiction. And should I encounter my last name, well, that would deserve a party!

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Hee! Is Mia a common Croatian name, or is it unusual in real life as well as fiction?

[thalia]

My first name is ridiculously common, so that doesn't phase me. But a couple of years ago I read a story with a character with my full maiden name, and *that* freaked me out. Very weird.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Hee, I bet!

My father's name is David Stern, which is also the name of the commissioner of the NBA. It is weird seeing my dad's name in the sports pages.

[helkamaria.livejournal.com]

Do the rest of you get this weird jolt when you read your name in fiction (or hell, in a newspaper article)?

Don't I ever! My name isn't the rarest of all (3453 people (some of them no longer living or having it as a second name) in Finland), but it's rare enough that I was in my teens when I met a person who shared my name (and she was the woman who came over to clean our house sometimes!). Imagine my chagrin when, in my early 20s, I found out that, in my city, there had suddenly appeared a person who shared both my first name and my surname. I was totally weirded out.

Also, I get really annoyed if my name is spelled "Helga". I spent my childhood and early teens correcting everyone's spelling. These days mistakes aren't as common, but "Helga" is still more common than "Helka" (7207 people in Finland, one of them a man (same conditions apply as above)).

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

In the US, though, your name would be quite rare! (And also probably more likely to be misspelled or mis-heard as Helga...)

Imagine my chagrin when, in my early 20s, I found out that, in my city, there had suddenly appeared a person who shared both my first name and my surname. I was totally weirded out.

I bet! See my comment to laurelwood above about the only other person I have heard of with my exact same name...the thing is, though, that my last name is not uncommon, and because of the ethnicity factor, someone with my first name probably has a higher-than-average chance of sharing my last name too, so it's surprising I haven't met another one.

And I hear you on the annoyance. I get annoyed when my name is spelled "Elana" but lots of Americans do that as they are not used to the I being pronounced as long-e (eee) rather than long-i (eye). Or when they use two l's.

I quite like your name, by the way! It's unusual (here) and pretty.

[revbiscuit.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I do. I think it's because in the UK they spell my name differently but not by much, so actually seeing it spelt "correctly", as it were, always makes me think they are talking about me!

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Hah, yes. And you are probably also tired of correcting people's misspellings.

[sdwolfpup.livejournal.com]

The worst part about seeing my name in the media, though it's not used very frequently, is that the character is ALWAYS a cheerleader and/or a dumb bimbo. I've actually known quite a few people with my name, though they typically haven't ever met anyone else. And I've been friends with almost all of them - and NONE of them were bimbos. Or cheerleaders. Hee.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Hee, you know, I was thinking about you, actually, because of this exactly - you've got one of those stereotypical bimbo names, all right, that is used in fiction to imply a certain type of character. And just like you, the only person I actually know (other than you, who I've not met in person) who shares your name is a former rock-climbing partner of mine who is about as tomboyish as I am and does not at all fit the stereotype.

[hedda62.livejournal.com]

I met one person who shared my name in high school, then (variant spellings allowed) two in college and oddly three in a small grad school program - but now they are all over the place, although all much younger than me. So I get the head-turning thing fairly often, usually addressed to a teenage girl. And it is still very weird. In fiction... well, I don't read a lot of teen fiction, but I suspect the ratio would be the same. I have encountered at least one villain with my name, which was fun if slightly disturbing.

I don't believe I've met anyone else with your name!

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Huh, I would have thought your name quite common...although now that I think about it, I don't actually know anybody other than you with it.

[dipping_sauce]

There was a news anchor on one of the American networks with the exact same name as me -- first and last -- when I was growing up. It was really weird. I'd always feel a bit uncomfortable when I heard her name on TV.

My friend Dave from high school has a sister named Ilana, and I think my friend Andrew dated an Ilana (possibly spelt differently).

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Hee, first and last? That must have been seriously discombobulating!

Ilana is a slightly more common name among people 10 years younger than I am, I think. But still not all that common.

[traveller42.livejournal.com]

While my first name isn't that rare (and highly visible thanks to comics, TV, and movies), I've only met a handful that have it. My family is fairly small and pretty much anyone with the last name is a relative. As far as I know, I am that only one with both my first and last name.

There are a few very common names that sound like my first name and I am usually hearing them. I still do the head twist until I'm sure.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

(and highly visible thanks to comics, TV, and movies)

Hee! Actually, I knew a Clark in grad school and when we first corresponded I tried to remember his last name, because I thought you might be him. But your last name is exceptionally unusual.

There are a few very common names that sound like my first name and I am usually hearing them.

Yeah, Britt is so used to being called Brett, Brad, and Fred that he turns his head for all of them. :-)

[rimrunner.livejournal.com]

Yes, especially because I also have an unusual first name (though it seems to be more popular among women a generation or so behind me). I was thirteen before I met someone with the same name who wasn't a relative.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

I have never met anyone (other than you) with your first name!

[delurker.livejournal.com]

It is a bit weird! I'd expect more people to share my name, actually, because it's very common - it's been in the top 100 names in the US for a number of decades now. And given how many US books and movies and TV shows we get, I'd expect to see it more often too, but I don't.

The biggest name jolt I get is when someone says my twin's name - I automatically check to see if they're talking to me, because people get us confused so often, so finding that they're not even talking to my sister (let alone me) is a bit weird.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's interesting about responding to your twin's name!

And I had a pretty good friend in college with your name, but that's about the only one I can think of offhand. There's one I know here through the Democratic party, but she actually goes by her middle name instead.

[jeddy83.livejournal.com]

My name is not all that common, except among people my own age. There was almost always another person with my name in my year. In fact from grade 3 to grade 10, there was another girl who shared not only my first name but my middle name and my birthday. I figure their mothers had a minor obsession with Gone With The Wind as well.

I rarely see it or hear it in books or movies. Sadly when it is it's usually a rather ditzy character. But yeah I always get that weird jolt.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Hee, I was thinking, "hmm, Scarlett? Tara?" before I remembered, yeah, I know your name, oops. I don't associate it with a ditzy character, though. Maybe because there's a fairly well-known sailing writer with that name.

[millefiori.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of neutral about it -- my name must have been fairly popular when I was born because there were three or four of us in my elementary school classes. It's not everywhere, but it's common enough, and there's a famous (and beautiful!) actress with it. The only time I really hated it was when people would tease me by singing bits of a popular song with my name in the title.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Yeah, lots of people our age share your name (and lots of people on lj, also). And heh, I didn't think of that as being an advantage of having an unusual name, but I have never been taunted with a song, because there are none!

[saramwrap.livejournal.com]

I admit, I'm pretty unfazed by seeing my name all over the place. I think we've had this conversation - both my first and last name (and the combination) are so common that I went to school with someone that had my whole name. My doctor's office has to reference me by birthday because they have another person with my whole name.

But I'd kill to be a hot half-elf. Damn.

Tell me more about The Arrival!!!

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Hee, you and internic should rent it. It stars Charlie Sheen as an astronomer who discovers the existence of aliens, and Lindsay Crouse as a meteorologist ("Ilana Green") studying global warming. Eventually they discover that global warming is, wait for it - being engineered by the aliens in order to make Earth a more hospitable planet for their kind, after they invade and kill us all, of course.

There is a tiny bit of scene filmed in front of NCAR's Mesa Lab, where I worked at the time. When I first heard about this movie it was on sci.meteorology and several people joked that Ilana Green must have been modeled after me. It turned out that someone on that newsgroup knew someone who knew someone, and found out that 1) the screenwriter had modeled her after Susan Solomon, but 2) had browsed the NCAR website, which I'd contributed a lot to and my name was therefore all over, and saw my name, and thought, "Hey, that's a cool name to give my character!"

Anyway, it's not a great movie, but it's diverting. And I also recognized the Owens Valley Radioastronomy Observatory, where I did some work while working for NASA in college, so it was a fun movie for me to watch in many ways.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

I've almost never heard my name on TV -- but of the couple of times I have, one was a corpse and the other was a little girl who was killed when her spaceship got nuked.

There's a Final Fantasy character with my name, so I've heard that around a bit, and yeah, it does feel weird, especially since my name is semi-unsual as well. I'm used to being the only Cammy around!

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Is Cammy your actual name, or is it a nickname for Camille or something like that? I've never met another Cammy, but I used to know a Cam in grad school. (Heh, actually I had a crush on a guy named Cam in college, and then in grad school I met a woman named Cam.)

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

I don't hear Kelly used in stories very often (the only one I can think of is a really bad movie that I only got through half of). I never really liked my name. I wish I'd had the idea of using Eileen (my middle name) when I was a child, because I like it so much better.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Tomorrow we are going to visit my husband's nephew and his wife Kelly! And of course there's Kelly's Heroes.

[(Anonymous)]

Guess I'm jumping in late here... My first name is common enough that it's never bothered me, although googling my first and last name brings up a plethora of links to other people who happen to share my name, which is kind of bizarre.

My daughter Elise, on the other hand, says it's been weird to find other Elise's out there... I guess maybe it is a more uncommon name than we might have realized.

Eric W.

naming of names

[(Anonymous)]

Was just thinking "what is Ilana Stern up to these days?" and came across this thread... which is significant for me because I share a name with a comic-book superhero (the Green Lantern's original secret identity is Alan Scott). Even though I use my middle initial, though, there are at least two other "me"s out there, an artist in the UK and an opthalmological researcher in California who do as well. Egosurfing isn't always easy. One of these days I'm gonna do a webpage on "Scotts I'm Not..."

Alan P. Scott
http://www.pacifier.com/~ascott/apshome.htm

Re: naming of names

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Hee! There are, in case you haven't noticed, a whole bunch of t.b alumni here on livejournal. Even a community, talk_bizarre.

I used to be able to egosurf just on my first name, but now I'm relegated to the second page of Google results.