Memoirs: What’s in a name? A Crepe!

The Daily Prompt is:

“Write about your first name: Are you named after someone or something? Are there any stories or associations attached to it? If you had the choice, would you rename yourself?

Photographers, show us  YOU.”

Georgia with her Aunt Georgia Mae

When I was born in 1952, my Aunt Georgia Mae was six years older than I.  My name was going to be Michelle Suzette if I was born a girl or I would have been my father’s Jr.  I was born a girl as we all know, so why isn’t my name Michelle Suzette?  Well, I don’t really think I have to go into that…my mother’s sister wanted me to have her name!  So I became Georgia Suzette.  The Suzette is a “frenchification” of my mother’s name Sue.

My mother always called me, Suzette.  Now that may sound like a pretty name to most of you, and I guess it is if you don’t have to live with it.  It probably isn’t really bad as name’s go.  Sometimes people would go into rounds of Suzy Q when they heard my name…and when Leonard Cohen was on the crest of the top hit charts, Susanne.  But for the most part people would titter and say: like the crepes?

I lived in a few African countries where French was the main foreign language spoken and things got worse…no longer Suzette, like the crepe, but suscet…lollypop or sucker.

I live in Italy and things got kinkier, the Italian language is totally phonetic…so Suzette was sometimes spelt Suset, some more sophisticated person’s would spell it Susett, they have some problems with the hard zed…but that fatal question always popped up once the spelling was established.

Finally, it dawned on me!  I am in fact Georgia Suzette and Georgia is pretty close to the Italian name Giorgia.  I simply told everyone: “From now on I’m Georgia!”

My family had a hard time adjusting to my “new” name and my mom still calls me Suzette, but for all intents and purposes for the last 26 years I’m Georgia.  The Italians still have problems with the spelling, but now when things are established people say: “Ah…Georgia on my mind.”  Now really isn’t that better than being remembered for a pancake?

On Facebook you won’t find Suzette either, there for years I’ve been, Georgia Bastet.  No, Suzette has become a name that I really can’t stomach!

ps: Suzette is a diminuative for Susan and it’s roots are in Ancient Egyptian and meant lotus flower but in Hebrew it became lily; Sue is a diminuative of Susan also.  Georgia is the feminine for George and comes from Greek it means tiller of the soil or farmer. Put them together and I’m a farmer of the lotus flower or lily! 🙂

OTHER STORIES BEHIND NAMES:

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3. What’s In A Name?? | Life As I Know It
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7. A Word About My Name | The Curse of Future Tom
8. Daily Prompt: Say Your Name | New Lease–Same Hope
9. Daily Prompt: My Name | cheerios for dinner
10. A Wiley By Any Other Name | Wiley’s Wisdom
11. What’s In My Name? | Writing The Girl
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13. Daily Prompt: Say Your Name | CARPENTER’S QUILL
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30. My Name is… | Zhentalis | Phoenix L.c.
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34. What is in a Name? (Or, Online Distractions Led me to Drunken Babies and Name Analysis) | sharonholly
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36. THINK…about my name | ACT. REACT. or just THINK about it!
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39. Memoirs: What’s in a name? A Crepe! | Bastet and Sekhmet
40. A Tale of Me | Tokyo Tales
41. Hello. My name is Zeinab. | Zen Scribbles
42. my name is | Bubonicboon
43. What’s in a name? | Sweet Somethings
44. My Name is a Four Letter Word | realdale
45. Daily Prompt: Say Your Name | Passionate Ambika
46. Daily Prompt Collision: Say Your Name | My Elegantly Cluttered Chamber
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