What’s in a name?

Shakespeare described this beautifully.

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet

I was not impressed when I heard it for the first later. Years later, I still remain unimpressed with this wordplay! It is very easy to describe a rose and distort the importance of the name. But tell it to me! I have name which is easily mistaken for a girl’s name!

It was not always like this! While in school and college, I was never mistaken for a girl. My name, being unique, was easy to remember! But, this only added to my woes! People remembered my name while I was not very good at remembering names. So, you are suddenly pulled into a conversation by a familiar face addressing you by your first name and you are busy remembering the name of the familiar face while trying to act interested in the conversation!

When I stepped into my professional life, the uniqueness of the name faded suddenly. A new problem cropped up. People imagined me to be a girl as soon as they heard my name! Once, when I introduced myself and started talking in a teleconference call, there was an uneasy silence. Later I realized, it was an awkward pause during which the people at the other end of the phone were frantically deconstructing the voice to check if it contained even a faint trace of a woman.

Another instance was when a rookie engineer was assigned to my team. After the resourcing manager assigned him to my team, he enthusiastically called me! As soon as I asked him to come over to my office, I sensed a wane in the enthusiasm curve. Later, when he became my good friend, he confessed the secret behind the enthusiasm and sudden deflation in it too!

Recently, a colleague told me with a nervous and shy smile, “Hearing your name, most of people think you are girl”. So, do you still think, “What’s in a name?”.

Picture Courtesy:  http://www.biblesociety.com.au/

Tags: Musings,Name