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What’s In A Name?
My not-so-fun adventures as a Beverly.
I don’t hate my name. I dislike my name. It’s uncommon without being catchy. It’s got no pizzazz, no poetry. It’s an old person’s name, one step above Esther (and if you’re an Esther, please don’t troll me. We’re all in this together).
And besides all the Beverly Hillbillies jokes I endured as a child, nobody can get it right.
People will look right at my name and go, “Beth?”
“No. Bev.”
“That’s what I said. Beth.”
“No, Bev, with a V.”
“Veth?
I’ve learned over the years to just answer to “Beth.” It makes life so much easier. If I can change my last name three times over the last 20 years, changing my first name in the interests of just getting through a conversation shouldn’t be that hard.
I also answer to Deb, and for some bizarre reason, Barb. I get Barb a lot. When I introduce myself as “Bev”, Barb is the human brain’s desperate attempt to come up with an American female name of one syllable that starts with a “B”.
Beverly as a boys’ name (also used more widely as girls’ name Beverly) is pronounced BEV-er-lee. It is of Old English origin, and…
