By any name

Have you ever faced those embarrassing moments where your teacher could not pronounce your name right? Have you ever thought of correcting your boss when he called you by a wrong name? Did you ever feel like bashing your friend for spelling your name wrong on your birthday card?

We know you did. It happened to all of us. We have all been in that place where the meaning of our first name has nothing to do with our last and we have always been questioned why we were named differently, or why it was so common. All in all, often people will make it their business to poke their nose in your name and its history!  

Whether you are a Tahseen or a Tahsin it all seems to come down to the 'color, colour' situation but little do they know the struggles that you face. 

It does not stop there. 

Some names such as 'Sumaiya' or 'Mehrin' (or Mehreen if I must add) are so common that it is always necessary to add more than five to six numbers to make an email account. 

As if spelling your name wrong wasn't enough, there is the pronunciation which is also difficult to live with. "My teacher always ends up calling me 'Shuchistoma' in class. It has been a month and he never got it right," says Shuchismita, who always had to pronounce her middle name more than twice while introducing herself. 

We all have our first names, last names and nick names and there are some of us who have five to six names. "I don't want my teacher to call out my entire name during attendance. The class time might run out you see," says Shah Muhammad Tauhidur Rahman Afridi, who goes by the name Tauhid.

Nicknames are cute and adorable. Not so much when people try to define you by it. If your name is Veronica, you do not necessarily need to have a European parent. "People ask me if either of my parents is a Bengali grammar teacher," says Bakko. Both of his parents are doctors. 

There are names by which people will always find ways to use a pun. For instance, 'Daiyan' being a lovely name, turns into a question of mystery. "Daiyan? Die young? Why not live old?" 

And there are always the Osamas who will be called 'Bin Laden' if you know what I mean. 

Whether you are a Moushumi or a Haidar, your name does not make you an actress or a monk. Names do not define you. You define your name. The next time someone makes a pun out of your name, make one for them too. It will surely make for interesting conversation during your coffee breaks.