The Name Game

I didn't expect to get a new nickname at at nearly the quarter-century mark.

I've always been pretty traditional, where the nickname is concerned. When I was younger, the formal first name was put on the shelf, brought out and dusted off only for report cards, graduation and those times I got caught by my parents doing something I shouldn't have. The formal name was pretty, to be sure, but certainly more appropriate for a dead queen across the ocean than the young, spunky girl who preferred the nickname her mother gave her as a baby.

As I grew older, I started practicing with the full name. Seeing how it felt, how to balance the regal sound of it with the fact that I was still pretty young, certainly still spunky. I had to grow into the name, and as I molded to it, I alternated between it and the nickname. It almost felt as accepting the name meant I had to become - gasp! - mature.

Now I have no problem being known as the formal name and, to be honest, really enjoy it. People stop for a moment after introductions and comment on the fact that it's old-fashioned, but lovely. I chuckle as people let the name roll off their tongues with an extra flourish on the end. It prompts people to speak in a British accent - and I'm always a fan of that. And I've only met a handful of people who share the name with me - so I still feel that it's distinctive. There aren't too many me's running around.

I've often thanked my parents for going with this name, instead of Jennifer (as they'd originally planned to do).

But over the last couple of weeks, the new nickname has been popping up with increasing frequency. Nothing too outlandish, but a long name reduced to three letters. A nickname used sporadically by Beth over the past year and a half, but never before embraced by a group of people and never used on a regular basis.

It fits me now. It's a little bolder, a little sharper, a little more to the point. Someone who rocks the teal (although technically, it's considered ivy) eyeliner with only one second thought. I've never had a monosyllabic nickname before, and as I see references to it, I almost have to pause for a second and realize, "Hey, that's me!"

But I'm getting my kicks out of it. And there's always something pleasing when other people come up with a nickname for you. Because they've taken the time to come up with something that suits who you are - that being someone they care enough about to bestow upon you a name.

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