When Juliet mused, "what's in a name..." she was obviously talking about the fact though Romeo was Montague, he would be same regardless of the name he possessed. Which is why I have gone years without correcting people when they mispronounce my name. Lately, though, it's beginning to get on my nerves.
My name is LA-ren, as in L-a-u-r-en. Not to be confused with LO-ren, which can be spelled as I have presented it to you or can be spelled L-o-r-i-n. The difference you ask? Well basically, Loren is a boy's name. An old man's name actually. Like grandpa age old. Lauren, on the other hand, is a girl's name, one that I have always loved and thought suited me perfectly. What stymies me is why people struggle so much pronouncing what should be a simple name.
Simple, I say, because NO WHERE in the English language does the letter combination of au EVER make an "oh" sound. Would you call your aunt (with the au making an "ah" sound) an "ont" (with the o making an "oh" sound)?
Didn't think so.
So why, even when I tell people my name, do they proceed to call me Loren? (Which is again, an old guy's name.) My maiden name should have made it easy for people: Lauren Lalli. La-La. (Which is in fact what Steve used to call me, and is still one of my favorite nicknames.) It didn't really help me out too much.
It's like taking crazy pills sometimes, explicitly telling someone my name and then having them call me another name entirely. Shrug.
I guess I get frustrated from time to time because I want my name said right. I'm tired of the girls whose names are spelled like mine who confuse people with the wrong pronunciation. If you want to call yourself Loren, CHANGE the spelling please, and leave all the Laurens in peace. You know you're not being grammatically correct anyway. Just ask Lauryn Hill. (And don't tell me the "y" suddenly makes her name La-ren, while my "e" makes it Lo-ren. I'll call you stupid to your face. Listen to the track "Doo Wop That Thing" if you don't believe me.) He hee.
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11 years ago
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I hear ya Lauren! My sister's name is Lara and 95% of the time call her Lora. I just don't get it.
I do think that I may have thought your name was Lo-ren when I first met you! Looking back I hope I didn't call you that!(If I did I'm sorry!)
I just read my comment and realized I left out the word PEOPLE. (95% of the time people call her Lora).
I hear ya. I go out of my way to tell ppl my name is LLLLLLLivia. Extreme emphasis on the solo "L." They still respond back with "it's nice to meet you Olivia."
Crazy pills indeed.
This made me laugh. I hate being called M"egg"an, but Loren is totally different than Lauren. Still laughing.
Ah, my friend feels the same! You should hear people trying to pronounce Caleb's name, I never knew it was so difficult!
haha! that is just what one of my friends feels! She also spells it the same as you, yet gets so upset when people call her "loren".....i feel for you!
I must admit I have pondered the correct pronunciation of your name a few times and am probably guilty of calling you Loren. Here is my excuse I speak French and in the French language au is pronounced "O" so I tend to overlap these languages. I am sincerely going to remember not to call you loren, but if I do, don't be mad, my mind never fully came back after I had Mabel. Love you Lauren you make me laugh!
i remember when we lived together that i'd say "loren, i mean laren, i mean lauren" because i'm from missouri and the laura/laurens i knew were usually pronounced lora/loren...
i still can hardly tell the difference between megan and meagen...
Sorry, I deleted that last comment. I know how annoying it can be. I was called Stacey Boo-bert my whole life. I got to the point that I just went along with it! Luckily getting married took care of that problem for me.
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