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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