You ever change your FIRST name?
Backstory
The reason I bring the question 'up' is because I was quietly reminiscing about how many first-name changes I've had in my life, usually during watershed moments. My real first name is 'Donald', but I was soon nicknamed 'Donnie' while growing up, which rhymes with my current (writer's) name 'Dhani'. My middle name, by the way, is 'Carmen'. I'm Italian-American & in Italy a predominantly feminine name as such is also given to males. (In Mexico there are lots of men named 'Jesus MARIA'.) 'Carmen' or 'Carmine' -that's the reason why I've titled my semi-autobiographical novel 'RED: Memoirs of a Garbage Collector'.In my 20s, some of my close friends would endearingly call me 'Don Carmen', and so, when I published book reviews for Gannett (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle) I wrote under the name 'Don Carmen Schimizzi'. Later, when I migrated to Mexico in the early 80s, I wrote for various English-speaking newspapers in Puerto Vallarta under 'Donato'. Why? Because when I first began living in Mexico, my Mexican friends couldn't pronounce 'Donald', it came out sounding like 'DONUT'!, so I said the hell with that & chose the Italian name 'Donato' for them & it's stuck ever since.
Now 'Dhani', that came about in a watershed moment during my close encounter with cancer in 2006. I had read that George Harrison christened his son with the Indian name, 'Dhani' (remember the Beatles taking India by storm in the 60s?) and I loved it because it rhymed with 'Donnie' & I liked the spelling of it. So I adopted it as my current writing name on the internet. Two years later I was 100% free of cancer and was employed by TARGET as a cashier ($7/ an hr.) for one year so I could earn my passage back to Mexico, and during that time a sweet lady from India noticed my name tag & asked me: 'Do you know what 'Dhani' means in India?' 'No', I replied. 'It means 'rich man'. Blew my mind. A 'rich man' earning $7 an hr. But it's all in the HEART, right mates?
by Dhani in Six Words Questions on Sep 22, 2012 | 
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Comments
Wench says,
I really enjoyed reading this backstory! I have had a few nicknames, mainly ones given by close family and friends (and occasionally used without welcome by people I wasn't close with - why does it bother me when people use a nickname without 'earning' it?), but I have never really gone by any other name than the one I was given at birth. When I converted to Orthodoxy, I took a Saint's name, and although there is a very prominent Orthodox saint with my name, he is a man and I was encouraged to choose a woman. Since my middle name is Helene, I chose St. Helen of Constantinople (that's why we named our son Constantine, he was her son). Sometimes people at church will call me Helen. When I was baptized and married, I was called Alexis Helen.Dhani says,
You Wench! I equally enjoyed reading yours, thanX!marymc says,
Born Mary Beth. Went by Beth til I went to college. Been Mary ever since.KharisJo says,
I work in health and there are many people who have their given names on file but also have "known as" other names. It is known psychologically that it is very empowering to determine your own name as a source of identity. As a child I was known as Josie, as a teenager I chose Jo and now often use my name Josephine as symbolising that I am a whole person who encompasses childhood traumas and teenage self-abuse. I also chose and use Kharis which is Greek for grace, from which the term charismatic derives, to signify my own spirituality.accidentaltourist says,
Only for online dalliance. ;)Dhani says,
accident: this is a board of MEMOIRS & Memoirists.KHARIS: I equally enjoyed your story, thanX!
accidentaltourist says,
Dhani: no shit, really? I thought it was for ranting political discourse and religious proselytizing. With the added bonus of being a venue for digging at people one doesn't even know, to what end I am not really sure. To annoy and irritate? or to lash out and hurt, just because one is safely hidden behind a computer screen?Yeah, I don't play that game. But thanks.
Dhani says,
Sorry, I'm not 'hidden behind a screen' but more transparent on this board than most, using my REAL name, location, intent & more.lillybrook says,
Nick names, yes. Went from a childhood name, to formal name, to nickname and back... but all forms of the same name. I have a cousin who legally changed her name from "Jennifer" to something very distinctive -- it took a while to get used to, but it's who she is now. Can't imagine calling her Jennifer anymore.