Member-only story
My Relationship with My Name
It is quite intense
Is it your real name? Should I Call You Mona Darling? Mona Lisa! Moo Moo Moo Mona!
These are the common responses I get when I introduce myself to someone. I am over these questions now, but I still have an intense relationship with my name, in a way. Yes, I think about it every time.
Firstly, I was happy that it is a unique name. There was no MONA in my class or even school.
It is a name that is romanticized by movies and has been given a kind of personality every time it is used. MONAs in the movies are bold, beautiful, and loved by everyone around. I’m a Mona who loves to write, is kind, and yes, is adored by those around her.
But how did I end up with this name? When I was a child, I decided to know the back story of how my parents concluded that she is a Mona, like a Sona. Lame, right?
Their response was disheartening. They hadn’t given much thought to my name. Someone must have called me Mona, and they just went with it. That’s it. No roots, no poetic origin. I was disheartened. And when I asked my mother, her words were
We had three children and had no time to give much thought to names. What’s wrong with Mona?
