Personal Narrative: Where I Got My Name

My grandmother's name was inspired by her father's mother who was also called Maria and died days before she was born.

My mom was a reader. She was a slow reader, but a reader nonetheless. Her favorite book to this day is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty White. The main Character’s name is Mary Frances Nolan. My mom decided then that my name would be Frances. Well, that didn’t work because my dad didn’t like that name. So anyway, my mom also loved a set of children’s books about a badger named Frances (she is an elementary school teacher), and the badger’s little sister’s name was Gloria. I was named Gloria after the little sister, or I was named after Gloria Estefan if you ask my dad.

Through the use of metaphors, Sandra Cisneros believes that people should not let one thing determine who they really are. Esperanza finds the definitions of what her name means to prove that she doesn’t believe that’s who she is. For example, “In english my name means hope. In spanish it means too many letters” (Cisneros1). She compares her name to the meanings in english and spanish.

To produce this book, I asked not “What you are going to name your baby?”, but rather “What is your name? How does it make you feel? Who named you? Why did they choose that name? Would you change

For my saint and Confirmation name I chose Saint Anne. Saint Anne was a very holy woman and was the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandmother of Jesus Christ. Her name means grace and in Hebrew it also means Hannah.

In English, Jarin indicates the strength of God and that name is for a boy. Tasnim conveys heavens waterfall, and Nishat express’s liveliness or energy. My first name originates from America, but my middle and my last name comes straight from Islam. My first name does not describe all that much, even though I am proud of being Muslim, but to be honest, I am not all that religious.

They named me after the old Rita tree that our village honored, because my hair was the same color as its leaves in the fall. Bright red and obnoxious; the all in your face kind. My mother thought it suited me well because it was like me...obnoxious.

“My Name” by Sandra Cisneros is a short excerpt from her book The House on Mango Street (1984). In this excerpt, Cisneros narrator is a girl named Esperanza, who is telling us that her name reminds her of a lot of negatives things, including who she inherited it from. Esperanza is trying to convince us that her name is a terrible name, which is built up of negativity and bad history. She state that she was named after her great-grandmother, who was born in the Chinese year of the horse, which they have in common, and is well known for her wild customs which lead to her feeling sad and lonely all her life. Esperanza specifies that her name sound beautiful among Spanish speakers, but to non-Spanish speakers her name is pronoun funny “as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth” she says. She indicated that she would like to baptize herself under a new

    It was chosen because my my parents decided that the name that they had originally picked for me just didn’t suit me. Up until I was born, my parents were going to name me Madeleine. Once I was born my parents decided that I was Sophia Lily. Lily after my great-grandmother Lillian. They chose Sophia because they liked the it, and it sounded nice with Lily.

In “My Name” by Sandra Cisneros, we can see that her name means different things in different cultures. “In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting” (Cisneros).

Instead, my maiden name, Maltempo, complicated and unique, in Italian means bad weather; my brother used to come home from school, upset and angry at my father, for kids were teasing him, but personally I never

When I was born, my grandma and my dad wanted to name me Reea (some old indian actress I think). My mom suggested the name Gurrose. My grandparents liked it, but they also had their pride so they didn’t let go of Reea. They ended up naming me Reea Gurrose Kaur Gahla (although Reea was a part of my name, everyone called me Gurrose). Then, 3 years later, we came to Canada and although my name was beautiful, a lot of people had trouble pronouncing it.

As I asked my parents regarding where my name came from, they said my first name Maria was suggested by the midwife who happen to be my grandmother to acknowledge her handwork. My second name Ronalyn, was derived from the name of my father which is Roland. But there are other meanings where my name came from.

A name is not just what you’re called, it is who you are. It is what you stand for and ultimately defines you as a person. Growing up, I used to think my name did not fit me and that nothing that my name stood for had anything to do with me. Now that I am older, I understand the real meaning of my name and how the traits that are connected with my name relate to the person that I have become and continue to develop into. My name represents who I am and who I plan to be.

Both of my siblings before me were somehow named after my mother’s family. It would only make sense to have me named after someone from my mother’s side. With that said, Elena comes from my aunt Rosanna Elena. As for my middle name, it had originated from my father’s mother, Beatriz. In fact, my middle name is spelled incorrectly. The birthing center I was born in had spelled Beatriz with a “z” when it should have ended with “-ce” like my grandmother’s name, Beatrice. This silly mistake doesn’t anger me or my parents. As a matter of fact, they prefer my middle name to be spelled with a “z” because to my parents, it reminds them of how unique my grandmother Beatrice was and how it passes on to me. According to the website She Knows, Beatriz means “to brings joy,” and my grandmother Beatrice definitely brought out the true definition of one who “brought joy.” My grandmother was always the life of any party. She would make people laugh with all her witty jokes and her hilarious stories. She never failed to bring smiles and joy to anyone. I believe that my delight and well-being for others truly comes from my grandmother and her name. I’m more than honored to be named after