One’s individual identity has its definitive purpose, but by contrast, one’s name is nothing but a shiny gloss cover over the book of your life. So, what factors constitute whether or not it is worth changing? Is your name often mispronounced? Is your name generic? Is it the same as a celebrity or character, or an acronym or abbreviation for something?
I’m often left wondering the originality of my name, or cringing as people mispronounce a four-letter last name. When you say the word ‘ah’, it is the sound you make after feeling something comforting, like a warm bath or a soft bed. But suddenly put an S and M around the ‘ah’ and people pronounce it as Sam? I digress.
Additionally, there are other people named Mark Sahm roaming the Earth right now, which also perturbs me. I mean, if my name was John Smith, then I’d accept my multiplicity, but my name isn’t that common. Which leads me to wonder if there were a battle of all those named Mark Sahm, would I win? Is there another Mark Sahm who has more decadent aspirations than me? Will we fight to the death, or rather for the number one spot on every search engine? Or could all of the Mark Sahms band together for the sake of competitive spirit? An army of me? Hmmm. Nah.
Nevertheless, it all leads me to wonder about the reality of using a pseudonym. I’d never officially change my name. But to have a name that is always pronounced right… that never gets confused with a stay-at-home-mom, then that’s the ticket. But finding one I like, well, that’s the beastie which continues to bite me over and over.
Not that it’s impossible. After all, I kept a pen name for almost 4 years, from back in 2000 when I originally launched Unsung Fu and Magic Junk. But I grew to dislike it and ultimately decided against using it for my first novel. I’ve often found that something as seemingly easy as making up a name can be a hundred times more difficult to maintain in likeability.
So this leads me to… a dead end. I imagine I’ll come up with something good if I can trap my consciousness in a realm where I’m not distracting myself constantly with art and writing and sports and cute Puertoruvians… but again, I digress. There’s no such realm.
Any ideas?
Sally Sahms Says:
September 15th, 2006 at 5:48 pmVisit Sally Sahms
I was married for seventeen years to Mark Wayne Sahms. I know exactly what you mean about the pronounciation of this last name. I have been called everything from “Sams” to “Shams”. Isn’t it funny how very much the English language can be butchered?
Mark Sahm Says:
September 16th, 2006 at 1:25 pmVisit Mark Sahm
I feel your pain. You have it twice as bad since your last name has been pluralized.
Which brings to mind: if two Sahms simultaneously have their names mispronounced, will the shared pain create a psychic bond like the evil twins Tomax and Xamot from G.I. Joe?