Latest news with #name
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
New Mom Says Uncle Refuses to Call Her Son by His Real Name, Only Calls Him 'Billy Ray'
A woman is taking to the internet to share her anger at her uncle, who refuses to call her 3-year-old son by his real name While the boy's name is Cypress, the uncle calls him only "Billy Ray" — a nod to country artist Billy Ray Cyrus Now, she wants to know if she's overreacting by getting madA woman says her uncle is refusing to call her 3-year-old son by his real name — instead, only referring to him as "Billy Ray." The woman details her predicament in a post shared on Reddit, writing that she doesn't know "what to do to make him stop." "For context, in my family almost every one of us has a nickname we go by more often than our actual name but it is generally a shortened name or something that fits with our personalities that we started with as a child," she writes. Her son's name is Cypress, and the nickname most members of her family use is "Cy." Except for her uncle, who calls the boy "Billy Ray" — a name he came to in a roundabout way. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories. "I don't know if my uncle just didn't hear the name right or if he just thought he was being funny but upon meeting my son, he shook my son's hand and said 'Nice to meet you, Billy Ray,' then he chuckled and walked away," she writes. "I was very confused on how he got the name Billy Ray and informed him that my son's name is Cypress, not Billy Ray. My uncle waved me off and said that it was just a joke because his name made him think of the country singer Billy Ray Cyrus." She continues: "My son will be 4 years old soon and has seen his uncle at least 2 - 3 times a year now but with every visit my uncle will tell my son 'Hey Billy Ray!' Or 'How are you doing Billy Ray?' And he refuses to stop even after I have told him directly to stop calling my son by that name as that has nothing to do with his actual name but I always get waved off or told, 'It's just a joke.' " The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! While the woman is angry at her uncle, her grandmother says she needs to take a step back, claiming the man "doesn't mean any harm by it, so I should let him continue to call my son by the wrong name." "I have explained more than once that jokes are supposed to be funny, not annoying and rude, seeing as how my uncle is the only one who laughs every time he uses the wrong name," she writes, adding, "Should I just ignore him and hope he gets bored of it soon? Or is there a way to make him stop for good?" Many Reddit users think the woman is overreacting to the uncle's repeated joke. Writes one: "You way overreacted to the Billy Ray joke and now he's trolling you. Your son sees him 2-3 times a year. Just ignore it and stop feeding in to it." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
I couldn't wait to take my husband's name. I was so sick of people getting mine wrong.
My maiden name is Lee Kelly, and people used my names interchangeably. I was named after my maternal grandfather and given his last name as my middle name. When I got engaged, I was sure I'd be taking my future husband's name. "Kelly Lee!" chirped my 9th-grade algebra teacher during roll call, just as she had every day of the school year. But this time, a giggle rippled through the class. When Ms. Wade — a woman who brooked no nonsense — demanded to be let in on the joke, a classmate blurted out, "That's not her name!" My maiden name is Lee Kelly. I used to joke that I had two last names and two first names because people used my two names interchangeably. Since Lee is traditionally a man's name, and I am not a man, people would look at me, see my name, and automatically flip my name around. The male name was intentional. My parents named me after my maternal grandfather, who was sick when I was born and died when I was a year old. Carrying his name was an honor and a pain in my daily life. And I couldn't use my middle name to help bail me out. It was Pallardy, my grandfather's last name, giving me a full name that was all surnames. My family takes honorary naming very literally. So I was stuck being Kelly Lee. Kelly Lee could pop up anywhere — in school, mail, phone calls, or other interactions with strangers. Sometimes, I corrected the error. But a lot of the time, I didn't even bother. Even though the mistake drove me crazy, it didn't seem worth the energy to call out the other person. It got to the point that I responded to "Kelly" just as readily as I responded to "Lee." The only thing that would end my name duality was a legal name change. When my husband and I got engaged, I was 100% ready to take his name. I had no qualms about shedding my family identity. There were no feminist hesitations about the patriarchal expectation to subvert my identity for my husband's. I wasn't going to be Kelly Lee anymore. My husband's last name is O'Connell, and it was perfect. It wasn't weird or unattractive. When paired with my first name, it would have no unfortunate associations or sounds (think Lee Oswald or Lee Roy). And there was no way anyone would confuse it for a first name. I would never have to correct anyone about my name again. I would never be O'Connell Lee. In the 14 years I've been married, I haven't had to correct someone about my name once. I am always Lee, never Kelly. My ears don't prick up when I hear "Kelly" anymore, and I don't feel compelled to answer to any name besides my own. Strangely, I received a letter addressed to Kelley Lee O'Connell two years ago. When I took my husband's name, I followed the convention of making my maiden name my middle name, mostly so I had a female name somewhere in there. As soon as I saw that letter, I texted a photo to the high school friend who sat next to me in algebra, the one person who jokingly calls me Kelly Lee to this day. "She does exist!" I exclaimed. Weighed against all the problems in the world, having people get my name wrong is pretty insignificant. It was a minor irritation that never meaningfully impeded my day. What bothered me about it was that so many people were willing to initiate an interaction or a relationship with me based on an assumption of who I was or who they thought I should be. And that assumption was wrong. It would've been more refreshing and more generous to have them get curious about who I am, to explore whether my reality challenged their assumptions. Now that it's behind me, it's easy to consider my double name as a quirky blip from my past, compared to my present ease of always being Lee and never Kelly. People occasionally still assume I'm a man, so you can't win everything. Read the original article on Business Insider
Irish Times
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
The Names by Florence Knapp: what's in a name?
The Names Author : Florence Knapp ISBN-13 : 978-1399624022 Publisher : Phoenix Guideline Price : £13.99 Can a name shape one's destiny? Knapp's high-concept debut ponders this question with remarkable psychological nuance. The story begins in 1987 with Cora on her way to register her infant son's name, with her daughter Maia in tow. Cora's real concern is that she will 'formalise who he will become' based on what she names him. Her husband Gordon has instructed her to name the baby after him, to carry on the family's tradition. She fears that this would burden him with the abusive legacy of his namesakes. 'It feels like a chest-beating, tribal thing ... that will tie him to generations of domineering men.' She prefers the name Julian, which means sky father. Maia suggests Bear because it is 'all soft and cuddly and kind ... but also, brave and strong'. READ MORE This seemingly innocuous decision to name a baby is the sliding-doors moment in this novel that charts the destiny of this family in three alternate storylines. The chapters are spaced seven years apart and titled after each of the three names. Gordon is a reputable doctor but an abusive patriarch at home. The overarching theme of the three storylines is the repercussions of living under the fear of domestic abuse. In each storyline, guilt and trauma dominate the interior psychological landscapes of the three main characters – Cora, Maia and the boy. Knapp shrewdly weaves together three distinct permutations of this family's future into a single tapestry with perceptive insight. The narrative remains consistently emotionally engaging, which is no mean feat for a debut novelist. The story resonates on many levels. It depicts an evocative portrayal of children who grow up under the shadow of a narcissistic father, conditioning them to become hypervigilant and pander to authority. In a poignant moment, Cora observes this in how her nine-year-old daughter has learned 'to soothe, to placate' and is 'attuned to the undercurrents in a room'. In another devastating instance, the grown-up boy asks his sister Maia, 'Do you think Dad consumed me?' – a stark illustration of the tyranny of an abusive parent. The Names is an exquisitely layered story about the ripple effects of trauma and choices – and the legacy they leave behind.
New York Times
08-05-2025
- General
- New York Times
What's in a (pope's) name?
The new pope has an important decision to make after accepting the position: What will his name be? His choice will offer one of the first signals of the direction his pontificate might take. There are no set rules, though popes tend to look to history and select a name with personal meaning. They often honor a saint or a past pope they admire, or pick a name that is important to their family. Francis was the first pope to honor St. Francis of Assisi, whose devotion to humility and care for the poor became central tenets of his papacy. John Paul II picked his name as a tribute to his predecessor, John Paul I, who died after only 33 days in office. The tradition of selecting a name dates to 533, when a priest named Mercurius — like the Roman god Mercury — was elected pope. Popes had previously been called by their given names, but Mercurius was most likely seen as too pagan, so he became John II. Choosing the name of another pope could be a nod to that earlier pontiff's priorities. For example, a John Paul III might focus on doctrinal discipline and social justice, while a Pius XIII might hew closer to tradition. A John XXIV would most likely be seen as a reformist. The new pope's name will be announced in Latin from the papal balcony at St. Peter's Basilica by Cardinal Dominique Mamberti of France, the senior cardinal deacon of the Roman Catholic Church, soon after he declares 'Habemus papam,' or 'We have a pope.'
