Students face challenges of unique names

By Rythm Gade

Like many high schools across America, BHS’s student body is diverse. There’s a good chance any classroom roster includes names that don’t sound like the average John or Mary...

These students may have come from Asian, Middle Eastern or other backgrounds, or their parents might have just gotten carried away coming up with a good name.

Having an unusual name in America is not all about feeling special. Microsoft Word is ever-so-helpful in changing Rythm Gade to Rhythm Gate. Meeting new people and correcting their pronunciation can be uncomfortable, especially with adults. Unique names express individuality, but they can also be a pain.

Freshman Priscilla Chai recounted a time where she was at The Cheesecake Factory. “The people spelled my name Pascale, and they couldn’t say it when they were calling me,” she said. Priscilla has Chinese parents, who thought Priscilla was a pretty name.

Bilal Rabbani, said the most common reaction to his name is changing it to something like Ball, or Bill. Bilal has Lebanese parents, who immi-grated before he was born. His parents named him after the first African American to preach the word of Allah. It is a common name in Arabic; his uncle has the same name.

Bilal said it doesn’t bother him if people call him by a nickname, as long as they know his real name.

Futaba Shioda used to get annoyed when her name was mispronounced or otherwise mangled, making it ten times harder to say than it really is – which happens routinely, such as in announce-ments or awards. She is “more surprised if they don’t mispro-nounce it.”

But lately, as Futaba has gotten older, the sophomore has begun to appreciate having a name that’s unusual. Her Japanese parents like plants, and her name means “twin-leaf bud” in the native language. Her parents also named her because she is a Gemini, which has an astrology symbol of twins.

The most common reaction to her name is people saying it’s cool, or asking what language it is. The most uncommon reaction is, “I know some one named that, too!” Futaba said, “I’ve never gotten that reaction.”

Names have all kinds of meanings, but even when they are meant as a blessing they can feel like a curse. Being perfectly honest, Bilal said he might have chosen a different name for himself. But after 15 years with it, he’s begun to make it his own.

“I don’t mind my name,” he said. Names come with histories, which kids have no choice about, but they also come with futures. “I can make the name Bilal great,” he said.