Names can be frustrating and nicknames still worse By Olivene Godfrey "I cannot tell what the dickens his name is Shakespeare. "

I can't believe my parents (who named me after my maternal  grandfather, Oliver,) were aware of the handicap such a name would be for me. There was always some smart alec in school who thought it clever to nickname me Olive-Oil.  Being too skinny anyway, this nickname really smarted. But Ollie didn't please me either.

I eventually developed a complex. My name is Olivene. "No I don't want to be called anything else." I would declare over and over. The trouble was that almost no one knew how to pronounce this unusual name. You wouldn't believe some of the things I've been called. Since my maiden name was also unusual, I had a double problem.  After my marriage some of my acquaintance solve their problem by calling me Mrs. Godfrey.

While thinking about this problem, I recalled some unusual names of persons I know.  Tam, my caregiver, came to mind.  She says a lot of people call her Pam. The name,Tam,  is short for the pretty name of Tamera.  Her mother enjoyed the Debby Reynold's movie, Tammy, and she changed the spelling to Tamera for her infant daughter.  Over the years, family and friends started calling her Tam.

My neighbor and longtime friend, Genevelyn, says her mother and grandmother liked the name so well she was named Genevelyn.
According to the Internet, there are 13 people with the first name of Genevelyn in the USA.
I had never heard the name until I met Genevelyn and we became good friends.


Another neighbor, Jacinta, who I recently met and liked very much,  says that her mom found the name in a baby book at the health department and liked it. She added that her mom just liked unusual names.  According to the Internet, Jacinta is a common female first name in the United states but I had never heard of it. 

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Son Barry and I plan to attend our family Christmas dinner party at my sister, Jeanette's Dalton home Christmas day if all goes well and it doesn't snow like it did last year. I may not post another blog before Christmas day so I wish for each of you a very Merry Christmas and  Happy New Year.

See you next time.