They got the pronunciation of my surname wrong. Teachers, schoolmates, friends, acquaintances. All of them. Some intentionally murdered my name because according to them, it was easier that way and it sounded better. No matter how hard I tried, they got it wrong. Those who wanted to learn tried but they pronounced it how they wanted to. I had to live with it. The teasing, the jokes, the embarrassment. Everything.

When I grew up, I comforted myself with the fact that a man would marry me one day and change my surname forever. I was very particular about it to the extent that I didn’t accept proposals from men with hard-to-mention surnames. Most importantly, I didn’t like men from my hometown because they came around with such names.

A man walked into our working premises and pronounced my name exactly the way it was supposed to. I thought he knew me or was from my hometown. He smiled and I smiled back. He was watching my breast. I remembered I was wearing a name tag and it was where he might have read my name from.

He asked where I was from. He asked my father’s name. He asked the last time I visited my village. He mentioned his name and said, “I pray we are not siblings.” We both have the same surnames. We exchanged contact and he left.

Less than a week later, he called. He said, “Fortunately for me, we are not siblings.”

“What do you mean by ‘fortunately’? I asked.

He laughed my question away but we became good friends. Anytime he mentioned my name, I remembered my Dad. He was the only voice that got my name right and the accent perfect. This one here was also doing the same thing. My name felt safe on his lips and he made me miss the days my name was pronounced right by my dad.

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We fell in love because of our names. He joked about my dreams of meeting a man to change my name forever. I said, “Dreams are like that. However small they are, it’s hard to make them come true.”

We are married. Our kids have his name which is also my name. They’ll grow up to suffer the same fate I suffered with my name but I pray they find someone who will make their names feel safe on their lips. That’s what it means to find love. It changes your dreams but calls your name right.

— Erica

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