What's in a name ?

by Nova Lou

There is nothing in the world I fear most than the dreaded question '' What's your name ? ''. However, it's the unavoidable question that hits you at the beginning of any social conversation.

'' Nice to meet you, I'm Nova''.

Upon choking on his drink, my conversational partner invariably remarks, '' Sorry, is that your name ?'

Which is probably akin to asking if you have just jumped off the plane from Spain and are therefore unaccustomed to the English language and having thereby to resort to using Latin amongst English vocabulary. In short, I would have just introduced myself as '' Oh hello, I'm new''. (Nova in Latin means 'new'). But given my not so Spanish looks, I could only guess that was not what he implied by the question. He was probably just polite to suggest that he has never come across such an unusual name.

Pretty far fetched. But that's not the only one in many humorous responses that I have received over many first-time introductory encounters.

I've met one fellow who after introducing himself jumped straight to the question, '' Where are you from anyway? ''.

'' Oh, from not so far away Mordor '' (Home to the evil Golum and the Orks for those of you not accustomed to the famous movie Lord of the Rings) came my reply.

There was an awkward pause and an embarrassing laugh and then he remembers, '' Sorry, I didn't get your name''.

'' That's ok. My name's Nova.''.

This time a longer awkward pause as he struggles to decide whether I was still pulling his leg or whether it was fact.

'' You don't really come from Mordor ? ''

Not a very good start to a conversation but spared for the majority of you with more conventional backgrounds. However given my not so common first name (thanks to my father), made more complicated by my hard to place ethnic looks and well traveled background (even as a kid) I must say that it has been hard to initiate any serious conversations without invoking any pre-conceived ideas or God forbid, prejudicial feelings.

In fact I wish many people would skip the '' What's your name'' and '' Where are you from'' parts from the first 5 minutes of any conversation, just until they get to know me a little better, for instance, ask me '' What I do for a living '' (not a lot to shout about there too, I'm just an M&A consultant really).

Just so you get the idea, here are just a few awkward moments I have experienced upon introducing myself during business related and formal gatherings. Then ask yourself, if you were me, how would you proceed henceforth ?

1) '' Hi, I'm Nova….and I…''

'' Hey Supernova ! ''

2) '' I used to read X-People. There was this character called Nova. She wears these red-leather leotards and wears a black mask. Don't suppose you read X-People ?.. ''

(….no actually I have never heard of X People. I assume it's a comic book right ?)

3) ''Is your name patented ?''

4) '' Well, that's an interesting name. By the way, did you know that No-Va means No-Go in Spanish and they had launched this car once in Spain (no names mentioned) but it didn't sell too well because it was called Nova …hahaha ''

5) '' Is that a common name from where you are or was there really a Supernova explosion during the night you were born ? ''

(Neither….and I was born in the afternoon)

6) ''Is that Latin or a Chinese language word ? ''

(Latin….duh)

7) '' That's a cool name. Why did you call yourself Nova ? ''

(I hardly had the choice at birth. The name was sacredly pledged to me by my all too creative father. But thanks for the compliment.)

'' And your father is ….. ? ''

(a nuclear scientist genius cum electrical engineer who is also crazed about astronomy)

8) '' Nice name. You wanna be a star someday ? ''

(Are you offering me an acting job ?)

9) '' No really…how did your parents come up with such a name ? !! ''

(Because I was born in Novemb...forget it…because on the night I was born there was a Supernova explosion and my parents had a sudden inspiration)

You get the idea. I can't deny that there have been unexpected advantages in having such an unusual name. For instance, your clients remember you better. (It really matters to me, if a pair of Egyptian guys managed to spell your name correctly after they have mispronounced and misspelled my manager's name, also commonly known as ''Darren'', twice in a row). Also I can't deny the fact that there have been innumerous possibilities for potential humorous exploits. (Not a good idea if you wanted to be taken more seriously especially if you're managing a € 100m banking takeover deal). But more importantly, it's short and easy to pronounce (if you leave out my 2 middle Chinese names that is).

So what's in a name? Honestly, there's nothing more I like than to have a common girl's name like Catherine or Joanne. At least if you're looking for a personalized mug or a key chain with your name on it, it would be easier to locate. The nearest I've ever gotten to a personalized gift item was a coffee cup with ''Nora'' on it (someone was either short sighted or hard of hearing).

But there's definitely no denying I feel rather unique. And as unusual as Nova is, at least it wasn't derived from a famous person, or a famous city (Nova Scotia doesn't count!). So there you have it. At least I'm already a would-be famous identity in my own right at the moment of my birth. (sob, was that an Academy moment ? )