VIDEO: The multiple faces of Claude Cahun
Perhaps a little unusually for an academic/artist (though perhaps not? I haven’t seen the stats…), I am a fan those ‘ladybloggers’, the female ‘personality bloggers’ whose internet-notoriety is expanding by the minute. This is probably because, as one of their loosely affiliated group – designer, Nubby Twiglet – wrote, they are all ‘positive, hilarious and creative’. Though I am not without criticism towards some elements of their message, I take joyful inspiration from their perspective as empowered, self-employed and body-positive women.
What many of these women also have in common is an out-of-the-ordinary name. Take, for example, writer and speaker, Gala Darling, who changed her name by deed-poll a few years back after it came to her in a dream, (possibly) inspired by Salvador Dali’s lover. According to her article on the subject, Ms Darling made the change as a personal act of affirmation – the name means ‘festive party, joyful, merrymaker or singer’ – in order to challenge herself to stand out from the crowd and live the charmed life she had always desired. She credits her new name as the catalyst for her new attitude and for the realisation of many of her ambitions.
Nubby Twiglet and Molly Crabapple have not, as far as I know, changed their names legally. Rather, their cute nom de plumes are registered business names, used for years professionally and in the blogosphere – Nubby’s as a graphic designer and Ms Crabapple’s first as a model, now as an award-winning illustrator. In another sphere entirely, controversial trend-predictor Faith Popcorn, originally Faith Plotkin, made the switch after a friend called her Popcorn as a nickname. The advertising guru figured that she would attract a broader clientele with a bright, memorable signature and it seems to have worked for her.
Two friends from school changed their names when they got to university, both to slightly more unusual or mystical sounding monikers, Sinead and Ursula, and never looked back; another friend, Marika, has always gone by her very pretty middle name. At seventeen, I felt disconnected from my given name and wanted in on the whole name-changing shebang, but a sense of obligation towards my family’s expectations and a nagging fear of what people might think stopped me in my tracks.
A decade later, I am thinking about it again, in part due to a recent conversation with a critic about his ridiculous former pen name. Research into artist’s and writer’s name changes (Philip Goldstein to Philip Guston, Mary Anne Evans to George Elliot) highlights some of the other (sadder?) reasons for creative name-changing, for example, to obscure ethnicity or gender. This, of course, can be done critically while merging the political, aesthetic and playful, as surrealist-milieu artists Claude Cahun – real name Lucy Schwob – and Rrose Selavy – alias Marcel Duchamp – demonstrate.
Perhaps, like Gala, I will wait for a name to come to me in a dream. As I curl up to take a nap, my current questions are: would a more creative name be practical, in keeping with my current freelance business goals, would it succeed in propelling me somewhere new, unknown and full of curiousness, or is this simply a narcissistic pick-me-up with little long term benefit? A current favourite first name is Muse (or perhaps Musa?) – I have been trying it out on my Twitter account for a while.
Any thoughts?
ps – Compliments and power to the ladybloggers aside, I also have some wonderful friends *in real life* (though I hate that phrase) and I might take some time to write about their super qualities and self-employed glory in another post soon
pps – Just for fun, try the pen name generator (I got, um, Sir William Pennybanks, not sure if I could quite rock that one)
There’s obviously lots of good reasons for adopting a pseudonym to use on the internet, in creative endeavours, etc — anonymity, memorability, blah blah…
But as for changing one’s ‘actual’ name, whether by deed poll or simply by insisting that everybody calls you something different, it seems very much to me “a narcissistic pick-me-up with little long term benefit”.
I might come back and expand on that later, if you’re (un)lucky.
Thanks Nick! You’re my first ever commenter
I’d love for you to come back and expand and get some proper philosophical debate out of this.
I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, sometimes just in a professional sense, sometimes with more personal intent. Think I’m reliving my adolescence lately.
Ha, really? I was going to comment on Facebook, but then decided I could procrastinate more efficiently by reading the entire post… I suppose I should have just written “First!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”, that seems to be the etiquette.
Err, I’m not sure I have anything particularly philosophical to say on the subject. Again, adopting a pseudonym for professional stuff seems perfectly reasonable… I’m just suspicious of the idea that there’s much to be gained changing one’s ‘real’ name. I dunno how to discuss it without casting aspersions on the motivations of your friends, though. So long as they don’t take offence…
I suppose we can start by establishing that there’s no necessary connection between name and properties — I don’t inherit some ineffable nick-ness in virtue of being called ‘Nick’. A rose by any other name, and all that. So given that changing one’s name isn’t going to confer any new actual qualities, it seems there’s two questions: will other people think of you differently? and, will you think of yourself differently?
To the former, I imagine the answer is perhaps, superficially, on first meeting; names carry associations for everyone. But it’s not like you can control those associations — they’re different for everyone — except in a couple of specific ways I’ll mention in a minute. And beyond that first meeting, it’s the same point about roses above; you’re still going to be the same person, unless…
…you will think of yourself differently with a new name, and hence act differently. I guess this is a matter of individual psychology, but I can’t see how it would make a difference to me, at least. Perhaps if you were in the habit of routinely referring to yourself in the third person.
Then there’s the question of what to change to. I assume that most people don’t want to change their name from, e.g., Michael to, e.g., Christopher — that is, to something kinda ordinary. On on basis whatsoever, I reckon there’s three categories of names to which people might want to change — the exotic, the personality-reflective, and the unique. Let’s look at those in turn.
Exotic names, i.e. ones from other cultures, are presumably adopted on the vague basis that people will think: oooh, interesting exotic name, interesting exotic person. For the reasons outlined above, this will surely only be a superficial effect. There’s also a faint whiff of patronising orientalism (taken broadly) about it.
Personality-reflective names: by which I mean, names adopted because they more fully capture who you are or want to be. I suppose there’s nothing wrong with the motivation, but it seems an unpleasantly reductive way of thinking about yourself — “I can be summed up by *this* word”. There’s also the chance that it’ll misfire. To take your example (though not to impute this motivation to you), you might adopt “Muse” as a reflection of your ability to inspire artists… but half the people you meet might think immediately of a dreadful bombastic guitar band.
Unique names, or at least less common ones. Change your name to something that nobody else, or at least fewer other people, are called. Ahh, I don’t know. I have deep-seated reservations about the modern emphasis on every individual’s snowflake specialness, and often find the people who insist most loudly that they’re somehow unique turn out to be the most deeply ordinary of all. And again, having a unique name doesn’t make you unique in any regard except that one.
So, huh. Basically, I could have just given the Shakespeare quotation and left it at that. Anyway, point being, I’d think quite seriously about why you want to change your name, and whether the motivations are any good, before going to all the hassle of doing it.
I’ve been thinking of this for a while too, and I keep going back to the name I was born with, because nothing else sounds right. I don’t have a middle name. I think for the Gala Darlings of the world, they have a certain persona, and doing that works for them. However, I can’t even begin to imagine myself with a name like Gala Darling – it just wouldn’t work. I think that if you’re going back and forth about it, it means probably (like with me) that your identity isn’t yet completely clear. Once it is, I think your name (whether its yours or a new one) will simply fall into place.
I think Becky Hunter is a catchy name in itself. And in a way, you already have defined yourself through your name. Would Rebecca Hunter (granted, that is your real name) have the same ring to it as Becky Hunter does?
Anyway, this is the first time I’ve come across your blog. I’m enjoying it so far!
Thanks so much for your encouragement, Annching. I think you’re right… a name will come at the right time, or I’ll simply grow into my own name with more confidence. The Gala Darling’s of this world are certainly a special bunch. Maybe it’s a case of learning to recognise our own uniqueness and stop comparing ourselves to other women? Hmm, I should write more on feminism.
ps – love your site, especially the pink leggings with reflective seams!