My Name…

Brittani Aaliyah Michelle Mariah Jennifer Eva Nicole Marie Genevieve Goodwin will follow me for the rest of my life. My name is how I’m recognized, judged, and acknowledged. Brittani, ranked 282 out of 1000 the year I was born, is a variation of the usually spelled name Brittany. Brittany is from the region in the northwest of France named for the Briton settlers who fled to the area. I find this ironic because I am neither French nor English. In my eyes, Brittani is too common despite the different spelling. I was always referred to as Britney Spears when I was younger. I remember replying, “I’m NOT Britney. I’m BRITTANI.” Looking back on that I find it funny because without knowing the story one wouldn’t know the difference when I said it. Aaliyah is the feminine form of the Arabic name Aali. Aali means high, lofty, and sublime. Sublime means awe-inspiring. For the people that know me, they would say that if anything I am not awe-inspiring or moving or inspirational. I was named Michelle after my favorite cousin, Michelle. It is French and English but in French it’s the feminine form of Michael, which just so happens to be my father, brother, uncle, and cousin’s name. I don’t think this name came from any other family member but that’s beside the point. Michael is from the Hebrew name Mika’el which means “who is like God?” This is funny because just recently I converted my religion. Was it written in my name to try and find my way to God? Who knows, because I sure don’t? Mariah is derived from Maria, which is a Latinate form of Mary, a name I loathe. Jennifer, the name of Michelle’s sister, is from a Cornish form of the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar. Eva is found in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Czech, Bulgarian, Slovene, and Russian. Nicole is the English form of Nicholas which in Greek means “victory of the people”. Genevieve possibly means “tribe woman” in Gaulish. Goodwin, my last name, comes from the first name Godwin, “friend of god”. To sum it up, the meanings of my name don’t reflect who I am. A lot of my names aren’t even original. The only interesting thing about my full name is that I have eight all together and six middle names. It’s not original but it’s mine.