A woman in Brighton, Massachusetts, had her name legally changed from “Laura Ingalls Wilder Michele” to “Anakin Steuart Michele.” See the Boston Herald, August 1, 2005, HERE. I’m sure that Mr. and Mrs. Michele meant well (and hopefully they are still LIW fans), but I always wonder about parents who saddle their child with an unusual name that is meant to honor and showcase their interests (or quirks: think “Moon Unit Zappa”). Michele’s parents could have honored Laura Ingalls Wilder by naming their daughter “Laura,” for example.
I noticed that Ms. Michele said that “her parent’s well-intended homage to the Little House on the Prairie author” didn’t fit who she was. Now-Anakin hopes that her new name will get her more job interviews. Do you think she was turned away from job interviews because of her old name? I don’t imagine that she went by her whole (old) name much of the time anyway, and I would guess that the name “Laura Michele” raised a few questions on its own. “Hey! You have two first names!”
I totally agree with the Star Wars bloggers who point out that Anakin Michele is a bit delusional. She also said: “In a couple of years the whole ‘Star Wars’ thing will blow over and I’ll just go back to having a unique name.” Yeah. Right. Considering the fact the whole ‘Laura Ingalls Wilder’ thing hasn’t blown over, names and fitting and uniqueness and job interviews can only be pieces of the puzzle. After all, Anakin could have refused to have her name change mentioned in the newspaper. The article also mentions a woman who had her name (Crowe) changed back to her maiden name (McGinnis) after her divorce. But you won’t be reading multiple blogs about that woman; will you?
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.” (William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet)
In Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote: “I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I’ve never been able to believe it. I don’t believe a rose would be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage.” What people aren’t naming their children or changing their name to is just as telling as what they ARE naming their children or changing their name to, isn’t it?
As someone with often misspelled maiden name and surname – not to mention a first name that I sometimes spell differently – I can understand name woes a bit. I should just go ahead and change my name legally to Lordy Wildwoman. Surely it will help me get an interview with HarperCollins. And, after all, it’s just who I am….
