The concept the French just don't Get

I remember every teacher's speech before the first roll call of the year "If you go by a name other than the one called, please tell me so that I can change my sheet." William became Will. Catherine was really Cate. Richard turned into Dick (okay maybe more Rick in my day). And, Elizabeth was transformed into Beth, Lizzy, Lisa, or Ellie. And, then there was me: Andrea a.k.a. Andi (the "e" was added when I made the 7th grade cheerleading squad because a/ I had just seen the actress Andie Mcdowell's name in the HBO program that previous summer and saw new possibilities with my name and b/ the "e" made it look more cheerleaderish when our names would appear on the front of our white shirts in a green magnaphone) a.k.a named as such by my parents for the sheer purpose of calling me Andi(e) because my aunt's best friend in HS was named Andi Hill and although I am still unsure as to whether or not she and my mom were actually friends, I am sure of the fact that as soon as my mom met this girl, she wanted to steal her first name for her firstborn. But, Andi Helen just sounded too hippy or hicktown hillbilly (take your pick) and since my middle name, like and Louise's and all of my cousins and all of my cousins' offspring had to include Helen for family tree/historical purposes, well Andrea was a better fit.

But, I was alway Andi(e) to everyone. In Bartlesville, no one knew me by Andrea (except for during those couple of odd years between 3rd and 5th when I was tired of having 'a boy's name' and went directly against my mother's will so that when she would introduce me as Andi(e), I would correct her and say Andrea but then, in 5th grade, there were 3 Andreas on my soccer team and we never knew which one the coach was calling and one ended up making a goal for the other team because there was an Andrea on the other team as well, so I promptly went back to Andi(e) to avoid any confusion) Anyway, my brother is Anthony but really Tony and I am Andi(e), how hard can it be?

Well, apparently in France, real hard. See, NO ONE understands this alien concept of naming your children in order to 'call' them something else. I mean, what are you going to call Xavier- Xavi? (Actually, that's pretty cool!) Or, what about Pierre- Pie (which is pronouced Pee in French). It just doesn't work. And, let me tell you, the name that is on the roll sheet is really your name and don't try and tell them otherwise. I think we're about halfway into the school year and most of my colleagues still call me Andrea as well as my teachers. When I do try and slip in there that my name is really Andie (and not with a Y), they look at me as though I'm a blond American cheerleader asking them to call me Coco or Missy or Doll. And, that's when I feel like bringing out the Andie McDowell reference (I knew adding the 'e' would come in handy one of these days)- yes, the first name does exist. But, your name is Andrea, not Andie, is the response that I can usually expect.

At least my family in law got the concept. If they didn't, I'd probably be seeking a divorce by now.

Comments

[kim]

I've noticed that some of the younger generation has taken to shortening their hyphenated names (at least when they seem too "bourge") when they hit university age... at least a few of my students, when I asked them to let me know if they wanted to be called something else, I got a couple requests to drop the 2nd name, and another who wanted to go by his initials.

[Alison]

This is why for 13 years I lost "Ali." It still surprises me when people in the US call me that...but it's what I used to be called. Well, that or "Al."

The French have nicknames, sure, but you'd never mistake them (Juju, Pierrot, J-B, et j'en passe) for a real name.

Great post, Andi(e)!