How it became my name- Nyah Thaemert

A name is how a person gets your attention, what you write on top of your homework assignments and is the surface of who you are as a person. But how do we get our names? Here are some LHS students that have unique meanings within their names. by Nyah Thaemert

Samweli Yoweli, 12 What is the story behind how you got your name? “Yoweli is my grandpa’s first name, and Samweli is for Samuel in the Bible because my parents are pretty religious.” Do you have any funny stories of people trying to pronounce your name? “A lot of people do not know how to say my name. I try to say Samweli Yoweli because it rhymes and that usually helps people learn how to say my name.” What are your feelings about your name? Would you change your name if you could, or do you like your name? “I want to keep my name because I am super proud that my name rhymes.”

Ayush Patel, 10 What is the story behind how you got your name? “The definition of my name means ‘the period of life’ in my language.” Do you have any funny stories of people trying to pronounce your name? “I’ve never had a substitute pronounce my name right the first time, and some of my teachers still can’t pronounce it right. I tell teachers to start with ‘I’ then ‘U’ and ‘Shhh’ and that helps them get the hang of my name.” What are your feelings about your name? Would you change your name if you could, or do you like your name? “I like my name because it is unique and different, and it is also a conversation starter.”

Temesgen Haile, 12 What is the story behind how you got your name? “My name comes from Ethiopia, and it means ‘thank you god.’ My parents are pretty religious so that is how I got my name.” Do you have any funny stories of people trying to pronounce your name? “Pretty much anytime there is a substitute teacher they struggle to say my name. There was one who called me ‘Te-mas-ka’ and that was pretty painful.” What are your feelings about your name? Would you change your name if you could, or do you like your name? “I don’t really like my name, but I don’t hate it either. I kind of tolerate it and I understand if people mispronounce it horribly. I wouldn’t change my name if I could.”

Petra-Zlata Iva, 9 What is the story behind how you got your name? “My grandfather’s name is Peter and so if I was a boy my mom was going to name me Peter, but since I am a girl, she named me Petra. Since I am Russian, she added Zlata because it means ‘golden’ from our Russian heritage.” Do you have any funny stories of people trying to pronounce your name? “A lot of people just give up trying to pronounce my name, so they just call me Petra. They also sometimes call me ‘Petra-Latte’ or ‘Petra-Ze-lata.” What are your feelings about your name? Would you change your name if you could, or do you like your name? “Sometimes I want to change my name, but other times I really like it because it is really unique. So [in the end], I don’t think I would change it.”

Ramsey Folkerts, 12 What is the story behind how you got your name? “My parents named all of their kids [based] off of things in their life. My brother was named Dakota because we live in South Dakota, my sister was named McKennan because my dad proposed to my mom at McKennan park and I was named Ramsey because my parents lived in Ramsey, Minnesota before they had all of us.” Do you have any funny stories of people trying to pronounce your name? “In my younger grades, most people would spell my name with a z or with just weird spelling.” What are your feelings about your name? Would you change your name if you could, or do you like your name? “I wanted to change my name when I was younger, but now I think I like it because it has a lot of meaning.”

Godgave Pelo, 11 What is the story behind how you got your name? “My aunt gave my mom the idea to name me Godgave. There wasn’t a reason for why she did.” Do you have any funny stories of people trying to pronounce your name? “There are so many times when we have a substitute teacher they will say ‘Good-ga-giv.’ It makes me mad, but I also think it is funny.” What are your feelings about your name? Would you change your name if you could, or do you like your name? “I like my name because I am a Christian and it is a holy name.”

Dasani LaCroix, 10 What is the story behind how you got your name? “I got my first name because my mom and dad like to drink Dasani water.” Do you have any funny stories of people trying to pronounce your name? “In elementary school [the students] couldn’t say my last name.” What are your feelings about your name? Would you change your name if you could, or do you like your name? “Sometimes I wish I could change my name because people sometimes make jokes like ‘Oh what’s your middle name, Aquafina?’ But at the same time, I like that it is unique.”