Names are an interesting thing. A name identifies something. It brings order and communication. It’s interesting that in Genesis, God allowed Adam to name the animals – whatever he named them, that’s what they were called. People’s names in the Bible were often quite significant, symbolic even. Jesus, Peter, Jacob, Esau, Abraham, Sarah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Joseph, Eve, Adam.

Rebecca, which my parents named me the day I was born (they didn’t know I was a girl and didn’t yet have a name picked out), is of Hebrew origin, “Rivqah,” and means to bind or to join (at least from what I’ve read online). Richard, of whom there are several in my life, is German and means ruler or brave or hardy or rich.

My husband and I used to generally call each other by our full names granted to us at birth – he was Richard and I was Rebecca. He’s never been “Rich” or “Dick” to me. I’ve never been “Becca” or “Becky” (yuck) to him. We have been known to use the endearing terms “babe” and “baby.” However, in the last few years we started calling each other by a pet name I’m sure no other couple uses. Suzie. That’s right. Suzie. He’s Suzie and I’m Suzie. More often than we’re babe or baby or Richard or Rebecca. In fact, I now think something is wrong or of a very serious nature if Richard calls me by my real name. A friend of ours was a bit perplexed when she heard us calling each other Suzie but we explained it and now I am Suzie to her too.

A bit about the origins of Suzie. Again, from behindthename.com, Suzie comes from Susan, which descended from Susanna. And Susanna means lily or rose or even lotus in Egyptian. But for us, it’s a bit less flowery. One of our favorite shows as kids growing up (and even now) is Hey Arnold. One of the characters, Oscar, lives in a boarding house with his wife Suzie. Oscar speaks in a foreign accent and is always trying to weasel some money into his pocket with the least amount of effort possible. In one particular episode, he tells Suzie, “You keep the money, Suuuuzzzziieeee.” For whatever reason, we loved that line. And for some other unknown reason, we started calling each other Suuuzzziieee. “Suzie, will you bring me my lapper topper?” “Suzie, can you take the trash out?” “I love you, Suzie.” “Hey, Suzie.” It’s sort of funny and awkward/begs the need for explanation when we’re with friends and one of us naturally calls the other person Suzie. But you know, we like Suzie.

Richard has been called “Shep” by a former group of close church friends. This was back in the day when he and I were first hanging out. Shep came from his middle name Shepard. I thought Shep was cool, but still, I called him Richard.

Some people do have really cool nick names. One of my high school basketball teammates was “Shark,” short for Sharquitta. When I started doing jiu jitsu, a lot of us white belts thought that getting to Master Cycle (blue belt level) would endow us with some neat nick name. One guy was called “Ox.” And there was “Predator” and “the Grim Reaper.” My crony and training partner Ada was disappointed when one of the purple belts referred to her as “J. Lo.” Hey, I could think of worse people to look like. One of the higher belts called me “the perfect one” because I got a perfect score on my combatives test. Eh, not really a nick name and I’ll be the first to tell you I’m far from perfect.

I’ve never really had any cool nicknames in my life. The coolest one I had was “Reedo,” granted by my best friend during the late teen years/early adulthood. My maiden name was Reed. Somehow Reedo formed and so I was called that by my church family members. To this day, it bothers Richard when old church friends call me Reedo, as my last name has of course changed. It doesn’t bother me.

I’ve been called by some more annoying names in my life. I shouldn’t mention them. I heard a wise person say that you shouldn’t let your peers know what your pet peeves are. (I find people will use that as prized ammo in their arsenal to perturb you). Anyway, here goes. “Smiley” is among my least favorites. This is probably because it reminds me of Miley Cyrus. I picture her half-naked self straddling a cement demolition ball. Insert green-faced vomiting emoji here. The housekeeper at my old nursing home job used to call me this when he’d see me walking down the hall. I remember a few times asking him politely, “Please, call me Rebecca.” I don’t think he had any ill intent by calling me Smiley. But for some reason, it just came off to me as condescending.

When I used to work as a floor nurse in the hospital, the transport guy called me “Speedy Gonzales.” This was equally as annoying as “Smiley.” I guess the former name came seemed appropriate to him because I moved quickly. As a floor nurse, I had to. I just kind-of let this one go, as much as it bothered me.

Then of course there is the infamous “Becky.” What bothers me about this is that people sometimes assume I go by Becky. An old co-worker will nonchalantly call me Becky in front of other co-workers. Uuuhh. A former patient that I cared for in long-term care used to call me Becky. It makes me shudder.

Equally despicable as Becky is “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.” I hear this a lot from older people. I don’t even know what to say (and yes, I’ve read the book).

My name is Rebecca. Please, call me that.

My mother is about the only one who can get away with calling me something that’s an offshoot of that. She tends to call me “Becca.” This is fine. She’s my mom, she can call me what she wants. When she uses “Becca,” it’s in an endearing sense. My best friend from my childhood used to call me this sometimes too. The way she said it was also endearing, like a girl encouraging her best friend. I can hear her saying it now and it brings back fond memories.

I think it’s important to know how someone likes to be addressed. What you call someone matters. Referring to someone as “idiot” or “stupid” (I’m sure you can think of plenty less-than-kind words) can be very damaging, even if done in a teasing tone. It’s worth considering what you call someone / how you address him or her. It never hurts to ask someone. I think it shows you care about the person you’re talking to. Respect – what every human deserves. There’s a lot in a name. So be mindful of what you name someone. ~