You’ve all seen them.
Practically every souvenir shop you walk into has a section filled with key chains, magnets, and mugs with many common names written on them.
All of the Jakes, Jacksons, Jamies, Janes, Alexs, Andrews, Amandas, Annes, and even the Angels, Joyces, Tonyas, and Javiers can find their names on these personalized souvenirs.
I, however, have never found “Delaney” written on a key chain, magnet, or mug. I had never met another person named Delaney until I started my freshman year of college. Of the 1,758 students in the Duke Class of 2019, there are only two girls named Delaney.
Delaney isn’t the most unique name I’ve ever heard. But nonetheless, I feel as though my unique name serves as part of my identity. I constantly have to clarify the spelling of my name, and at Starbucks I often get a laugh out of how creative each new misspelling is: Delanie, Dalani, Dalinie, Delany, Delane, and even once Denales.
If we start talking of my middle name, Hope, there is a
whole other aspect about names to discuss: meaning. My parents were inspired
to name me Delaney after one of their favorite singer’s, Jimmy Buffett’s,
daughter. He even wrote a song entitled “Delaney Talks to Statues”, which is one of the two songs that I know of that feature the name Delaney, the other being "Miss Delaney" by Jack's Mannequin. The name
Hope is my grandmother’s name and therefore my middle name came from her. As a
child, I thought that Hope was a stupid name. It was a noun. Whose name is a
noun? But I later realized that my parents had done me a favor by giving me
this middle name. I now know that I will have Hope wherever I go and that no
matter what hardships I face in life I can rely on the hope my family gives me
and the hope that I have within me.
Having a unique name is special for the exact reason that we can never find our names in souvenir shops. There aren’t enough people in the world that share my name in order to mass-produce souvenirs for us. So every time a barista or a teacher or an acquaintance misspells my name, I chuckle and either correct them or let it go, realizing that he/she has probably never met anyone named Delaney before.
Even though I was frustrated by never finding a key chain, magnet, or mug with my name on it, I appreciate that my parents gave me a name that was unique because it gives me a story to tell. It allows me to stand out amongst others with common names. And most importantly, I allow myself to love my name, and that is one aspect of loving myself.
