June 17, 2009 "M-A-Y"

Honestly, would you think that you would have to spell out a last name like May? Well, apparently you do, in person as well as over the phone. I had to do it twice today. I really don’t think my name is that complicated, but it’s definitely far from simple.
The first gripe I have with my name is that it sounds like it’s all a first and last name that you say together like Becky Sue or Brenda Lee. So when I’m asked my name, in person or over the phone in customer service type situations it goes something like this. “Name please?” Kellie May “And your last name please?” That would be May.
The next “problem” follows immediately after I clarify that my last name is May. I am then asked, “And how do you spell that? M-A-I? or M-E-I?” It’s never, “And do you spell that like the month?” At first I thought it was because they were being thrown off by my Asian-ness, but that doesn’t explain why it also happens over the phone.

 I often have to explicitly explain that Kellie and May are my first AND last names. Even after people realize this, they still often call me Kellie May in total. I’ve asked my husband if he’s ever had this issue of people asking him what his last name is after stating his name, NOPE, and how often he has to spell his last name for people, NEVER. Hmmmm, interesting.

A while back I had my students do an assignment about the history or origin of their names, which included knowing why they were given their names. This was when I finally asked my parents about my name. My dad explained something like, I was born in England, and Ireland was nearby which is where he got Kelly, but wanted to spell it with an i-e (which actually causes issues too). My middle name is my mother’s real Korean name, Sang, but pronounced Song. My maiden name is Holm, a Swedish name. When I graduated from high school they read my name, Kellie Sang Holm which sounded more like a sentence: Kellie Sang Home.

I often wonder if my name really fits me? I couldn’t pass for a Southern gal, nor a European, Irish, Swede or otherwise. The May kind of fits if you consider it as an Asian name, except it’s the name I took after I got married and it’s actually from England. After thinking about it my name really does fit me. My whole name of Kellie Sang Holm May, shows the diversity of what I am made up of. Though I am not my name, and my name is not me, I am a little of this and that, a little of my parents and ancestors ,and a little of my husband too. My name is Kellie, spelled with an i-e, (pause……), May, and I’m happy to know you!