Your name identifies who you are as a person, but sometimes that name, whether it was a given at birth, a nickname or married name, can cause you to become the butt of a few jokes. Some names have a dual meaning, or sound funny or cause you to have preconceived notions about the person. I found two more agents who have interesting names. I asked them to tell me what it is like to go through life with their names. Their answers will surprise you.
Want to do the bunny hop?
Even though Bunny is not her real name, Carolyn “Bunny” George, an agent with Watson Realty, was given this name at birth and goes by it exclusively as an adult.
Why?
“Whenever anyone asks me how I got my nickname, I usually start off by telling them I was born on Easter,” said George. “My father told my mother, ‘This is our Easter Bunny’ and the name has stuck all my life.”
She said it was most interesting going through life with a nickname such as Bunny.
“When my mother registered me in school as Carolyn, needless to say all the teachers called me Carolyn,” said George.
But, most of her friends knew her as Bunny, so by junior high, everyone was calling her Bunny, even the teachers.
With a name like Bunny, surely she encountered a few jokes along the way.
“The jokes growing up were endless,” she said. “I was called everything from Bunny Hop to Bunny Rabbit, plus some unmentionables. And, of course everyone wanted to know if I was a Playboy Bunny.”
Having a name like Bunny may have been torturous growing up, but as a professional real estate agent, it can only help.
“I would say it has helped because people do not forget my name,” said George. “It is funny, though, when I meet someone for the first time, for some reason, they think I would be a blonde.”
George said having a nickname in the business world can be both helpful and harmful.
“It is helpful in that people do not forget my name,” she said. “But, it is harmful because it is most embarrassing when everyone remembers my name, because I have a very difficult time remembering other people’s names.”
Want to go outside and play?
Toy Scott, an agent with Norville Realty, has had an interesting time going through life trying to convince people that Toy really was her name.
“Growing up with a name like Toy, was for a child, not as neat as I decided it is as an adult,” said Scott. “I always wanted a name like Sue, Carol or whatever. I’d tell my teachers my name and they’d say, ‘No, no, honey, I want your real name’.”
And it is her real name.
Toy was Scott’s grandmother’s maiden name and it was passed on to her.
“I got teased a lot,” said Scott. “Especially the smart alecks who said, ‘Oh, the kind you play with?’ I especially hated it when I was about 14.”
Since becoming adult, the teasing has decreased but has been passed onto her children.
“When my son was in middle school, he got into an actual fight with another boy who made fun of my name,” she said. “He and my husband both say they have had to defend my honor because of my name.”
In business, though, her unusual name has been an advantage if anything. She said it is really easy to remember and is a good icebreaker for conversation, professionally and socially.
“However, when I was working in the Philadelphia area, on real estate agent said, ‘What kind of name is that?’ She was pretty rude.”