All the struggles of having a unique name

Our names shape our identities, so it’s no surprise people with a unique one feel a little… well, unique.

Needless to say, there are a bunch of issues that come with having a name that no-one else has ever heard before.

You became immune to the pain at an early age

You’ve never been able to find a keyring with your name on it, which in the grand scheme of things may not seem like a big deal. But when you’re nine years old and not a single souvenir in sight has your name on it, that moment was pretty much make or break.

To be honest, feeling excluded from society is pretty much the norm – we’re used to seeing the soul-destroying red line on Word telling us that our name doesn’t exist. It doesn’t hurt us anymore though, we’ve moved on.

Trips to Starbucks are a nightmare

You never get the perfect Starbucks Instagram cos there’s always this fucked up word on the cup that ain’t your name.

#firstworldproblems

No one can ever pronounce your name

When introducing ourselves we automatically spell it out of habit, or give some ridiculous description of it like, “My name is basically door with an N.”

People always ask if it’s a nickname, expecting us to say yes, but alas that’s just what our parents decided to call us.

People don’t believe that it’s an actual name

“Is that short for something?”

“OMG that’s so weird!”

“What does that mean in your language?”

You become so territorial when meeting someone with the same name as you

There can only be one, so you will happily fight anyone with the same name to the death.

You let people pronounce your name wrong because you’re tired of correcting everyone

If your name is foreign and sounds like it has an English equivalent, people will immediately call you that.

“Hey Nora!”

You never understand why people save your surname in their phone

Are you really going to confuse me with another Noor Behzad-Noori?

There is nothing more satisfying in life than meeting someone who already knows your name

*sigh of relief*

People always remember your name even when you can’t remember theirs

When meeting a creep on a night out, chances are you’ll wake up with a friend request on Facebook cos you’re literally the only person with that name.

Oh, and if anything is said about you – it’s said about YOU. We’re the only people with that name. Literally. Our names are so distinguishable that people know exactly who you are the second they meet you, whether that’s a good or bad thing.

(I know you’ve fb stalked me xoxo)