Does your name have baggage?

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Uma Thurman

We all know the rose analogy, and what Shakespeare meant when he said it would smell just as sweet called by another name. Today, a name has to be practical, cool, like when William Bradley Pitt becomes Brad Pitt or Walter Bruce Willison is shortened to Bruce Willis.

Keeping it short there is definitely more happening than an appendage of a name, especially when you’re trying to die hard or joust with spears.
Movie stars have their own reasons to keep a long name, whether for luck, or to make a quirky statement, garner some attention? Uma Thurman’s daughter’s name is Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence Thurman-Busson, or thankfully, Luna, which she is usually called. Uma says that each name has a special meaning to it. Similarly, popular star Silambarasan Tejsingh Rajendar called himself Simbu. Recently, it became STR – short and precise. Not all names and name changes have a clear rationale, though – like when Jamshed becomes Arya, or when Kenny is worshipped as Vikram.
Yashwanth Ranjit Soundarajan, son of an industrialist, is happy to flaunt his name. “I grew up with this name,” he says, “and it’s one that I am proud of. I always feel proud to use my full name. One, because people recognise the name Soundararajan, and two, because it packs a punch when you have to pronounce my name. It’s easy to remember too.” Perhaps people he is introduced to should be asked if that is so!
While some like to be called by their full name, others choose a nickname.
Adrian Sylvester Colin Rebello or Adrian Rebello, the way he likes to be called had a different view on his name. “I barely use my entire name,” he says. “In fact, it’s only when I have to fill visa forms that I really use my entire name, and trust me, it’s a pain. If I do, people just get confused all the time, and it takes me an added five minutes to tell them my name and make them understand that it is my real name.”
Sonia Chech Mathew would be called different names by different people. “I used to get irritated,” she says. Now she is used to it. Talk of name-calling – some people get into the habit!