My Views, My Thoughts: Chizube vs Jade
Recently, I watched a
TEDxPeckham talk by Adaobi Adibe titled 'Hi, what's your name'. She talked
about the insecurities due to others making fun of her African name, along with
other issues that arise from having an “ethnic-sounding” name. If I'm going to
be completely honest, it wasn't the title that drew me in to click on the video
it was her name. Her name is of Igbo origin, a Nigerian tribe that my family
also originates from. So in some sort of camaraderie spirit I felt compelled to
hear what my "Igbo sister" had to say. When I read the description
box and realised that she's also just finished first year at uni I was even
more intrigued, so I watched.
Now, she spoke about a
conversation she had with her dad when she was 16 about changing her name to
her middle name Jennifer as she was tired of being picked on for having an
African name. To which he replied in typical proud Igbo fashion that she should
be proud of her name and he didn't want to hear about the topic again. To be
honest I think he was right. But I can completely identify with how she felt
towards her name.
My first legal name is
Chizube and it means God has decided (why this name was chosen is another story
for another time) but for short everyone called me Chizzy. I don't remember
having any trouble with my name until reception. I
joined my reception class late in November as we moved house across London and
when it came time to introduce myself, I said my name was Chizzy. Now, try
mixing a double 'z' sound with thirty 5-years-old kids and you get Cheesy.
Looking back, it's actually funny that they genuinely thought my name was
Cheesy but after only 4 days at my new school I decided I had enough and
changed to my middle name Jade.
I was fiercely
independent, so, in my 4-year-old brain I felt no need to consult or notify
anyone and just stopped responding to Chizzy outside of the house. Eventually,
one day my teacher asked me why I was ignoring everyone and I simply explained
that my name was Jade and therefore that's what I should be called. Everyone
got used to it and I've been Jade ever since. Usually my mum didn't drop me off
at school it was my au pair instead, but one day a few months later she did. She
walked me to my classroom door and said "bye Chizzy give mummy a hug"
to which I responded by ignoring her and walking into class. While it's funny
imagining my mum's face after getting ignored by her 5-year-old daughter it is
concerning with how uncomfortable I felt with my name at a young age.
In her Tedx Talk Adibe
concluded that she's happy she stuck with her Igbo name as it connects her to
her heritage and other fellow black, African, Nigerian and specifically Igbo
people. Some of her role models included fellow Igbo people Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche, Chinua Achebe, Chiwetel Ejiofor and her parents, all of whom she feels connected to thanks to her name. Do I wish I had stuck with Chizube? Yes. I wish I hadn't felt so uncomfortable
with a simple pronunciation mistake at a young age and I wish I had understood
the beauty of my name earlier. Now, do some people still call me Chizzy? Yes. Am
I going to stop answering to Jade? No because that's still my name and
therefore part of my identity. But, just like Adibe I want to encourage others
to embrace and be proud of your “ethnic” sounding names, it’s part of your
heritage, part of you and therefore beautiful. Yes, it may get annoying having
people constantly mispronounce your name but simply be patient and correct them, you have the right to have your beautiful name pronounced how it was intended to be.
That’s it.
P.S. here’s the link to
Adaobi Adibe’s Tedx Talk, have a watch
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