Moniker

How many names can u have on ur passport? On the re-issue form they have a space for Surname, and the next space for other names. Now i have a good number of names that have never been used, in addition to the names that i use. (What?!! Multiple names? I have a cousin who goes by four different names. Her mom calls her one name, her dad another, her grandparents call her another and she has an official name she answers in school. Whenever i'm talking to our (school) friends, i'm always tripping over her names cos i say one name and they give me a blank confused look)

I am the possessor of an Edo name (dad), Ibo name (Moms), English name (Moms), Arabic name (dad), and Baptismal name (i picked). Of all the names i absolutely hate the Baptismal name that I PICKED!!! Forgive me, i was 9yrs old. My sister and i were given 2 choices, both were names of our cousins. Thus i was baptized as Ruth and she as Celestina..................... LOL. I bet she has buried that name in the innermost abyss of her mind. I loved my cousin Ruth, so i picked her name. I hate it now.

These days i automatically go by Ibo name, and that all started when i got tired of saying my Edo name 10 times. It's really not THAT hard, but these people can never get it right. Well, i don't even say it the way my parents say it, so i guess i shouldn't complain (too much). The only names i haven't even gone by are Ruth and my Arabic name. A couple of my sisters go by their Arabic names but none of us have an Arabic name as a first name.

Wondering about the Arabic name? My grandfather was an imam. What do u think about that?!

First time i stepped in a church was when i was 7 for a cousin wedding -- my first and only gig as a flower girl. Next time i went to church with a house help was when i 8, and i got into deep shit. I remember thinking "what's the fuss about?" We went for evening service. My mom and us kids started going to church regularly when i was about 10, amidst A LOT of drama and threats of divorce. I still remember thinking "What's the fuss about, people!!!" What i remember most from being a Muslim, honestly....... celebrating Sallah!!! All that food. We were never really practicing muslim cos my dad who was the owner of the religion wasn't around to begin with. He's a full pledged atheist now, but that's another story, or not!

Back to the name issue..... officially on my birth certificate i don't have a middle name written down. However, on all my official documents, i have my English name (Which is a three letter name, who can guess what it is) as my middle name. I had the choice to put that whatever name i wanted since people don't generally have 2 middle names on documents. I don't really like my Arabic name cos it reminds me of a certain animal.

My immediate younger sister is named after the 2nd holiest city in Islam (google it). If i that was my name, i probably would have put it as my middle name. I went with my English name even though i never really liked it, i felt it went with my first and last name since it's only three letters and it fit nicely in between. Le sigh! That name is on ALL my documents now. The crazy people at my honor society even had the audacity to make my first name an initial and call me that middle name (eg B. Hussein Obama) I had to go correct them before the ceremony, unfortunately that's how they engraved it on my plaque.

So the question still is (after all this long story) how many names can i have on my passport?

Since we are on the topic of names, i'm seriously considering renaming Lenie....... i hate that name. Yes, i picked it so i shouldn't be complaining, but i think i must have been high that might. My thought process was Genie --- Lenie! I know it makes no sense now but it did then. I'm not asking for suggestions. You guys were very helpful the last time.