Names -- end of the day

[sun_set_bravely]

weissman
weitzman
weisman

zelmanowicz
zelmanowitz

schaefer
shaeffer
schaefer
shaefer

margolis
margolies
margulies
margules


sometimes I type these names and their stories wash over me. So many different spellings for the same name. I don't know for sure if this is the way these names came to their current spellings, but I imagine two people, one behind a desk, and one in front. Neither of them understand the other, and it is loud in the hall. The air is thick with language and the salty smell of the ocean. The person behind the desk has to lean in close to hear the name over the din, and then try to spell it right. But there's not enough time, and what difference will one less "f" make, if they are lucky enough to stay? So they move on down the line, new letters in their pockets, and these names walk side by side for years as if they were once the same, but they can't quite remember back that far.

Comments

[curmudgeon.livejournal.com]

Beautifully put.

My grandmother's family came through Ellis Island in three groups: first my great-grandfather, then my great-grandmother and three of their five daughters (my grandma among them), and finally the two oldest daughters. The family name was spelled slightly differently for each group. I can't even say any of them were right, since they were all transliterated from the Cyrillic. I suppose that makes them all right, or all wrong.

[sun-set-bravely.livejournal.com]

Thank you. And thank you for that story. Transliteration brings on a whole new level of confused spellings. I am constantly amazed at how many ways there are to spell Yiddish or Hebrew words.

[freak1c.livejournal.com]

Very astute assumptions, and I bet not incorrect in many cases. There are so many experiences that immigrants had - ask tallgirl someday about her last name and the 15 different spellings of it. Or ask me about my mom and her paperwork.

Your ability to find beauty and stories in things that might not be evident because it's the end of the day, or because you're stuck in an office makes me smile.

[echoboom.livejournal.com]

cesar
caesar
ceasar
cesaear

[sun-set-bravely.livejournal.com]

True -- I didn't think about first names, too.

I've never seen the last spelling. Are you just yanking my chain? ;)

[echoboom.livejournal.com]

honestly, though it is a bogus name,

youd be suprised how many different ways people have attempted to spell my name..

alas, one should only glance at my yearbook to verify this.