A Jamie By Any Other Name

When I was a kid, I had one of those keychains that has your name on it, but not because I might lose it and wanted the finder to know who to return it to. It was one of those novelty keychains that tells you, or any literate person, what your name means. Mine said:

"Jamie - (Hebrew)The Preferred One"

(This once prompted some kid to ask me "Are you Hebrew?", whatever that means). Naturally, sceptics will be sceptics, and automatically respond "Preferred by whom?"

The answer, of course, is "By everyone (except, apparently, sceptics)". Here's some things I've gathered from personal experience to illustrate.

Have you ever been in a line up at the grocery store or the bank or a fast food restaurant, and it just takes forever and ever? Not me. That's because I can usually find some way to let the cashier or whatever know that I am "Jamie" and they will automatically call me to the front of the line because they don't want me to wait. Pretending to cough into your hand, but really be saying "I'm Jamie" or "Jamie here" usually works, although some people in the line may come to resent this, especially if you've been in line ups together before. A better way is to wear a name tag which you "forgot" to take off after work earlier. This way, everyone knows you are "Jamie" and they want to let you go ahead of them. You don't even have to say anything, but a little nod or approval in their direction will give them quite the story to tell around the dinner table tonight.

But when two "Jamie"s appear in the same line up though, watch out! They may be trading "No, I insist, after you!" for hours! Eventually the situation resolves itself (usually a flip of the coin), and good-natured laughter is had by "Jamie"s and by-standers alike. These incidents are often reported in the local paper.

I have more, but I'll save them for later. I just thought it might be a good idea to get this information out there, in case anyone was thinking about changing their name or naming a baby.