Contemplating names and connections
I love my name. In the early 90s no one was named Zoey, not girls, not boys, no one. My name was just a quirky name that meant “life” in Greek. My mom was 16 when she found out she was pregnant, and if youthful whimsy has anything to do with name selection, then it totally makes sense.
Having a random name can really be to your benefit. While humans are not a product or corporation, I think that we all have a brand that our name is attached to. When I meet someone with a unique or interesting name, it triggers my imagination. A perfect example of this is the name “Avalon.”
As usual, the Bullring was packed at lunch, so I asked to sit with someone new. We got talking; she said her name was Avalon and that it had something to do with King Arthur. Well, my mind just went on a vacation. I instantly thought of Disney film The Quest for Camelot; the memory was like a warm embrace on a freezing cold day. Wait, Avalon didn’t ask for this! This is all superficial and imaginative, but inspiring mythological thought and happiness with a stellar name is just the burden she has to bear.
Last week, I found out that there is another man named Zoey – Zoey Stevens. I tracked him down and we had some great Zoey talk.
“I really love my name, I can’t complain about it all. It’s definitely, it’s always a starter, especially with someone who is a perfect stranger,” said Stevens.
I absolutely agree. Zoey is an insta-starter (see the above conversation with Avalon for reference).
“I had a lady meet me and she was like, ‘oh, I was expecting a girl.’ I was like ‘that’s okay.’” Even men are like ‘that’s a great name.’ They want to know where it came from – does it run in the family,” said Stevens.
Being mistaken for a woman before meetings is a regular occurrence. Even when I go to interviews, my editor gives a heads up – “by the way, Zoey is a dude.”
…let it strengthen your identity.
I find it interesting that Zoey Stevens is a professional artist. Zoey carries a lot of implied zeal. I would be surprised if I ever found an extremely introverted Zoey. Stevens also has a 20-year-old son name Zoey, and shared some of his growing pains with the name.
“Right when he was going into the sixth grade, there was a television show on Nickelodeon called Zoey 101… Of course the character in the television is a girl, he got teased quite a bit about that,” said Stevens.
Although it wasn’t so bad for Zoey Jr., as his dad may have inspired the Zoey 101 showrunner in the first place.
“He was okay with it because, incidentally, in the 90s, I worked for the producer Dan Schneider, [of Zoey 101] on some other Nickelodeon programs. I was the scenic artist for probably 15 different television shows and motion pictures. So Dan saw my name, the way I spelt it on all the scenery… that was my responsibility… I used to sign Zoey Obi Wan. I think because Dan had moved back to California and I was in Florida he had just assumed, ‘oh that’s just how you spell Zoey,’ whether it’s a girl or boy. Most girls I meet named Zoë it’s just been Zoe with the accent over the e,” said Zoey.
I mentioned to Stevens that I might be heading down to L.A. this year, and he was totally up to meeting up. He also had a radical idea – a men-named-Zoey annual meeting, “like burning man or something,” said Stevens. I think that would be great, but would rather have an everyone-named-Zoey summit.
I do think in a perfect world guys, girls, and people of all sexes can have whatever name they want without any negative feedback. It would be nice if all the men named Ashley or Kelly and women named Charlie or Frank could make it through adolescence and the rest of life without the nomenclature scrutiny. In the meantime, my advice to anyone with a seemingly off beat name is to own it. Make it part of your brand and let it strengthen your identity. Power to the Avalons, Kezias and Constantinos out there. Oh, and if your name is a little more prevalent, be assured that you’re awesome too. While your name might be common, you have the potential to be extraordinary.