The Euphony Of Initials

Peter Parker, P.P.; Miles Morales, M.M.; Mary Jane, M.J.; Curtis Connors, C.C.; Norman Osborn, N.O. 

Heroes, love interests, and villains have one thing in common for certain; their names are simple. They are short initials that could make for a good signature, a good nickname, or a good title in a comic. It seems that media has come to the consensus that long names don’t fit the margins provided by most comics or movie posters.

    My initials are A.S.H.G. Ana Sofia Hernandez Gomez. That’s my legal name. However, my first name has become Ana, or Sofia, or Ana Sofia, and my last name has become Hernandez, Gomez, Hernandez Gomez, and according to my school’s yearbook distribution team, my last name has also become Sofia. 

    The story of my first name is quite ironic. You see, my dad’s name is Carlos Daniel Hernandez Garcia.My dad hasn’t been quite fond of his first name since he was young, so he tends to introduce himself by his middle name, Daniel, and only calls himself Carlos in professional settings. He used to tell me how he wished he could switch the two, and the trouble he had to go through keeping his two names separate. So, when my parents were talking about what they would name me, my dad wanted to make sure it would be a ‘short’, singular name I wouldn’t have to struggle with. He wanted to name me Daniela. (Bit self-centered maybe.) My mom said fine, Maria Daniela. They fought about this. My mom wanted two names, my dad wanted one, so they came to a comprise and now I have two names. 

    The real compromise would be that I would have no middle name. My first name would be Ana Sofia and this would be what people would call me. This was my dad’s version of an easier name, since everyone would be calling me one name: Ana Sofia. When I was introduced by my parents for my first day of school in the U.S., my name was Ana Sofia. Still, as people began to get lazy at my school, I stopped correcting people and suddenly my name became Ana. 

    For a big part of my childhood, up until maybe high school, I went through a phase of wanting to obtain a nickname. Soon, my initials were no longer A.S.H.G., they were A.S.H. It became my self-proclaimed nickname, but it never felt right. You see, the reason why I have two last names is because in Mexico, it is tradition that a child is given both the mother’s and father’s last name. So whenever I would omit this G, a quarter of what made my name unique, what belonged to my mother was disregarded. 

    After my struggles, I have come to grow comfort in my long, basic name. Even though every part of it by itself is common, together it is unique. I’ve come to enjoy turning my head for 3 different names, and I’ve learned to write smaller in order to embrace all the parts of my name. My name is meaningless without its length, because without it I would be missing the parts that make up my Hispanic identity. And more importantly, if I choose a nickname over my first name, how would that compromise my parents made ever be achieved?