May
28
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Names Have Power by Suma Subramaniam
“Names have power,” says acclaimed author, Rick Riordan in The Lightning Thief. Have you ever mispronounced someone’s name? What do you do when someone mispronounces your name? Do you correct them? Ignore it? Get mad and storm away?
My name is Suma Subramaniam. Or is it? My name story is a common one in India where I was born.
I was given two names after both my grandmothers, who were rebellious and victorious in their own ways. One was for religious reasons, Jayalakshmi—meaning the goddess of victory. The other is my name for daily use, Suma. It means flower in Kannada, a South Indian language.
In India, many people celebrate naamakaranam, which means naming ceremony. It’s one of the most important rituals in the life of a person. Families take a lot of effort in choosing a name with a beautiful meaning for the newborn, that most times also carries a slice of culture and history.
My name changed as I grew up. It became longer. In high school, my family changed it to follow astrological predictions for a bright future. Then my tenth-grade teacher misspelled it in my report card. Later, the government officials misspelled it yet again in my legal documents. When I became an adult and immigrated to the United States, my name was constantly misspelled and mispronounced so many times that my name wasn’t mine anymore. I couldn’t understand why people would rather call me something different than look reckless trying to say or spell my name correctly. I was tired. I couldn’t put myself through more paperwork and the hustling involved in making corrections. I could no longer revisit the original name I was given and make a change yet again.
Therefore, the inspiration for MY NAME IS LONG AS A RIVER came from the many, many times people struggled to spell or say my name and then gave up, leaving me feeling ignored, overlooked, and unseen. I wrote this book, drawing from the history of my own family.
The name of the main character in the story is Kaveri Thanjavur Jayalakshmi Ganesan.
(Pronunciation guide: KA-VEY-ree thun-JAV-oor jay-ya-luck-sh-mee guh-nay-sun)
Kaveri would have been the name of my miracle child if I’d had one. It’s also my husband’s great grandmother’s name and the name of the river that connects our families’ ancestral origins. Thanjavur is a city in South India where my elders lived for many years. Jayalakshmi is my other name that is primarily used for special ceremonies. It’s also my husband’s grandmother’s name as well as both my grandmothers’ name. Ganesan is my grandfather’s name.
So why is pronouncing a name correctly important for children? Because children in schools come from different backgrounds. But the one common thing they all share is their name. In every community, it matters to pronounce people’s names correctly. Names are part of their cultural identity. When a name is mispronounced or changed—consciously or not—it can lead to a child feeling invisible. When a child feels invisible in the classroom, they’re less likely to make friends and be effective at school. A name provides specificity and can be a big part of building a child’s self-confidence.
But how can we help children reclaim their names? With globalization, the number of names we cannot pronounce is going to increase. We’re going to make mistakes. We’re not perfect. However, it is important that we make the effort to say it correctly. When a name is mispronounced or misspelled, we’re not only changing a person’s identity, but we’re also disrespecting them. It’s okay to ask for help if we struggle. It’s okay to let someone know how to pronounce your name. The backmatter in MY NAME IS LONG AS A RIVER has several tips on how to get names right.
If your name is long as a river or one that’s difficult to say, remember Rick Riordan’s words. Names have power. MY NAME IS LONG AS A RIVER is not only about decoding the significance of names, but it’s also about the strength and joy of embracing them. I’m excited to share it with readers and see it out in the world.
Suma Subramaniam is the author of Namaste Is a Greeting, She Sang for India, The Runaway Dosa, A Bindi Can Be…, the V. Malar series, and other books for children and young adults. She has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Suma lives in Seattle with her family and a dog who watches baking shows. Learn more at sumasubramaniam.com.
Nerdy Book Club 
Well stated.
This is great. And so important. As someone whose name has been misspelled and mispronounced for my entire 40 years on this earth— I can relate to this. I’ve responded in myriad of ways. None ever work. Being nice, ignoring it, getting angry. People who don’t have difficult or hard to pronounce names, never understand. And I don’t understand why they can’t empathize. Why they don’t see it as a big deal. Maybe it takes more awareness, more education, that it is a problem. Because of my experience, I always want to make sure that I get it right, especially with spelling— I take the time to double check, and if I’ve found I’ve made a mistake, especially in writing it, I’ll follow up with the correct spelling. It’s common courtesy and paying attention to details. That’s it. It’s not hard. So anyway, just wanted to add my two cents and thanks for writing the book! I look forward to checking it out.
Excellent story and an encouragement for all adults who think they can’t pronounce!