by Kristie Theobald

Created on: April 15, 2009

I love my name - Kristie. So simple, so light and airy, which was what Mum and Dad intended when they named me. Kristie Elizabeth. Kristie - Professor of Christ. Elizabeth - Special One.

I get so many variations of spelling of my first name if I don't spell it out to people. Kristy, Christy, Christie, Kristi... the list is endless! But that's OK. For some reason, that part of my name doesn't worry me. I like it. I like the unusual way it's spelt.

What I really hated from an early age is my last name, Theobald. A bittersweet kind of hate, because I love the man who gave it to me very much. But from the time I was about six and going to school I vowed that when I grew up I was going to change it, no matter what. Even if I didn't get married I'd change it by deed poll! It was an ugly looking and sounding name that made me think of bald heads!

You pronounce it THEE-OH-BALD. Yet I don't know how many people have mistaken the A in BALD as being BOLD. It's a simple, innocent little error yet it has always driven me mad. I used to always get a marking pen and change the O to A when my teacher wrote my name on my school work. What was wrong with these people?! They were TEACHERS. Supposedly intelligent people! Worse, I never made my hatred for my name a secret, so kids capitalised on it, calling me "Theobum". It was hard because in the eighties when I started school there weren't many weird sounding names beyond Smith and Jones so I stood out like a neon sign... not like today, when Australia is full of exotic names!

Dad has always teased me about my pet hate.

"What if you get married to someone with an even crazier name than ours?" he's always said.

I'll admit that stumped me a bit!

It's common practice to always spell both of my names over the phone if I'm ordering something or making an appointment.

"Kristie. K.R.I.S.T.I.E. Theobald. T.H..."

"P.H?"

"No, T! T for Tom! H...E...O...B..."

"D?"
"NO! B for Bob! A...L...D... for Dog!"

It's a German name, yet I have an Irish background from Mum's side of the family which confuses people even more.

During my Irish dancing days, a typical conversation would go like this:

"You do Irish dancing. Are you Irish, then?"

"I'm Australian with an Irish background."

"Oh. So your name, is that Irish?"
"No, it's German."

Cue weird look from the person asking the questions!

I'd hear people talking about me at championships. They'd never remember my first name, only my last name... "That Theobald girl, did you dance against her?"

Now that I'm an aspiring writer with a book out, it's only now that I'm starting to appreciate the uniqueness of my name. Hey, at least people will remember me!

But as for getting married and obtaining another mouthful of a name, well, I think Dad's right.

You see, I'm deeply in love with a man named Mr. Kourkoutis!

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