A substitute teacher begins to call names from the roll call sheet while sophomore Jisella Ayala anxiously awaits for her name to be called.
“Gazelle,” the substitute said. “Is Gazelle here?”
Ayala sits in class embarrassed. Even after correcting the teacher five times, Ayala was referred to by the wrong pronunciation of her name, and everyone in the class knew it.
“I hate when subs call my name,” Ayala said. “I hate when people are completely off.”
When Ayala would mess up in dance class, other students would make fun of her by saying, “Jisella is a dumb bell.”
Similarly, freshman Saella Nguyen Ware has often been bullied for her name. Oftentimes, people ask her questions of location and time, referencing her middle name, Nguyen. However, they don’t know her name holds deep sentimental value.
“It’s annoying,” Ware said. “It’s expected when your [middle] name is pronounced ‘when.’”
Ware’s name came from a combination of her two grandmothers’ names, Sara and Valla. Originally, her parents planned to name her ‘Under’ or ‘Colby.’
“You can see how mature my parents were [when they were thinking of baby names],” Ware said.
Unlike Ayala and Ware, sophomore Asher Stuart has never been teased for his name. However, when people say the name ‘Ash’ in the halls, Stuart oftentimes turns around and thinks people are speaking to him.
His mother named him after the Hebrew meaning ‘blessed’ or ‘happy.’ Because Stuart has only met one person with his name, he believes his name shows uniqueness.
“I like to be different,” Stuart said. “I’m glad my name helps me do that.”
