What’s in a Name?

Where did your name come from?

I always hated my name when I was growing up.

Why did my parents have to name me something so borinnnggg?

Why couldn’t they have named me something more exciting, like Cleopatra? Or Leah? But no, instead, I had to share my name with multiple cousins.

Larisa.

So unremarkable. I refused to be called by that name, so my older sister gave me another name, Loren, and I eagerly accepted it instead. My mom even fell in line and called me Loren during my formative years.

It wasn’t until I had to start using my name legally for work that I truly accepted my name, but I still had to stress to everyone that it was “Larisa with ONE s!” I had no idea who this Larissa character was that everyone tried ascribing to me.

That, in turn, got me the actual moniker of “Larisa With One S.”

“Good morning Larisa With One S!”

“Good morning Debra.”

Anyway, after a while, I stopped fighting it and finally accepted that this was indeed my name and that trying to run away from it was futile. Strangely, whenever I’d read about a character in a story named Larisa (with one s), I’d always like the name and immediately felt drawn to the character.

I also love it when a romantic interest calls me by my name. Why does it feel like a caress?

Oh, I should probably answer this prompt question—where my name actually came from. It just came from lack of creativity and lack of baby naming books in the Soviet Union where I was born. Larisa is a common Slavic name and my parents didn’t have a Larisa yet so they bestowed it upon yours truly upon my birth.

Author: ebonyandcrows

Hello and welcome to my page~ My name is Larisa--a very common Slavic name that was either derived from the Latin word hilaris, meaning "cheerful," or from the Greek city of Larissa, meaning "strong fortress." Born in Ukraine, I emigrated with my family to America when I was still a small child and now make my home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Growing up immersed in two vastly differing cultures led me to have a burning curiosity about people all over the world. Stemming from said curiosity, I have fallen in love with traveling to other countries, meeting new people and delving into their culture, exploring new cities, and of course, dining on the local cuisine! If I cannot escape into a different country, then my next favorite method of adventure is to lose myself in a spectacular book. I enjoy books of all genres--from fiction and novels, to biographies and ethnographies. As long as it captures my fancy and holds me spellbound the entire time, I will burn through the book like a forest fire! Because of this penchant for reading and travel, coupled with my love of deep and mysterious things, I have been often called a dreamer and I find the title suits me. With that being said, I invite you to stay a while, perhaps make yourself a cup of tea and linger through my posts and feel free to comment or share a thought :-)

179 thoughts on “What’s in a Name?”

  1. I literally hated my name until I heard many more names throughout life and thought it could be a lot worse 🤣 also looked up the meaning of my name and it hat made me like it more and realize the importance of picking a solid name for your children

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    1. I always liked the name Samantha. To me it sounds pleasant and even the way it is formed on the tongue when saying it feels cheerful.

      But you’re right in that we could’ve been named something worse. I think that even as a child, I hated being ordinary and non distinguishable from anyone else, and that’s how my name felt to me.

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      1. Dont know the, means of the golden field if i remember right, my middle name on the other hand has been passed down at least 3 generations to me and I passed it on to my son, and my daughter passed it on to her oldest..

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  16. My parents immediately regretted the name they gave me at birth and called me by a nickname my whole life to the point that most people didn’t even know my legal name. I was the only person in my school who was called by a nickname at graduation because no one would’ve recognized me otherwise. It did cause problems in life once I had to use my legal name and so I finally paid to have it changed. My sister took this to heart and made sure to name her child exactly what she was going to call him. I never grew to like my legal name perhaps because it was never what I was called. A name is extremely important.

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    1. Oh wow, how intriguing! This is the first time I’m hearing that the parents of a child regretted the name they gave. Yes, I couldn’t agree more, names are incredibly important. Now I’m curious what your legal name was 🤔

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      1. I like my anonymity, but it’s an extremely common name as in there was always at least one other person in my class with that name and even my mother-in-law has the same name. My parents issue was they felt it was too long lol.

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          1. Are you interested in ockultism?

            I am. And religions. And kryonik. And vampires.

            And how Sweden is built under the surface. Like hospitals if a war breaks out.

            I wrote to a Swedish Finnish company that builds shelters for war and explained what I think is important and what kind of people I would like to have in a shelter in war time.

            I wrote that I would like to do some volemteer work and immediately they gave me an mail adress to someone who works with helping teenage girls who are depressed and has lost the will to continue Living….

            I am 43 years old and my children are 15 years and 20 years.

            I had today no because I am too depressed myself….

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            1. Hello, no I’m not interested in anything of the occult. I’ve done a lot of studying of dark subjects before and I’ve had supernatural experiences as well. I never sought out those supernatural experiences, but I know that if you start dabbling in the occult, it opens spiritual doors for all manner of malicious spirits to come into your life. And it’s difficult to renounce everything and close those doors.

              I’m sorry to hear that you are depressed—many of us suffer from this malady. It is possible to be cured from depression but it starts with wrestling with God.

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      1. Good luck finding a place where you can be yourself. Whether it is a name, or a place, or something in your imagination, be free to make changes. You are not locked in your life unless you allow yourself to be locked in.

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        1. Absolutely! As a daughter of a pastor, I find more truth to those words every day. Unlocking one’s mind from previously held rigid beliefs.

          Thank you, and I wish the best for you as well.

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          1. Thank you. I am nearing the otherend of my lifespan — not quite there yet — but I lived most of my life the way I wanted. It wasn’t always easy, it wasn’t always comfortable, but I was and still am always happy, and nothing beats that. Thank you. Take care of yourself, and the ones you love.

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  22. I think this is a matter not only with you. I mean majority of us don’t like their name in full during the days they are growing. Talking about my own self, it sometimes seems very strange me calling my name by my own self.
    Anyways have a good day !

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  23. That’s interesting – I had no idea you were born in the soviet union. I remember writing a story with a Larissa in it which you pick up on… It must have been a typo as I put in too many ss’es 😀

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    1. Oh really? I thought we discussed it before, but maybe in just remembering typing something to that extent in my about me page. I think I did..I don’t remember lol.

      I recall the story in which you had a Larissa! I remember I was tickled by it!

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    1. Hey! Thanks lol—I am fully aware I’m doing all the stereotypes in that selfie 😜

      Thank you for the offer! Honestly, sometimes I have a hard time keeping up with just the one blog so it’d probably be nigh impossible to keep up with it on two different platforms 😰

      If you peruse through my posts, you’ll notice I take very long breaks from it. Not on purpose. Just life happens..

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