that my name is Gudrun? This weekend I received an email from someone I met at BlogHer, and she addressed it thusly:
Hi Gudrun (eek - I don't know your real name)
Really? The fact that my name is in my email and on my business cards is not enough to make it real? Gudrun is a real name. Honestly.
My favorite - when I am signing up for something, or buying something, and they ask for my name, and I tell them Gudrun, they write it down, then ask for my first name. Huh? Better yet, a nurse at the blood drive asked my name, then wanted to know who would name me something like that. Really. Hurtful.
Please, people, get a little educated.
Better yet, I will tell you what you need to know:
From my Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary: Gud-run, the wife of Sigurd and later Atli in Norse mythology.
Gudrun appears as a main character in Nibelungenleid (Norse mythology), Volsungsaga (Icelandic), and Laxdaelasaga (Icelandic). Also, Women in Love, by D.H. Lawrence and a Wagnerian opera, Der Ring des Nibelungen. Here is the Wikipedia page all about Gudrun. Oh, and in case you did not know, Gudrun is a feminine name.
Yeah, so it is not that popular here in the good 'ole U.S.A., but Gudrun is very popular in the Nordic Countries and Germany. There is a chocolate named Gudrun, a fancy clothes designer GudrunGudrun and other folks from the blogger world.
Believe me, when I was a kid, I hated my name. It was hard for most people to pronounce, no one could spell it correctly, sometimes they thought I was a boy, and it was generally just a pain. And I can promise you that I spend an inordinate amount of time with my kids teaching them the importance of spelling someone's name correctly.
Nowadays, I take pride in my name, happy that I can be a one-name wonder, like Madonna or Cher. I mean really, how many Gudruns do you know?
P.S. I am trying to collect a running list of Gudruns in the blogosphere, the G-List. Comment if you would like to be added.....
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3 comments:
I for one have heard of the name Gudrun and knew several Gudruns in Germany. I grew up with the name Ilina that no one can say or spell. And the sans serif fonts make it look like it's spelled with 2 "Ls" instead of with a capital I. I love that people make snide cracks about your name but readily accept names like Apple, Zuma, and Pilot Inspecktor.
love it! And I agree, the movie stars in Hollywood name their kids crazy names.
At least your name is very feminine and clearly a woman's name - mine is sometimes mistaken for a man's name. Oh, that can lead to lots of laughter on my side when I surprise someone not expecting a woman!
Cheers,
Hi Gudrun -
yes, my name is Gudrun , too.
I am from Germany, where this name is more common, although not one of the top 10s.
Now I am living in an english-speaking country - and it's really hard to get on with this quite unusual and hard to pronounce name. Still looking for a more english-friendly version...
cheers,
Gudrun
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