Genevieve, Sweet Genevieve

On the bus this morning, I heard my name. I turn around, as I suppose everyone does when they hear their name. It was two guys I didn't know, and they were talking about a different Genevieve, who was not on the bus.

My name is pretty unusual, so whenever people tell me about other Genevieves (or I overhear about other Genevieves) I pay attention. I have a fascination with learning about other people who share my name. I often wonder if they are anything like me.

Some people call me Gen. This is fine, as long as you know me, but the problem is there are so many Jennifers who go by Jen that I have learned to tune out Gen. So even if I'm in the same room with only one other person, and they say "Gen!" I might not respond. I don't really register Gen as my name, sometimes. My mom calls me Geve (like rhyming with Neve Campbell) and when I was little people called me Evie. My friend Amy calls me Vieve. I like all these nicknames, but I will always, always, always introduce myself as Genevieve, and when I first meet people and they say, "oh, that's a long name, can I call you Gen or Genny?" I will continue to say, "no, please call me Genevieve." Nicknames are only allowed for people who know me well.

I have a cousin named Anne Yvette. I bet she never hears her name on the bus.