Ann

What is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning/significance?

It’s the result of an argument. 🤣

My father wanted me called Ann, my mother said a flat no because everyone would call me Annie and she’d spend her entire life screaming “Her name IS ANN!”

They were at such loggerheads my aunt suggested they called me Debra.

A problem unsolved

I was known as Debbie. I didn’t really think about it when I was young, yet I know now that it never felt right.

As you may have read, when I got divorced at 34 my entire life imploded, it hurt at the time but I now realise that it was no great loss.

I had already realised that my upbringing wasn’t a good one and started to rebuild myself. Although it took a while and a lot of learning I did it.

Meeting my husband was a huge turning point. When the person who introduced us asked my name that night I said ‘Deb’ for the first time ever. I’ve been Deb ever since. Short, simple, and straight to the point. It suits me. 🤣

Seriously, I hate complexity. Amos taught me “Simplify, simplify, simplify. Is it as simple as you can make it?” “Yes.” “Then simplify it again.” Using that very sensible (and simple) rule, the name works.

I actually considered changing my name to Deb Hawken legally, but it wasn’t worth the bother. I’ve owned it and that’s enough.

So that’s how Deb Hawken was born, Debbie Chegwin then Horne were left in the past, and I became someone that I can largely respect.

Someone straight. Someone WYSIWYG. For those who weren’t around when Microsoft operating systems appeared:

What you see is what you get. It was the first operating system that laid out text as a letter or document, rather than a mess that looked okay when it was printed.

I like Deb, but actually Ann isn’t that bad either. Perhaps my dad knew that I would be this kind of person and didn’t even waste an E on the name.

As to spelling though:

I was a Chegwin when few outside Cornwall had heard of the name. We once had a letter addressed to Mr and Mrs Chicken. Or Chedgewynne was the other one. Total over complication.

Interesting story, you’ll have heard it as a hard sounding name, if you’ve heard it. The Cornish pronounce it ‘Shugwynne’. Beautiful. Either way it always needed spelling.

I was a Horne WITH AN ‘E’!!! 🙄😱🤣. So annoying!

Now I have a second ‘stunning’ surname. Hawken. Oddly also a Cornish name.

Hawkins…No Hawken…kin…no Ken…oh for heavens sake give the pen to me/pass me the keyboard and I’ll write it. People literally go blank. It doesn’t matter how many times you tell some people they cannot hear it. Emails still don’t arrive.

So Deb is nice and simple, but the rest is confounded by the people around me! Bit like I used to be.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Deb xx