Hi there.
I am Rey Domingo Balo Tanatan y Ferrer Grefalda. Whew could you imagine if we still wrote our names ala Hispanic Era style? Yeah it's classy, albeit time consuming. And time is something we don't have nowadays. So I'd just leave the long naming to Jose Rizal.
And this is a story of my name.
Rey Domingo Tanatan. Father's Visayan-Ilonggo. Mother's Bicolana.
Friends call me by my initials R.D. [Ardy].
My sisters and I should have been named after Filipino native words. I, as the only son and the eldest, should have been named Makisig [Handsome]. I would have been a laughing stock if I were born in the Luzon area, well you know how narrow-minded children are, but since I was born in the Visayan region, it wouldn't have mattered. Yet the sudden death of my uncle Reynaldo and my grandfather Domingo brought about a change in events [well spearheaded by my ever-firm grandmother], and so when I was born, I was named Rey Domingo.
My next sibling was supposed to be named Mayumi [Modest], but due to the popularity of the ever-dancing shake-body-body-dancer Maricel Soriano during the time of her birth, well you've guessed it. Maricel Tanatan was born. Good grief, was Maricel Soriano that hypnotically iconic?
The youngest sibling, which was actually not planned by my parents, [if you're reading this sis, please forgive me, peace!] got a Filipino name at last. Liwayway [Dawn].
Rey Domingo. Lo, behold. A living epitaph of two dead relatives.
"Hi, hijo, what's your name?"
"Rey Domingo Tanatan, ma'am."
"Ah, apo gale are ni Lolo Domeng! Ka kyut sang bata a! [Illongo: Ah, so this is the grandson of Grandpa Domeng! How cute!]"
Yikes! When I was a kid, my name spelled personal humiliation wherever I go, and I got a lot of cheek-pinching from strangers I would ask for a bless [a Spanish tradition of touching the elderly's hand into your forehead as a sign of respect]. My deceased Lolo was a Barangay Captain, so a lot of people knew him, especially the elderly.
During All Soul's Day, imagine the horror of my classmates when they found a grave with my name on it. Domingo Tanatan. You should have seen their faces, hahaha!
Honestly, I hated my name back then. Domingo in Visayan dialect [also in Spanish] literally means Sunday. For Tagalogs, Domingo is fine, but for the typical Bisaya, it is indeed a queer and funny name. Knowing how narrow-minded children were, whenever they hear my full name, they would point at me, laugh, and make fun of my name Domingo. They would tell me how ugly my name was. Being a weak kid, I did nothing but cry. I would tell my parents about it, but they told me to brush it off and just be proud of being a Domingo. Well, that's a pretty easy thing to let a kid understand.
I just went back to crying instead.
I have been to many schools at a young age, and the situation was still the same. Let's just say I was a bullied kid because I have Domingo in my name. I was jealous of the nice names my classmates have. I wished my parents had given me a fancy name I could be proud of. Sorry, Lolo.
Even the local albularyo [folk healer] hated my name she had to say it into my innocent face.
"Ngano Rey Domingo man na iya ngalan uy. Ngano dili na lang Rey Salvador. [Why is his name Rey Domingo? Why not Rey Salvador?]"
Salvador? Who was that, your lover? I never, ever forgot that line, especially Salvador. Deym.
Then that was it! I had enough bullying. When I was transferred again to yet another school, I did something I thought was clever. I introduced myself as Rey Tanatan. I wrote my name on paper as Rey Tanatan. My friends call my Rey. They never knew Domingo. Even some of the teachers do not know who the hell Domingo is.
And so I lived that way. At least I had a decent amount of non-bullied elementary years, and the only time they knew Domingo was when my complete name was called during graduation.
Now, thinking about what I did a long time ago makes me a bit regretful. But being a kid, what else could have I done?
Today, people name their kids after Koreanovela actors, blockbuster movie characters, and popular videogame avatars. Seldom name their kids after family predecessors or local names. With this trend, I have no idea if it's a good thing. Is it?
If I name my future son Rey Domingo Tanatan II, my junior, would he dislike his name like I did? Would he prefer to be called Lee, Edward, Harry, or Vaan? Would he be ashamed to be called Domingo? To be named after me? To be named after my grandfather? Too bad I can't ask him. He'd be named even before he could decide.
Right now, I am no longer the narrow-minded kid I was before, and I may still be surrounded by narrow-minded people, I already know how to handle myself.
"Ardy, di ba initials yung name mo, R and D? What's your real name?"
"Rey Domingo"
"Rey Domingo? Ampangit [How ugly]! Hahahaha!"
"Haha, you are so straightforward. My dead grandfather's going to haunt you in your sleep!".
If only I had this courage when I was young, I would have been proud of my name.
Rey Domingo. I find my name classic. Hispanic in origin. You can actually call me Domeng if you want to, I don't find it humiliating anymore. It is a unique and a nice name of its own.
Everybody's name has a story in it. You have the option to change your name name, but honestly, it will never be the same. YOU will never be the same.
Rey Domingo. I couldn't find any other name better for me.
Visit jameella mellanny for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection
