What is in a name?

[Tarique Beg]

I'm troubled by my last name being BEG. In English it sounds like I'm really low on cash. Actually, the real pronunciation is BAYG (one has to say BAY but end with a G). Who in the English speaking world would ever want to pay any price for a painting if the last name on the signature made them wince. I'm seriously thinking of using the alternative spelling - many Begs spell their names as Baig.

Another problem is that one of my wife's American friends calls me TERIYAKEE instead of Tarique. Can you imagine a portrait signed by TERIYAKEE BEG !!!!

I have some work to do here.

[Steven Sweeney]

You needn't worry about "Beg". It is a surname virtually unknown to me (an American), and so does not invoke the connotation you fear, despite its meaning in vernacular English. I would see it and assume nothing more than a foreign (to me) heritage, which would have no negative reflection at all. I would in fact regard it interesting and intriguing.

If you're troubled by "Beg", you would do very well, I think, to adopt a one-word professional name, and sign your work as, "Tarique". We should all wish to have such an exotic and unusual name in our market. (See "Margaret" Baumgaertner's recent post, re the Cindi-Peggy-Bunny clash.)

Steven (of the Ordinary English) Sweeney (of the Extraordinary Irish)

[Steven Sweeney]

By the way, your "wife's American friends" are teasing you. Their names are John, Bob, and Fred, I suspect. They are jealous of a moniker of weight and substance. Humor them, as relatives, but ignore their taunts.

[Cynthia Daniel]

Tarique,

I think your name Tarique is absolutely beautiful and I like Steven's idea of just using that professionally!

There's a new artist from India who will be coming on Stroke of Genius and he has a son name Prashant! That's another beautiful name!

By the way, I mentioned you to him Tarique and it seems he has heard of your family.

[Cynthia Daniel]

A pet peeve of mine is how we seem to be obsessed in this country with making a nickname out of almost every name. Yet, in every case I can find, I think the full name is more beautiful.

Catherine, Richard, William, Kenneth, Frederick, Candace are all more beautiful to me than Cathy, Rich or Dick, Bill or Billy, Ken or Kenny, Fred or Freddy, Candy. In fact, we seem to have an "ie" and "y" fascination in this country!

All my life, I was called Cindy, but at 35, I went to my full name of Cynthia...just didn't feel like a "Cindy" anymore.

How do you all feel about this? Or am I just being a snob?

[Jim Riley]

Gee!

I hadn't given it much thought before but how does James Singer Riley sound?

[Marta Prime]

James Singer Riley sounds very elegant!

All my life people have wanted to put an h in my name...Marta to Martha. Even the IRS! I do like the name in some ways....I mean if someone says "I ran into Marta yesterday", no one ever says "Marta who.?" It is not a name I run into very often.

I love the Prime name. It is my married name. I always kid my husband that I married him for his name! When I am introduced as a speaker in front of a group where I work, they say, "And now for a little Prime Time!" It works.

But as an Artist I don't know. My maiden name is Hamilton. Another good old English name. However, Marta Hamilton Prime does not roll trippingly off the tongue. So I sign them Marta Prime...should I just use one name?

[Tarique Beg]

Steven

I was having a little fun with my name, and though I might make a few spelling adjustments to it, so as to make it more presentable (purely for professional reasons), I'm too thick skinned to take offense at being referred to as Teriyaki. In fact, I thought it was a rather amusing, imaginative, and appetizing variation on my name.

In the same spirit, let me share with you all an anecdote I was told is true by a very honest looking gentleman from the old country. Apparently, the current Prime Minister of India was visiting New York in the old days when he was a Cabinet Minister, or perhaps a Member of Parliament. As his grace attempted to cross a street, he failed to see the "do not walk" traffic light. A New York cop quite unceremoniously herded his grace back to the curb. Infuriated, his grace yelled, "do you know you are talking to ATAL BIHARI BAJPAI !!!". The New York copy calmly replied, "Sir, I have no idea what kind of PIE you are, but if you get hit by a New York cab, you will surely be MINCE PIE". This is just another one of those instances where a name in one language is mistaken for an edible in another.


Cynthia.

I think Cynthia Daniel is definitely very elegant. It just sounds so famous. You're right about y and ie put on to names. I mean, it's hard to imagine when Fredie or Tommy won a war or lead their nation into a new era.

Prashant in Sanskrit means serene, tranquil, etc., so that is a beautiful name for sure. The female version is Prashanti. Sanskrit is about 4000 years or more old, from the time some Central Europeans (Aryans) migrated to India, so many of the ancient linguistic roots are surprisingly similar to those found in European languages.

In the early to mid 70's I went to the New Dehli College of Art in India, so it's possible that the Indian Artist you mention was in Delhi around that time.

Tarique

[Karin Wells]

Tarique, I'm glad you said that...we have a friend named Yogesh that we fondly refer to as "Yogurt". Naturally his English is perfect and our Gujarati is pathetic. He frequently gives our names a foreign sounding tongue twist to tease us back and it is all in good fun.

I loved your story about Atal Bihari Bajpai and will pass it on!

Maybe you can join the elite by signing "B.E.G." to your paintings. This will allow your clients to assume that the letters represent the "classy-3-name-requirement" that will grarantee fame and fortune in this business.

[Timothy C. Tyler]

Forgive for pointing this out but there is another group of people who are refered to with three names; famous criminals.

Artists and criminals are we to be forever grouped together?