"My Name"
Mrs. Roberts, Grade 4
The House on Mango Street
“My Name” by Sandra Cisneros
excerpted from The House on Mango Street
In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing. It was my great-grandmother's name and now it is mine. She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse--which is supposed to be bad luck if you're born female-but I think this is a Chinese lie because the Chinese, like the Mexicans, don't like their women strong. My great-grandmother. I would've liked to have known her, a wild, horse of a woman, so wild she wouldn't marry. Until my great-grandfather threw a sack over her head and carried her off. Just like that, as if she were a fancy chandelier. That's the way he did it. And the story goes she never forgave him. She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because she couldn't be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but I don't want to inherit her place by the window. At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth. But in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something, like silver, not quite as thick as sister's name Magdalena--which is uglier than mine. Magdalena who at least- -can come home and become Nenny. But I am always Esperanza. would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees. Esperanza as Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X. Yes. Something like Zeze the X will do.
Aurora
My name is light. It shines and is full of hope. It’s like the Northern Lights. It’s like the number 6. It’s even and fair. It has a nice calm and beautiful sound. It is bright like the color pink.
My mom liked names that began and ended with A. My name could have had Amanda or Anna. But my mom loved my name most out of all of them.
Susie K. always calls me ‘Rora Dora The Explorer.’ It’s annoying. Even though my name is Aurora, my nickname is Rora.
Brooke
My name means a small stream. It is unique. My name has 6 letters. It is like the color brown. My name can never be changed. It’s cute and funky .
My name was popular in the 1990s.
My mom and dad had a hard time finding the right name because every name sounded good.
If I could change my name, it would be Margaret. I hate how people call me Brookie. Only grownups do that. My friends think it’s cool.
Brooke is a special name.
Addison
My name means Son of Adam. It means weird. It is like the number 7. It is melancholy and black. It is not the name I would pick. It is the sound of weird.
My mom and dad picked my name because of our religion.They just kind of agreed.They searched all over books and other things to find a name they agreed on.
My name is sort of long. Many people call me Addie instead of Addison. I want a name like Hazel; I think it is beautiful. Or maybe Sage; it sounds so unusual. How about Victoria? That is my second favorite name because when I hear it I think joy and excitement. Lastly, what about Juliana? It sounds like hope.
Faith
My name means Angel. My name is very popular. 1,768 million babies were named after me. It was a very popular name in the 17th century. My name is like the number five. My name is top 71 for fame. Between 1999 and 2011 and from 2011 to 2019 it was the top name for babies.
My mom and dad had a name for me before we got to the hospital. It was lee lee, but the doctor said no to it because I was too beautiful for that name. Ultimately, I had to stay in hospital until my mom figured it out. I was in the hospital for three days until my mom called me Angel.
My rainbow color is blue because I have five letters in my name. My nicknames are Faithy, Fay, Fae,F ae Fae and Faye. If I could choose a different name, I would change it to Elizabeth Jane.
JD
My name means God is gracious. It is dark green. It’s like the number 4. My name is uncommon. Uncommon is okay.
My dad named me that.
People say my name backwards. I wish my was Dragon Hunter. My name is JD.
My name means son. It is an adequate name. It means what. It is the color of pink. It is like the number 6. Its sounds like a trumpet.
My dad was working with a person and my dad liked the person's last name. My dad said to my mom, "I got a great name." My papa said it should be spelled a different way so they agreed to spell it his way.
My name is Keagan I want it to be Emma because it is so cute and original I think Emma is a great name. And my sister's best friend is Emma. Every time she comes over I say her name 1,000,000 times. but my name is and always Keagan forever.
My name means flower. In Spanish my name is Lirio. It makes me feel bored. It is like the number 4. It's a greenish brown color. It’s a weird feeling. It is like classical music.
It was hard for my mom and dad to decide on a name. My dad wanted my name to be Bristol. It ended up that my name is named after a girl in Hannah Montana. My dad said after a while you had the baby you pick. My sister named me.
People like my name but I don’t. Some people I have met have the same name. It is so weird meeting someone with the same name. I like my name, but I would like to change it. I would like to have a name that is not so short. My name is Lily. I wish my name was Amanda or Mele. That’s right, I wish my name was Mele.
My name means like the wind. It is such a beautiful name. It means very different. It is red and blue. Its a number 6. It sounds like fire crackling.
I was named after my aunt who died when she was only 14 in a burning house. She was upstairs lighting some candles because it was very dark in the attic. My mother, my Nan, my aunt Bobbie Jo, my Titi (Spanish for aunt) and my aunt Amanda Lee got out of the house safely. The only problem was that they could not get my aunt out of the house. My mother was about 16, l think.
My name means gift from god. It is a good name. It means ̈happiness. It is like
the number 7. It is red and happiness. It sounds like a mat.
It was a stormy night. Lightning struck the ground. God was here to give me the name. My mom was scared because my dad fell asleep. I felt like I died, but he gave a good name.
My name is the best. I have friends one is my cousin Loukas one is Ronnie and Odin. I think they like my name. Matthew. I think if I would change my it will be Jimmy.
My name means young warrior. It is not fun. It is as unclear as looking into the fog. It is indifferent, neither good nor bad. It is a dull yellow. It is a duck’s quack.
It is hard to understand where my name came from. My mother has never told me. My father never told me. I do not know if they named me before or after my birth. My name came to be that day and that was all that was written. A story written but untold.
I am unsure if I would like another name. My dad’s name is Dave, but I wouldn't like that, either. My best friend’s name is Hayden, but I don't want that name, either. I don't really have a preference. I guess Owen will do just fine.
My name means fire. It is boring. It is like the number 6.
It is odd and dreary. It is the color red.
I got my name from a Star Wars character.
It was hard for my mom and dad to
Decide my name. Then, my dad came home and said, "I found a name!"
And that is how I got my name.
My name is Hayden, and some people like it.
My name means gracious. It is awesome and good.
My name means God is gracious. It is dark green. It’s like the number 4. My name is uncommon. It’s okay.
My dad named me that.
People say my name backwards. I wish my was Dragon Hunter. My name is JD.
My name means bearer of Christ. It is weird. It means being spelled with a “K”. We are a family of “K’s” I am not Christopher Columbus (like some people like to joke). I am an original.
My family thought about calling me Richard; I am glad they did not choose that name. Kristopher sounds better than Richard. I am glad that they gave me the middle name William because that is the name of my Great Great Grandfather. That makes me glad, he passed away and it is a nice way to remember him.
I wish that my name was Bob because I think it sounds funny and is in a lot of movies like Hotel Transylvania 3.
My name means light. It means mysterious. It means a question mark. It is like the number 6. It is yellow and light. It is the feeling of why?
I was named after my grandpa. It wasn’t the hardest decision to name me, but was not easy. My grandpa was a reminder of my name. It’s not a bad name, but I still wonder about it sometimes.
My name Loukas.
My name means rose. It’s really boring. It’s like the color green. And people call me Rosie.
Rosabell. My mom calls me Nosey Rosie and Little Savage Rose.
My Name
My name means Thomas. It is unique. My name is confusing. It means “not you." It is like the number six. It is like the color indigo.
My name is Scottish for Thomas. It was easy for my parents to agree to a name because, well, I'm Scottish.
For some people, it is hard to pronounce. They say Tamein or Tabein. It is actually Tavian. It would like a new name because my name is such an unusual name. People think it is such an unusual. And that is why I love my name.
My name means conqueror. It is different. It means being spelled wrong ALL the time. I do not like how my name is misspelled. It is green and sort of like broccoli. It is like pizza.
My mother and father and brother looked in a baby book name and chose my name and the spelling of it. My father and brother said my name in a British accent and fell in love with it. My mother thought the accent wasn’t needed but still loved the name.
Other people think my name is the normal name and spelling. They spell my name wrong sometimes. They think my name is nice. I think my name is awesome and cool. I don’t want to change my name at all. I am happy being just Viktor.
