By Allie Stefan
“ALEXANDRA!!” I hear my mom furiously yell from the noisy kitchen downstairs. I only hear my mom call me by my full name when I am in serious trouble. I timidly approached the living room only for my mom to pull out her favorite lamp that looked to be in a million pieces. It had completely slipped my mind that I had accidentally kicked my soccer ball at it the night before. Though I felt extremely guilty for breaking her prized possession, I seemed to be more bothered by the fact that she kept calling me “Alexandra.” A name is an identity, and my whole life I wondered why I was named one thing just to be called something different. I hated the name Alexandra. So proper and solemn. I have two names, and depending on if you know me or not will determine which one you call me.
My nickname, and preferred name, is Allie. My mom loved the name Alexandra, but she also admired the fact that you could make multiple nicknames out of it. She wanted to give me a name that would fit my personality the best and soon realized that the name “Allie” was a much better fit. Learning that Allie meant “Harmony, stone, or noble” (“Allie”) made me like my name much more. My friends always say, “I could never see you as an Alexandra,” and evidently, I agree. Allie is much more calm and relaxed than Alexandra, which fits my go-with-the-flow personality more accurately. According to Nicole Duddy, Alexandra means “Protector of men” (Duddy), which does not depict my identity the way I would like. My teachers, doctors, and even some of my close friends, when they did not know me at first, referred to me as “Alexandra.” This makes me think that “Allie” is a symbol of the people who see me as my true self. From the surface, I am Alexandra, quiet and reserved. But underneath, the people who know me as Allie know the real me.
As I have grown up, I have realized that Alexandra is a reflection of my parents and their thoughtfulness behind my name. Allie would have never come to be without Alexandra. Though I would always prefer to be called Allie, I have developed to never forget my Alexandra roots and be proud of my two identities.
Works Cited
“Allie.” SheKnows, 22 Aug. 2018, sheknows.com/baby-names/name/allie-boy/#:~:text=In%20American%20Baby%20Names%20the,revived%20in%20the%2019th%20century. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
Duddy, Nicole. “Alexandra.” The Bump,thebump.com/b/alexandra-baby-name. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.