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Nancee Donovan's avatar

I used to get teased: “Fancy Nancy”(before I changed the spelling of my name in 1991 in a court of law!)

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Debra Esolen's avatar

Hahaa! Well, maybe "Nancee" is MORE fancy than "Nancy!"

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Nancee Donovan's avatar

P.S. That is NOT “why” I changed it!!

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Debra Esolen's avatar

I'm sure it wasn't. I'll tell you a story: the American poet and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson asked his wife on their marriage to change her name from Lydia to Lydian. Hmm? I like Lydia as a name, but why that final "n"? He did it for the sake of euphony (how's that for a fancy word?), because he said that in New England people would address her as Lydia Remerson (with that "r" appended to words which end a vowels followed by words which begin with vowels! It's hard to be a poet in a hum drum world!

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Nancee Donovan's avatar

Oh, YEs! New Englanders put “r’s”where there aren’t any and leave them off where they ARE! My mother was born in Upper NY State so she taught us to pronounce our “r”s but my dad, a native NH fellow, called my EX, Homa Hotton! Please don’t share this post!!

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Debra Esolen's avatar

I won't! But it does sound funny to us. outlanders!

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Nancee Donovan's avatar

Thank you! I don’t usually tell people my former last name although my 2 sons have it. I am just glad my “ex expired” 7 years ago!!

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Nicholas and Ann Milos's avatar

My husband used to call me Fancy. And then we went to France. So, my name became Francie, which contains my name and middle initial, both of which, minus an “e,” are French, as is my Confirmation name. Fancy that!

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