I have a name that is considerably long. My first and last name, together, is 21 letters long. Including my middle name, it is 29 letters long.  As you can imagine, sometimes things can be a hassle.

Since my name is so long, I have had to learn how to write extremely small. On legal documents or just regular papers the line that is provided for your name simply is not long enough. Writing smaller than average is the only way I can fit somewhat fit my name on the line, the majority of the time. For example, when I went to the Department of Transportation to get my learner’s permit a few years ago, I had to re-sign my name three times. My hand writing was too large the first two times and I could not fit my entire name in the  designated area for the hard copy of the license. Sometimes on school papers I might shorten it to Marandah MD or just use Mangra, however on documents for the government I have to use what was written on my birth certificate.

My name is so long because my mother decided to keep her maiden name of Mangra and take my father’s last name of Dutcher. My mom felt she needed to keep the last name of Mangra because my grandfather wanted the name to somehow be passed down, however at the time none of her siblings or close relatives had taken it. My father felt he needed to pass on the name Dutcher as well, because there was no other way for the name to be passed on because his sister had taken her husbands last name. They made the decision to hyphenate my sisters and me’s last names. To sum it up, my parents were kind of stubborn.

Although my name can be kind of frustrating at points, there is one major benefit. It is extremely hard to forget.

Since the name is long, it sticks out on the majority of lists it is on. Therefore, it catches the eye of whomever is reading it. Whenever I introduce myself a lot of people subconsciously take note of it’s length, submitting it to memory. For example, my friend’s father, who typically has trouble with names, said my full name whenever he saw me for the longest time, because he simply could not remember it any other way. I have known him for around nine years now and now just calls me MMD.

I would never trade my name in for it being too long. I love being able to truly say my name is unique to my family and I, while still carrying meaning from the past. I honestly do not know what I will do when I get married. I never want to give it up. I will cross that bridge when I come to it, I guess. For now, I can still use it as a conversation starter.