[Filmania]

My first name is Mark, and I am o.k. with that, but my last name is one syllable and it also starts with "M", and I hate that. It is, apparently, also hard to pronounce, as people invariably misunderstand me when I introduce myself.

When my grandmother was born, her parents couldn't decide on a name for her. A little girl in the neighborhood begged them to name the new baby after her, and they did, the unusual name of Ostra. They soon moved away, and years later my grandmother met and married her namesake's brother! My grandmother always hated her name, by the way.