A Unique Name

Let me introduce myself once again, my full name on my passport is Fere Elise Christianne Marie Vande Kerckhove— a long name to introduce myself by. However I just go by the name Fere Vande Kerckhove, which is—despite the difficult long name, a pretty though name to swallow. When I was born I not only had a mother, grand-mother but also a great-grandmother in the same blood line. This is known as a ‘’four blood bond’’.  This is very unique as most people start pretty late having children. To emphasize this my parents gave me four names. The name Elise comes from the name Elsa, which was my great-grandmother’s name. Christianne is my grandmother’s name and Marie comes from my mum’s name, which is Mieke.

Originally my first name, Fere, originates from the old time when names was first being introduced and recorded in Northern Holland. ‘’Fere’’ is Old Frisian for ‘’Peace and Happiness’’. It is pronounced as Fay-rah (the A is pronounced as U from under, the H and Y is not pronounced).

Despite the fact that my mum missed out on the lunar eclipse when in the hospital prior to my birth, my mother had plenty of time to read books and figure out what she was going to name her first child. She read one book, Nights at the Circus written by Angela Carter, which grabbed my mom's attention. It is a story about a magical aerialist called ‘’Fevvers’’, a beautiful heroine who charmed everyone with her aerial performance as well as her unique personality and appearance. The book was translated into Dutch and the name ‘’Fevvers’’ soon became ‘’Fere’’. My mum initially planned on calling me ‘’Fee’’ (pronounced as Fay), but as this didn’t sound nicely with my last name she had found the perfect name for her child; Fere.

My whole life I have had many comments about my name; some referring it back to the boy’s name Ferre, others mistaking Fere for Vere (a common Dutch name) or Ferry (like the boat). Despite the fact that many people do struggle with my name, I find amusement in the good-willed efforts they make to pronounce my name right. I love my name for being so unique, it is really nice to hear how everyone I meet adds their own personal touch to the pronunciation of my name in the effort to say it correctly.

My last name; Vande Kerckhove, its origins are unknown. ‘’Kerckhove’’ could be interpreted as ‘’Kerkhof’’ or ‘’Kerkhoven’’, which is Dutch for cemetery or church gardens. It might as well refer back to a village in West-Flanders in Belgium, which is called ''Kerckhoven''.

I believe my name contributed to the person I am today as it definitely helped me embrace my uniqueness and be proud of my incredibly long and difficult name. My name for me has been a blessing and a curse. A blessing as it makes me stand out, I often can tell when my name is about to be called out by seeing the confused and concentrated sights given on the paper sheet. It is somewhat a curse as I often have to repeat my name a billion times, especially to non-Dutch speakers. However I have gotten to embrace my name and I really do forgive the many people who still cannot pronounce my name correctly, I understand your struggle.