Lizette. A name with two syllables, 2 different vowel sounds, and tends to be pronounced with a lu sound. Lizeth. A name with two syllables, two different vowels, and tends to be pronounced with a lee sound. Not very much difference but to two different distinct groups it is.
After I was born, my mom became a single mother who had help from her mother and sister. Which meant that there were a lot of names being thrown in the air. There were two that lingered in the air for a while, Leslie and Ariel, which didn’t last very long before being thrown away. They just weren’t fitting enough for me, and one of my moms’ explanations was that they seemed too Mexican affiliated. She didn’t want me to forget my Mexican heritage, she just wanted me to have a fair chance in life. She wanted a name that was still recognized by our culture, but wanted to make it more American so that I wouldn’t be stereotyped too quickly.
Playing around with the name Lizette, it became my name. It is still unique to many outsides of my culture but sounds like, and is, an American name. Lizette turns out to be a name derived from the name Elizabeth, and having just about the same meaning. The name is an English-American name meaning “My God is Bountiful" or "God of Plenty”. There are also characteristics that many tend to associate with the name, such as leadership and craving personal independence. These things are a big part of my life. Yet, as I am called by this name I don’t feel like it’s the name for me. I get this feeling that it is too American, too “white washed” you could say as I tend to hear Lizeth coming from my family members.
Lizeth is a name in Spanish that many of my family members call be me by. I tend to like this translation of my name better. I feel that it has a softer and more soothing sound than the actual name that I go by. To my family they see it as the part of me that is still fully emerged in my culture. Around them, it’s never Lizette, it’s Lizeth, creating a different identity for me around my family which I love. I love sounding different and unique with a tie to my culture still intact. However, as a child I got curious as to why I was called by two different names all the time when the only name that I am legally bound by is an American name on my birth certificate. When I asked my mom she said, “I gave you that name because it is unique. You already noticed that it can be translated into different languages which makes you unique. You will also be given a better chance when applying for jobs. You wont be discriminated as quickly." As a young teen I didn’t understand this, but as I grew older it started to make more and more sense. Especially once I entered college and everything changed for me. I was no longer Lizette or Lizeth, I was just Liz. Cutting my name short made it easier for those to quickly catch on to my name but also to fit into to the American culture.
However, after just one year away from home, it no longer bothers me on which pronunciation is use because I embrace both with pride as I hear my name. They all hold the same meaning, just in two different languages which makes me feel unique. Mi nombre es Lizeth y esoty orgullosa de mi cultura Mexicana. My name is Lizette and I am proud of American culture. After all, there isn’t much difference at all, just the way you tend to look at it.
