Whenever someone asks me for my last name for registration or identification purposes, I go ahead and tell myself, “serenity now...” I am honestly surprised that people mispronounce Zoe because it lacks the dots over the “e,” nor it does not have the “y” on the end like in Zoey 101. But once people get to my last name, I mentally prepare myself for the spelling and pronunciation battle ahead.
If you look at my name and slowly sound it out, it makes sense; however, the “u’s” are not hard like most people believe. So it is supposed to sound like “Kushabar” rather than “Kooshoobar.” A lot of people think it starts with a “c,” they replace the “u’s” with “a’s” occasionally, and having been to many a spelling bee, it drives me up a wall. Now I know it is no common name like Johnson or Brown. Kushubar hails from a Slovak name that my great relatives bore before they moved to the United States in the early 1900s. Before the name was Americanized, Kožehuba was the male version of the last name, Kožehubova the female version. I am thankful that my name is not nearly as complicated as it was in its original form, but now a lot of people have devised food-related nicknames using Kushubar. After all, how does it not sound like a sort of protein or chocolate bar? A few of these innovations include “Kushubarbeque,” “Klondike bar,” “Kashi bar,” “Kosher bar,” “Sushi bar” and “Hershey bar.”
The list doesn’t end there. If you are familiar with different types of marijuana (rest assured, I do not smoke- I didn’t even know there were multiple types until I went to public high school), you may know “Kush” is popular. So sometimes I am just called “Kush,” or for extra pizazz, “Kushablunt.” Now I created my snapchat username in sixth grade, which included an abbreviated form of my last name: “kush.” After transferring to a new school, many people came up to me in ninth grade asking if I was a pothead. That is one downside of having this name because I do not associate myself with illegal drugs; however, everyone gets a good laugh out of the puns and nicknames. One other thing I enjoy about being Ms. Kushubar is that everyone can remember who I am because my last name is so strange that it sounds out. Also, if I end up getting a doctorate, I could call myself “Crazy Dr. Kush.” Ah, the hopes of an eager and dedicated student.
I know that on a scale of one to weird, Kushubar is relatively simple with a bit of patience and sounding out. However, the name has been butchered and misspelled an infinite number of times, and it is by no means a common name in America. But I am proud of my culture and my heritage, and it is fun connecting with people by sharing my many aliases that have been created over the years. To all of those with foreign or complicated names: embrace them, love them, and cherish them. They help to define who you are, and the name will never quite escape people’s minds; you’re practically unforgettable.
