My full name is Tristesse Aimee' Gonsalves. My nicknames are Tess and Tessy. My parents picked my first name and just my mom picked my middle name. Both my parents were graduate students in literature.
If I were a boy, they were going to call me Tristan, after the story of Tristan and Isolde. Tristesse is the feminine for Tristan. Also, one of my mom's favorite books was Bonjour Tristesse by Francois Sagan. My parents also thought I might want to go by Tess and they liked "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy.
No one has ever been able to pronounce my name, especially in the doctor's office. It is pronounced Trees tess' ah may.'
"Tristesse" means sadness is French and "Aimee" means loved in French.
My name has been both a burden and a blessing. I used to hate it when I was little, but now I think it's okay. And a lot of other people like it. I think that I'll probably name my daughter a more common name than mine, but you never know, that could change. |
