My Life: Having the Name of a Multimillion-Dollar Furniture Store

Clarissa is my pen name. My real name is spelled and sounds just like a famous furniture store. For personal reasons, I don't want to give out my real name so I will call myself Ethan Allen. This is all true.

Being named after a furniture store can be described as an interesting experience at best. It doesn't take much stamina to kindly say, "Yes, that is my name" every time someone sees your name tag. And it adds a little twist to the experience when the owner of "Ethan Allen" is one of the richest men in America.

" Are you rich?" I often get asked. Nope. But that doesn't stop people from asking me that same question hundreds of times throughout my life, and I am only 24 so I've got a long time to live. Another question people always ask me is, "Do your parents like shopping at Ethan Allen?" "No," I say. In fact, my mom thinks Ethan Allen's furniture is cheap. So guess what. I've never even been to Ethan Allen before.

So how did I get my name? Well, my father liked the named Allen, and my grandmother's first name is Ethan. My mom just had to name me after my grandma, and my dad was just stuck on the name Allen, so voila. I turned out "Ethan Allen."

Not that there aren't some perks to being named Ethan Allen. Sometimes when people ask me if I own the store, I say "No, but I have a good chance of having money like that." Therefore, having the name Ethan Allen gives me high hopes. I'm named after a store that is very successful. That must mean I will be successful too.

Along with the good and bad of having the name of a furniture store. There is also the weird. One day, I went to facebook to find I had been asked to join the Ethan Allen group. I clicked on the groups page an the description started out by saying " Yeah, we know we have the name of a furniture store..." I thought to myself, "What in the world is this." Now even the Ethan Allens are trying to annoy me. I didn't join the group sorry to say. Hey, I want to feel unique.

In any case, if you are thinking about naming your child after a furniture store or any other reputable business, consider the consequences. Your child may go the rest of their life being asked all kinds of questions from strangers who are only interested in the store or business and not your child.

I mean, it can be kind of fun I guess. Not everyone can say they were named after a store, and since I have degree I don't have to work at jobs where I wear nametags if I choose. But if I had to wear a name tag for the rest of my life, I'm not so sure what I would do.