My name suits my background. In Italian it means “my” or “mine.” It was my great grandma's idea, because the first thing my dad said to me when he held me for the first time was “mine.” The overwhelming emotions of his daughter finally being brought into the world. Real. Being held in his hands. “Mine,” he said. “Mia,” my grandma said. My dad immediately turned to my mom, and that’s when they both knew what my name would be. Mia.

My grandma described my name as the soft autumn sunsets on her farm in Sicily. An abundance of oranges and pinks and reds overtook the sky. Mia. The delicate breeze blowing across the open fields. Mia.

Nicknames are a weird topic for my name. Mia. What kind of nickname do you give someone named Mia? “Baby doll,” is a big one for my dad, because that’s what my great grandpa called me before he passed, and my dad has been calling me that ever since.  Another one is “Monstige.” What does that even mean? I will never be able to answer that question. I don’t know how my dad managed to come up with that one.

Pronunciation is touchy for my name. Ever since 1st grade people have always called me “Maya Geyman” or “Mia Gayman” or even “Maya Gayman.” It used to get to me and was quite annoying, but now when people say it wrong I just correct them. And when people do it purposely, I tell them to “come up with something original.” I’ve heard it so many times it’s not even funny anymore. But I guess it comes with the name. It’s not an uncommon name, so I don’t understand how people STILL manage to pronounce it wrong, but oh well.

As far as middle names go, it was an ongoing argument between my parents and my sisters. For no reason at all, my sisters wanted my middle name to be Irish, even though we aren’t the smallest bit Irish. And my parents wanted it to be Rose, after my great grandma Rosemary. My sisters argued that it was only fair they got to pick the middle name because my parents picked the first name. So they went with Riley. Riley? It doesn’t match with our heritage at all, but here we are. Riley is my middle name. But honestly if I had to change it, I probably wouldn’t. I think it’s a funny story to tell.

I like my name and I think it suits me well. I can't imagine myself with a different name. I just think I look like someone who’s named Mia.