What's in a name?

I went to a cocktail party the other night...and struck up conversation with one of the most handsome men I've ever seen. He was positively breathtaking...and I made a point to say hello, naturally!

The conversation went a little something like this:

"Hi, I'm Traca."

"I'm Michael." No need to say anything more. I was swooning already!

Then he kept talking...and I wish he hadn't.

"What's your name again????"

Ah...here we go....people often have trouble with my name.

I sounded it out slowly. "Tray....suh...."

"Okay. Theresa, this is my friend John."

John pipes in, "Did you say it's Theresa or Traca?"

"Traca."

Mr. Handsome is still struggling with it. "Tracy???"

"No, Traca. Like Tracy with an A on the end instead of a Y."

"Theresa?" Okay, clearly he wasn't a spelling champ.

"No, like you trace a line. Tray-suh...."

"That's crazy."

Suddenly my fantasies of him were far more appealing than the reality!

"What kind of a name is that?"

It's okay, I've been explaining the name my entire life.

Here's the story: My older brother was 3 years old when my mom was pregnant. My parents were discussing a name for their unborn child (me). Suddenly, my brother pipes up and says, "Traca." He meant to say "Tracy," but his 3 year old self couldn't sound out the vowels.

Inspired, my parents decided to go with "Traca."

And so it is.

People ask me if it's actually on my birth certificate.

Yes, it is.

Today, for the most random of reasons, I Googled my name. It turns out "traca" is actually a word in Spanish. Ironically, I've lived my whole life never knowing that. (When I travel in Spanish speaking countries, I have the least issues of all. Now I know why...)

Here's the definition:

traca f
1 (de fuegos artificiales) firecrackers
2 fig (final explosivo, sorprendente) spectacular finale

What's in a name? Now, I finally know!

Indeed.