Hey there!! I'm Marianne! (I was named after both my grandmothers, Mary and Annie) But I answer to just about anything these days. I have a variety of friends from different places in the world and have learned that my name is not that easy to pronounce in some foreign countries. 'Marianne' is the French spelling but it is pronounced like the traditional spelling, 'Mary Ann'.
Over the years I have been called 'Marina' (Can I borrow your boat?), 'Marine' (Semper Fi), 'Marianna' (Aww...), Mariannie (Really!), and 'Marrianania' (Huh???) I have been called Mary Lou, Mary Jo, Mary Beth, Mary Jane, Lou Ann, Jo Ann, Carrie Ann, and for two years when I worked at Centra Care, one of the other employees called me Roxanne. And another lady called me 'Kathy' for four years.
I had some interesting variations from my Nigerian friends. For some reason the heavy accents made the pronunciation of Marianne very difficult. I got called Manny, Mammy, Morrie, Minnie, Annana, Antie, Marty and May May. My Austrailian friends usually call me 'Mate'. My Irish friends call me 'Lass' or 'Lassie'.
I've had nicknames. Wanda, Witchiepoo (David! 8th grade), Jelly Belly (Terrence 7th grade, May He Rest in Peace), Frenchie, High Pockets, Pigeon, and Granny (You know who you are!)
So, by the time I started making friends with the people of Bangladesh and Malaysia, I decided to let them pick what they wanted to call me. I'm called Mari by most of the ladies in the women's group, Ma'am by most of the men (out of respect I am told), Missy (my pen name) by a very sweet guy who is a teacher, and just 'M' by a couple of people. A fairly new friend decided to call me 'Lilly' (he loves flowers) and a friend that I have known there for nearly a year, calls me 'Pie' (no idea...). I think my favorite is the name my very best friend, Robi, picked out for me. I've known him for over a year and he decided to call me 'Annie' when we first met. He is from Bangladesh and lives in Malaysia. He had no idea that was my grandmother's name, so Annie is reserved only for Robi. I don't give that option to anyone else.
So, when you ask my name and I say you can call me anything you like, you really can call me anything you like! I love all my names because they come from very special people that are close to my heart. But I could have done without a couple of those nicknames...
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