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Nicole Sutherland
Professor Lynn Raymond
UWRIT 1104
MLA
19 July 2016
Behind The Name: WP5
Names have so many meanings and tell different stories about people. I consider
a persons name is their identity and the only thing they will have even after they die.
Our names attribute to our life and give us insight on our purpose in the world. Names
can help or hurt, which refers to our class discussion of, what is considered a ghetto
name, and, what name will get you the job. I feel as if a name is a name no matter the
culture, race, gender, age, or even how crazy it sounds. I do not care what people say
about my name because I know who I am.
My grandma wanted my name to be Kylie Nicole, which I am glad never
happened. My dad wanted my name to start with an N like his other eight daughters,
therefore my mom decided to name me Nicole. She also chose Nicole because it is her
sister's middle name and her best friends name. According to BehindTheName.com,
my name derives from the name Nicolas, which is greek; it is composed of nike
(meaning victory) and laos (meaning the people). The name Nicole means, victory of
the people. My mom did not choose my name because of its meaning, but I do believe
it applies to my personality. I do not really like my first name, because it is basic and it is
one of the most common names in the US.

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Although I was teased a lot for my middle name, I have learned to love it. My
middle is Amari. I always tell people that my middle name comes from the NBA player,
Amare Stoudemire because when I was born my mom knew I was going to be a baller.
I am not absolutely sure why my mom chose my middle name, but I do know that I
always thought it was a boys name. I tried going by my middle name in elementary
school, but all the kids teased me and said it was a boys name, therefore I just stuck
with Nicole. According to BabyNamesPedia.com, the name Amari is used primarily in
the English language majority for boys and sometimes for girls. The site continues
saying, The name is derived from Sankrit and African Yoruban language where the
word Amari means strength. I believe I am very strong, so my middle name is perfect
for me. I believe I am strong, because I have been through a lot of things in life but I
have never let those things steer me off my path. I do not allow anything to get in the
way of my aspirations in life. also know that my father wanted me to have two middle
names because in most African American families they tend to give the child a first and
second middle name. Meanwhile, in some European American and Hispanic cultures
middle names are uncommon.
Sutherland is the last name I recieved from my fathers side of the family. I do not
know very many people with this last name because the majority of my fathers family
resides in Florida and Jamaica. Ancestry.com says, Sutherland is Scottish, a regional
name from the former county of this name, so named from Old Norse sur 'south' and
land, because the territory lay south of Scandinavia and the Norse colonies in the
Orkney and Shetland Islands. I found this very interesting that my last name is scottish
because I always assumed I had an African American type of last name. I also found

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my discovery ironic because a lot of people mess up my last name and say,
Southernland, and Southerland, but technically that is what the name means so they
were pronouncing it correctly. This is also ironic, because I am from the south land or
southern part of the US.
My name in sentence would be, The southland people are victorious, because of
their strength. Although this sentence is queer it says a lot about me as a person and
reveals where I come from. My name is a representation of my personal background, I
feel as if it can never be taken away from me. If anything is ever taken from me, I know
my name will remain. I will always be considered from the south no matter where I go. I
will always show my strength and determination to the people around me, so that I will
never be taken advantage of. Lastly, I want the people that surround me to be
victorious. I am firmly convinced that, if you surround yourself with winners you will be
on the path to success making you ultimately become a winner.