Christy's Musings: What's in a Name?

Right, I have received several emails asking me about my name.  Many hint around the question; many think that they are hinting though I must tell you that subtly it becoming a lost art; still others ask me outright - "How can your name be 'Christy'? Isn't that a bit modern for you?"

Ye, gods!  You almost sound like Juliet during the balcony scene:

What's <Christy>? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;

But more to the point, asking a vampire about her name under most circumstances equals asking to have either your tongue or head removed.

Luckily for you, this is not most circumstances.

Per the request of our Vampire Kings, I will instruct you about vampires and their names.

When a human becomes a vampire, they have the option to either retain their birth name, or get a new name immediately.  In my experience, about half choose the keep their old name and about half want a new one to symbolize their new life.

After a hundred years or so, every vampire feels the need to remove themselves from their past.  Usually, this need arises from the fact that we are all basically human and we make stupid mistakes during the beginning of our life as a vampire.  I mean, no one wants to be known as Lola, the girl who accidentally ate the local duke and caused a riot against vampires.

Unlike humans, we change our names due to either circumstances, major alterations in our life affairs, or sheer boredom.  Some vampires I know have a schedule which plots out all of their name changes for the next thousand years.  A few keep the same name through every occasion, harping ad naseum about their devotion and fealty as demonstrated in their consistency with names.  Most of us, though, cherish our names and change them only upon some external impetus.

As for my current name,  I assure you that "Christy" was not the name under which I entered this world.   But during World War 2, I wished to make a statement about my beliefs.  So, Christy I became and Christy I will be until I choose otherwise.