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I have always been proud of my name, Ashley. People always say how lovely my name is, and I love when I get to meet other Ashleys. However, in recent years, I have become even more proud of my name, especially in light of finding out that there is an Irish spelling of it.
I was named after Ashley Wilkes in “Gone With the Wind.” It
was my mom’s favorite character. However, I was always a bit annoyed that I was
named after a guy. I was never made fun of for it, and I just always shrugged
it off. When I finally saw the movie (I know, I know, it has its flaws), I
ended up liking that character.
In seventh grade, most students were required to take “Exploratory
Languages” to figure out which language we were interested in, between German,
French, Spanish, and Latin. In each marking period, we would switch to the next
language. At the beginning of each marking period, we would be assigned “names”
that were either an equivalent or close match to a name in that language. Unfortunately,
there was never an equivalent or close match of my name in any of the
languages.
In 2024, I had the chance to see the Irish Tenors live. It
was such a bucket list moment for me, and the concert was phenomenal. Afterwards,
I got to meet the band, and they could not have been more kind. It was an
absolute honor to meet them. I had a concert program and CD that they signed.
Ronan Tynan asked me for my name. My name is spelled “Ashley.” When I looked at
the signature later, I realized he spelled my name with an Irish twist: “Aisley.”
This little gesture meant so much to me. As someone who
never felt included in the language classes since there was no equivalent to my
own name, it meant a lot that I had this connection to an Irish spelling of my
name. Will I change it legally? Probably not. But it is still something I cherish
and hold so closely to me, even years later.
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