It’s another name interview! This one is with Sidra (pronounced see-druh), a 37-year-old from New York City.
What’s the story behind her name?
My mother named me. She told me she found my name in a baby name book. She had never heard of it before and liked the meaning of it, “star” (in Latin).
What does she like most about her name?
I like that my name is rare. In my school days there was never another ‘Sidra’ in my class. I like that I’m usually the first ‘Sidra’ someone has met and get many compliments on my name. A cool fact is that my name spelled backwards is another female first name: ‘Ardis’!
What does she like least about her name?
I dislike that people rarely pronounce it correctly (well the version of how it’s supposed to be pronounced for me). Most people see the S-i-d first and assume it’s pronounced as the name ‘Sid’ and call me Sid-druh (which is a pronunciation variation for some with my name). And I’m not fond of that pronunciation at all. Another thing I don’t like about my name is it’s often misspelled because of how it’s pronounced; some people think it’s spelled with a ‘C’. And if I’m talking to someone over the phone or in person, if I say my name for the first time, people often think I’ve said my name is ‘Didra/Deidra’ or ‘Tedra’’ because I guess those are more common. Or if not those names, it gets butchered completely and doesn’t sound like my name at all. I’ve sometimes had to joke that my name is ‘Didra’ but with an ‘S’ or it’s just like the Pokémon (Seadra) to make the pronunciation clearer for some.
Finally, would Sidra recommend that her name be given to babies today?
I’m in the middle. I would recommend that ‘Sidra’ be given to baby girls today because it’s different. But it would be weird if it ever became a popular first name. I lean also towards not recommending it be given to baby girls today because then it wouldn’t be as “special” if it were common. I like that there are not too many other women with the name ‘Sidra’ out there.
Thank you, Sidra!
P.S. Here’s a post about Ardis (“Sidra” backwards), and here’s a long list of similar name anagrams.