The illegal name

I already told the story of my name in an earlier post, so I’ll tell you the story of one my sisters’ name. When she was born in Spain, in Franco’s era, my parents decided to name her Lijerka, a beautiful Croatian name related to the feast of the Immaculate Virgin Mary. She was baptized in our parish without problem, of course.

But when my father went to the Civil Registry, the clerk said it was not possible to name her Lijerka because that was not christian. He wouldn’t recognize the name. My father tried to explain to him that it was a christian name but Croatian, but then the man said that being not Spanish was another reason to make Lijerka illegal. He did so in a rude way. He said that if my dad wouldn’t change his mind he would name the child. So he did.

When my sister needed her identity card, my father told her she had to look for her “legal” name and told us the story. Then we all learned that she was legally “Ana Juana”. Why? because a clerk decided so. When Franco died and the legislation changed she finally made her real name legal and now is just Lijerka as she and my parents wanted.

Daily Prompt: Name that… You!.

More name stories in the next page:

1. When my granny was young | Bright Moments Catcher
2. Natalie Elizabeth. | Natalie Elizabeth Beech
3. S. Thomas Summers | Daily Prompt: Identity
4. Name that… You! | Geek Ergo Sum
5. What’s in a Name? « RPMAS
6. What’s in a Name? | meanderedwanderings
7. Facebook and Cheap Trick: I’d like you to like me | DCMontreal
8. There’s no (censored) “D” in my name | thoughtsofrkh
9. Daily Prompt: The Born Identity | Creative Mysteries
10. MASIDO | Hellen Masido
11. Phoneography Weekly: What lies under the bushes | We Live In A Flat
12. Daily Prompt: Name that…You! « Mama Bear Musings
13. What’s in a name? | Books, Music, Photography & Movies : my best friends
14. Daily Prompt: Name that…You | Under the Monkey Tree
15. daily prompt – what’s in a name? | pork juice & paper towels
16. Daily Prompt: Name that… You! « Every day adventures in Asia (mostly)
17. Daily Prompt: Name that… You! Five Js | littlegirlstory
18. Daily Prompt; Name that..You | terry1954
19. Daily Prompts | derekalanwilkinson
20. Daily Prompt: Name that… You! | College Girl Dai
21. Daily Prompt: Identity – It’s Maryann, Not Maryanne, Not Marianne | IF I ONLY HAD A TIME MACHINE
22. What’s In A Name? | The Ambitious Drifter
23. What’s In A Name? Ingredients | Edward Hotspur
24. What’s in a name? | Hope* the happy hugger
25. Naming Baby Brother (short fiction) | The Jittery Goat
26. Alienora: what a weird name! | alienorajt
27. Baby Names Matter | Virginia Views
28. Oops I Named Myself: The ‘Thrilling’ Tale Behind My Name | Untitled Entity
29. Beloved Stag in a Field | The Cheese Whines
30. 160. What’s in a Name? | kevindeisher
31. Defining Yourself – Identity | Prayers and Promises
32. A wandering emerald | MC’s Whispers
33. I name this ship… | Life & Times
34. Name that…You | Flowers and Breezes
35. Just the Two of Us | The Seeker’s Dungeon
36. Little Girl | Being Nenne
37. A Rose by Any Other Name : Name that… You! | thanks for letting me autograph your cat
38. The Naming Game | A mom’s blog
39. Naming Me | Self-observing with a Typical Nobody
40. What’s in a Name? | The Silver Leaf Journal
41. Name that… You! | The Nameless One
42. Just the Two of Us | Catching up with The Seeker’s Dungeon | Hey Sweetheart, Get Me Rewrite!
43. What’s in a name? | Motherhood and Beyond
44. Renato: | Renato Vasconcellos David
45. What’s my name all about? | Hreodbeorht’s Surf Report
46. Daily Prompt: Name That … You! | Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss
47. “Name that.. You!” | Relax
48. The Fertile Earth Goddess | In Harmony
49. What’s In A Name? ((Daily Prompt)) | ♡ sarah ♡
50. Daily Prompt: Name That…You! : Minh the Clever Cat | The Blessing of Animal Companions
51. I am me | I Might Ramble
52. Daily Prompt: “It’s Pohlin, sounds like Poland but pronounced po-LIN… just call me Po” | Pohlin Lau
53. “That which we call a ROSE by another other name would smell as sweet.” | Enchanted Seashells…Confessions of a Tugboat Captain’s Wife
54. Daily Prompt: Name that… You! | MEM | The Journey of My Feet
55. Namesake | 1+1=11
56. Namesake | 1+1=11
57. Daily Prompt: Name that… You! Victory, Rebellion, Peace | @ The West Gate
58. Roshini | fingerprintwriting
59. Name That Loon | Cheri Speak
60. Names, Titles and Pseudonyms ~ a poem | Maggie’s Stories
61. My Name is Maureen : DP | BLUE BEAD PUBLICATIONS
62. What’s in a name | dandelionsinwind
63. Daily Prompt: Name That … You! | Heron There & Everywhere
64. My name is… | Pen Kisses Paper
65. Purity | Scraps of Paper
66. What if I was a girl? By the way, I’m not! | Okay, what if ?
67. the UNCATEGORISED|Daily Prompt: IDENTITY | the TRASH BASH
68. Daily Post – Daily Prompt – Name that… You! | awritersfountain
69. Daily Prompt: Identity | Books, Music, Photography & Movies : my best friends
70. That’s Not My Name! | An Upturned Soul
71. Sorry, You’ve Been Disconnected | The Road Less Paved
72. Danny Boy! | Danny James
73. Daily Promt: And The Winner is… | Along Life’s Road
74. Daily Prompt – Name That … You | hometogo232
75. Bear… | Haiku By Ku
76. My strange little Chinese name. | A Girl with a Piano
77. An Expedition Into Identity | Daily Prompt: Name That…You! | Quinn Harkness
78. noble warship? | Her Broken Nibs
79. What’s in a name? | tornin2’s Blog
80. Daily Prompt: Name that…You! | Today’s Monday, so I’m Alex | I Have a Story to Tell…
81. Henceforth You Shall Be Called ‘Brad’ | mobibrad
82. Give Me Your Name | floatingsheep
83. Daily Prompt: My name is Marilyn. I’m a teepee. | SERENDIPITY
84. Identity | Mara Eastern’s Personal Blog
85. Daily Prompt: Name that… You! | Ambitious Jackson
86. Daily Prompt – Name that…You! | imexcited
87. Who? | LauGraEva
88. Writing Prompt: Name That… You. | I Hope You’re Taking Notes
89. What’s in a Name? | On Gorgeousness
90. Daily Prompt: Bet You a Dollar | One Starving Activist
91. Daily Prompt: Name that… You! | The Daily Post « The Blogging Path
92. Processing the life | It’s your Identity…
93. Daily Prompt: Name that… You! | Whimsical Eclecticist
94. Daily Prompt: Name that… You! | Alastair’s Blog
95. My.Vivid.Visions | Daily Prompt: Name that… You! – One with few Desires
96. Karen | Charron’s Chatter
97. What is in the name… | Me: A Wannabe-Superhero
98. Its All in A Name……(wp daily prompt) | Daily Observations
99. Duncan the Sushi Roll #6 | Neva Samaki
100. Fashioning Identity | loveletterstoaghost

1. Breaking a sweat around the room | Escaping a Daydream
2. My Name Is My Superpower | A Writer’s Journey:
3. Man’s Defender and Man’s Best Friend | Farfetched Friends
4. “Name that… YOU!” | Little Talks
5. What’s In a Name? | the mmmmm family
6. Daily Prompt: Name that… You! | Vagabond
7. What’s in a name? | thepoolehall
8. Daily Prompt: Name that… You! | Name – A world of its own | Prateek Bhatia
9. Daily Prompt: What’s in my Name? | In So Many Words
10. Four Little Letters | Prose and Possibilities
11. The Importance of Names | The Daily 400
12. Daily Prompt: Name that… You! | La chica de la burbuja
13. A Void of Heather | heathervoid
14. Born Identity || My Own Victory | Mind My Mind But..