About my name, Elissa
I was named for my maternal grandmother, Emelia. My parent’s followed the Jewish tradition of honoring a passed loved one and used her first initial, “E” and called me Elissa.
My dad chose Elissa because of Elissa Landi. She was an Austro-Hungarian actress/poetess and a great beauty. He loved her.
My dad’s mother passed away at 53 from undiagnosed diabetes. My dad never forgave his father for being a beast at home and such an honored man in the community. He could not abide his flagrant hypocrisy. They would take the streetcar to synagogue and get off early so people would observe him walking on the Sabbath. And then afterwards they’d go to the White Lunch for clam chowder. When my dad told his father that clams were treyf, he got slapped across the face. At his funeral people had lined the streets for the procession. And once I met someone in Israel who know of him, “I loved your grandfather!” My dad hated his father.
Elissa is apparently a difficult name to pronounce. In every grade my teachers rarely got it right the first time, if ever. I got called many things. Elise, Lisa, Elisa, Eliss...And the spellings. Oy!
One girl, Elisa, was a year behind me in high school. A few years after graduation, I ran into her and she said, “Elissa - I hate you!” She always got her name pronounced, Elissa. I successfully taught my teachers.
I travelled to Galveston, Texas to meet other Elissas at the 1877 Tall Ship ELISSA, one of the few ships of her kind to actively sail.
Nine Elissa’s were there. The youngest was named after the boat. Her dad had spent time as a volunteer crew member. Several were named after Elissa Landi. And all of them had similar stories about mispronunciation. One woman gave up completely and just goes by “Lisa.” Several of us shared our success stories with pronunciation - Melissa without the “M”
According to Baby Names Hub, 13,451 girls in the United States have been named Elissa since 1880. The greatest number of people, 408, were given this name in 1979. Elissa was not so common in 1957, thus my not-so-uncommon situation. Let’s not get started on my surname, Checov. Suffice to say I divide people into two groups - those that associate it with Anton Chekhov, the writer. Or Star Trek.
My mother saved all my report cards. In kindergarten, a teacher commented:
“Mostly obedient”
“Easily distracted”
“Elissa is a very interesting little girl.”
I wonder how she pronounced my name.