Eunice

I’ll just preface this by stating that my name is Eunice. Middle name is Marie.
I grew up not necessarily hating my name, but wishing rather that it were more common so that I wouldn’t be hit with poor mispronunciation or misspelling. A part of me wished I was an Amelia, Rachael, Amy etc.

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I am now 17, and I LOVE my name. It honestly humours me to see the amount of Eunice hate on baby forums for the way it rolls off the tongue in an ‘ugly’ manner or its association to either a nerd with glasses or a seventy year old crocheting grandmother- apparently there is no in between.

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I will do my best to convince any doubters about how GREAT of a name Eunice is, trust me if I can convince myself, I can convince you too.

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Firstly, Eunice is derived from Greek origins, meaning ‘good victory’. The prefix ‘eu’ meaning good and ‘nike’ meaning victory.
How bloody cool to grow up in such a materialistic culture to say your name literally has the brand Nike within it?

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Secondly, along with its Greek origins (I love a good souvlaki) the name Eunice is also Biblical! Eunice is Timothy’s mother within the Bible.

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Other literature references include Eunice from A Streetcar Named Desire and Eunice from To Kill a Mockingbird. Wild claim but at least 70% of kids study one of these in high school, fortunate for myself I studied both. I can’t explain the rush of pleasure when you hear YOUR NAME recognised in such great bodies of work.

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There are some great Eunices that have gone before me. Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of former President John F. Kennedy and the founder of the Special Olympics. Did you know Nina Simone’s real name is Eunice as well?

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However, these two amazing women may not be as familiar to a newborn baby. The lack of popularity or buzz surrounding the name Eunice means that your child will be the one and only Eunice that most people encounter in their lives.

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Sure, a lot of my friends tell me of other Eunice’s that they have crossed paths with, but personally, I have never met a Eunice... ever.
Isn’t it great that when someone hears your name they only see one face? It’s not like an Amy where you picture three different Amy’s within your life. Yes, I never found my name on a light up key chain, but I honestly would not have it any other way.

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I swear to you that after a while the name just rolls off your tongue, the hardness of the consonants and the strange “you” at the beginning is honestly just part of its charm.

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Personal perks of the name Eunice from my experience:
- if you’re lucky and well liked you may hear that your name was “made for you” as Eunice could well become “You nice”. And it’s always pleasant to hear others think you’re nice.
- FUNNY NICKNAMES (if you have a dark humour): I have heard it all from Euthanasia, Eustress to Eunuch. It’s so great because your nickname isn’t just as simple as shortening your name so it’s fun to watch your friends get creative.
- Aesthetically, the name is even just pretty to write out. It begins AND ends with an E. Also, it’s a nice length too, six letters so it becomes somewhat symmetrical.

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Sorry, I am clearly very passionate for the push to get Eunice some more recognition. If a name has a fan club I would love to declare myself its president (and probably its only member!) I just love my name and hate reading all the slander it gets :((

In ancient Greek mythology, Eunice was a Naiad.