Wambui Bahati: The Story Behind the Name
Wambui Bahati shares a delightful and humorous journey about how she came to embrace her new name, which means "singer of songs" and "my fortune is good." Born as John Ann Washington, Wambui recounts her mother's quirky predictions that led to her being named after a boy, causing a bit of confusion during her childhood. As she navigated through life, including a stint in the mental health system, Wambui realized it was time for a change—not just in her mindset but in her identity too. With a playful spirit, she embarked on the quest for a name that resonated with her true self, leading to the discovery of "Wambui" and "Bahati." After a charming series of events involving the courthouse and a friendly clerk, she ultimately transformed her name, much to her family’s surprise, proving that sometimes a little change can lead to a whole lot of joy!
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Wambui Bahati's journey isn't just about a name change; it's a vibrant tapestry woven with experiences, challenges, and self-discovery. Born as John Ann Washington in 1950, Wambui recounts the quirky story of how her mother, convinced she would have a son, ended up naming her with a boy's name. This led to years of teasing and a struggle with identity, where young Wambui was often referred to as a girl with a boy's name. However, as Wambui navigated through her formative years and into adulthood, she learned to embrace the uniqueness of her name, even adding a hyphen for flair when joining the theater community.
Fast forward to her late 40s, where life had thrown its fair share of challenges her way, including a label of mental illness that she was determined to shed. With a newfound desire to reinvent herself, Wambui embarked on a quest for a name that resonated with her identity and aspirations. This led her to the beautiful Swahili name 'Wambui', meaning 'singer of songs', and 'Bahati', which translates to 'my fortune is good'. With a sense of humor and resilience, she humorously navigates the bureaucratic maze of changing her name, engaging with clerks and overcoming hurdles, ultimately leading to a triumphant moment when she receives her new birth certificate. Her story is a heartfelt reminder of the power of names and their significance in our lives.
Takeaways:
- Wambui shared a humorous story about her unconventional name, John Ann Washington, and how it came to be.
- Throughout their childhood, she faced teasing for having a boy's name, which made school quite an adventure.
- After years of personal growth and change, Wambui decided to reinvent herself with a new name, Wambui Bahati.
- The process of changing her name turned into an unexpected comedic journey involving a trip to the courthouse.
- Wambui's family had mixed reactions to the name change, with their mother humorously skeptical about the decision.
- Ultimately, the name change symbolizes Wambui's transformation and newfound identity in life.
I was born to Mr.
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And Mrs.
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John Lewis Washington of Greensboro, North Carolina, in January of 1950.
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My mother must have been going through some kind of phase because she was thinking that she could predict things.
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She predicted that I was going to be a boy.
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She predicted that my name was going to be John Lewis Washington Jr.
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She predicted that I was going to be her last child.
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She already had a daughter who was two when I was born.
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I was a girl.
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But my mother being the person that my mother is, she could not readily admit that she was wrong.
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So she went ahead and named me John anyway, John Washington.
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She at least changed the middle name from Lewis to Ann.
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So therefore, my name was John Ann Washington.
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And by the way, I was not the last child.
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I have two younger brothers.
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When I was in elementary school in North Carolina in 1950.
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Anyway, the people still believed in such things as a boy's name and a girl's name.
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So I was considered a girl with a boy's name.
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And therefore, many of the children in my elementary school used to tease me about being a girl with a boy's name.
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My mama had to go down to the school and tell the teachers, just call her Ann.
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So I was Ann in elementary school.
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Now, by the time I got to junior high and high school, it really didn't matter to me anymore.
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In fact, I was thinking that my name was pretty unique.
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John Ann Washington.
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Now, when I graduated and I started working in the theater, when I signed up for the union, I signed myself up as John, Hyphen and Washington.
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I thought that hyphen just gave it a little kick, you know what I mean?
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Years passed.
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Life went on.
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There were good times, there were bad times.
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I made some bad choices, bad decisions, made some mistakes.
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Finally, the Social Security Administration, along with a few doctors, declared that I was bona fide mentally ill.
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Fast forward many years.
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I'm now about 47 years old, and I'm walking away from the mental health system.
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I'm reinventing myself.
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I'm changing the way I eat, changing the way I think, changing so many things in my life.
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And one thing I want to change is I want to change my name.
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I want a name that means something to me.
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I start researching names.
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I'm looking at some African names, some Swahili names, specifically.
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I see this one word.
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It says.
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It means singer of songs.
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That word is Wambui.
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I say, yes, I want that to be my new name, Wambui.
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But wait a minute.
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Can I be Wambui Washington?
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Eh?
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You know what?
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I decided I needed A new last name, too.
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So I kept looking and I ran across this word, bahati.
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They said the meaning of bahati was, my fortune is good.
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Imagine that.
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SINGER OF SONGS My fortune is good.
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I decided this is going to be my new name.
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Well, when I went home and told my family that I'm changing my name to Wambui Bahati, they started thinking that perhaps I had left the mental health system a little too soon.
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But my mother calmed everybody down.
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She said, don't worry.
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In order to change her name, she's going to need a lawyer.
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And a lawyer is going to want some money.
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And I know that she doesn't have any.
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But I went down to the courthouse anyway to see what the possibilities were.
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And when I went over to the clerk, I told the clerk I was interested in changing my name.
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She said, well, it's going to be a $35 fee, and you're going to need a certain form.
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And I said, what form is that?
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And she said, it's usually a form that your lawyer gives you.
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I said, oh, I need a lawyer now.
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There was someone else behind the counter who said, I'm going on my break.
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I'm going past the library down the hall.
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Come with me.
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I'll show you that form in the library.
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So I went to the library, and they showed me the form, and when I looked at it, I went, ooh.
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He said, it's not so hard.
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Here, let me help you fill it out.
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He helped me fill out the whole form.
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He said, now take this form and your $35 and go back to the clerk.
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So I took my $35 and the filled out form, and I went back to the clerk.
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She said, mm, this looks good.
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Now, it's going to take 30 days because we got to post the notice for 30 days.
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Come back in 30 days.
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If everything's okay, you'll have your new birth certificate with your new name, Wambui Bahati.
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I went back in 30 days.
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They gave me a new birth certificate.
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My name was now Wambui Bahadi.
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I went home, I said, mama, I got a new name.
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My name is Wambui Bahati.
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Wambui Bahati.
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Mama, My mama said, what?
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Booing Mama, my mama said, you know I'm not gonna call you that.
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And she didn't for a long time.
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It kind of had to grow on her, and it did.