Is Your Name Funny?
Or Is It Serious?
For me, “Beaufait” is both funny and serious!
But Humor First
It seems even junk mail can’t spell our last name. The Saturday morning mail arrived and I can still hear my father howling with laughter. He’s laughing so hard, he’s sounds like someone else. The insurance company envelope was addressed to: “Mr. L. J. Beaufait” only they had turned the “u” upside down and made it an “n” and eliminated the “i.” Either the clerk seized a brilliant moment of humor or was totally asleep at the keyboard. Regardless, “Beanfat” has given our family decades of comic relief in a world that needs a laugh or two and shies away from ten letter French names with more vowels than consonants.
More Good News
My name became my best asset. Few people could pronounce it, fewer still could spell it, but after a while they did remember it. And that was absolutely golden in my sales and marketing career. I would joke about giving French lessons to executive assistants. We had fun and they didn’t forget the next time I called to make an appointment.
It Gets Funnier
If kids or adults can’t pronounce your name, they make something up! So, I ended up with more nicknames than I wanted: Bo, Beau, Jimbo, J.B., Mr. B, Buff, Buffet, and “Hey Jimmy what’s ya name.” And amongst my closest and dearest friends I was called Beanfat much to my dismay for having told them the story in the first place. It stuck to me like super glue sticks to your fingers.
Best Practice
Being in marketing I had a lot of client meetings, lunches, and dinners. When I was out of town, getting reservations at the best restaurants was always problematic. And on Fridays, it was even worse.
When you’re in a jam get creative.
“Hello, I’d like to make a reservation for six persons at 7:30 PM.”
“Oh . . . there’s no tables available?”
“Hmm, could you please take my name and number just in case you have a cancelation? My name is Jimmy Buffet and my number is . . . “
“Uh, What’s that? Am I the singer? See you at 7:30!”
No, it didn’t always work but thank Zeus that people have a sense of humor. Once we arrived at the restaurant, more than ready to have a good time, everything seemed to work out perfectly! [Pre-COVID Secret: most top tier restaurants always held back at least one table for last minute VIPs.]
On the Serious Side
Our last name literally translates from French to American English as: “beautifully done” or “well done.” That’s O.K. if you’re a hamburger but what does that truly mean? Well, it must have been a nickname a few centuries back. But a nickname for who knows what? It seems the family originally resided on an island off the coast of France near La Rochelle. This island was famous for producing the King’s wines. I fantasized about locating relatives on Ile de Re (The island of the King). Perhaps the family made exquisite wines or better yet V.S.O.P. or vintage Cognac?
Fantasy Turns to Action
Fantasy turned to action with a hearty determination to find the missing links to the family vineyards and caverns of mellowing spirits. I searched online, in person, and with anyone who had a remote connection, affiliation, knowledge, or family ties to France. That was forty long years ago . . . and I’m still searching.
Some Family History but No Cognac
It seems that the Beaufaits left France in mass around the 1640's and emigrated to Canada and eventually settled in what is now Grosse Point Michigan. Today, this is a suburb just outside of Detroit. This was about the same time that the Huguenots were exiting France. There’s a mystery here. The Huguenots were Protestants and out of favor with the King. We were very Catholic and must have really pissed off the King to have left France without a single male remaining in the country? Fantasy number two is: Maybe someone reading this in France knows something that would be helpful in connecting all the dots? Bonjour!
The Bottom Line
So, what’s in a name? Is it funny? Is it serious? A piece of history? Or, is it just about anything you want it to be?
Thank you for reading!