Jane hated her name. She didn’t just not like it. She knew that most people didn’t like their names. This was different. Hers she really hated. ….. It was repulsive and repugnant. It was an abomination. It was also easy to rhyme.
….Ever since she was small and people had asked, “What’s your name, dear?” she had noticed their eyes glaze over immediately she told them. When she replied, “Jane” they practically yawned in her face. They sometimes tried to make amends by saying quickly, “That’s a good, sensible name.”
Whoever wanted a sensible name?
(Theresa Breslin, Name Games, Mammoth, 1997)
By Any Other Name 