About Maribeth
How to pronounce Maribeth
First: of Realize that it is not pronounced Mary Beth or Merry Beth.
Second: think of a mare
Third: "uh" or even "ah" will do depending on dialect
Fourth: beth
Marahbeth (Click here to listen to a .wav file)
Origins of the name
Mary usually refers to Myrrhh
Origins of my assignment of the name, Maribeth
My mother always told me that the first girl born in her family was to always be named Esther. She was an Esther as was my Grandmother. She often said that I was destined to misfortune because she broke with the family tradition when she named me Maribeth. She and my father always believed that they made up my name and the way it is spelled always told me my name was not a combination of Mary and Beth, but instead a combination of Marie and Elizabeth. Marie after my mother's middle name and Elizabeth after the many Elizabeth's in my family tree younger sister was named Lizabeth without the "E" and my parents enjoyed having two girls named Maribeth and Lizabeth. My High School Latin teacher Mr. Cunea pronounced my name as "Maria Eee Liz Ah Beaaa Th Ah"
Reasons I always hated my name
1. People always mispronounced my name (including family members)
2. People used my name to suit their mood (Meeerrry Long Pause Beth)
3. People had variations of the name that were annoying (Merry Beast; Meery Christmas; Merry Bell etc.)
4. There were never any cool ready made products at the store with my name. The closest I would ever get was Mary.
5. When I say my name people say "What?" and then say "Oh you mean Mary Beth, Why didn't you say so!
6. Secretly I always wanted to be a Meredith or a Michelle...
Things that helped me accept my name
1. Adding Ph.D. and becoming Dr. Maribeth. Not Ms. Maribeth, Not Miss Maribeth, Not Mrs. Maribeth, but Dr. Maribeth.
2. Being around people who pronounce my name correctly.
3. The ability to now order or create anything I want with my name on it.
I am currently working on a project for the Library of Congress.
This link tells a little about Me and leads to my project:
