What's in a name?

Inspired by a fellow blogger with fairly interesting views on the world (optimist of note), I have started to chronicle my own experiences and things I have come across on a daily basis. Note this doesn't mean that I will post something every single day, but I will write from the heart when I do. I should have started with this post as the introduction to my blog, but opted to post things I have written in the past. Let me start off by saying, my punctuation is bad (should really look into improving this). I'm not writing this for the benefit of anyone, but myself.

So who is Mercia? People often buy books with thousands of baby names hoping to find something that will appeal to them and describe the bundle of joy that will grace the world with its presence very soon. According to sources, Mercia was the name of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom, which dominated England during the 8th century under its king, Offa. It is also the latinate elaboration of mercy. I was named after my aunt who never had children of her own. My surname, which I won't mention here, is Polish. As far as the last piece of information goes, I'm neither emerged in that culture nor do I speak Polish. Friends rarely call me by my name and use nicknames like Meraa or Miss M or J. In a way, the use of my actual name has negative connotations for me. It's like being transported back to my childhood and being chided by my mother after having done something wrong (it's funny actually).