What's in a name?

For those of you who don't know, Farrah Rochon is not my real name. Well, Farrah is, but Rochon is a pen name.

Orginally, I'd chosen to write under the name Fallon Rochon. Oooh, isn't it musical? It just rolls of the tongue. But at the urging of a few friends and my mother, who wanted me to use at least one of the names she'd given me at birth, at the very last minute I decided to keep the first name.

Ever since the news of Deliver Me's release and the launch of this new Farrah Rochon person, people have been asking how did I come up with the name. There has been much speculation. Some have suggested that each letter in ROCHON is from a significant person in my life. Others have asked if the actress Lela Rochon is my favorite.

Uhh...yeah, right. First of all, I'm just not that complicated people. Either of those would require putting in some thought to the whole name-picking process. And, well, that's just not me.

For those who want the scope on how I chose my pen name, here it is: I got it from THE PHONE BOOK!

That's right. About four years ago, one of the writing contests I entered asked for a pen name. I thought to myself "hey, I think I want to write under another name." So, I took out the phone book, opened it to a page in the "R" section, closed my eyes and pointed. That person's first name was "Fallon" (guess it's a good thing I didn't point to a guy's name). Then, I closed my eyes and pointed again. The last name was, you guessed it, "Rochon". That's all there was to it.

So, when someone asks "What's in a name?" All I can say is: Apparently, not much.

Labels: Actress, Lela Rochon, Pen Names, Writing

posted by Farrah Rochon @ 12:58 PM Comments: 3