My name is Kiesha Nicole R Tagalicud. The R in my name stands for Respicio, which was my mom’s last name before she married my dad. I was born in Ilocos Norte, in the Philippines. I moved from the Philippines to Honolulu, Hawai’i when I was just 3 years old.

I have always been ashamed of my last name because it wasn’t ordinary. People constantly ask me how to pronounce it here. I always hear Tagali-SUE-d, Tagali-CUH-d, TAY-GAY-LEE-SUED, Taga-LEE-SUE-D, and all of the other ways to mispronounce it.

I never liked my last name only because of this. I always wanted a more “simple” name that was more common and easier for everyone to pronounce. Back in 5th grade when we had our graduation ceremony, my teacher asked me how to pronounce my last name. I told her the pronunciation, but it took her a couple tries to figure it out. The day of our virtual ceremony I turned down my volume when it was my turn to be on the screen only because I was scared she had messed up the recording and mispronounced “Tagalicud.” That was supposed to be a special moment and I didn't want to hear my name mispronounced again.

During 8th grade, at the end of every week our two counselors would pick 5 lucky students to get some little snacks from the office over the televised morning news. And one week I was one of the winners of getting a snack. My counselor pulled out my name and correctly said “Kiesha Nicole” but then it came to my last name where he struggled to pronounce it in front of the whole school. My counselor did recognize it was me and proceeded to say “Sorry I can’t pronounce your last name but I do know it’s you Kiesha.” While waiting down at the office I saw my counselor coming towards me and asked me, “How do you pronounce your last name? Is it a Filipino last name?” Again, I felt kind embarrassed knowing that only a small number of people are able to pronounce “Tagalicud.”

From what I know, Tagalicud came from my dad’s side of the family. The Tagalicud family came from many lines of hard working field-workers and merchants. The economy used to be less stressful than it is today due to the strong connection with the community around the Tagalicuds, but my father’s family was lower than middle class. He had a sickly mother and a determined father who worked really hard to find a cure for his weak, beloved wife. However, with all that arduous labor, the collected money was not enough to get the family through the day, so my grandfather sought a solution elsewhere; here in Honolulu. With the help of our relatives, he managed to get a decent paying job, just enough to send to the Philippines for his wife’s medications and needs. But as time passed by, there was nothing that could save his wife from her illness and the excruciating pain. My grandfather eventually brought my father with him to Honolulu so that they could build another life together. From there, they both met the love of their lives and created a family of their own here.

My last name is difficult to pronounce but it is tied to my family's history of overcoming hardship. Sometimes I think about my middle name that is also somewhat of a tongue twister for some: Respicio. During World War II, between the Philippines and Japan, my great-grandmother encountered a Japanese soldier which led to the birth of my grandma who is half Japanese and half Filipino. Learning about her history and this story shows me how brave my great-grandmother was during this time period. Although my family history has many stories of hardship, my ancestors are brave and have overcome a lot. My family name is worth learning how to pronounce.

© Kiesha. All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.