Dear Valentines and Valentinas,
this Monday people pay particular attention when they hear your names. But you should be used to that from previous years. You explained that it’s not your birthday just because that’s your name, and to be on the safe side you checked who Saint Valentine actually was. But all of that is bearable if your name stands for something good like love.
Rarely do you have to tell new people your name more than once, while the third Philipp of the evening blurs into one with the others. Because there are so few other Valentins and Valentinas, you are never addressed by their last names like the three Philipps in order to be able to distinguish them – or even with physical attributes such as “the big Philip”. You usually don’t have to spell this name, at most you have to correct the pronunciation if you insist in Bavaria that it’s not called “Fallentin”. You can shout “Valentin” very energetically (useful for parents) and shorten it to cute nicknames like “Valli” (useful in childhood).
Similar to how bus drivers routinely greet each other when their paths cross on the street, Valentins and Valentinas look into each other’s eyes with an imperceptible nod, in the shared awareness of all the special features that this name entails. Somehow, every day is Valentine’s Day for us, and actually that’s usually not so bad.
All the best, Valentine.
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