Since adopting my new last name, I have learned that there are many variations of the name Sommer. When I first met Kent I could never say it right, but it's pronounced Sommer, the 'o' sounding like 'on' or the sound you make when you open your mouth for the doctor to look down your throat...."Sahhhhhhhhhmmer".Anyway, I've noticed that people most often mistake it for Sommers, which isn't too bad, just an extra 's', but it is also confused with Somners, Somner, Sumners, Sumner, Summer, even Pommer. That one was during a phone call, so I can understand the confusion. I was probably mumbling. (West was an easier last name, but it's lower on the alphabet chain. No more being second to last on the role.)
Either way, the name confusion is the reason for our blog title. In college, Kent's good friend, Dave, thought Kent's name was Kent Somner. They were in the same ward for about a year, but Kent always remained Kent Somner. I think Dave was disappointed when he found out it was Sommer. They had to get to know each other all over again. That 'm' versus 'n' made a big difference.
So, we're actually Kent and Nellie Sommer, not Kent and Nellie Sumners. It's tricky. I love my new last name and if you do say Summer, you're not wrong. Sommer does mean 'summer' in German, just don't forget the 'ahhhhh' sound.
3 comments:
It was sad for Kent Somner to die, but it was a magical journey getting to know Kent Sommer. I wouldn't trade Kent Sommer for the world--although I do miss Kent Somner from time to time. Kent Somner was a library security buddy, a ward friend, and just an all-around good guy. Kent Sommer is much more responsible. He has a J.D., works every day, married a cute lil' girl, and talks about sports and politics.
I should note that I am not the only one who misses Kent Somner. I was not the only one to come to know Kent Somner--everyone in my apartment, Caitlin and her apartment, and various other people in that ward knew only Kent Somner and nothing of Kent Sommer.
Either way, the great constant in both of these distinguished gentlemen is the Kent part. If you have Kent in the equation, beit Sommer or Somner, you really can't go wrong.
May Kent Somner rest in peace, and may Kent Sommer give me back my heart that he stole.
Thank you for this most informative post. I was always a little unsure as to whether it was pronounced Sow-mer, with a strong "o" sound or Sah-mer, with and "ahhh" sound. Now I know. Haha. :)
I guess you could tell people its pronounced like Dahmer, but with an "S". On second thought, maybe not...We will just let people mis-pronounce it. I am amazed that people even have a problem with Fullmer sometimes. Come on, how hard could it be?
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