A mother in Tennessee has decided to let her teenage daughter change her name due to bullying related to her current name, Dixie.
In a TikTok video, Daniel Lemp shared that he would encourage his 16-year-old daughter to change her name after encountering peer pressure. He mentioned on the platform that his daughter was upset about being teased and asked for a change. Without hesitation, he agreed.
Lemp conveyed, “My 16-year-old daughter hates her name because she gets teased about it. She asked me if I could change it. I said yes, no questions asked.”
The teenager has decided on the name Skye, which was originally her mother’s preferred choice before her father settled on Dixie. She expressed that she endured taunts like “Dixie Dust” and “Dixie Normas,” along with other derogatory nicknames. Her mother also mentioned that peers accused her of having racist connotations attached to her name, a reference to its ties with the Civil War-era South.
Historical context reveals that in 1859, a minstrel song called “Dixie” gained popularity, even receiving praise from Abraham Lincoln who called it “one of the best songs I ever heard.” The song later became associated with the Confederate anthem during the Civil War, giving rise to the South being nicknamed “Dixie.”
The term “Dixie” might have ties to the Mason-Dixon Line, which was drawn in the 18th century and became a symbol of the divide between slaveholding and free states. Some believe that the name first arose as slang to describe areas south of this boundary.
Lemp is currently trying to gather funds, about $200, to cover the legal fees for the name change. His daughter remarked, “I think Skye resembles me. That’s who I am, and I feel happy to be able to work under that name.”
Bullying can take a toll on individuals, adversely affecting their mental health. According to stopbullying.gov, it encompasses “unwanted aggressive behavior in school-age children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance,” including actions like intimidation, spreading rumors, and exclusion.
