Most people who have a unique name will admit it comes with certain challenges. But Corona McKee might just have the most attention-grabbing moniker of all - and the best stories to tell.
From disrupting waiting rooms during the pandemic to confusing Mexican beer lovers, her name often gets her in a pickle. But the 66-year-old likes to stand out and says she's got no plans to change it.
She admits it can be repetitive when everyone asks her the same questions. No, her name doesn't bother her. Yes, it's like the beer. Or the virus, in recent years.
Her family have also had to make some adjustments, as her grandkids refuse to call Covid-19 by the same name as 'grammy'.
Luckily, their grandmother has handled everything graciously, thanks in part to her sense of humour, and she's enjoyed a good laugh over the years, occasioned by the hiccups her name has caused.
Regardless, the retiree from Pennsylvania, US, has always liked being called Corona, even if she's not sure why the name was picked out for her.
"Growing up there weren't many in my grade school but there was a Betty, Jane, so yes, I liked the fact that my name was different. At least when someone called out Corona, I was the only one that raised my hand," she explained.
"Once I married and moved to a new area there were doctors that were very curious about my name. Where I got it, how it was spelled, then the million-dollar question, if anyone ever asked me for a beer."
But she uncovered a new difficulty when she visited Mexico on a cruise; people could not understand the difference between her name and Corona Extra, in the home of the popular beer.
"When asked my name at any of the events on the cruise of course I said Corona. Unfortunately, no one on the cruise, even the cruise director nor any of the crew believed me, most thought I was drunk and was saying the name of the beer on which I was drunk," she recalled. "I gave up and just let them believe what they wanted to believe."
Corona also noticed people started to treat her differently when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
Recalling her first interactions, Corona said: "At the beginning of the pandemic, I still had to go to doctors. I had to be checked as I had an immune issue.
"Now, when I called to make the appointments naturally you had to tell the receptionists your name there was always that pause then you would hear 'Oh my. Um could you spell that please'. I would spell it again a pause, then, 'hmm, just like the virus'." She added that the receptionist said 'this must be a rough time', to which she replied: "It's not the easiest."
The most notable reaction came when the nurse called out her name in the surgery, as 'Corona' prompted several furtive glances around the waiting room. During her next visit, the nurse refused to shout out her name, citing a possible 'stampede'.
The nurse probably made the right call too, as Corona stopped a whole waiting room in its tracks when her name was announced 'loudly' during a different medical visit. By then the 'pandemic was in full force', and when she was summoned 'everyone in the waiting room stopped what they were doing.' Corona tried to reassure those around her but with little success.
As the pandemic raged on, Corona continued to attract all manner of attention because of her name, and it was questioned by banks, security offices and most places she contacted by phone.
"Anywhere I would be on the phone with someone and have to tell them my name it seemed odd, but the first thing they would say was, has 'anyone ever told you that you made them think of the beer'," Corona explained. She thinks the responses were 'rather unprofessional'.
Despite everything though, she still stands by her name. "Even now as the pandemic is not quite as strong in force, I still have people questioning me about my name, if I chose the name, if it bothered me having this name, if I thought about changing it," said Corona. Her answer: "No, it's my name. It's who I am." She added: "[I] don't know why I was named this, but it is what it is."
Do you an unusual name that you'd love to share? Email amber.oconnor@reachplc.com
