What’s in a Name?

When I first decided to do the whole magazine thing, followed by the whole blog thing, the first thing I knew I needed (besides a kick ass idea) was a really great name. And that was a lot harder than it may seem.

I looked at the names of some other teen publications that I read- from the most basic, like Teen (is that still around?) and Seventeen; to the junior women’s mags, like CosmoGIRL! (r.i.p), Elle Girl (r.i.p), and Teen Vogue; including the “niche” (read: ethnic) mags like, Young Sisters and Brothers (r.i.p.) and QuinceGirl (which, admittedly, I’ve never read).

Elle Girl (r.i.p.)

And I thought, eh…nothing really snazzy about any of them. They get the point across that they are magazines for teens, but that’s about it. Since I was starting from scratch, on my own, and quite unknown, I needed a really good name. One word that just says it all. Like  Sassy and Fierce (not for teens, but still, young adults).

So I wanted the name to be jazzy enough that it would draw people’s attention (and make them want to pick it up and read or at least browse through it) but not too edgy that it would turn people off; a name that would speak to teen girls, but didn’t sound too cutesy; a name that was fresh, but not too gritty- in a way, I wanted something perfect, without playing it too safe.  I  wanted a name that would reflect what the magazine stands for and speak to the girls I’m trying to reach, the girls I’m writing about and the girls I’m writing for.

I wanted that. So I thought and looked words up in both the dictionary and the thesaurus until I found it. It was perfect! But it was taken. So I found another. Perfect! But there were too many incarnations of it online. I wanted something that was unique. And then it came to me- homegirl.

I knew what it meant. I used it to refer to a certain group of girls I knew from college who were from my hometown. We weren’t the closest of friends, but being from the same place was something that connected us, that endeared us to one another and set us apart from everyone else, from every place else. So I looked it up in the dictionary to make sure. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a homegirl is:

1 : a girl or woman from one’s neighborhood, hometown, or region

2: a girl or woman who is a member of one’s peer group

3: an inner-city girl or woman

Right. Right. Kind of perfect, no? The only thing was, I wondered if it would it only appeal to a certain kind of girl. You know, the ones for whom urban, hip-hop, and at-risk are synonymous. So I thought about it and here’s the deal.  1) Yes, the name homegirl does bring up images of fly girls in their b-girl stances and I’m cool with that because I am writing for them. 2) But I’m also writing for girls who have no idea what a b-girl stance looks like and 3) I think the content of what and whom I write about will reflect the diversity of what it means to be a homegirl, and a Tri-state homegirl at that.

So, whether you’re from Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Harlem, Manhattan, Staten Island, Jersey, or Connecticut, come on in and get familiar. There’s something here for everyone. And if you don’t see something for you, email me (homegirl.nyc@gmail.com) and let me know so I can get right on top of that.

I’m here for you.