Having a name like Marilou Frias has not been easy. No one has ever pronounced these names perfectly; never mind attempting to spell them right!

Let's start with my surname, Frias. It's pronounced FREE-yahs. For such a short name, only a few could spell this correctly. The variations I've seen had been hilarious:
1.) Fries, as in "Would you like fries with that?"
2.) Friar, like Friar Tuck in Robin Hood
3.) Fraise, which means fresh in French
4.) Frais. Close enough, but still wrong!

For all the curious minds out there, the name Frias is a Spanish name. It's rooted from the word frio which means cold. Frios is its plural form. So frias is the female, plural form of frio.

The name Marilou is a whole other story. The spelling, the spelling! Get it right already!     » read more