What’s in a name? Everything actually

Last week actor Thandie Newton announced she was reverting to the original Zimbabwean spelling of her name, after it was misspelled in the credits to her first film more than 30 years ago.

The 48-year-old revealed her name is spelled Thandiwe (pronounced “tan-dee-way”) but was widely used without the “w” after she didn’t correct the mistake.

As a young woman, only 17 or 18 years old, I can imagine she probably didn’t feel confident enough to speak up, so it’s fantastic she is finally able to go by the name she loves – or, as the actor put it: “That’s my name. It’s always been my name. I’m taking back what’s mine”.