Lawrence Siulagi

Talofa. Welcome to my home page.

Here, you can find out about me and why my surname is incredibly difficult to pronounce (unless you’re Polynesian). If you are looking for my work, see my portfolio to see what work I’ve done in careers past.

You can read my Blog to see what I’ve been up to lately. If you’re curious to do things with your hands, check out my recipe on how to make perfect chocolate chip cookies.

What’s in a name?

“How do you pronounce your name?” you ask. To give you an idea of how many times I’m asked this question, I was going to name my website “The G is Soft” or “Close Enough” because it’s the common answer I give after someone butchers my last name. I feel sorry for the cashiers at Safeway  who just beat the living daylights out it. Here’s a common exchange:

Cashier: Thank you for shopping at Safeway, Mister… umm… Suuu-laaaa..ghee…
Me: Close enough…
Cashier: Si-loo-gal-ee?
Me: See-you-LUNG-ee
Cashier: Soo-LUG-eye?
After a few more feeble attempts at pronunciations.
Cashier: But where’s the “G”?
Me: It’s a soft “G”
Cashier silently mouths my name in slow, deliberate syllables.
Cashier:  Sig-oo-LUNG-ee
Me: (walks away) Close enough.

As the title holder of this tongue-twister of a name, an explanation of its origin may bear some fruit and then you, too, can pronounce my rather difficult name.

The correct pronunciation is SEE-you-LUNG-ee. It is of Samoan origin and also a first name. My actual family surname is Fuimaono and my grandfather’s name was Si’ulagi Fuimaono.

How did I end up with a first name as my last name? When my father left the island of Samoa, he took his father’s first name as his last name. Why did he do that? He told us that was traditional but I have another theory of which I’ll expound upon later.

What does it mean? The actual spelling breaks the name in half – Siu’lagi – where “Siu” translates to “tail end of” and “Lagi” means “Heaven.” Thus, together they form “horizon.”