Martha Simpson: Hello, my name is Martha Seif Simpson. That's Martha, not Marta or Marsha, and my last name is Simpson, not Simon or Simmon. Most people mispronounce my middle name, which is actually my maiden name. It is pronounced Seif with a long I sound. The E is silent.

There is an interesting story that goes along with that name. My father, Sam Seif, was born in Poland. The family's last name was Zajf, spelled Z-A-J-F. The J was pronounced like a long I and the A was silent. My father and three of his siblings survived the Holocaust.

After the war, two of them moved to Israel. They kept the Zajf pronunciation, but changed the J to an I, spelling it Z-A-I-F. When my father and his brother arrived at Ellis Island, my uncle also kept the Z for the first letter. When I asked my father why our name was spelled S-E-I-F he had a great answer. He told me, "I was tired of always being the last in line so I changed my name from a Z to an S, Seif instead of Zajf." I think that was a pretty smart move. Thanks, Dad.