Stacy Innerst: I have an awkward name and it's always affected me in one way or another. I have an unusual first name for a man. Stacy is typically associated as a female name, and so my entire life has been, oh, it's been interesting. I get a lot of mail addressed to Ms. Stacy Innerst. And I notice that people sort of hesitate when I say I'm Stacy Innerst, because they assume that I'm a woman.

My last name is very unusual too. There are very few Innerst that I've run across in the world except for in a certain area of South Central Pennsylvania. It's a German name, and it is roughly translated as inner most or to the heart of. So it's kind of a profound name in a way. And apparently there's an Innerst river in Germany, but I've always liked the fact that my name means to the heart of, because it sort of suggests that I dig down into the meaningful areas of life. Whether I do or not, at least my name suggests that. And then my first name is sort of this kind of a high school cheerleader name, in a way. There's this tension between my first and last name. But anyway, I've always found my name problematic because I usually have to spell my last name and explain my first name.