Real People, Real Names: Sarah Prout

This post is part of a series called, “Real People, Real Names,” a compendium of stories and pictures about people and their names.

Names are basically one or two-word stories. When we see a person’s name, we paint an idea of what to expect before we even meet them. And each person has their own version of a story about their own name. You see, this is what I do. When I meet people, I talk to them about their names. And that’s the purpose of this series of posts. You get to walk into my world a little bit and read about real people and what they think of their names.

If you would like to be considered for this series, use the contact form on this site to reach me.

Sarah Prout

Sarah Prout is the proud owner of her own “boutique media empire.” Those are three very intriguing words all coupled together like that. She calls her empire, Sprout Publishing, a mishmash of her name, and uses it to help her clients take their lives to levels they never before imagined. As a result, Sarah has an impressive list of international clients.

She’s also author of the self-published book, Sprout the Life You Love: Tales and Secrets from Female Entrepreneurs [Now sold out, so sorry, no link]. This book is a compilation of adventures and advice from top female entrepreneurs around the world such as Arielle Ford and Emmy-award winning Rhonda Britten. Now she’s authored a book from the Wiley presses, coming soon to a bookstore near you, The Power of Influence: The Easy Way to Make Money Online.

She speaks regularly about the importance of marketing strategies, including branding. She says, “Branding is such an important element to creating a name for yourself and your business. You want to proliferate a visual element to your presence that it easily recognizable.”

Speaking of creating a “name” for yourself, that is, of course, the topic that I was most interested in with Sarah. On face value, Sarah’s appears to be a simple name story. She says she likes it. How much easier can you get than that? But Sarah is like a lot of people I talk to, she’s not without some twists and turns in the journey. Read on and you’ll see what I mean.

What was your name when you were born? Have your parents ever told you why they picked this name?

My parents called me Sarah Louise Prout. Apparently they wanted to choose a very unusual name, so Sarah was it until they discovered that it was one of the most popular names in 1979! By the time my little sister came along in 1983 they called her Henrietta to make sure it was ‘unusual’ yet classic which is what they were aiming for I think.

If I was a boy I was going to be called Samuel or Russel. Russel Prout just would have been cruel!

Did you like your name as a child?

I’ve always liked my name and never had an issue with it. I don’t think I ever fantasized about changing it to something more interesting. I think the only exception was when I had a crush on a boy and I would practice my new signature for when we got married. I was romantic even at 8 years old!

Have you ever gone by a nickname?

My closest friends usually call me Sprouty or Sprout.

Have you ever changed your name?

This is where it gets interesting. In 2001, I got married and took on board my husband’s name. So all of a sudden I was Mrs. Sarah Dewitt and I still am (on paper) until our divorce is finalized. If you look in my purse all of my credits cards and ID still have Dewitt on it.

I was never comfortable with the name Dewitt but I still persisted in using it and even let my kids have the name for the sake of consistency and traditional values.

In 2006, I was selected to contribute a chapter to an international book called The Path to Success and this is when I chose to use my maiden name for all professional purposes from that point onwards. It’s almost as if it was a blessing in disguise and I felt a powerful glimpse in to how much better it felt to return to a name I felt comfortable with.

What do you think of your name as an adult?

Because I got married so young I chose to reclaim part of my identity by using my maiden name again for business. By the time I was 26 I’d been married for a long time and had two children. My identity was all wrapped up in being Mrs. Sarah Dewitt, wife of a senior automotive designer and mother of Thomas and Olivia. Starting my publishing company and career allowed me to fully embrace the name I was born with.

There was a great sense of empowerment that occurred through choosing to do this. As an entrepreneur trying to build a business online I was reinforcing my personal brand with all of my social media accounts. My business also Incorporated my name when I created SPROUT PUBLISHING (S.PROUT = SPROUT) which I thought was a novel idea.

How does that feel to use your own name for your company?

It seems like a perfect fit because I’m emotionally connected to it. Anyone that has created a business knows it becomes like your baby and to feel bonded to the name is an important element to ensure you don’t get sick of hearing the same word over and over again.

Have you ever known someone who changed his or her name?

Yes, my great grandmother was married four times so she had four sets of name changes.

If there were such a thing as an alternate universe and you could have a clone living there and no one in this universe knew about her, what would you like her name to be?

What an interesting question! Her name would be ‘älska’ which is a Swedish verb which means ‘to love’.

Do you think your name (the one in this universe) has had any impact on your life? Has it helped you, hindered you or had no influence?

Absolutely! I actually feel that my name is harmonious. ‘Sarah’ has 5 letters and ‘Prout’ has five letters so it feels balanced.  After not liking my married name (and I hope my in-laws don’t read this this) it is such a sweet relief to know that I’ll be able to legally go back to using Sarah Prout again for everything soon.

Do you find the topic of names interesting?

I do indeed! I think one of the most exciting times in a person’s life is thinking of names for their unborn child. I loved the name Thomas and as soon as my baby boy arrived the name seemed to fit perfectly.

When I discovered I was having a daughter my mother was pressuring me to use Louise as a middle name because there were about 6 generations of women that had used it. In 2006, I welcomed OLIVIA ROSE into the world!

What inspires you in your life?

My loved ones. I think gratitude is the driving force in my life. I’m amazed at how many wonderful opportunities and people keep turning up in my life. I live in a place called Noosa on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia. It’s a tropical paradise and I live just minutes from the ocean. I get really inspired by the beauty of the coast. I have an insatiable curiosity about metaphysics and I adore art/design and creativity.

I looked up the name Sarah in my name books and one word that seems consistent throughout is “inspired.” Coming in at a close second is the word “creativity” and Sarah Sprout’s life is definitely a combination of both inspiration and creativity. I’m sure her story is one that we all would like to imagine for ourselves: a culmination of hard work, talent, creativity, and drive to propel her life and those of the people around her to the next level.