For Australian singer Delta Goodrem, sharing her name with a highly infectious variant of a deadly virus has become more than a little taxing in a world where COVID-19 is now an inescapable part of day-to-day life.
In an exasperated tweet earlier this year, the 'Born to Try' hitmaker jokingly referred to herself as "the artist formerly known as Delta", telling fans she was "looking for a new name".
As the highly transmissible B.1.617.2 strain continues to wreak havoc across the globe, it's not an easy time for businesses or individuals named after the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet - a word now indelibly linked to the coronavirus pandemic.
Aucklander Rebecca Ransley, the owner of the interior fit-out company Delta Interiors, says the name of the business has not aged well.
"I have to type Delta so many times," Ransley told the Herald on Sunday. "And I'm cringing every time."
In Invercargill, 18-year-old Delta McLeod has become the punchline of COVID-related quips.
"Jacinda [Ardern] announced Delta was spreading through the country and everyone was like, 'Oh my gosh Delta, you've gotta stop,'" she told the Herald. "It definitely gets old, but it's just a laugh."
In Australia, Lower Hutt native Delta Gemmell, 16, has also become the target of family banter during their trans-Tasman bingo nights on Zoom.
"As soon as the Delta variant came along they all started with the jokes," she told the outlet. "They say, 'Delta's always getting up to mischief' and 'We love you Delta, but go back to Oz.'"
In May, the World Health Organization began naming new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus after letters of the Greek alphabet in a bid to combat discrimination and stigmatisation against their countries of origin. New strains were formerly named after the nation in which they were detected - such as the Indian variant and the South African variant.
The Delta strain, which was first found in India, has a technical title of B.1.617.2. For American aviation giant Delta Air Lines, this is how the variant was referred to by chief executive Ed Bastian in a letter to employees last month.
Bastian later told local media that he does not refer to the variant by its common name, saying the "darn variant" is usually his preference.
Ransley told the Herald she is unsure if she'll change her company's name. She is trying to see the humour in the situation, changing the tagline on her email signature to read: "Please forgive the name - we had it before COVID did."
Almost two dozen businesses across New Zealand use the Delta name, according to the Yellow Pages. Among the oldest is Ngāruawāhia's 121-year-old Delta Hotel.
Others include Delta Stock Crates, Delta Insurance, infrastructure specialist Think Delta, and Delta Wines.
University of Auckland senior lecturer in marketing, Mike Lee, advised Kiwi businesses trading under the Delta moniker to acknowledge the coincidence rather than rushing to re-brand.
"I think just acknowledging it, rather than changing the brand name, is a good way to go now. The general public is probably sick of all the other things they've had to change in the past 18 months," he told the Herald.
"By sticking with the name it's almost a middle finger to the virus. And [that] might garner some support."
