When July Selina from Kozhikode married into an Anglo-Indian family in 1999, she adopted her in-laws’ German surname and became July Vogt. What she didn’t expect was that her new surname would draw attention every election season. In Malayalam, “Vogt” sounds exactly like “vote”, prompting polling officials, BLOs and campaign workers to pause and look up in surprise whenever her name is called.

“It was quite embarrassing in the beginning,” says the 50-year-old. “At polling booths, officials would hear my name, stop for a moment and smile. Politicians who knew our family never reacted, but newcomers always did.”

The surname is part of a legacy that began with her husband’s grandfather, Albert Vogt, a German who served as a captain on a British marine ship during the Second World War. He married Clare, a Portuguese woman, and the couple settled in Kozhikode. Of their six children, only Daphny Vogt and Agnus Vogt (now Agnus Mendonsa) are alive today. July’s husband, Albert Vogt Jr, belongs to the next generation through their son Sebastian.

“For my husband’s family, the surname is nothing unusual. They’ve lived here for decades. But for someone like me, who grew up in a typical Malayali household, it took a while to adjust,” July says. As Anglo-Indian families became fewer in Kerala, such surnames became rarer—and curiosity around hers grew. Her children, too, are often teasingly called “vote”.

Most people, she notes, never check the spelling. “They hear it and assume it’s ‘vote’. But the actual German pronunciation is ‘VOHT’, with the ‘g’ silent. Here, everyone says it the Malayalam way.”

Over time, July embraced the uniqueness of her name, using it as her pen name for poetry and short stories. “When I began posting my work online under that name, it became familiar to more people.”

Ironically, the person who carries the surname by birth—her husband—has never voted. “He has been working in Kuwait for 36 years. He left Kerala at 19 and never applied for a voter ID until six months ago,” she says. “We got him one during his last visit, though he won’t be here for the upcoming local body elections either.”

July teaches English at St Joseph’s Anglo-Indian Girls’ Higher Secondary School in Kozhikode, where her name continues to spark curiosity. “Students always ask if it really means ‘vote’. Then I tell them the history.”

July and Albert Jr have two children—Alister Ignatius Vogt and Alisha Mary Vogt—who are currently studying in Mangaluru. Her mother-in-law, Alphonsa Vogt, lives with them. While two of her husband’s sisters—Catherine Debora and Astrid Margie—dropped the surname after marriage, his brother Christopher Vogt and his family continue to reside in Kozhikode.

“We’ve never felt uncomfortable being called ‘Vogt’. We value our roots and continue our Anglo-Indian customs,” July says.

Her son recently received his voter ID but will be away during the polls due to his studies. The family lives in Ward 62 (Moonnalingal) of the Kozhikode Corporation, represented by IUML councillor K Ramlath.

“And unlike my husband,” July adds with a smile, “I have never missed a single vote in my life.”