Do you like your name?

[Rosebud8506]

My name is alright. I like to go by my middle name through close friends (it''s Rose by the way).

My first name is Christine, but I go by Chrissie, and people jack it up all the time. I have been called Christy and Christina. The spelling of it is uncommon, which I hated growing up - people would always spell with a ''y'' on the end. I enjoy being an ''ie'', like Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders.

 

[princesss]

As a kid I hated my name. It''s really boring (Sarah) and I was always one of multiple Sarah''s in my class. Add to that the fact that as 5-year-olds most kids couldn''t understand a silent letter...well, I was Sarah-HUH for a year or two. It was miserable. Plus I always hated that it didn''t sound very feminine, and that people could never spell it right the first time. It''s Sarah. How hard is that? But people always left the "h" off. Mostly it was just a boring name and I didn''t like it for a long time, wishing it was something more feminine like "Jessica" or "Amelia".

 

[Independent Gal]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts everyone. So if I can sum up, it sounds like lots of people were teased and / or hated their name as a child, no matter how ''normal'' or unusual it was. Kids will find a way to tease. So I think I''ll stop worrying about that part unless it''s a really obvious one. It''s amazing that even an Alice or a Sarah would get teased.

It also sounds like most of you grew to like your names as you got older and teasing became a thing of the past.

It''s interesting that Pricesss says her name isn''t feminine enough, because that''s my thing about girl''s names. They are all so damn girly! I want to give my little one a name that kicks a$$ and doesn''t make her sound too delicate. I liked what Margaret''s mom said: a name you could be president with.

Would most of you agree that having a name that ties you to something meaningful - family, a role model, something important - makes you love your name more?

We''ll have the extra challenge that this baby, being born to parents with different passports but in the USA, would eventually have access to a choice of three citizenships, with a LOT of languages, and so the name will have to be pronounceable in different languages. There is no telling where the Cub might decide to live someday!

 

[Bia]

Bianca. As a kid...Hated it. Wanted to be Nicole or Ashley...or something pretty and common...like my friends, naturally.

Now? I love my name because its not one you hear often. Although lately I have been hearing it a lot more. All my family and close friends call me Bia, B, or my nickname, which is Spanish and doesn''t translate.

 

[AmberWaves]

I HATED my name growing up: Amber (obviously!). It was terrible because in the 80s, I was the only Amber in our school, and all the kids would make fun of me because of "Amber waves of grain". It was even worse that my last name is a color (Look up the title of a children''s book by Paula Danzig) that actually goes really well with Amber. When we started learning colors, I was called all sorts of things. My middle name is Marie, and when people would see the "M", they''d ask if it was Magenta. Har har har. I also disliked my middle name, as it was like, the MOST popular middle name then. I was supposed to be a Heather or Sarah, but at the spur of the moment my parents wanted Amber. So here I am. A girl who (before she got married and changed her last name) was often asked if she knew her name was "stripper-ish"

Now, though, I love my name. It''s not TOO common, and it sounds pretty. Now that we''re TTC, I have a hard time finding any moms named Amber, though.

 

[shimmer]

Date: 7/7/2008 7:50:32 AM
Author:Independent Gal
Are you happy with your name? Why or why not? Too common? Too odd? Were you teased? I''m starting to think about names for the Cub, so I''m interested in peoples'' experiences.

Am I happy w/ my name, why/why not?

Not until I changed it

I was given the name ugh, this is hard, Kerilyn. I never liked how different it was and mostly because people always mispronounce it...KarAHlyn, KarOHlyn but its KerEElyn (still on my legal docs, so I hear it sometimes). So when I was 10 or 11 I changed it to just Keri.
Hehe, I just remembered when I ''changed'' it I sent a note to my grandparents telling them what to call me now...plus I never had a middle name so I chose one too at that time and put it in that note too...it is even worse, actually I can''t go there

Too common/odd?

I have only met one other Kerilyn, and she called herself Keri too!!! It was funny, we were coworkers and one day she asked ''do you have a middle name'' and I said, ''no, but my real name isn''t just Keri'' and she looked at me funny/scared and then I said ''it''s Kerilyn'' and we had a twilight zone moment....anyway...

Was I teased?

I don''t think so for my first name, definately for my last (won''t go there either).

 

[princesss]

I love the more unique, less feminine names now, but as a kid it was rough. Mostly I think I wanted something that didn''t sound so plain.

Oh -- that was the other thing they used to call me. "Sarah, plain and tall" after that stupid book. I didn''t realize they were basically calling me unattractive for years.

 

[Independent Gal]

It''s amazing that even a SARAH can be teased. Yes, amazing.

One of my bestest friends is called Sarah, so I have great associations with that name.

 

[Lill_The_Thrill]

Date: 7/8/2008 11:55:13 AM
Author: Bia
Bianca. As a kid...Hated it. Wanted to be Nicole or Ashley...or something pretty and common...like my friends, naturally.

Now? I love my name because its not one you hear often. Although lately I have been hearing it a lot more. All my family and close friends call me Bia, B, or my nickname, which is Spanish and doesn''t translate.

I love love LOVE the name "Bianca", I''ve always said that if I''m ever blessed with a daughter I''ll name her Bianca...

 

[mela lu]

I love my name: Elisa

I'm Italian and was named after my Great Grandma. In Italy, it's an easy name.
Here in North America, the pronunciation became challenging; as Elisa is not common, but Alyssa, Alicia, Elise, Lisa, etc are.

I'm going to name my kids Latin names that 'translate' into the majority of Latin based languages (English/French/Italian/Spanish/etc) so that no matter where we live, Europe or N.America, the name doesn't get butchered.

ETA: My Grandmother's sister is Bianca! great name!

 

[sumbride]

It was hard to grow up named Summer. Especially with 3 siblings that all had "normal names", not Winter, Spring, etc... as people always asked. I like it now though. I knew several Summers growing up, so it''s not the unusual name my parents thought it was. My middle name is a family name though, and though a common name, it''s spelled differently, just to make forms impossible.

My new married name also ends in -er and I don''t think it goes well with Summer, but... OH well.

I can deal. It''s weird now though... people could always spell Summer and could always spell my maiden name, but I''m now in the world of mispronounced and misspelled, all because I have what I consider to be a relatively simple German last name. My Grandmother can''t even remember it!

I think it''s pretty normal for people to hate their names as kids. It''s like trying to break free from an assigned identity and finding yourself. Turns out they weren''t so off... but I had to figure that out myself after years of hearing "Summer Bummer".

 

[Bia]

Date: 7/8/2008 1:44:20 PM
Author: Lill_The_Thrill

I love love LOVE the name ''Bianca'', I''ve always said that if I''m ever blessed with a daughter I''ll name her Bianca...

Thanks Lil!

 

[Fly Girl]

My name is o.k. Don''t love it, and don''t hate it.

I like a lot of other names better than mine. I named my daughter one of those. Fortunately, she likes her name.

 

[bee*]

I really like my name - Rebecca. I was never called Becky, sometimes Becca but I prefer being called Rebecca.

 

[Independent Gal]

Rebecca is one of my most favourite names. But sadly, it''s off limits for our cub!

Rebecca is a name that a President could have for sure. It''s feminine, but you can still see a Rebecca kicking some @$$.

 

[princesss]

Date: 7/8/2008 6:33:25 PM
Author: Independent Gal
Rebecca is one of my most favourite names. But sadly, it''s off limits for our cub!


Rebecca is a name that a President could have for sure. It''s feminine, but you can still see a Rebecca kicking some @$$.

ITA! Rebecca is a great name.

That''s how I feel about Madison, too. Pretty but you can easily see the power in it, too. (Haha, seriously just had to plug one of my favourite names.) Plus you can be "Maddy" as a little girl and then "Madison" later.

 

[choro72]

Irishgrrrl, I have a friend that did the opposite of your name. My friend wanted Emily for their daughter, his wife didn't. So they named their daughter Emma Lee, with Lee being the middle name.
shimmer, your story is so cute! I have a friend who did something similar. He said that when he was young he hated his name so much that he announced to his family that they were to call him George from then on. Apparently it didn't last very long. He likes his name now though.
BTW, I love your name. When I read Kerilyn I pronounced it properly in my head!

I'm okay with my name. It's Kaoru. Pretty common in Japan, but it's not particularly feminine and can be used for men as well. It looks better spelled in English than in Japanese.
My parents were thinking of naming me Mika, which is a very common girl's name. The Chinese characters they had ready for this is so cool (ocean-summer; I was born in August) that I almost wish they had named me with this instead. They didn't do it because my family name is Kamiya, and together it would have been "Kamiya Mika" (last name comes first in Japan), which observant people will notice that it's the same read backwards. They thought I will be ridiculed

I love my last name though. Kamiya is "God Valley". Can't get better than that! I'm mourning the fact that I have less than a year to live with this last name. FI's last name is Lee. Eeesh!! All Chinese people are named Lee!! Argh!!!!

BTW, if any of you are familiar with Japanese comics, yes, my name is Kamiya Kaoru, and I was born first!

 

[didiamond]

Nope, I''m another one that doesn''t like her name....Diana. My mom named me after the actress Diana Lynn. I guess it''s better than the one she was going to give me....Daisy. Can you imagine? (oops, I''m sorry for anyone with that name. It just doesn''t do it for me either!) Then my mom went crazy when Princess Diana was announced and then she started buying me Princess Diana collectibles. Enough is enough!!!! She got mad at me in Jr High when I started going by Diane. I was so thrilled to get rid of the 3rd syllable (I had a 3 syllable last name too.) Mom?..Not so thrilled. Then I went and got married to a one syllable last name. Geez, then I really needed that extra "a" to give it a punch! Nope, still don''t like it. If I hyphenate my maiden name and my married name then it literally sounds like a disease. Really! I''m not kidding. Oh well, it is what it is. Personally, I''ve always liked the names Kathy,Kristina and Krystal. Did you notice that I have a "thing" for K''s? There are so many here that you all have mentioned that are great names though!

Diamondfan, I really like all of the names you mentioned. Kinda makes me want to have more kids just to use them!

 

[HollyS]

I often wonder how it will sound/look when I''m . . . say. . . 80!

And it would be lovely if people didn''t try to spell it with an ''ie'' or an ''ey''.

I like it. It''s me. Who else would I be?

 

[iheartscience]

I like all my names...first, middle and last! I''m named after my mom''s youngest sister who was killed in a car accident when she was 17, so I like that I''m carrying on her name. Plus my name is not that common, although it''s not super unique, but I don''t think I''ve ever met anyone who goes by the nickname I go by.

And my name sounds good with my twin sister''s name (they don''t rhyme but they sound good together and sort of match) and I like that too. My fiance has good names, too, but I will be keeping my own last name. But if I ever pop out a kid our names sound good hyphenated, so that''s nice.

 

[zoebartlett]

Gwen,

It''s funny, but to me, you look more like a Gwen than a Kristen. I''ve read on here before what your name is, so it''s not a surprise, but I still think you''re a Gwen.

My first name is very Irish...or so I thought. I just looked it up and apparently, it''s Greek, Welsh, and/or Irish. I never would have guessed Greek in a million years. There are so many ways to spell my name and even numerous ways to pronounce it. It seems pretty straight-forward to me, but I''ve heard people say the first syllable with a long a or with a short e. I never knew why there was such confusion with a common name. My name was very popular in the early 70s -- I grew up with 5 other girls who had my name. I like my name. I think I look like my name. I can''t think of a different one that would suit me.

My sister''s name is the same way -- a thousand and one ways to spell it and pronounce it. Her name is the same as a very popular county in Ireland. She likes her name, too.

 

[blondie23]

I actually really like my name..Rachel..yes, that's Rachel spelled with an "el" NOT an "ael"....i got that all the time growing up but overall I really like my name. But growing up no one ever called me by Rachel, half the time I wasn't sure people actually knew my real name. People ALWAYS called me by my last namme, Potter...that is until the famous wizard came along....Yeah, can you tell how awesome it was when "Harry Potter" came out???

I have endless stories about professors, collegues, etc making jokes about me being related to Harry Potter, but overall I love both my names and now that I am married people still call me "Potter" and I love it.

 

[diamondfan]

Didi, I know! I only had boys though. I actually love the name Diana, better than Diane. I had a friend with each name. Funny thing is all I remember about middle school with her was Diana Bana fofana...some boy used to sing it as we walked by. Made my ears bleed. Caroline is LONG and harder to make songs out of.

I never could find personalized stuff back in the day, now it is everywhere and I BUY it just to make up for not having it then. I stick it in a box but feel vindicated from when I could not find one thing with CAROLINE on it.

 

[WishfulThinking]

Date: 7/7/2008 1:22:47 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady
No, I have never liked my name (Meeeeechelle my belle

).. and until I was in about 8 (the same time Mom passed away) I went by Mimi (which I actually do like). But I was blonde for so long that I got teased about it (dumb blonde, perhaps?). Now that I'm older, I only hear family and friends call me Mimi. And, I still hate my first name.

My nickname was Mimi as well, Michelle. My sister, who is 16 months younger than I am, couldn't say my name when she was younger, so she called me Mimi. Everyone called me by that name when I was a kid, but now as an adult I don't like it. For some reason I am always relatively embarrassed when someone I knew as a small kid still calls me by it.

My name is Meredith, which, growing up, was very uncommon. No one can spell it right, apparently... all sorts of issues with that. I had never met another person with my name until I was 19 years old. Now, in college, I know another 3 people with my name, and even had class with one of them. We got SO confused when the prof called on us, since neither of us had ever had someone with the same name in class before. Haha. My parents randomly chose my name after Meredith Monk [a singer] did a concert nearby, and they thought the name sounded cool, especially since my last name begins with an M as well.

My middle name is *supposed* to be sentimental, after my grandmother. Unfortunately, my parents screwed it up. It's Elise, which they thought [and everyone else thought, too] was my grandmother's proper name. She went by Bella her entire life, since she was a small child, and eventually changed it as an adult. But this wasn't her "original" name, apparently. Apparently NO ONE, including my grandfather, knew her real name.

Kiiiinda of weird, no? She just sat by quietly and never said anything as my parents named me the wrong name. What a lady.

Anyways, I like how my first, middle, and last name sound together, and am happy to not be taking FI's last name because I will be carrying on the "family name"- I have only a sister who will probably take her husband's name eventually, and my dad's only brother has no children.

 

[diamondfan]

Wishful, where do you go to school?

My niece is 19, her name is Meredith, and her middle name is after HER grandmother, my step sis''s mom, it was her maiden name of Strauss. She too knows very few Merediths. I love the name, and after Grey''s Anatomy it is so popular. I love the name and recall Meredith Baxter Birney from Family. It is such a lovely name.

 

[WishfulThinking]

Date: 7/9/2008 1:22:29 AM
Author: diamondfan
Wishful, where do you go to school?


My niece is 19, her name is Meredith, and her middle name is after HER grandmother, my step sis''s mom, it was her maiden name of Strauss. She too knows very few Merediths. I love the name, and after Grey''s Anatomy it is so popular. I love the name and recall Meredith Baxter Birney from Family. It is such a lovely name.

Thanks!

I attend Mount Holyoke College, my total fav place on earth.

That is so cool that your niece has a similar name story to mine! I really like my name now that I am older, but when I was younger I desperately wanted to be named Amber. I do sort of dislike that Meredith from Grey''s Anatomy has my name- that is probably the most common thing people say to me now-a-days... usually accompanied by some spiel about how much they dislike the character.

Can''t say I disagree, though, haha.

 

[matildawong]

I love reading everyone''s name stories!

My name is Mary Elizabeth. I am still sort of confused if it''s meant to be together or not. Obviously, it''s not hyphenated but I remember asking over and over when I was around 8 if the Mary and the Elizabeth were supposed to be together.

It didn''t matter too much because I have only ever been known as Molly. It''s funny, I went all through school with "Molly" on my records. It wasn''t until the 1990s and college and SSN identification and stuff that the legal name really became an issue. Now everything legal says Mary E.

People always want to know how you get "Molly" from Mary -- but it is mentioned in some of the baby name books as a nickname. And why (they ask) do I have a nickname for Mary??? (It''s because my parents like the nickname better!)

Also, I''m an animal lover and TONS of folks name their cats and dogs Molly. I love it.

 

[snowflakeluvr]

my name is victoria BUT my mother gave none of her children middle names (richard, victoria, melody) we were called, "ricky,vicky, melody" growing up and my dad''s name was richard(aka dick) so it was a LOT of icks in the family-i never liked being called vicky! and most people mispelled it,too.
we moved 14years ago to ohio and there were vickys,vickies vickis aplenty so when i "discovered"

the internet several years ago, knowing one should NEVER use one''s name, i became "tori" online, that gave me the nerve to start calling myself victoria(if someone asked, "what do you prefer being called? i always say "victoria")
my sister(who''s a narcissist) got the "pretty" name so i have been victoria for a couple of years now. sounds silly, but my sister and i actually got into it at a wedding when she said, "oh no, your name''s vicky" and i said, "every document, legal and otherwise, i have ever signed is victoria-NOT vicky" that kind of shut her up(she gets LIVID if you call her "mel" instead of melody) i digress because i do prefer being called victoria
so....alll five of my children have MIDDLE names because i felt deprived never having one! and i married a polish name so my name is BIG and ethnic-i''ve grown into both names one could say
ps dh calls me "toria" to be sexy...i like it

 

[trillionaire]

I''m fine with my name. I get a lot of compliment on it, and a lot of guys, (about half that I meet) tell me that my name is what they want to name their daughter. I have been getting this comment since I was middle school age, and I find it quite odd. I have also been told that my name is "sexy".

Anyway, I love Avery for a girl, or Alexandra, or Elise, Indira, Jael

Boys: Isaiah, Elijah, Wesley, Adonis (yes, I said Adonis), Xavier, Joaquin, Donovan

 

[flutterby]

my name is nicola, pronounced nic-a-lah.

I love my name. However, growing up I wanted a name that people could pronounce (and didnt sound like a sodapop). Now I love the uniqueness and I''m glad my mom never let me have a nickname. On a side note my brothers both have biblical names and I was always jealous, it seemed so much more ''normal'' growing up