[Destiny Skywalker]

I was thinking about this today because I realized that I don't like my name. It's a quintessential 80s name that was incredibly common and resulted in me always having to use my last initial to designate me from the other girls with my name. I used to always come up with what I thought were cool names when I would play pretend with friends because I hated my common name. Is that something that everyone did? I know several of my girlfriends had "alias names", so I know I'm not alone.

My husband, however, really likes his name... to the point where he wants a "Junior" because as he puts it, "it's a good name". (I put my foot down on this one. But he also put his foot down on me naming our kids anything weird in my attempt to compensate for my common name.) He admittedly does have a name that sounds pretty respectable. So is it a guy/girl thing? Do I have an identity crisis?

So let's do a survey:
1. What's your first name?
2. Do you like your name? Why or why not?

1. I think most people here know I'm a Nicole.
2. See above.

[EwoksSuck]

My first name is David. I have always been okay with it. Yeah it is a common biblical name especially with my generation, but its a solid guy name and everybody knows how to spell it/say it (I realized how big of a deal this can be because my daughter's name, Desiree, is little more unique and sometimes people don't know how to say or spell it. It's pronounced DEZ-a-ray and not De-si-ree). I also don't mind being called Dave for short...just don't call me Davie. I hated that when I was a kid, fortunately it rarely occurred.

[Rock]

1. Rock.

2. Love it. It's easy to spell, chicks dig it and hardly gets mis-pronounced, unlike my last name. Do you know how many variations of "Ledoux" I get per day? Sht, I bet 3/4ths of this forum would get it wrong.

[Copper]

1. April

2. I like my name okay. I used to hate it a lot when I was in elementary school because I got teased about it endlessly. Now I think it suits me fairly well. When I was younger I considered going by my middle name: Victoria. But I decided against it because it's just too much of a hassle to get people who know you originally by one name to start calling you something else.

[R.CAllen]

1. Reuven. It's the non-Anglicized original version of the somewhat more familiar Reuben.

2. I don't really like it all that much. It feels weird when people ask me how to spell or pronounce it because I'm equally comfortable with "Rue Vane" or "Roo Ven" and I'm actually unsure of which is technically correct and sometimes I try to blow it off with a joke but usually that doesn't really work so things just get more awkward. Also, I think my parents' choice of it was a little unsound --- the biblical Reuven isn't exactly a good guy. Also also, there were other kids named Reuven at good old Eitz HaChaim Hebrew Day School so I got called Reuven C which got shortened to RC which became RC Alien which morphed into RC Allen and that's the origin of that then.

[Andorus]

My first name is Smitha. I'm pretty happy with it. I was always the only Smitha in my classes growing up, but it's been a bit odd in recent years because I've finally met other people with the same name. But lately, as I've become a little less patient with some people's lack of international awareness and out-of-the-box thinking, I'm a little more annoyed with how people just assume my parents slapped an A onto the end of the name "Smith" and called it a day (especially since they usually also laugh at me or make fun of my name as a result). My name actually means "smile."

[IMericka]

I'm Ericka.

I loves it, right down to the spelling. It's my last name that makes me want to die.

[Darth Whoever]

1. Andrew (Andy, usually).

2. Yeah, I like it. It's solid - not too uncommon, not too common (that being said, in my somewhat small group of high school friends there were 3 Andrews/Andys). In recent years I've made a half-hearted push to go by Andrew, since Andy seems a little bit too Toy Story for a fancy grown-up workin' man. But I always just end up introducing myself as Andy anyways. Alas. But anyway my last name is the worst.

[Wally Q]

1. Walter (Walt, Wally)

2. I like it; not very often do I come into contact with another guy with it unless it's my father but I was named after him. Little Walt was my nickname growing up and Nightly is the only place where I'm ever called it. Professionally at work, I go by Wally because it attracts a response from the people I deal with and it's common ground to start a conversation with people and I'm told I'm personable. If I ever went into the profession which I'd like to go into, I'd probably use my full name with the exception of Jr. (only privately would I use it).

[The Maker]

1. My first name is Daniel, but I go by my middle name, Christopher (Chris, to be exact)
2. I freakin' love my name! "Daniel Christopher" looks great AND sounds great. Go ahead, say it out loud and hear it for yourself--you know you want to.

[Destiny Skywalker]

I never realized Christopher was your middle name! Why do you go by it instead of Daniel?

[The Maker]

That decision was made before I was even born. My dad's first name is also Daniel, but we have different middle names.

[Lucas1138]

1. Garrison
2. Love it. I've known exactly 0 other Garrison's personally in my lifetime. People always comment that they like the name which is neat. My dad's name is Gary, I'm Gary's son. Garrison. Eh! Clever!

[Sheep Murderer]

Alicia? Meh.

[Jaycie]

1. What's your first name?

Jessica

2. Do you like your name? Why or why not?

I despise it. It's exceptionally common. When I was in school there regularly was at least two or three other girls with my name in my class. My freshman english class had five.. . We all went by our last or middle names to avoid confusion. By the time I graduated most people didn't know what my first name actually was because my last name is also a girl's name. I like it more now than I did as a kid, mostly cause my fiance loves it so much but I'd rather go by my middle name. Sadly I'm old enough that I don't think I could get my friends and family to make the switch, lol.

[Mara Jade Skywalker]

I'm Nanci. I like my name. I was named after my grandmother, Nancy. I've been told it's an old lady name but because it's spelled with an "i" it never seems like an old lady name to me. I used to get so annoyed when people misspell my name, but now I don't really care. The only time I get annoyed now is if someone is sending me an e-mail and misspells my name, because my name is right there in the address...but that just makes them look stupid I guess.

[Dom]

Dominic.

Yes, I like it. No particular reason why, maybe because I rarely ever come across anyone else with it.

[Cashmere]

My first name is Carla.

I like it a lot because it's not very common. I was the only one in my hometown until someone copied it five years after I was born, but that girl was young enough that there was no confusion. I have met less than 5 other Carlas in my life and strangely only one of them was Hispanic. The only thing that annoyed me about it was when people called me Cayla (a mix of my oldest brother's name and my name) or Carly (ick.) Also, if you pay close attention most Carlas in popular culture are either prostitutes, strippers, or otherwise women of questionable character.

[Sonny]

I never realized so many people care about other people having their first name. But then my name - Sonny - is not all that common so perhaps I would feel differently if I were a John or David or something else common. So this has been eye opening.

I like my name now but I hated it as a child because a lot of other kids thought it was clever to call me "Sonny-Jim" or "Sonny-Boy." Idiots.

[Undome Telcontar]

robert? it's alright. it's not as good as steel explosion or something, but i'm named after robert plant and bob dylan, so i can't complain.

[Sonny]

Who do you know named Steel Explosion? Haha

That reminds me, Shadowdog has been saying for years he should change his name to Studley Hungwell. Kind of makes you want to barf, huh?

[Undome Telcontar]

no one, i just made up a clearly awesome name.

haha. he definitely should!

[Primbud]

I love my name, my first name, it's so unique. I was actually thinking of changing my last name but I don't dislike it, just wanted it cooler.

[Iceheart]

1. Katrina

2. I HATED my name when I was a kid. No one can spell it, kids would tease me for not having a more common name, and I couldn't ever find personalized stuff... remember how popular it was to have your first name on cheap stuff, like notebooks and pencils and plastic barrettes and stuff? My mom had to special order mine, and I never ever got a bike license plate like all my friends.

I got older and embraced it, because it made me different. People still couldn't spell it, and combined with my looks and my last name people doubt I can speak English until I open my mouth... but I found all of that amusing. And then the hurricane hit. Which I admit made me possessive of my name, you kind of have to be. But now, not only can people STILL not spell it (and I can't bring myself to say "just like the hurricane" even though most people do once I patiently spelled it out for them), I have to endure horribly tasteless jokes, shocked stares from people who apparently didn't know it was a NAME before it was a catchphrase for mass destruction, and then wanting to talk about the hurricane, every single time I meet a new person and introduce myself. Or hushed reverence mixed with a little pity and fear, usually from people who were in the Gulf area at the time, or worked in disaster relief there... which tends to make me feel a pretty terrible for having a name I had no say in being dubbed, and which was perfectly acceptable up until a few years ago. Oh, and then "I bet you hear that alot" after all of this. No. Never. Totally the first time.

I know I've complained about this before, I don't mean to sound like a broken record... I just met someone new last night, and inevitably went through it all again, so it's fresh in my mind

Cashmere, on 2 Dec 2009, 09:43 AM, said:

Also, if you pay close attention most Carlas in popular culture are either prostitutes, strippers, or otherwise women of questionable character.

Same with Katrinas! The one notable exception is Katrina Von Tassel from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. But the first Katrina I ever saw on screen was the hooker from John Carpenter's Vampires.

In conclusion, I like my name and I wouldn't give it up, but I'm not particularly fond of the baggage.

Re: alias names and nicknames... I never really had one. No one has been able to find a good nickname or alias for "Katrina" that fits me. The closest is that little kids can't say it very well, so I'm "Mimi" to kids under the age of three or so - my grandma called me "Trini" when I was little, and "Mimi" was the closest my baby brother and sister could get to anything resembling my name when they first started talking. Of course, The Drew Carey Show spoiled that nickname, as well Rent thankfully saves it.

This post has been edited by Iceheart: 02 December 2009 - 09:35 AM

[Boba Sweat]

1. Scott

2. Dont mind it. its fairly common, but its not a john or a david so i dont mind the odd person using it. i was nearly called david. when i was born my surname was cassidy. my mum was 18. thankfully my gran stepped up and forbade her from calling me david cassidy
always liked my gran better

[Darth Krawlie]

I like Jacob, but I liked it a whole lot more when every other baby boy born the last 15 years wasn't named it.

[Cashmere]

Funny you should say that since a friend of mine just named her baby Jacob.

[Mara Jade Skywalker]

Darth Krawlie, on 2 Dec 2009, 12:51 PM, said:

I like Jacob, but I liked it a whole lot more when every other baby boy born the last 15 years wasn't named it.

What if I name my daughter Jacob, is that okay?

[Richcelt]

1. Fred.

2. Mixed bag with this one, leaning more towards dislike. I was named after my mother's dad, which is a plus because he was pretty cool. I was the only one in my class with the name. In most cases I was the only one in my SCHOOL with the name. Almost all the Freds I know are in the Baby Boomer generation or older. I've known TWO Freds in my generation (and one of them passed the name unto his son... poor guy). The most I run into the name is among hispanic kids, and even then there's maybe one or two at any given school. My main problem with it is how it is used in the media. It's becoming the new catch-all name for any generic male (and usually not in a good way). Then there's Freddy Kruger, and Fred Flintstone, and Freddie the Frog (for you old timers out there who may remember that show), and on and on and on. Peter Sellers once stated in an interview he did shortly before his death, that he and his Goon Show pals would use the name "Fred" as a way to RUIN something. ("That paining is by Fred Van Gogh." "But, it isn't Van Gogh." "No, it's a FRED Van Gogh.") Yeah I share the name with the likes of Freddy Mercury and Fred Weasley, which is a plus... but they're both DEAD! (Thanks Jo for killing the twin who shares MY name!)

So there it is. Baggage much?

Nah!

[Darth Krawlie]

Cashmere, on 2 Dec 2009, 10:14 AM, said:

Funny you should say that since a friend of mine just named her baby Jacob.

She should die.

Mara Jade Skywalker, on 2 Dec 2009, 10:29 AM, said:

Darth Krawlie, on 2 Dec 2009, 12:51 PM, said:

I like Jacob, but I liked it a whole lot more when every other baby boy born the last 15 years wasn't named it.

What if I name my daughter Jacob, is that okay?

You should die.

[Jaycie]

When I worked at a school we had quite a few Jacobs. It has become a really popular name these days. I've tried to give my boys unpopular but not weird names. Neither Hunter or Brenden seem to be anywhere near the top ten, Logan is climbing in popularity though so we'll see.

[Boba Sweat]

i hate stupid names, and people who dont think through the consiquences. Pal of mine called her daughter Maddison.
1. Thats a surname
2. Her surname is Molloy

So we have Maddie Molloy. Who sounds like an irish serial killer.

[Boba Sweat]

and see these tosspots who double barrell their names when they get married? They are also the sort that give kids stupid names.

Poor wee McCall Taylor-Smith doesn't stand a chance!

A girl at work is up the stick and has been talking about names.

She was seriously considering D'Arcy until i pointed out it rhymed with Arsey. Now she runs them past me for playground testing

[Lady Palpatine]

Emily. I can't complain about it. It suits me. It gets rather old that every single girl between the age of 5 and 15 is named Emily, but I can handle that. I've never actually wanted to change my first name, but I do use a name other than my given last name on a fairly regular basis.

[The Human Torch]

Robin

Like it. Even though businesses call my house looking for a Mrs/Miss. Or that I get girlie catalogs sent to me. Or that whenever I email my favorite sports radio show they insist I'm a girl and ask for pics. Despite all that I like my name.

[ShadowDog]

The Human Torch, on 2 Dec 2009, 08:48 PM, said:

Or that I get girlie catalogs sent to me.

Don't read too much into that, brah. I used to get sample magazines (the kind they send for free to rope you into getting a subscription) sent to my house in my dogs' names. The people who send out magazines aren't too ****ing bright. LMFAO

[The Human Torch]

I'll grant you that, Dex, but I'm willing to bet you've never had Maxipad samples sent to you.

[irishdancer2]

Kathleen

I love my name. I didn't when I was younger because I didn't know anyone under the age of 40 who had that name and that was terribly uncool. Like Icy said, too, it sucked when you wanted to buy the personalized stuff; I always had to go with 'Katie.' I like my name a lot now, though. It definitely suits me. My parents were smarter than I gave them credit for

As for nicknames... not really. My family called me Katie or Katy-did (or Kath-a-weenie) when I was younger; once in a while they'll still use it, but not all that often. A couple of my sister's friends who have been around for years still call me Katie. A couple of my friends throw out Katy (pronounced catty) once in a while. A lady I worked with at faire last summer calls me Katie; I don't really know why. My Irish Dance teach calls me Kathy; I don't really know why. And I have one friend who randomly decided to start calling me 'Kayz' instead of Kathleen. Again, I don't really know why.

[ShadowDog]

The Human Torch, on 2 Dec 2009, 09:54 PM, said:

I'll grant you that, Dex, but I'm willing to bet you've never had Maxipad samples sent to you.

...

You'd win that bet.

[Ms. Spam]

Another Jessica!

I don't really mind it because it's not got too much history, it's a bastardization of a Bible name, Iscah. Or I have the infamous Allman brothers song. And that's it. Besides the fact that as you people can see, it was a popular name when they were naming babies in the seventies. I don't think my Dad listened to Allman Brothers then. *shrug*