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If you could have chosen your OWN first name, what would you have chosen and why?


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I sorta did. I have a horrible first name. When I was 15, we moved and I introduced myself to everyone by my middle name Jean, but I changed it to Jeannie. Ever since then, I have gone by Jeannie. My mom would even call me Jeannie in front other people, but by my first name when it was just her and me.My first name was the first name of the dr. that saved my life when I was born, but it was still a horrible first name lol.

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Probably Faith...that's not my actual first name, just my boardie name here as Dh felt I shouldn't use personal names. But, I feel like a "Faith" and I think it suits me well.

 

I was named after my mother and she's a wonderful person. But, in order to avoid family confusion, my parents called me by my middle name which I really do not like.

 

I also love the name Grace and there are a couple of derivations of my middle name that I would be happier with, alas my parents didn't pick well!

 

Faith

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I've grown accustomed to "Tanya" but it gave me headaches growing up -- having to deal with mispronunciations and misspellings. I went through stages of wanting to be something else. Like something I could find on the personalized rack at the store.

In elementary school, I used the name "Lynn" as the main character of my serial short story.

In middle school, Linda Ruth was my nom de plume. And I addressed my diary to "Heather" who was some cooler version of myself.

In high school I went by my middle name (it was gender-free) on college interest forms because I thought my application might be received more favorably if they thought I was male. :confused: (Actually, at my first choice college, 3 of the 4 top scholarships did go to young men, so that reinforced my perception. Maybe I had some sort of teen-aged chip on my shoulder?)

I do remember longing for something more romantic (Juliet, maybe?) when I was an English major.

At this point I've made peace with my name. If I had to choose another, it would be Rebecca, my mom's name. Since losing her I've regretted not naming one of our daughters after her. Every time someone mentions that I am like her in any way, I am thrilled. I would love to have the name connection.

It must be a good thing I didn't get to pick since I would have changed it so many times! :D

Edited by BamaTanya
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For the sake of atmosphere, most people in the SCA pick a medieval sounding name. "Rosie" isn't good for atmosphere. So I picked Nawojka. If it were really my name, I'd have to spend my whole life spelling it for people, but I like it so much, perhaps I wouldn't mind. She's a semi-historical character who dressed as a boy so as to attend the university in Krakow. My grandfather was Polish and I still write to his sister, so that's the reason for the affinity.

 

:)

Rosie

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Anything but Jennifer....well, almost anything. :D

 

~Jen

 

 

I'd pick anything but Jessica or Jennifer! There were so many in my class, and I've been called Jennifer so many times, I may as well have been named it! LOL

 

I'd definitely change my middle name. No one knows how to pronounce it and I don't like signing it because it starts with a Y and I don't like writing capital Ys. :tongue_smilie:

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I know I would not have chosen Stephanie. It was #10 when I was born, and before that, it went between #6, 7, or 8 for over 10 years. It is especially common in my area and I feel so embarrassed when someone calls my name and I look when they aren't talking to me.

 

I was almost a Rachel which was also riding the popularity wave around the time I was born.

 

My middle name is Elizabeth. It's always been popular so it's never been part of a 'wave' and it's classic and regal sounding. I love it, but my parents never gave me the option of going by it which, IMO, that's the purpose of a middle name. I'd have loved to been called Elizabeth and used the nicknames Beth or Elle.

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No idea. This name has grown on me.

 

My daughter hates her first name. I wish it weren't so. I thought she'd grow out of changing it by now. She prefers the name I wanted to name her but let my mom "bully" me out of. But I don't think that is her first choice either. Whatever. She'll deal.

 

My son did change his name last summer. That was a different situation and for a real reason.

 

We will almost definitely be changing little people names if they stay. They will have a say, but we're pretty sure the direction we want to go.

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I would have preferred Catherine. Not Cathy. Just Catherine.

 

Me too, I guess, since I chose it as my confirmation name. Took weeks to settle on a spelling.

 

But, while I like the full name, I think I'd also like that I could have about 10 nicknames off of the name too. Helps with the plausible deniability. ;)

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I sorta did.

 

Me, too.

 

I was born a Jennifer, but it never felt like me. When given the choice, I always went by my nick-name, Jenny. About eight years ago, I went ahead and changed it legally.

 

At the same time, I got rid of a middle name I hated and chose one I liked that was meaningful to me.

 

It has been weirdly lovely having a name to which I really connect.

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Not Amy. In one of my grad school classes of maybe 12-14 people, FIVE of them were Amy. We used to sit in a row behind each other to drive the prof crazy - we could never tell who she was looking at/speaking to when she would call on "Amy". :D

 

I think I would pick Catherine and go be either Catherine or Kate. I love the name Juliet too, but I don't think I could pull it off. :tongue_smilie:

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I've come to terms with my name.

 

When I was born (1974) Jennifer was most popular, and my name Kelly was #16 in the top 100. Apparently a lot of people in the area had the same idea as my mom to go with Kelly as there were 5 of us in my class, I was the only one that wasn't spelled with an "ey" or and "ie" and caught a lot of flack for that. I can't tell you how many people would tell me "You have a mans name"

 

My mom also didn't give me a middle name so I had no where to go that way. I started going by Kel as a teenager because that was what my parent called me and if I ever heard "kelly" at home I was in seriously deep trouble (I guess using my full name was the equivalent of when most parents use their child's first and middle name. LOL

 

If I had to pick something else I probably would have picked Clare, spelled just like that no "i" in it. Which is my dd's middle name and the name I picked at confirmation.

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Now I am at peace with my name. Growing up it was a pia. "Oh, Kathy. Is that short for anything? Katherine, Kathleen?" "No, it is just Kathy." this was always followed up with "Are you sure?"

 

As a kid I desperately wanted my name to be Julie. I don't remember why.

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As a child I wanted it to be something like Annette (my favorite aunt's name), Natalie, or Nicole or Paige (which is another name they considered). My parents had a name picked out if I had been a boy, Kyle, I wished they had feminized that name to Kylie. They also had picked out a family middle name, which I wish they had used. I have no clue why they chose Paula.

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I have always hated my name. I think it's an ugly, harsh sounding name.

 

I would have preferred Catherine. Not Cathy. Just Catherine.

 

I feel the same about my name. It ends upruptly with a hard "L". It is not feminine. People sing me at Christmas. I don't like my middle name, either so I didn't get an option to go by that one. Would anyone choose to be "Carol Sue"? I suppose it isn't "weird", but I didn't love it, either. Quite the contrary.

 

Ironically, growing up I always wished my name was Catherine. I would have also considered Julie. Those are pretty, feminine, flowing names. I still hate introducing myself. I don't identify with my name at all. It is also a bit old fashioned, I think. It doesn't fit my personality. Sorry, Mom and Dad, I just never liked it.:tongue_smilie:

 

ets: While we are at it, the university where I teach chose a sign in name for me. It is my first and middle name. Really? I have a very nice last name. Couldn't that have made the cut? Every time I sign in I am reminded of how I never liked any part of my name. (I clearly have issues....hehehe)

Edited by texasmama
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I have always hated my name. I think it's an ugly, harsh sounding name.

 

I would have preferred Catherine. Not Cathy. Just Catherine.

 

This is so funny -- When I was about 7 years old, I would have chosen 'Audrey' -- I still love the name. :001_smile:

 

Hundreds of years later, I don't know what I would choose -- maybe a spin on Audrey and make it Aubrey.

 

Interesting question!

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I sorta did. I have a horrible first name. When I was 15, we moved and I introduced myself to everyone by my middle name Jean, but I changed it to Jeannie. Ever since then, I have gone by Jeannie. My mom would even call me Jeannie in front other people, but by my first name when it was just her and me.My first name was the first name of the dr. that saved my life when I was born, but it was still a horrible first name lol.

 

Ok, so now I'm just going to wonder alllll day what your first name is!!!!!!!!

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I would have stuck with the name given to me when I was born. My adoptive parents changed it and I would have preferred that they leave me with the one connection I had to my birth family.

 

As it happens, though, my adoptive name suits me quite well, as it is a less girly and less common name. So, it ended well, I guess.

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I hated my name growing up. It was different and always mispronounced. Still is. In fact, I have some good friends that still call me Tuh-mare-uh. Uh, no, it Tam-uh-ruh....rhymes with camera (well to me anyway, they probably don't rhyme according to the other thread:tongue_smilie:) I also get Tam-are-uh. I give up after correcting them a few times and just go with it. As long as they don't call me Tammy, we're good:). Growing up I wanted to be Dorothy (from Wizard if Oz) or Susie (no idea why). I'm glad I wasn't given the chance to change it. My name has grown on me.

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I hated my name growing up. Everyone called me Kris, which I considered a boy's name. I began going by Kristine as I got older. It turned up in a college poll 25 years ago as one of the sexiest names, and ever since then, I've liked it.:D

 

People often get it mixed up, calling me Kristin, Kristina. I don't care, and I usually don't correct them. But if people call me Kris, I just say, "It's Kristine!"

 

My family always called me Kris and I preferred it, but in school I got called Krista because there were always the boys named Chris, and then Kristin, Christine, etc. I still get called Krista and I don't like it much. At one point, I wanted to be called KC (my initials) but it never stuck. If I was to pick a name, it would be Kate.

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But if people call me Kris, I just say, "It's Kristine!"

 

I remember a teacher calling me Kris - I thought he was talking to someone else and ignored him. I have a mentally retarded aunt and I'll tell ya 'Krissie is worse'. (she puts "e's" on the end of everyone's name. I just cringe and bear it.) fingernails on the chalkboard territory.

 

I never liked my name, I always wished it was Sarah from the time I was in elementary school. no specific reason other than I liked it. My husband had an old girlfriend whose middle name was sarah that he had seriously thought about marrying - so he wouldn't even consider it for the girls names.

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Genevieve after my great-aunt. I could've been Genni as a kid (when I so desperately wanted a nickname ending in "i" like almost every other girl I knew) and go by the full name now.

 

My parents actually considered giving it to me but they thought it sounded too long paired with a hyphenated last name. Well, I dropped the hyphenated name shortly after I entered school and had to write it constantly. "Genevieve" wouldn't have been too long with just my dad's surname.

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As a child I wanted it to be something like Annette (my favorite aunt's name), Natalie, or Nicole or Paige (which is another name they considered). My parents had a name picked out if I had been a boy, Kyle, I wished they had feminized that name to Kylie. They also had picked out a family middle name, which I wish they had used. I have no clue why they chose Paula.

 

I worked with a girl names Kyle, she was named after her grandfather and she loved her name. I always thought it fit her too, she just looked like a Kyle, not that she looked like a boy or anything like that, but she was very confident and could pull off an unusual name for a girl.

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I hated my name (which isn't Perry :)) growing up. It's very unusual, and was only used as a boy's name when I was young. It's a little more common now, and used more often for girls, but I still dislike it.

 

However, I was never called by that name, but went by a nickname conjured up by my parents. It's a ridiculous name that sounds like a clown or a puppy dog. I always felt like a freak.

 

As a child, I always wished my name was Lisa, Julie, Lori, Anne, Kristen, Kim.... like all the other girls. Later, I would have preferred something a little more unusual, but still not wildly out there.

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Guest momk2000

I never liked my name growing up, but as I get older, it fits me much better. Knowing the family history behind my name, you couldn't pay me to want to change it now. :)

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I had been called by my middle name growing up which was Taffy. And my parents were not even hippies. lol At age 9 I decided to go with my first name Robin. I insisted everyone call me that instead.

 

If I could have chosen my own, I would choose something more girly or flowery and less birdy. ;-)

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When I introduced myself to a guest at church this morning she said, I know when you were born....and it's true. If your name is Debbie, chances are you were born in the late '50s. Sigh. I was one of five Debbies in 5th grade.

 

To make it worse (?) is that my name is Debra, but everyone calls me Deb or Debbie. These days more and more entities are requiring me to use my legal name. (The census job I had last year. The real estate commission these days.) I wish I'd been Debra all along.

 

My middle name is bland and boring.

 

I would have happily been Julie or Maggie.

 

I did almost change my name a few years ago. I've loved the name Piper since I was a teenager. It's just now becoming popular. We had only boys so I never got to use it--except in one of my romance novels. If I'd changed my name, it would have been to Piper.

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I worked with a girl names Kyle, she was named after her grandfather and she loved her name. I always thought it fit her too, she just looked like a Kyle, not that she looked like a boy or anything like that, but she was very confident and could pull off an unusual name for a girl.

 

I do like the name Kyle for a girl, I'm not sure I've ever heard it before or not.

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I don't particularly love my name & do get tired of being called Kristine, Christian, Kiersten, etc.....but I don't know that I would change it either. I did dream of doing it as a kid though. I can't remember to what?!? In high school it just changed to dreaming about my future children's names!

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I know I would not have chosen Stephanie. It was #10 when I was born, and before that, it went between #6, 7, or 8 for over 10 years. It is especially common in my area and I feel so embarrassed when someone calls my name and I look when they aren't talking to me.

 

I was almost a Rachel which was also riding the popularity wave around the time I was born.

 

My middle name is Elizabeth. It's always been popular so it's never been part of a 'wave' and it's classic and regal sounding. I love it, but my parents never gave me the option of going by it which, IMO, that's the purpose of a middle name. I'd have loved to been called Elizabeth and used the nicknames Beth or Elle.

 

You still can use the name/nickname you prefer, when you change "worlds," so to speak (to use a Seinfeld-ism ;) though you're much too young to remember that). That is, when you begin your adult/professional life, you begin with your "new" name. You could start with college or after graduation. Title your resume "S. Elizabeth _____."

 

I have a two-name first name, and I always thought it sounded too little-girlie. And, my family mostly just used the second half of the name anyway. So, on my first day of grad school, I introduced myself using that second-half of the name, because I thought it sounded more professional. To this day, the vast majority now use only the second name, unless my mother's trying to argue with me. DH also uses only the second name - I met him the weekend I chose to do this. (Once in a while I forget "who" I am, with regard to which name a person knows me by :lol:)

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