HAve you ever decided, mid life, that you wanted to be called something else?

[mumto2]

I know someone who completely changed their name last year. Completely different name for no apparent reason. I am really afraid to ask....so just use the new name.

 

Many years ago my best friend/long time room mate changed her when getting married. She just switched to her middle name. Her dh's first wife had the same first name and had kept his last. She did not want to have the same name. Still really odd for me. I hate calling and asking for the new name.

[KathyBC]

My mom was called Peggy all her life, a nickname for her middle name. After her parents passed away, she started going by her first name. That didn't seem that strange.

 

However, one of our neighbours suddenly started asking people, mid-life, to pronounce her name differently: Diane - as Dion. She didn't actually change her name. That one seemed... just off to both dh and I.

[Reflections]

Would "KatherineTheGreat" work for you? :D

 

 

Actually I really prefer: Her Imperial Majesty the Empress and Autocrat of All the Russias

 

but it is kinda hard for the kids to scream it all out in one breath when they need something and my husband has a gotten a couple of looks when he says it out in public.

:D

[shanvan]

Actually I really prefer: Her Imperial Majesty the Empress and Autocrat of All the Russias

 

but it is kinda hard for the kids to scream it all out in one breath when they need something and my husband has a gotten a couple of looks when he says it out in public.

:D

 

Oh, no! You are giving me practical ideas I can actually use in my own home. I was just reading the boards for relaxation!

[Dustybug]

Now I am going to sit around guessing what your name is...

 

Dusty Roads

Dusty House

Dusty Wusty

 

I do like the name Dusty, though.

 

:lol: Thanks.

 

:iagree:

 

On a side note, My 11yo niece moved this past school year and decided she wanted to be called Leah so she told everyone that's what her nick-name was (she goes to PS). She didn't tell my SIL though and she didn't find out until the parent teacher conference when the teacher kept calling her Leah, my SIL thought she was talking about someone else. :lol:

 

 

I did this. The summer before 8th grade, we moved to a new town. I hated my first name (as I mentioned before), so when I started at my new school, I introduced myself by my middle name.

 

Well, the first time a friend called my house and asking for me (by the middle name), my mom said, "No one by that name lives here" and hung up on them! When I asked her why it was a big deal, she told me "because that is not your name!" But........it was. Just not my first name. I still don't get why it was such a big deal, but she seriously would not give me the phone unless my friends asked for "Dusty" and she would correct anyone who referred to me otherwise in front of her, so I just eventually gave up and reverted back to being called by my first name.

[Reflections]

I'm sorry I don't know how to multi quote, but I'm glad to see that there are others out there who have delusions of grandeur just like me. :D

[Sparkle]

I've always wanted to change my name...getting married and taking my dh's last name helped a bit, but lately (totally mid-life crisis here) it's been bothering me again. I think it's partially being adopted -- I'm working on just *who* am I supposed to be? "Amy" seems so whiiiiinnnnyyyyy. I would love to know if my birth parents named me anything. Considering my first foster family AND my adoptive family both named me Amy (unknown to each other), I'm not holding out high hopes for something different, lol. At least it means "beloved".

 

Maybe I'll just go around telling people, "Call me Cordelia..." :lol:

 

 

I love the name Amy.

 

I have a Starbucks name that is completely unrelated to my real name, but I don't go around asking people to call me by it. Maybe I should. :D

 

IDK, maybe the neighbor just never really liked her given name and decided to change it up. It's a little odd, but I don't think it makes her certifiable. I have known several other people who have changed their names, usually to variations of their original one, but usually it was tied to a divorce or some other life change.

[Matryoshka]

No, not me. But my cousin decided she wanted to be called "Sunshine".

[missmoe]

I've known two people who have changed their names mid-life. Both of them mentally odd ducks.

[FO4UR]

I know 2 people who changed their names between ages 18-22. Both have kept their original given names legally, but go by something different than their childhood names. I know how you know these people by what you call them. I still call them by their childhood names...it's an endearing right for having put up with (I mean...known) them as children.

 

 

I know several little ones (ages 10 and under) who I'm taking bets will change their name *on* their 18th birthday.:tongue_smilie:

 

 

But...mid-life? No. That strikes me odd. (I could understand taking a more professional name when starting a new career...or going by a more casual name when retiring...but, hmmm...)

 

 

Has she seen Hope Floats. Isn't the character's name Birdie?

[SunnyDays]

I have never liked my name. I'd love to change it, but I probably won't so long as my parents are alive.

 

This is me. I've never cared for either my full first (Cris is a derivative) or middle names, but I'm quite sure my mom in particular would be mortally wounded and see it as rejection if I were to change it. :glare: Plus we still live near our hometown and have kept many of the same friends for over a decade, some since high school. It's never been worth the hassle, although I've often wished I had the guts for a change.

 

I've always thought if I moved away I might consider it...

 

I don't think I'd worry too much about Birdie if that's her only issue, especially if she seems a bit eccentric anyway.

[SKL]

No, I have never done this. But now you have me thinking. I have a really boring first name. Maybe I should get a little creative.

 

Then again, I'm so bad with names, I'd probably forget what mine was if I changed it.

 

My daughter will sometimes say her name is ___ after she's been thinking a lot about something. Sometimes she says it's her middle name, which is what her birth mom named her originally. Sometimes she's Elizabeth I, or Elizabeth II, or some nonsense word, or . . . I can't keep track :). I wonder what she'll call herself in middle age.

[kitten18]

No, not me. But my cousin decided she wanted to be called "Sunshine".

:lol::lol::lol:

[CheerioKid]

A nickname out of the blue is weird...

 

My first name is Melissa, and I always wanted to be called Melissa growing up. My mom could. not. do. it. no matter how hard she tried. Joan is (was) my middle name, and I've always been Joanie (changed the spelling to Joni in 3rd grade). It has been completely removed from my social security card and my driver's license since I changed my middle name to my maiden name when I got married. I would LOVE to have everyone call me Melissa, but like you, I think it would be very childish of me to even attempt it at my age.

 

HOWEVER..... I do choose to be called Melissa at work because I work in a pharmacy and spend a lot of time answering phones and identifying myself on the phone. It is MUCH easier to say "Melissa" than "Joni" on the phone. I never have to repeat myself or spell Melissa...it is what it is, but Joni gets butchered every time. It's silly, but I also feel more professional being called Melissa...I don't know why. I guess because it's not a nickname and I know Joni is. Besides, my full name is on all my CPhT certificate and state registration. People see my full name now and ask, "Where does 'Joni' come from?" so I avoid that conversation altogether by using Melissa at work.

 

:D

 

Edited to add....this is the very reason why my kids are all called by their first names, and have no nicknames. I made the mistake of telling DD that we were originally going to name her Lauren, but changed our minds before she was born. Now she wants to change her name. :glare:

Edited July 21, 2012 by CheerioKid

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I've known a few adults to do this, but they usually choose a different form of their actual name.

 

The first lady I knew was elderly when I became her friend. I didn't know that she'd moved to the midwest from the deep south at age 50 and gave all her new friends her middle name, Bertha, which she'd always preferred. It wasn't until I started traveling with her when she made her biannual visits home that I learned the had been Ellen for 50 years.

 

The other one that comes to mind is one of our local librarians. About 5 years ago she stopped being Kathy and started being Judy. She didn't handle it with very much finesse; just told people they must have had her mixed up with someone else. LOL Then she switched back and forth for awhile until I stopped addressing her at all. Now she seems to answer to either name but obviously prefers Judy, so that's how I address her. In my mind she will now forever be Kathy/Judy.

 

As for me, I have two variations of my first name that I've gone by all my life, but I don't like either of them. I don't think either version suits me at all. Do I know what I should have been named? No.

[Plucky]

The moms of two of my son's best friends are called by another name as well. They have new people call them the new name. I would love people to call me by my middle name but it is almost impossible especially since I finally got family to stop calling me my childhood nickname in my early 20s. They'd laugh if I asked them to change again.

[Tap]

My moms good freind as an adult was called Birdie, so it doesn't sound that odd to me. LOL

 

I think more people should change their names. I think that as our personalities change and grow, we should be able to grow into a name of our choosing....like a mid-life right of passage. :D

 

 

Dd13 goes by a bunch of names (I can think of 8 quickly off the top of my head) and I think she always will have a multitude of names. She has 3 completely distinct names that she goes by, plus some family nick names and variations of her first name.

[Denisemomof4]

I would have to call her ostrich just to see what her reaction would be.:lol::lol::lol:I can't help myself.:tongue_smilie:

[fraidycat]

No, but my DD has three given names - first, two middles and a multitude of nicknames. Who knows what she'll end up being called in adulthood. Her newest nickname is one-armed Willy (broken arm in cast). I'm such a nice Mom. :tongue_smilie:

[lailasmum]

I know someone who completely changed her name. For her is was trying to divorce herself from her completely messed up family. She changed her first name to a fairly common name but her last name is made up and pretty unusual. I found her surname pretty wierd when I first met her but eventually got used to it. She does totally suit her new first name. She doesn't hide the reason behind the name change though.

 

I do also know a lot of kids who have legally changed their name as teens for one reason or another. I think it is fairly common.

[MommyK]

My 6 year old daughter's name is Birdi.

 

I think it's all kinds of awesome. Legally she's "Bernadette", but honestly, she can't even spell that one yet.

 

I just had to chime in because if you are going to randomly change your name to something, Birdi(e) is full of win.

 

As per the original question: I would indulge her, but kind of roll my eyes mentally.

[8circles]

My moms good freind as an adult was called Birdie, so it doesn't sound that odd to me. LOL

 

I think more people should change their names. I think that as our personalities change and grow, we should be able to grow into a name of our choosing....like a mid-life right of passage. :D

 

 

Dd13 goes by a bunch of names (I can think of 8 quickly off therefore top of my head) and I think she always will have a multitude of names. She has 3 completely distinct names that she goes by, plus some family nick names and variations of her first name.

I like this idea. I think one could do this and really be obnoxious about it - do itfor the attention. Or maybe she's just being herself. If so, I really admire her courage to be different. We need more of that in the world.

[luvnlattes]

Is it something she wants everyone to call her or just the kids? I don't know what your kids typically call her but if she felt Mrs. Smith was too formal yet her real first name was too personal, maybe she picked this nickname as a term of endearment? That's the only thing I can come up with.

[Word Nerd]

It's quirky, but I don't see what the big deal is unless there are other reasons to suspect she's unstable.

[Mommyfaithe]

You don't think it is even the least bit funny to randomly ask to be called Birdie? It's sort cute/funny in a very strange way

 

This is what I was thinking. Dh's aunt changed from Barbara to Sabra when she converted to Judaism. Funny thing is no one ever called her Barbara OR Sabra....we all call her Cookie ( her baby name)....and still do....but, we get corrected!

 

She is adorable!

[Davysmom]

My sister in law did that. She said it was because the other name was "someone else" and that she had changed. Dh and I have the hardest time calling her the right name now.

[Cinder]

But I have a neighbor who has told my kids to call her Birdie. Out of the blue. It's not a family name, it's just a name she decided she wanted.

 

She likes to be eccentric . . .

 

Perhaps she just watched You've Got Mail and fancies herself after Jean Stapleton's character?

[FiveOaksAcademy]

I think it's kind of weird.

[Murphy101]

Idk.

 

I've been kicking myself for almost 20 years that I didn't change my entire name when I married, instead of just my last name. I've never liked any part my name or it's nickname versions, but don't know what I would change it to. If I did come to a name I felt was "me", I would consider it. Mostly though, I've kinda accepted I'm stuck with it.

[HSMom2One]

I'll start by saying that I feel that a name is a gift given by one's parent(s). That is why I decided finally to embrace the name on my birth certificate rather than going by the nick name I was known by since I was an infant. Up until then I loathed my given name and refused to let anyone to use it. Then I went to college in my 30's and started thinking about my name more. I would use my real name here and there, and then one day I was pinpointed by my writing professor about seeing both names on papers. She asked, "Who are you? You need to stop vascillating between both names and decide. Oh, and by the way, your nick name sounds like a baby name. Lucinda is much more professional." That cinched the deal for me. College was such a life changing experience that I decided to mark it with a memory stone by changing the name that I was known by.

 

To this day, the people that have known me the longest still call me by my nick name while everyone else calls me Lucinda. My oldest son was the only one that stated his dislike for the change, but since he calls me "Mom" I let it go.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda