s/o for fun - how do you like YOUR first name?

[Heather in Neverland]

I've gone in waves. I was indifferent as a child.

 

Then in grade 6 I had this teacher who thought it was hilarious to say "Heather Feather, how's the weather?" Every single day. So I hated my name.

 

As a teenager and in college I thought it was kind of cute and sexy.

 

In my 30's I didn't like it because I was trying to build my career and I thought Heather was either a child's name or a stripper's name and no one would take me seriously with a name like that.

 

Now that I am in my 40's I am back to being indifferent.

[Lady Florida.]

 

Now that I am in my 40's I am back to being indifferent.

 

At some point I think you just reach an age where you don't care. 

[daffodil]

My name is a different spelling of Ashley. I really, really dislike it.

 

My daughters both have old-fashioned names that are back in style. My son's name is a family name and a classic.

[Splash]

I like my name. It's Kimberly. I went by Kim for a bit in elementary school but didn't like being one of four Kims in my class so insisted on Kimberly 6th grade on. Hated Kimmy and refused to answer to that ever. I hate when people shorten my name even after I say my name is Kimberly so my kids all have names that don't have automatic nicknames and aren't very popular, well except Wyatt, his name is getting pretty high on the popularity list.

[Splash]

Oops. Double post

[SorrelZG]

I don't like it. Too many negative associations. For years every time I heard DH say my name I thought he was creating distance between us and about to put me down. It also felt weak to me for a long time but *I* felt weak. Aside from childhood scars, I hated the pronunciation. It was always getting mispronounced in a way which sounds better but doesn't really fit me and makes it too long (I don't always "correct" people unless they specifically ask, though). No potential nick names fit me either! I thought about going by my middle name but it's not common enough to be comfortable. I have daydreamed of being a Jill, or a Jen, or a Jan. I'll probably just heal with age and grow comfortable with the name I have. I gave all my children names that sounded strong to me. First names uncommon, middle names more common - so they have a choice. I'm trying to call them by both names often enough to make it an easier transition if they want to make the change. I'm also taking care to use their names affectionately.

[freeindeed]

My first name is Jennifer. I don't care for it b/c it is so common, especially in my generation.

[happypamama]

I tell parents to read the lists of the 10 most common names for the last 5-10 years and avoid like the plague picking any of them.

Now, see, I like those names! Actually, I like the classic, timeless names that are always in the top 10 or 20 and which have been for like the last hundred years. I've known a few people with each of my children's names, but of various ages, from child to adult. Then again, my own name is the same way; it was popular a hundred years go, thirty-something years ago, and still reasonably popular now but not like Jennifer was when I was a kid.

 

As far as nicknames, my name doesn't really have a shortened form, although DH's does (short, like Jen for Jennifer, more than a nickname), and he usually goes by his shortened form. My one brother is James, and he was always Jaime growing up; it was hard for him to outgrow that. So I decided we weren't going to do that to our kids. DD's name doesn't really have a short form, but DS1 is Andrew, and I was adamant that he would be Andrew, not Andy or Drew, until and unless *he* decided he wanted to use a nickname. He's Andrew and always has preferred to go by that. As for the little boys, well, DS2 and DS3 have three-syllable names, and they do get shortened to their one-syllable forms, as well as to the Jenny equivalent of Jennifer too, sigh. But they get called by their one-syllable short forms most of the time, and those are acceptable for adults. DS4 still goes mostly by Daniel, but I occasionally call him Dan or sometimes DannyBaby. ;) (But to everyone else, we refer to him as Daniel.)

[OnTheBrink]

I despise my first name so much, I stopped using it in 3rd grade. 

[Gil]

I hated my first name growing up. Oddly, I think that my mom did too...I went by Roy, or Gil or Rory growing up...Never by Gilroy.

 

[CAMom]

Trust me, for 41 years it's sounded like Don. 

 

When I was in High School, I worked at a Sister's Chicken and Biscuits.  I had a manager named Don and an Assistant Manager named Ron.  It was very confusing all the time.

 

My name is Ronette and my husband's name is Don. I cannot possibly tell you how often we get called Ron and Donette instead of Don and Ronette. :p

 

I actually do not like my name. I was named after my dad who was, obviously, Ron. ;) I adored my dad so he never knew I didn't like my name.

 

When I was a kid, there were absolutely no other Ronettes anywhere. At all! I did get some teasing about the 60's music group named The Ronettes. I wanted my name to be Debbie. Really, really wanted it.

 

I still don't like my name but I live with it. :) I do use "Starbucks names," though. I try out all of the other names I used to want: Jill, Debbie, Lisa, Linda, etc. 

 

My kids have normal but not crazy common names. No unusual spellings, either.

[Guest]

I don't like it. No sense in changing it, though, because I already did that the minute I turned 18. The name my parents chose for me is now a kewl trendee baby name.

 

I like nicknames. You can call me Ethel.

 

 

[lynn]

I think between my dad teasing me with a formal version of my name which is not my legal name and older people always wanting to sing to me a few different songs with my name in it really brought me to hating my name.  I had planned to use my middle name when I left for college but  it did not work out.  Then everyone I meet does not listen when I tell them my name they seem to always hear another sort of popular name and close sounding it's just annoying all around.  Now I am almost 50 I am indifferent.  When I realized I could use my middle name online it worked for me!

[lynn]

dp

[LucyStoner]

Since Katie is a nickname for several extremely common names, I was surrounded by Katies growing up. One softball team I played on had 4 Katies besides me and once the opposing team had 5 or something. I joked we should just start our own team called The Katies.

 

I was never bothered by having a very common name. Of all the things to worry about it was just never that high on the list.

 

Just don't call me Kathy. Kathy is a fine name, but it is not my name, thank you very much!

[Aurelia]

I don't like it, never have. People who have never met me, but only see my name assume I am an ethnicity that I am not. And they usually comment on the discrepancy in a negative tone, like it's my fault for misleading them or something.

My name is not particularly common, but neither is DD's. 

 

I picked my board name here and would rather go by that than my "real" name, but at this point in my life, no one I know is going to start calling me anything but my given name. 

 

I do like my middle name, though. 

[Word Nerd]

I like my name and think it suits me. I've known a few others with the same name over the years; it's not common but not that unusual either.

[Audrey]

Hate it. 

 

Hate it.

 

Yep... still hate it.

 

 

It's an old-lady name. It's ugly sounding.  It means "industrious" which is great if you're describing machinery, but otherwise terribly stodgy.

 

People should not name adorable little innocent babies Audrey.  It's just cruel.

[Kalmia]

I love my first name, Laurel. Great choice for a naturalist. Would have liked my parents' second choice too, Paige. I hate my middle name. It is so pedestrian and very much like the wishywashy middle names that were given at the time. For some reason, my parents didn't name my sister the leftover "Paige" which she would have liked, choosing a very weak name for a very strong person. Needless to say, she hates it. 

 

For my kids I chose uncommon names that were easy to spell. We have only heard of two others with my daughter's name. She is named after a national park.

[foxbridgeacademy]

Growing up I hated my name with a passion. I hated it so much I refused to even consider compromising on a shortened version (I wanted to be Jenny).  Now I love my name, it is unique without being too weird. I do go by the shortened version and the only thing that bothers me is when people call me by a similar name.  

 

I'm Britt, short for Brittina, please, DO NOT call me Brittney ;)

 

 

DH goes by his middle name, thank goodness! Otherwise I would never had given him the time of day, sorry but names mean that much to me.

 

I chose my children's names when I was 12-14 years old..... so they're normal and at the time weren't horribly common. 

[foxbridgeacademy]

Hate it. 

 

Hate it.

 

Yep... still hate it.

 

 

It's an old-lady name. It's ugly sounding.  It means "industrious" which is great if you're describing machinery, but otherwise terribly stodgy.

 

People should not name adorable little innocent babies Audrey.  It's just cruel.

 

I've always liked Audrey (shortened to Audie) but see where it might be considered a bit old fashioned.  For DD I went with Aubrey, which she hates... of course, but I love it.