A Rose by any other name....

[a-groovy-gypsy.livejournal.com]

I was talking to my Mother today about names and where she thought of each of our names. (I'm the oldest of 5 kids)....

Tracy Lynn - Tracy was a compromise. Dad wanted "Tammy" and Mom HATED the name. Lynn was passed down from my Mother.
(If I were a boy, I'd have been Charles McAlpin...after my paternal Grandfather)

Timothy Donald - They just liked the name Timothy and Donald is after my maternal Grandfather. (Had he been a girl, he would have been Noelle. He was due on Christmas Day.)

Gregory Albert - Mom wanted Todd, Dad said "hell no!"...they settled for Gregory. Albert comes from 2 different sources....My Great-Grandfather AND the man they credit for saving their marriage. (He'd have been Tiffany Diane had he been a girl)

Nicole Diane - Again...they liked the name Nicole and Diane is after my maternal Grandmother. (Had she been a boy, she'd have been Kristofer Adam)

Tiffany Ann - ....yada yada yada...loved the name Tiffany...and, since Dad nixed the idea of another daughter with the middle name Diane, they settled for "Ann". (since we knew from an early amniocentesis that she was a girl, there is no "she would've been...." name for her)

Funny story - Apparently at one point in time Mom considered naming me Alma Lynn. And even worse, she considered, albeit briefly, naming me Briar Rose. Thank God she came to her senses!!

And that's that.

Comments

[tinylittlestars.livejournal.com]

Cyndi Frances - Cyndi after Cyndi Lauper, the 80s singer (my Dad was in the music business) and Frances because the oldest daughter in like 5 generations has Frances as her middle name (Elisabeth Frances/Yvonne Frances/Mary Frances etc.)

My sisters are Jazmin Jae and Amy Melissa (half sister with a different mother, so obviously its my Mum who likes the "different" spelling of names, and my Dad who was happy to go along with whatever) but I don't know much about their names. I think Jazmin was just a name that Mum likes, and Jae was something that went with it well? I don't know.

[tinylittlestars.livejournal.com]

Actually I lie. Amy's Mum Denise's middle name is Melissa, I think.

[trissyd.livejournal.com]

Trista Debra-Lee - "Trista" after a character on Days Of Our Lives, "Debra" after my mom (Deborah), and "Lee"... well.. so it flowed. I love my hypen though :)! (If I were a boy I would've been 'Matthew', I was supposed to be "Brooke", but my dad veoted it)

Shana Rene - "Shana" after a contestant on a game show (apparently my mum watched a lot of TV when she was preggers, hah), and "Rene" because my dad loved it (My mom picked first names, my dad picked middle names, for both of us), (They had no boy name picked for her, she was supposed to be "Jasmine", but again, veoted by pops)

[trissyd.livejournal.com]

oh, and sorry... 1986 & 1988 respectivally.

[sarahrose.livejournal.com]

Shannan Leigh (my sister, b. 1975) - At the time we thought our heritage was Irish. They just liked Leigh. My dad chose it and my mother went along with whatever he said. She has the mind of a 15-year-old to this day. Very aloof. Can you tell I despise her? lol She would have been Shannon Lee had she been a boy.

Sarah Lesley (me, b. 1987) - My dad loved the name from the Bible. No clue where my middle name came from. Blech on both counts. I would have been David _____ if I were a boy.

[p-inkjeans.livejournal.com]

I'm Lindsay Rebecca, no stories, they just liked it. Had I been a boy, I would have been Scott Timothy; Scott because they liked it and Timothy after my dad.

My older brother is Michael Paul. Michael after my dad's college roommate and one of his closest friends with Mike was born (although he hasn't talked to him in years) and Paul after my uncles. It's my dad's older brother's fn and my mom's older brother's mn. Had he been a girl, he probably would have had my name since Mom had it picked out before I was born.

[p-inkjeans.livejournal.com]

Oh, I was born in 1987 and Mike in 1984.

[redemptionsongs.livejournal.com]

Alyssa Grace- Alyssa after Alyssa Milano, Grace after my paternal great grandmother. I was born in 1985.

[tinylittlestars.livejournal.com]

Was Alyssa Milano around in 1985? Weird. I thought she was only like 23 or 24...

[juicykisses.livejournal.com]

Daniel Gibson (b. 1981). Ya know...I'm not sure where they got this at all. Gibson is a family name I think, but I'm not even sure from where. If he would have been a girl he would have been Sarah Elizabeth.

Andrew Diffin (b. 1984). Also would have been Sarah Elizabeth if a girl. He was actually named William Benton first but my mom changed her mind. (She actually asked them if they had written out the birth certificate first!) Diffin is my Grandma's maiden name.

Sarah Elizabeth (b. 1987) ME! You can tell they really liked this name. Its completely a family name, but I'm not sure who really.

We all have very common names. And especially with our last name (Smith). Luckily I'm married now and don't have such a common name!

[rhondaaerosmith.livejournal.com]

I wish I had cool stories to tell but I don't.

Rhonda Lynn (me-1984) - they liked Rhonda though I think it's after the 'Help Me Rhonda' song, Lynn I think b/c my mom wanted to give me her middle name but hated it her's is Lee

Bennie Henry (brother-1986) - named after my dad who was named after his dad and so on

[tinylittlestars.livejournal.com]

Bennie pronounced like Benny would be??

[ashadelic.livejournal.com]

Adam Bryon (b. 1980) My dad says he liked Adam because he was the first man, and my brother is "the first of the last." Which, explaining that further, my dad is the youngest of 14 and Adam was "the first" son of "the last" Anderson boy (my dad). I don't know.. my dad's weird. Bryon is my dad's middle name. I dont remember the girl name they had picked.

Ashli Jo (b. 1982) My mom wanted Ashli Diane. My dad wanted Amanda Jo. They compromised. It's Ashli (with an i) because my mom's name is Kathi. Her middle name is also Jo. I would've been Susie Sarah after my mom's maternal grandmother if my dad didnt have a sister named Susie (still living, would've been confusing) and if my dad hadnt dated a girl in high school named Sarah. I would've been Seth Eric had I been a boy.

[namegirl.livejournal.com]

Angella Marie (b. 1982) yours truly :) Angella is from the song Angie. Marie is a French version of Mary, which is a family name. Why did it get translated? Because my mother was born Laurel Mary Kidston. When she got married she because Laurel Mary Neary and vowed she would never give her kid that name. If I'd been a boy, I would have been James Vincent.

Rebecca Mae (b. 1992) My mum and stepfather were going to name her Roberta Mae. Robert after my stepfather and Mae after his mother's mn. I BEGGED them to change it and so she got Rebecca.

Jessica Lynn (b. 1993) I loved Sweet Valley High books when I was this age and as soon as I found out Mum was pregnant, I begged and begged for either Jessica or Elizabeth. I have no idea where Lynn came from.

Melissa Dawn (b. 1996) Just a name they like. I hate the name Melissa (never known a nice one) and so she is called Missy (I started calling her that when she was born, it stuck)

Had any of my sisters been boys, they would have been James Douglas

[tinylittlestars.livejournal.com]

Haha I love that you named your child after a Sweet Valley High character. LMFAO.

[x-lostinyou.livejournal.com]

Stephanie Elizabeth Anne B. 1989 - My name is totally boring. My dad's name is Stephen... my name is the feminine version. Elizabeth is my maternal grandmother's middle name (although she goes by it instead of her first name), and my maternal aunt's middle name. Anne is the middle name of my paternal grandmother, my parternal aunt, and two of my maternal aunts. My poor mom; she was the only woman in our close family that I'm not named after. That's why I plan on using her middle name for my first child. =)

Another boring name is my hubbie.

Kevin Arthur B. 1987 - His dad's name is Arthur Kevin. Enough said, heh. We're using Arthur as a MN.

[shortlived.livejournal.com]

Kind of new to the community but figured I would jump in anyway.

Sabrina Gean. My sister, born 1978. My mom wanted to name her Diane Gean after two of her best friends but was talked out of it at the last minute by her older sister. Aunt Sharon suggested Kelly, as she was a huge Jaclyn Smith/Charlie's Angels fan, but my mom didn't like it. She went with Sabrina, Kate Jackson's character, instead.

Stephanie Leanne. Me, born 1987. My mom wanted my sister and I to have the same first initial so she was dead-set on Stephanie Diane since she didn't get to name my older sister after Diane. My father vetoed it and suggested Leanne instead to honor their mothers. My paternal grandmother is Patricia Anne and my maternal grandmother is Gertie Lee.

I've always gone by my middle name or a derivative thereof like Lee or something.

[cathkitten.livejournal.com]

Catherine Cory: Catherine after my mom's great-grandmother, aunt, and sister. Cory was my mother's maiden name.

My sister is Kristen Elizabeth. Kristen because my parents liked it, and Elizabeth after my mom's other sister. My family all has traditional names like Mary, Joe, Paul, Peter, etc, so Kristen was a departure. For a long time they refused to call her anything but Elizabeth, but my mom put her foot down. Some of my older relatives still call her "Christian" because they have a hard time understanding the name.

My cousin, who is a like a sister to me, is Caitlin Lee. My aunt chose Caitlin because she liked it and Lee is after my Aunt Catherine Lee Cory (I'm named after her, too!)

It's really fun to hear someone try to say my name in my family with 3 girls with such similar names. They go "Ca-Cai-Kri--WHATEVER YOUR NAME IS!"

[springtide-hfa.livejournal.com]

Holland Francesca (me)- my mom and dad loved visiting Holland when they had just gotten married, so decided to name me after it. I go by Hollie, though. Francesca is both my mom and grandmother's middle name.

Eleanor Rose- Eleanor was my mom's tutor when she was younger, and she adored her. Rose just sounded nice with it, I guess. She goes by Ellie.

Breckan Emma- While in the hospital giving birth to her, Ellie and I were arguing over her name, because my mom said we could help with it. She got frustrated and said to a woman next to us "I'm getting a baby," and I said "Stop bragging." She mocked me, but ended up saying "Breh-kin" instead of "bragging," and my dad liked the sound of it. Emma was the chosen middle name, after my mom's cousin Emily.

Maelyn Cecille- Maylin was the name of my dad's nanny as a child, and she was like a mother to him. She died when my mom was pregnant, so my sister got her name. Cecille is after my mom's twin brother - Cecil - who died at a young age. Mae got a very morbid name, if you ask me.

[ginky.livejournal.com]

I am Amy Lee, and I was always going to be. I'm named after both of my grandmothers. I passed that down and my daughter is Evelynn Lee. Amy Evelyn was dad's mom, Lee is my mom's, grandmother's and (obviously) my middle name, and MIL's middle name is Lynn.

If I were a boy I'd be Patrick David. David after my dad and Patrick because mom liked it.

My sister is Dawn Michelle. Dawn after my mom's friend from college and Michelle because mom liked it. Delta Dawn was a hit song when my sister was gestating and mom swears it has nothing to do with it, but really she lies. ;)

[yourethedancer.livejournal.com]

Nigel Bradford - b.1980. I blame this on my parents being young. They have no explaination for this, just that they liked it at the time. You may be surprised to know that Nigel Bradford is full-blooded Italian.

Emily Grace - b.1987. Me! My mom has been a geriatric nurse for about 25 years and I was named after two of her favorite old ladies who she loved dearly. If I had been a boy I would have been Dylan. Some names that had been considered [and thankfully discarded] were Georgia, Dakota, and Faye. My dad wanted to name me California and call me Cali. What a stoner. My brother wanted me to be Julia Sue.

[x-lostinyou.livejournal.com]

Your brother had pretty good taste for a 7 year old!

[julieannie.livejournal.com]

Julie Ann (1985) after Julianne McNamara, the gymnast. My dad rooted for this name, my mom wanted Jillian Marie (nn Jill) and as a boy I would have probably been Joshua. Plus, I am JAM like my father is.

Daniel James (1986) my brother after the Elton John song "Daniel". My mom loved the song. James is after my father's first name.

Andrew Thomas (1995) my brother's name was just one we'd liked for years. My cousin's name is Thomas Andrew which we found out later. My brother picked his own middle name in the hospital. We had a list and sang his full name and if he smiled (aka got gas and squirmed) we kept the name on the list. Thomas won out. ATM are his initials too for fun.

[maude.livejournal.com]

Kelley Kramer (1985) - Kelley came out of a babynames book that listed Kelley's meaning as "warrior woman" and since my sister almost died in birth my mom liked it. Kramer is after some random, obscure dead relative.

Erin Patricia (1990) - Me. My mom "just liked Erin", and Patricia is after her sister Trish and her best friend Patty.

Zane Alexander (1993) - My stepmom's brothers are Shane and Dane, so ugghh naturally Zane fit the pattern. I don't know where Alexander came from. BTW, Shane's daughter is Shayna. UUUUGGGHHH.

Andrew Thomas (2001) - I see the above poster has an Andrew Thomas too! My mom wanted Samuel really, really badly but my stepdad didn't like it and they fought the entire pregnancy over that...however they had agreed on Thomas for a middle name after my grandpa, and randomly about 2 weeks before he was born I suggested Andrew.

[maude.livejournal.com]

Oh, and Kelley's initials ended up being K.K.K...haha, oops.

[soleilshine.livejournal.com]

Tyler Aaron (1981) - They originally wanted to name him David, but every kid that they saw with the name David ended up being a really bad kid, so they decided on Tyler. Aaron, because, ... I have no idea, not to mention those two names go horribly bad with eachother.

Soleil Ryan/me (1984) - I'm a twin, so my dad got to name me and my mother named my sister {which we'll get to}. My dad always had a thing for the name Soleil(so-lay) and so, I got that. My middle name is indeed Ryan, because my dad's best friend, my godfather, his best man, etc etc, is Ryan.

Jessie Victoria/twin (1984) - Jessie because my parents absolutely hated the name Jessica, but seemed to like the name Jessie. They liked a bunch of names that started with "S" but didn't want to make our names anything alike. Victoria because of my paternal grandmother.

Landon Jason (1986) - Random. Decided on it 2 hours before he was born.

Mark Shiloh (2006) - This is my half brother, Mark because his father absolutely loves the name and Shiloh because it's a name that has been passed down in his family for a long while.

[trissyd.livejournal.com]

You definatly got the most unique and beautiful name out of the bunch :)!

[heyitsrebecca.livejournal.com]

Joshua James (1977) Mom liked Joshua, James is my dad's middle name. Would have been Kimberly Rena.

Michael Medford (1980) Michael after my dad, Medford after his dad.

Rebecca Rena (1982) Rebecca after mom's best friend, Rena is my mom's middle name.. prn Renee. I would have been Scott Ross

Stephanie Ann (1986) Dad liked Stephanie, Ann after my mom's sister.

Rachel Jean (1989) Stepdad liked Rachel, Jean after Sdad's middle name Eugene. Would have been Stuart John.

Byron John (1991) Stepdad liked Byron after some football player, John after Stepdad's first name, John.

Samantha Jacklyn (1997) Mom liked Samantha, Jacklyn is after her father Jack. Prolly would have been Stuart something or other.

My mom left a lot of the naming up to her husbands. That and we're almost all named after people.

[miss-tee.livejournal.com]

Aubrey Clare Elana-(1981) me. Aubrey is after the song by Bread. Clare was after my paternal great grandfather Clarence and Elana was so I would have the same initials as my paternal grandfather (he was Albert Charles Edward).

Dylan Michael John-(1985) Dylan as far as I know they just liked. Michael is my dad's name and John is after my maternal grandfather.

And for kicks my boyfriend's family.
Debra Hannah (1974)-I don't know that Debra is after anyone. I guess they just liked it and Hannah is for an Aunt that died as a child.

David Isaac-(1975)I don't think David was after anyone, it's a very popular Jewish name. Isaac is for a maternal great grandfather.

Benjamin Daniel-(1981- my boyfriend!) Benjamin is a traditional name for a last son as Benjamin was Jacob's youngest son in the Torah. Daniel I think they just liked. I'm glad they didn't name him Daniel Benjamin though because then they'd all have D names.

[nytogagirl4life.livejournal.com]

Nolan Daniel (1973, brother)- Mom just liked the name Nolan and Daniel is our fathers name

Adrianne Elizabeth (1983, Me)- 10 years later she had me and was going to name me stephanie until she saw me, then changed her mind. I guess she kinda just came up with my name, and Elizabeth is my gramas name!

[x-lostinyou.livejournal.com]

Haha, that would have been interesting had they named you Stephanie... you'd have the same FN and MN as me.

[thunderofsins.livejournal.com]

David Lyle - he's a junior, don't know what he'd have been if he'd been a girl my mom "knew" he was a boy from the start.
Jeanette Nicole - named after a distant (but well loved) relative, Nicole they both just "liked". Was going to be Jennifer Lynne until just after birth.
Stephanie Michelle - Stephanie they just "liked" and Michelle after her aunt.
Daniel Joseph Daniel they liked and Joseph after dad.
James Brian - named after a family friend (went by Jimmy until 6th grade). Would have been Sarah Renee.
Brandon Matthew - named by his birthmother, went by Matthew for awhile.
Kayla Michelle - Liked the name Michaela but didn't want the baby to be nicknamed "Mike" so went with Kayla instead (and then that year the name because EXTREMLY popular while it was practically unheard of the year before!) and Michelle after aunt.

[opalfirefly.livejournal.com]

(me)Arwen Rose-Doreen (b. 1982)-- Arwen after Lord of the Rings-- Rose is my maternal grandmother and Doreen is my paternal grandmother. when i get married I am dropping the Doreen.

Philip Andrew (b. 1985)-- I think my parents just liked the names and they were bibical... and Philip means "lover of horses" which my mom is obsessed!!!

[sageharper.livejournal.com]

[given name] Clair (b. 1895) - One of the nurses suggested gn, and my parents kinda thought 'meh, what the hell' (it'd been a very long running debate). Other names in the running were Angela, Megan, Victoria ... so badly wished they'd gone with Megan; alas my father vetoed it.
They refuse to acknowledge how common gn is and can't understand why it's being 'dated'* is a problem ... and trust me I've tried.
Clair was in honour of my cousin, but my dad decided to tweak the spelling because he wanted to make it 'more unique' or something *head desk*.
And they wonder why I have such a complex ... I go by Sage now of course, chose it from a list of 'hippy names' because I fancied myself as a hippy at the time. It's always felt like 'me'.
If a boy: Richard [not sure if I'd still go by Sage]
They didn't have mn picked out, but if I had to chose my own then it'd be Dylan (Welsh, mythological, literary ... *swoon*)

Richard Thomas (b. 1989)
It was a toss up between Richard or Matthew, not sure why they went with the former but am glad they did. He totally got the best name [from an onomastic perspective], suits him too.
Thomas was my pick, after the tank engine ... because I was teeny fangirl.
He usually goes by Rich as it shorter and I'm a name-nerd so love the theme of sorts with my name.
If a girl umm thingy
LOL my parents aren't too good at girls names.

*ask anyone for a list of dated/stereotypical '80s names and it'll almost always get a mention.

[anapology.livejournal.com]

I know you dont want to say your given name, but can we guess? lol you've given out so many vague clues i feel i may have a notion of what it is!

[anapology.livejournal.com]

Sophy Mary-Kate Sophy means philosopher, which my father liked, my mother loves France & it's a popular name over there (& trust me, it does sound very sexy, having a hot french guy whispering.. J'taime Sophhiiieee' in your ear :-D) Ridiculous spelling, i do not know where that came from.
Mary is my aunt/godmother & my grannys name although she goes by Jill.- Kate... i'm not sure, they just thought it sounded nice, i do like it actually although people always ask if i was named after the Olsen twin. *cough* no, im a year older than them.
Mum still wishes she'd stuck with Kezia, i wish she had too. Dad thought it would be hard to spell or something...Sophy is so boring, number 3, it was in the 700's in 1987.
They thought of Lucy & Emily too.

Max Charles They had a hard time coming up with a boys name, my mum was convinced she was having another girl so concentrated on girls names, whilst my dad could tell straight away from the ultrasound that it was a boy! He liked Max because it short & you couldnt make any silly nicknames. Charles is a my paternal grandad/dad's middle name, i like it.. i'll probably use it if i ever have a son.