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[aislincalum.livejournal.com]

What is YOUR name?

Do you like it?

Have you ever wished you had a different name?  What was it?

Comments

[sageharper.livejournal.com]

Sage Clair
Well yes obviously, having named myself; but then it's been years and it's still just right. Had wanted a word name because I was on a hippy kick; but even without that they're uncommon but everyone can say/spell them properly (nobody gets my middle or last name right). There's a lot of history/symbolism/meaning to the plant itself too that I admire and can relate to some of it. Really it's just that it resonates the way a name should; feels like me, happy to hear it, always know that people mean me, etc.
The middle name is my original given one. My father came up with it by himself (I have an elder cousin Claire who they adored, but that spelling to be unique and supposedly traditionally English); and I like my dad, the fact he tried. It's just such a ridiculous name for a namer to live with and conversation/rant piece to that end so I can't not stick with it. In the end the selling point was I ended up with terrible associations with Claire/Clare (but hey, can ruin Clair for anyone else on my terms), and paired with Sage the compound meaning is quite cool. So I can live with it anyway.

I always wanted a diffrent first name, or just knew that the name I had didn't suit me at all. It's a perfectly good name; but it's just 'nice', loads of stupid teasing, and somehow still gets spelt/said wrong despite being so short and virtually everyone in the western world has already met one. I mean if you spend your whole life not quite sure if someone is refering to you or another X then that defeats the whole point of having a name.
Took a long time to find my name though; had to grow to work out who I was and how to represent that. At the time I also considered Opal, Bay, Fern, Freya, Eveny ... but from the first time I ever used Sage knew that was it. Then off and on I tried pairing Sage up with various C names/family names/etc but can't find the 'perfect' one so gave up.

My mother had wanted to name me Megan; would have been ok with that as it's less common where I live (for my age group anyway) and ties to both sides of my family, but my dad vetoed it for being 'too Welsh'. Then he picked my middle name which happens to be a French word, so whatever.
If I'd been a boy they'd have named me Richard, so it ended up being my younger brother's name. It suits him perfectly and not too common for his age, a far better choice than Matthew (their backup) then.

[gf-girlie.livejournal.com]

Amanda Lynne. It's okay. Pretty generic. I go by mandi.

[un-attra.livejournal.com]

Caitlin.

Honestly, I hate it so much. I really hate the sound of it - though I can tolerate the spelling because I've never taken a liking to the "K" and "Y" additions - and I just hate the way it looks and I don't think it goes with me. When people use it, it just bothers me.
I've always wanted a different name. I used to wish it was my middle name - Alora - and now it just depends on what my current favourite name is. And that varies around from time to time. I've wanted Ana, Isabelle, Gwendolyn, Elizabeth....classy names...not....ugh, Caitlin.

[solitudete.livejournal.com]

I think Caitlin is absolutely the classiest way to spell it. Today you might be a Kaytlynne or some other horrendous Frankename... Cate is pretty too.

[how-obscure.livejournal.com]

Lauren Marie.

I don't care for it. Lauren just isn't my style, and every other girl born in the 80s has Marie as a middle name. I first started thinking about my name and how it suited me in 4th or 5th grade, and my conclusion was that it did not suit me. I considered, at that time, going by both my first and middle name--it does fit me a bit better--but I thought it would be weird to try to get people to start calling me differently when they were already used to just Lauren.

In high school, I started thinking about other names for myself a little. Two were Rain and Persephone. Neither of them really feel like me; I just really liked them at the time so I thought about using them on myself. In recent years, I've thought about Catherine nn Cate/Kate, Maeve, Willow, Eliza Claire, and Margaret.

[jessicamariek.livejournal.com]

*points to username* Jessica Marie. The most common first and middle names of my generation, at least in the town I grew up in. -.- My parents tell me they had trouble deciding what my first name was gonna be - Dad wanted Kathleen, Mom wanted Miranda (Marie as a mn was a given, family tradition) - but Dad read the Dune books while Mom was pregnant with me and I got named after one of the main characters. Go figure.

I didn't hate it, much, but being one of five Jessicas in my grade was not fun. -.-

[mommaalli.livejournal.com]

Allison Miranda

I like it. I used to be kind of "meh" about the name Allison, but now that I'm older, and there are fewer and fewer Allisons in the world, I'm OK with it. I LOVE my middle name though. I might give it to a daughter in the future, if I have another.

[pirahan.livejournal.com]

Julie.

I hate it. I go by Jay.

I wouldn't mind being a Kate.

[mangomandie.livejournal.com]

Amanda Colleen. I used to hate Amanda and I always went by Mandie. But once I finished high school, I started going by Amanda more and more, and now everyone calls me that except close friends and family (though my husband calls me Amanda, which amuses my family).

I have always loved my middle name. It's a family name and I'm the 3rd generation to have it as a middle name.

[chesterismyhero.livejournal.com]

Kimber Anne PolishLastname

I like it because I've never met another Kimber...the first time I ever heard it used anywhere else was on Nip/Tuck.

And then I found out..my dad named me after a gun. Awesome.

[qtshorty1625.livejournal.com]

I work with a Kimber, and it was the first time I ever heard it. It took me by surprise because my mind kept trying to read it as "Kimberly", but after I got over that I like the name.

[jordle.livejournal.com]

Jordan Jane. I've always said that I'd love Jordan for a girl if it wasn't my name, but honestly it is a pain in the ass. People always think I'm a boy and it's a constant struggle. I also share my middle name with my mother and sisters and I hate that. I was born in 1980 in a smallish town so Jordan was unheard of.

All that being said, though, I could never change my name. I'd feel like I was disrespecting my parents.

[moomily.livejournal.com]

My name is Emily. It's OK. It's funny, but I used to hate it as a kid because it seemed old-fashioned. Either this was before the its big surge in popularity (I'm 33) or it just wasn't a common name where I lived, but either way, I just wanted to be a Christina or a Jessica like everybody else. Now I don't mind it, but sometimes I wish I had a more unusual name. I'm jealous of my twin sister's name--Margaret, and she goes by Maggie. Maggie is such a cute name!

[earn-my-wings.livejournal.com]

My name is Hali Rose. I have always loved it. Couldn't pay me to change it ;)

Growing up, people CONSTANTLY mispronounced it. I'd get "Holly," "Hallie" like Halle Berry (this one bothered me the most), And "Hay-lee" when really it's pronounced "Hail-ee". Put that together with my very long, virtually unheard-of German (maiden) last name that starts with "Sch" and has lots of unnecessary letters, and I was a telemarketer's nightmare. The announcer at both my high school and college graduations butchered the crap out of it. my friends have always thought it was funny that no one could say my name right...and especially that even they couldn't remember how to spell it, haha.

But despite the occasional cringe at being called Hallie or Holly (people really don't know the rules of the English language anymore!) I always liked having a different name. I've never met another Hali who spells it the way that I do and I've also only met a couple of "Haleys/Hayleys" in my life. To me, spelling makes a big difference, especially if it changes the meaning of the name. (funny enough, I'm really not a fan of Haley).

Hali means "the sea" and I was raised on the water: sailing, swimming, crabbing, clamming, etc. very appropriate and I love my parents for picking a name that fits me so well.

Rose is for my great grandmother, so it's not just a filler. To be honest, even if it was a filler I'd still like it.

I actually thought I had TWO middle names for most of my life because my grandma wanted all her grand kids to have the 2nd mn of Jude, both boys and girls. My mom hated it and never put it on my birth certificate and so to spite my mom, my grandma always called me "Hali Rose Jude" it wasn't until recently that I found out it was never part of my real name! I was very happy :)

I now have my husband's common Irish last name, and people STILL say it wrong. Oh well!

[sictransitsuzy.livejournal.com]

Sorry if this sounds dumb but I can't figure out the difference between "Hay-lee" and "Hail-ee" :\

[smallandneedy.livejournal.com]

I'm Mette Beate and I was named after a close family friend who died a year before I was born (her name was Mette Elisabeth) and got my middle name from my grandmother's aunt who's name was Loviska Finanda Beate. I'm very glad they chose Beate :P

I always used to wish I had a different name. Mette is a very old-fashioned name in Norway, or at least I used to think so. There's mostly women in their 50s with this name so as a little 10 year old surrounded by a bunch of adults where at least one was named Mette, I wasn't exactly happy. For some reason, I wanted my name to be Martina.

Now I like my name. Even though my name is terribly difficult to pronounce for English speaking people (they never seem to get it right) I've grown into it. I do occasionally use Mia as a nickname. My Australian friend came up with it so her mom and little sister wouldn't have a too difficult time with pronouncing my name while I visited them. I like Mia and use it if I go to for example starbucks and they want my name :P It's just easier. But I don't think I would ever officially change my name. I like the meaning behind it: Mette means pearl, Beate means happy

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

Would the be pronounced somewhere in the ballpark of "Meh-teh" "Be-AH-tuh"?

If so, that's gorgeous sounding.

[jadedinnocent.livejournal.com]

Samantha Elizabeth [one-syllable lastname]

I've always HATED Samantha, I don't like the way it sounds and i've never 'felt' like a Samantha. And now that I go by Sam, I hate how most people assume i'm a boy til they meet me! And when people call me Sammie it drives me up the wall. I like Elizabeth and always wished i was Beth as a little kid - but i think my parents made a big error giving me 2 long names and then a short name.

When my older brother was born the girl name my parents had picked was Rachael - I would much prefer to be a Rachael I think.

[ma-ee-uh.livejournal.com]

Marian.

I don't like it, but I don't hate it. Generally, the only other Marians I've met have been in their 90s. I don't think it suits me (in part because I am not yet in my 90s).

Yes, but nothing specific.

[requiem-morrow.livejournal.com]

Lori Anne

Never liked it. Hated that it was so short. My sister is Stephanie Nicole. She got twice as many letters as I did!! Even though its short and sounds just like its spelled, people misspell it all of the time - Lorrie, Laurie, Lorry, etc. I think what irks me the most is that Lori as a name has no history/meaning of its own. Its a nickname for all of the Laur- names. I'm huge on meaning and it just bugs the crap out of me LOL!. Anne may seem generic, but its after my wonderful great grandmother Monnie Anne (glad I got the Anne). Interestingly, my mom's mn is Annette after her grandmother....who went by Lauren and sometimes Jane. It wasn't until I started working on our family tree we discovered her real name was Jannette.

My mom never considered another girl's name. If I were a boy I'd be Matthew Ryan (I have a younger cousin named Ryan Matthew lol). All I ever got out of my mom was "I liked it."

I'm one of those obnoxious people who wants an unusual name. I went through a phase as a teen when I really wanted my name to be James (no gender identity issues, just love the name). I also went to HS with a girl named Azure, which I thought was awesome. These days I like virtue names like Verity and I'm still hung up on everything mythological. I read a book in HS and I remember the main character's infant daughter was named Morrow, which has been on my list for 20 years LOL.

[twitchywoman.livejournal.com]

I am Alyssa Jeane. I have never wanted a different name because I was almost always the only Alyssa in my class (at least until college, then there were a lot of Alyssa's at my college). I always thought I was the only one with my first name and last name, but I found a girl in New Jersey who has the same name and boy was I disappointed. I liked thinking I was the only one. I get a lot of people who mispronounce my name. I get Melissa, Alicia, Elijah and even Lois ( at least on the phone).

[sictransitsuzy.livejournal.com]

Suzy.

Don't care for it at all but I'm glad it's not Susan or Susanna. I've since given myself the middle name "Quinn" because I like going by Suzy Q although I don't get called it as often as I'd like.

[lunabelle.livejournal.com]

Aspen Noelle

I love my name. There was a time in elementary when I wished Noelle was my first name cause it wasn't so different. Now I feel having a different name makes me feel special. I always get compliments on it though there has been a few times people thought I was a boy...
Also it usually gets misspelled/misheard if heard over the phone.

[earn-my-wings.livejournal.com]

Yours is my favorite in this whole post! What a beautiful unique name! Your nn goes wonderfully with your first.

[02895.livejournal.com]

Ashley nicole. Its meh, its very generic and very 1980s. I graduated highschool in 05 with like 12 other. Ashleys. I wish it was spelled diffrently. I would prefer ashleigh.

This is why my daughter has a name that's unique and diffrent. Lillah elyvia. Only ever met one other before and it was spelled. Lyla the traditional way.

[boobeedoo.livejournal.com]

I'm Ashley too! :) I like l-e-y! But people always misspell it l-e-i-g-h.
Also I just realized how strange it is that my children will say their Moms name is Ashley, I've never met an Ashley more than a few years older than me.

[scarsnsouvenirs.livejournal.com]

I love seeing everyone's names and commentary.

I'm Laura Caitlin [Common, 3 syllable last name].

I love my name. Laura is pretty timeless, and to hear it, you wouldn't know whether I'm young, old, or in between. (I was born in 1982.) It also is a name in Spanish-speaking countries, which I appreciate because I work as a Spanish-English interpreter. And I like that it's fairly easy to spell--if there's a question, I just say, "Laura with a U." I sort of wish I were named after someone, but it's kinda neat to be the first in the family. However, my mom said that when she thought of the name, she figured, "Laura Petrie on The Dick van Dyke show was a good character, so it's a good name." I wasn't quite named after her, but it's a good story, especially since I ended up to be the antithesis of a 1950s/1960s housewife. The only qualms I've ever had about my name are that there was no "i" to dot with a heart/star/circle in elementary school, but I'm over that. :) I also didn't like that I was always "one of the Lauras" in school, but now I come across fewer Lauras, especially my age, for some reason. Lauren seems to be more common. There's also a tiny pronunciation issue that doesn't bug me TOO much...It's pronounced like the "lau" in "laundry," not Lora, and not Lara. And sometimes, I would like a more nickname-able name, but one friend calls me "Lau," and another calls me "Lalu"...neither are great, but it's endearing when they do it. My mom often called me by my initials, LCA, and I started using that as an online pseudonym when I started LJing, but then more "real life" friends caught on, so now it's my nickname in a lot of contexts, and I like that.

I also love my middle name, even though it got more popular and misspelled , but it was quite uncommon when I was born. My Irish immigrant grandmother suggested the name, so it's meaningful. Traditionally, in Ireland, it's pronounced more like, "Cat-LEEN," but mine is pronounced the Americanized way, which is fine with me.

[chaichilaquiles.livejournal.com]

Where are the Sarahs? Or should I say, Saras? Ensue age old debate about the correct spelling, with or without the "h"!
And the Sara(h) Elizabeths? Must've been a common combo in the 80's as well.
And being one of four Sara(h)s in the class... ha, Sara(h) doesn't have any nickname options for you! So guess you'll be going by your name with your last name initial. Or worse.. Sarah 1 and Sara 2. Or Sarah with the "h" or Sara without the "h".

You can tell I don't like my name. It didn't even fit me. "Princess" I have always been a bit of tomboy and my father would call me princess only in the sense of being a spoiled brat and not in an admiring way. But that's fine. As soon as I went off to college I started going by my middle name Elizabeth and "Eli" for short. She's a queen. That fits me much better.

I also want to echo the importance of the meaning behind a name. We can be 99.99 percent sure our kids will hate the names we give them for being too unique or too common or for a million other reasons. But when they come to you and ask, and they will, why you chose the name you did, make sure you have something meaningful to tell them. Not just "I just liked it". It doesn't have to be the meaning of the name.. it could be who they were named after, because you had a dream, or any number of reasons.

[babyxlove-x.livejournal.com]

My name is Alannah Jayne.

My dad named me Alannah after the singer Alannah Myles. He thought she was pretty good looking! Jayne was both of my parents choice. Except my dad wanted it spelled 'Jane' but my mum thought it was too plain and added the 'y' in.

I used to hate my name. I thought that it was too plain and boring. Now I love it! I think I definitely suit being an Alannah.

As for nicknames, I have gotten Larny/Larni/Larnie and Lanah.

[jeweledvixen.livejournal.com]

Robin. I've never liked it. I would love to be named Lydia or Leah.

[boobeedoo.livejournal.com]

Ashley Jayne.
In the past I've wanted a more unique name, because I always had another Ashley in my classes. Although people always mistake me for a Hayley... I'm just glad it's not spelled Ashleigh, I like 'y's more than 'g's, however I have a 'g' in my surname so all my names have a tail letter in them.