Do You Like Your Name?

[Jambalaya]

Distracts - what is it that you like so much about the name Diana? Is it because of the famous European princess Diana? I'm reading a book about Lady Di at the moment and it's really fascinating. Also, I wanted to ask you - showing my ignorance here - I don't get the reference to siren/Poe. What is that? Educate me please!

I think it's nice that some people have said how much they like their name. I always remember seeing Madonna interviewed many years ago and she said how much she loves her name and think it's one of the most beautiful names there is. (Her real name is actually Madonna.) Her statement was quite fascinating because I can't imagine having a name I really like, since I've always felt "meh" about it. It seems that a lot of other people here also feel lukewarm about their names, which is interesting.

 

[Jambalaya]

I love my name. It's a classic but spelled the European way, which I think makes it look prettier. It definitely suits me.

Star Sparkle, the name that comes to mind from your description is Elisabeth. I think that's how the French spell it instead of with a "z" and I think it's very pretty indeed. Now I'm wondering if that's your name! Anyway, if I had had a daughter I'd love to have called her Elisabeth/Elizabeth, except probably she would always have been Liz, which I don't like half as much. I also really love the name Victoria but they always seem to go by Vicky.

 

[soocool]

I have gotten used to my name since I have had it over 50 years, though I am not usually called by by first name. In addition, on my mom's side of the family all the women's name rhyme with weird spelling. My mom was Stacee, my sister is Casee, and I am Lacee. I guess my mom did not like names that ended in "y". But everyone called my mom "Stace" not Stacee, my sister is called CeeCee, and I am Elle (pronounced "L"). No, I did not follow suit with my DD. I have cousins named, Candee, Cyndee, Mindee, ugh!

 

[distracts]

Distracts - what is it that you like so much about the name Diana? Is it because of the famous European princess Diana? I'm reading a book about Lady Di at the moment and it's really fascinating. Also, I wanted to ask you - showing my ignorance here - I don't get the reference to siren/Poe. What is that? Educate me please!

It is not Princess Di, which is the main objection my husband has to the name (which, really? Why is that a bad thing?) but because of Diana Barry, the best friend there ever was to one Anne Shirley. And then, of course, the classical reference to the goddess Diana, which is one of the few god/goddess names that is namey enough to actually be given to a person (though I know a few baby Athenas, and a number of other god/goddess names seem to be gaining traction - Freya seems to be climbing the charts, for instance). Also I just really like the way it sounds. It's beautiful. Unfortunately I think my husband regards it as stuffy and super 1980s thanks to Princess Di, so meh.

The reference to the siren/Poe is just that there is a siren named Ligeia and Edgar Allen Poe wrote a story called "Ligeia," in which there is a character called Ligeia. It is the story where "there is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness in the proportion" comes from. Lygia is just a variant spelling, google thinks it's most commonly Portuguese, and if the G is soft it could conceivably sound like Leesha, I guess. I'd just file it under "esoteric classical and/or literary references."

The Poe story: http://poestories.com/read/ligeia
and a Rossetti drawing of a siren: http://www.rossettiarchive.org/docs/s234.raw.html

 

[Jambalaya]

Wow, distracts! Talking to you is an education! Freya is a goddess's name, really? I thought it was a modern, made-up name.

I think the name Diana won't have the princess connotation for generations of the future, who never lived in a time when she was alive. Even today, I think people under 30 don't really know who she was or get the whole Di phenomenon.

 

[CharmedOne]

When I was pregnant with my youngest son. I had a male and female name picked out. Well I had a boy (Jett) but the girls name would have been Ceylon ILIANA. Sorry I had to capitalize Iliana, it looked like two Ls to me. Now my husband wants to try and adopt a little girl, so if we are lucky, I may still have a little Ceylon Illiana [SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

 

[iluvshinythings]

I hate my name. It's very unusual and nobody can pronounce it or spell it. I took my husband's last name, which is also really unusual because his sucked less than my maiden name. I am 100% certain that I am the only person on the face of the earth with my name and google backs me up on that. I've always wanted a normal name but it's too late now. Maybe when I retire and don't need resumes and background checks anymore I'll give myself a new name.

My ex convinced me to name my daughter an unusual name too. It's a normal word but it's not a name very often. (A form of it has been mentioned in this thread) I gave her a common middle name, Sarah, and assumed that's what she'd go by. I've had five great grandmothers with the name Sarah and it's a beautiful name. In the second grade she had a fit after school started because her teacher used her middle name on her name tag etc and she wanted to go by her "real" name. She likes her name and rocks it. But I can totally hear it in my head as "now appearing on center stage, is ********. I still feel guilty about it.

My grandson is the 14th Peter J in his family (from his dad's side). All of the firstborn sons were Peter with a J middle name. I know Peter sucks as a name but I'm actually happy my daughter chose to go with tradition for a change. We call him PJ. I know the other kids will pick on him for it but kids will pick on something.

 

[Laila619]

Nope. Hate my name, and my middle name too. They are both old-fashioned, boring, and ugly. It's like my parents put no real thought or effort into it.

I made sure to name my kids elegant, nice names that are classic and enduring but NOT old-fashioned IMO.

 

[packrat]

I feel bad when people have names like, John Johnson. Michael Michaelson. I just think, really? Out of allllll the names on the planet, that's all you can come up w/? John Smith. Generic McPlainwrap.

 

[amc80]

I don't mind my name, but I hate the spelling. It's a pretty normal name that has four spellings, and mine is the least common. I've spent the last three decades spelling it on a daily basis. I've sworn that I will never do that to a kid. DH and I love a baby girl name, but I want the common spelling and he wants a weird one, and I refuse.

I love it when the barista at Starbucks asks me how to spell my name. Nice to ask, but I promise I don't care how you write it on my cup.

 

[missy]

I do love my middle name. Totally forgot about that. My parents did well with my middle name. It is not seen often and it is English in origin and it goes well with my first name. I also love my 3 initials together.

 

[rubybeth]

My neighbor has just had a baby and called her a beautiful classic name, Elizabeth. . .
What about you? What do you think of your name? Do you like it?

Well, considering my name is Beth, which is a variant of the example you used as being a beautiful, classic name, I'd say I'm pretty happy with it.

There are just two things to note that I've dealt with in my life: 1) I'm not an Elizabeth, which people often assume is my 'real' name, but it's not because my parents did not want people nicknaming me "Liz," which is a name my mother strongly dislikes. I think I would have been an okay Liz, but in combination with my long middle name, Elizabeth would have been too much. I have two family names from grandmothers, and both are royal names which are long, as is my given last name. I won't reveal my middle/last name here, but imagine a child spelling out/saying something like Elizabeth Penelope Achterburg--kind of a mouthful. 2) 'Beth' is such a soft sounding name, that in today's order-at-the-counter lifestyle, it's often too quiet to hear my name unless I practically shout it to a barrista, so I usually use my husband's name in these situations, because "Steve" is much easier to hear over coffees shop/restaurant noises. I've been mistaken for "Bev" many times, which makes sense, and one time, Seth.

 

[katharath]

Distracts - what is it that you like so much about the name Diana? Is it because of the famous European princess Diana? I'm reading a book about Lady Di at the moment and it's really fascinating. Also, I wanted to ask you - showing my ignorance here - I don't get the reference to siren/Poe. What is that? Educate me please!

It is not Princess Di, which is the main objection my husband has to the name (which, really? Why is that a bad thing?) but because of Diana Barry, the best friend there ever was to one Anne Shirley. And then, of course, the classical reference to the goddess Diana, which is one of the few god/goddess names that is namey enough to actually be given to a person (though I know a few baby Athenas, and a number of other god/goddess names seem to be gaining traction - Freya seems to be climbing the charts, for instance). Also I just really like the way it sounds. It's beautiful. Unfortunately I think my husband regards it as stuffy and super 1980s thanks to Princess Di, so meh.

The reference to the siren/Poe is just that there is a siren named Ligeia and Edgar Allen Poe wrote a story called "Ligeia," in which there is a character called Ligeia. It is the story where "there is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness in the proportion" comes from. Lygia is just a variant spelling, google thinks it's most commonly Portuguese, and if the G is soft it could conceivably sound like Leesha, I guess. I'd just file it under "esoteric classical and/or literary references."

The Poe story: http://poestories.com/read/ligeia
and a Rossetti drawing of a siren: http://www.rossettiarchive.org/docs/s234.raw.html

Lol. That's funny bc I almost mentioned the Anne of GG books when PSer Anne posted a couple of pages back about her name. I've read all of them at least a dozen times!!

 

[packrat]

I was so mad my mom didn't name me Trixie. I wanted so badly to be a young super sleuth.

 

[AprilBaby]

I have a 50's name that wasn't even common then. I loved having a name that no one else had. I was named after a comic strip. My middle name is Jane. I was very embarrassed of it because of the "Dick and Jane" primers we had in school. I use my maiden name now as my middle, but I don't hate Jane anymore. I'm very thankful I was not named Lois. My younger sister got that one.

 

[Lookinagain]

I think I'm lucky that I've always liked my name and always liked the way that it went with my last name ( which I have always kept despite marriage). My first name is simple but not common for a female although definitely not entirely a man's name, and the spelling varies for men and women. When I named my daughter I spent a fair amount of time choosing her first and middle names to make sure that the combination with her last name (her father's, not mine) had a rhythmic cadence. Her last name is only one syllable so I wanted to make sure her first and middle names had multiple syllables and flowed into the last name. I think the names that children are given can really impact them in their lives. Some parents don't seem to think about this and once the children get into school their classmates can tease them if they have strange names, or rhyming first and last names, etc. I definitely believe that name choice can affect a child's self confidence and that it is very important and should be a well thought out decision.

 

[Sphene]

So many seem to dislike their name,so why not change.

It takes very little time for family and friends to get used calling you a new name and strangers will never know any different.

It costs very little to legally change a name or just use the new name like a nickname.

 

[rainydaze]

Sphene, I am curious about this too. Has anyone here considered it or done it? I also thought that when you marry, it's the one time you can change your name (first, middle, last) to anything you want free of charge. I have never officially looked that up, but it's what I've heard.

 

[Niel]

Sphene, I am curious about this too. Has anyone here considered it or done it? I also thought that when you marry, it's the one time you can change your name (first, middle, last) to anything you want free of charge. I have never officially looked that up, but it's what I've heard.

MSOP has. She's not here as she just had a little one, but I know when she got married she changed her first/middle name too

 

[Rena7]

I like my first name but not my middle name, even though my name isn't actually a name.

 

[SandyCheeks]

I have a bit of a frumpy first name, Eleanor. However My family and friends call me Elle and I really like that name. I love my maiden name too but I took my husbands last name to be a cohesive unit with my kids.

 

[Niel]

I have a bit of a frumpy first name, Eleanor. However My family and friends call me Elle and I really like that name. I love my maiden name too but I took my husbands last name to be a cohesive unit with my kids.

I love the name Eleanor. My sisters "future" baby name has that as the middle.

But I'd be the first to claim I love traditionally "frompy" names

 

[AprilBaby]

I .Think Eleanor is a beautiful name!

 

[Tekate]

Ugh the Katherine, Katharine, Caitlin, Catheryn, Cathrine, etc etc.. I HEAR you. I always say Catherine with a C.. although I have the Kate vibe which I have spent most of my life hearing: why is your name start with a C but you spell Kate with a K.. I DUNNO ask my mom (who is dead and didn't even LIKE the name Dad won) anyway..

JANE! how beautiful, how unique, it's perfect.. I mean how many Tiffanys... Sophias, Emmas, Julianna's, can you have? I like Helen, Jane, Susan, and Mary anything now.. didn't like them back in the day but love them now.. they sound unique, lovely, and strong. OH well times change.

I don't believe in naming your kids a name that is hard to spell, no matter what, the kid spends their life repeating how to spell it, my kids names are all time tested, and they love them.. in the end, most times, we fit out name.

peace.

 

[Tekate]

I .Think Eleanor is a beautiful name!

I LOVE Eleanor, Helen! Mary anything.. these are truly classic, unique, beautiful names!

 

[Jambalaya]

Eleanor is the height of elegance for a name, in my opinion!

About why people don't change their names if they don't like them....as someone who's never been crazy about their name, it would still be weird if it changed. As if I wouldn't be me. Also, my mom would have been devastated. I think people who've known me my whole life would have a hard time thinking of me as another name. If I picture a different name on a gravestone it wouldn't be the one my mom gave me and that makes me feel sad...I feel my name is a link to my parents - my name is part of having been parented by them, if that makes any sense. On the other hand the idea of being able to choose whatever name you want for yourself is wonderfully freeing. In a way, it's a pity that changing our names to what we want when we grow up isn't more the norm. But then, perhaps people would chop and change a lot and it would be a hassle.

I don't hate my name, exactly, but it's very dated, and not dated in the sense of traditional names like Elizabeth or Victoria. It does sound Fifties and while not trailer-park, it's definitely not posh either, but who cares. However, I would have loved a classic name like the two I just mentioned.

 

[Jambalaya]

I think I'm lucky that I've always liked my name and always liked the way that it went with my last name ( which I have always kept despite marriage). My first name is simple but not common for a female although definitely not entirely a man's name, and the spelling varies for men and women. When I named my daughter I spent a fair amount of time choosing her first and middle names to make sure that the combination with her last name (her father's, not mine) had a rhythmic cadence. Her last name is only one syllable so I wanted to make sure her first and middle names had multiple syllables and flowed into the last name. I think the names that children are given can really impact them in their lives. Some parents don't seem to think about this and once the children get into school their classmates can tease them if they have strange names, or rhyming first and last names, etc. I definitely believe that name choice can affect a child's self confidence and that it is very important and should be a well thought out decision.

I totally agree that a weird, crazy, or unfortunate name can lead to a lot of teasing when young and that this can really affect a person's confidence. I wish all parents were as thoughtful about their child's name as you! Some people just do not seem to care how silly a name makes their child look, and it's such a pity because it's hardly like kids need more reasons to tease each other. Life will throw so many curveballs to your kid as it is - why start them off with something that needs to be overcome??

 

[partgypsy]

I like my name, but it is an extremely popular name so growing up there would be 1-2 other girls in my class with the same name. However as my last name is unusual (and kept my maiden name) it balances out.

For my children, since their last name is so common, tried to pick slightly more unusual (but still classic names) for them (Penelope and Audrey). Just like my name, after I named them, the names became more popular, darn it!

I have a theory that names go in and out of style. They become cool, then popular, then so common people get sick of them and drop out of style. Then 1 or 2 generations again get picked up again. Also if a celebrity/actress has that name it can cause a bump in popularity.

 

[partgypsy]

I have a bit of a frumpy first name, Eleanor. However My family and friends call me Elle and I really like that name. I love my maiden name too but I took my husbands last name to be a cohesive unit with my kids.

I like my maiden name and it felt strange to give up my name for being married so I never changed it. That said, it always seems to cause problems during the beginning of the school year with new teachers trying to tiptoe and ask who the primary caregiver is, who does the student live with, assuming that we are divorced, so that is a pain in the behind.

 

[iLander]

I don't particularly like my name, but it was my late mother's middle name (but she spelled it a little differently) so I like the memory of her.

Earlier this year, I heard my name at least 3 times a week on various TV shows and commercials. It was bizarre. Over and over, it was said by someone on TV, in unrelated situations, and it lasted for 2 1/2 months! It was starting to freak me out! I considered that it was me from the future trying to send a message back in time to me. Or that someone from beyond was trying to contact me. Anything to explain this bizarre confluence that I had never encountered before. Whatever it was, it stopped. And everything returned to the normal mentioning of my name about once a month on TV.

I wish I could figure out what the heck that was . . .