How do you feel about the name your parents gave you?

[Diana]

I've always been a person who is very "I am who I am, I do what I want!" and that even included my given name. Ò,Ó Even as young as 4, I didn't like being called by middle name and I was always coming up with different names and attempting to force my family to call me those so I could try them out. In elementary school I'd sign random names during Computer Lab until I got in trouble with the teachers cause apparently they were keeping track of what we were doing on the computers and it was confusing them. Ó,Ò

Later I met Deanna Troi on Star Trek Next Generation. >:D I loved that name. Of course it evolved to just be Diana. I've been Diana since I was 8 or 9 years old. Later I found out Diana was on my mom's shortlist of possible names and my brother was supposed to be Dmitri. D:< We're both very disappointed with what we got.

How do YOU feel about the name your parents gave you? Does it fit who you are? Is it terrible? Do you have a better name in mind?​

 

[Quetzal]

Supposedly it was custom to name your first son after a saint. My dad has the same name. So might be true. But growing up I felt like it wasn't a strong name. Which didn't help my self esteem when I was in school. Now I don't much care. It's just one part of me.

 

[Nemopedia]

I like my name. My parents put a lot of thought into my name despite the short time they had to look for a name (apparently it isn't custom for them to name their kid immediately after birth?). Like most Chinese parents my parents also named me with the intention of hoping that I would live up to my name. In my case I was named in the hope that I may be the luckiest. Though it seems to be uncommon to name children after phrases because no one gets my name until it is written down on paper or explained what characters are used.

I also like how my name changes in sound from the various Chinese dialects, Cantonese and even Japanese, but keeps it meaning at large so people always end up saying how smart my parents were in naming me.

If it fits me, however... I can't imagine myself with any other name, but I don't know about being the luckiest. XD

 

[Spekkun]

I love my name first and middle :D I love that it's long, complicated to say and has an amazing meaning. My parents had this big book of names they would surf through for us, and my mother had a funny mandate that all boys must begin with the letter A. My name first name is Tanaznian, and my middle name is Arabic. They were both chosen with the hope that I would live up to them, as daunting as that is to think about!

 

[Kitti]

My name had meaning when it was chosen and was also just a name that my mother genuinely really liked so in that regard, I like it now that I can see that and appreciate that aspect of it. My name has "traditional" roots and is linked to my father's family BUT it also became one of the basic white girl names apparently around the time that I was born so there are like seven different spellings and it always makes me a little saucy when people "ugh" at it for that because it was chosen for its traditional ties (the irony).

I liked my name well enough growing up but it always really irritated me that people do that "ugh which basic white girl spelling is it" like bitch even if it didn't have the family history thing tied to it it's my still name so maybe take a long walk on a short pier. (/done fuming)

 

[Frankle]

Honestly, used to hate my name when I was in school because people mocked it for being weird.
Nowadays, knowing the meaning (War-helm) and being more in touch with my culture, I appreciate it far more as a name. The mockery came from a place of ignorance and now I pity people who look down at others simply because their names aren't typical for an area. If I went really true to my culture I'd be War-helm son of the Gifted Spearman AKA Gwilym ap Roger.

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

Funny story. My parents thought I was a boy and picked out the name Christopher Micheal. Then the surprise came and I turned out to be a bouncing baby girl instead. So, at a loss, my drunken father did what any drunk would do. He turned on the radio and named me after the first female singer to come on, which happened to be Tina Turner, a nickname that happened to stick with me throughout elementary school. So no, I am not particularly fond of the name my parent gave me.

 

[Vars]

Hated every part of it.

Though I guess if I had to rank it, from most hated to least hated: Middle -> Last -> First.

My last name is famous for something stupid and dumb and usually I'm free from references except from very old people making the same tired dumbass joke. Until the History channel does a segment on it, in which case everyone making the same tired ass joke.

Have you ever worked retail? Have you heard the joke "Oh it didn't scan, so it must be free!" Now imagine the feeling you get after that joke, where you force yourself to laugh because you don't want to be rude even though You're fucking sick and tired of that joke and it's not even funny, but it's with your goddamn name. Welcome to my life whenever a certain history subject becomes popular.

Luckily the History channel doesn't care about history anymore.

(I'm at least thankful I don't have to deal with this 100% of the time like some more unusual/punny names do)

My first name, there's nothing wrong with it technically, I just never really identified with it. My middle name I always hated, and had always wanted no part with it. I ended up legally changing my name, completely changing my middle name, leaving my last name, and shortening my first name (Something similar to Timothy -> Tim). I was 25 by the time I got around to legally changing my name, had been in the military and already gotten a college degree. So it would've been highly inconvenient to change everything about my name.

Now I'm 30 and I'm pretty "Meh" about the whole thing. I'd still prefer a different name, but I have no ideas as to what, and I certainly don't plan on legally changing it again because it's too much of a hassle.

It's kind of interesting because the first name I chose is ridiculously common (though the spelling is slightly different). It's a catch-22 because I like being hard to find on the internet and blending in, but it also kinda sucks when 2+ people in the same room have the same name.

 

[Applo]

I geuss I'd say I'm content with my name. I've never wished I was called anything else. The only irritating thing is that people never hear my surname correctly and it is almost a verbal tick for me now to say my name and then spell out the last name.

 

[Joan]

I like my name. Not too happy about who I share it with sometimes, but I like it and feel like it fits. I've also got two middle names, which is always a fun conversation topic :P

 

[Dipper]

I'm okay with it. Sometimes it sounds too fancy and out of place, and the nicknames are terrible, but it's mine. It's not too bad.

 

[Indabayou]

I don't mind my name. I sometimes wish I had something more interesting, but at the same time I don't think I could ever get used to being called anything else. My middle name is cool, but I never go by it. It's kinda just there and doesn't feel as much a part of me as the rest of my name.

 

[Iceydaze]

Not a fan of my name. I mean, the last name is okay but I would have preferred my father's last name. However it's the super long middle name makes me so confused and my first name is weird.

My brothers also always teased me about it being a bad luck name. I was named after my mom's dad. Apparently she thought I was a boy at first and when she brought it up to him shortly before he passed, he told her not to go with it.

According to my dad, the meaning of my middle name is "The sound of breaking glass" but I have looked everywhere and have absolutely no idea where he pulled that meaning out of. They say it has Laotian roots but I don't see how it is even remotely Laotian.


I was so close to being named Bonnie though. That would have been nice. BonBon or Bunny would have been super cute nicknames but no. My mom just had to choose that weird long name that no one liked. Ò -Ó

At least I can make so many nicknames out of my name that it's not even funny. Not to mention the random nicknames some old friends made for me. Like Dragon Cup. So I guess I can live with it.
<.<

 

[Maydaronja]

I came to like it. Though I remember not feeling overly attached to it for quite some time of my live. I do even remember one of my best friends at school saying I had a weird name. Which is true. It is weird, in a way.
Yet I think I might like it just for that. Never in my life have I met someone that either shares my exact first nor my family name and I truly believe that there is no other being of all those 7 billion people out there to share both (at least in the same spelling but probably neither way). I admit though it's annoying at times always having to spell it, like, really ALL the time, both names, not kidding, even if I utter slower as slug. Poor mailmen, your time could've been used ways more economically worthwhile.
Even more, if anyone read it before hearing me pronounce it they're gonna give me the boys name (unkowingly, for that is just as uncommon). Which is actually amusing considering that my parents fell in love with the French name and chose to spell it that unique way to keep my German fellows from mispronouncing it. Well... I guess, you can never save a German from mispronouncing things.

Finally, since I love to gush over etymology, I do like the meanings. My Mom once told me our family name is an old Slavic word for black, yet when I tried to verify it I only found it could mean "Where The Crickets Chirp"... Well, they kinda do chirp in the dark, don't they? That's probably the Dickensian way to put that.

 

[RX Inoxia]

My name everyone calls me is literally the most bland and basic thing ever. And that's fine by me, making it easy to remember and to be looked over. Additionally, my real name is like a more elegant touch to that basic name, so if I ever want to be fancy, just slap on the real name (Caitlin) instead of my nickname (Katie). My middle is even 'fancier' yet somehow still a basic b.

Do I ever want to just come up with an ingenious Mary Sue name to turn heads? Sure. Do I usually even remember my own name? Not really, it's too plain and "whatever." So it's less hating and more just fine, who cares, it's just a name. It's irrelevant to my life almost every hour of every day of the year. It's something I use simply as record keeping and when people call me.

 

[junebug]

I love my name but... I really fucking hate it when customers are always asking me if it's my real name or if it's just a nickname. :(

It's been going on for more than a year now and I just want to slap them for how insensitive and rude they sound when they ask me that out of the blue.

 

[Shiri]

I like my name just fine. It's common, but not so common that I hear it all the time. I am a little bummed that it doesn't have some epic meaning tied to it though.

 

[Aero Blue]

I'm an Eric (supposedly my parents read that it meant 'rich and powerful', so you know where their priorities were at). The name's been mostly good to me, and I'm also pleased that it wasn't 'Erik', not because I think it's worse, but because it's significantly more viking, which seems at odds with my appearance.

Major cons:
- perpetually being the most common name in my year throughout grade and high school (I was actually super good friends with the other three Eric/Erik/Ericks, so that was funny).
- my little brother and my childhood best friend both, without collaboration, thought up of 'Air-Dick' and thought it was a clever little nickname.

The name doesn't really have like... major pros, but it's been swell enough, and sounds better in the bedroom than one would expect.

 

[LunaValentine]

I'm fine with my name. I just wish I knew WHICH story was true about the reason for it. Though my mother wanted to name me Rebel. And my dad thought I was going to be a boy and wanted to name me motorhead. Boy am I glad that didn't happen.

 

[Snakes & Lasers]

I'm fine with mine. As far as regular names go, I wouldn't pick any other.

I'll admit to wishing I had a cool name though. Like, Wolf Blitzer or something.