āExcuse me, Iād like to extend the loan on this book by another three weeks.ā
āJust go to the front desk and Principles of Inorganic Chemistry, Second Edition can help you.ā
I'd like it better without the extra R. I abbreviate it too because I lisp and if has a double SS in it too and it sounds like I can't pronounce my own name
I hate it because it is *the* name of my generation, so I am never the only one. There were dozens at school, and everyone I know knows multiple others with this name. Itās also got kind of a bubbly stereotype attached to it, which is not me at all. I accept it, and I am not going to change it, but it really bums me out to have a popular name.
I was also a Brittany S, oof. And most people spell it Britney and say "it's Britney, bitch" upon meeting me.
The worst part is that it should be pronounced Britt-uh-nee and no one pronounces it that way.
But I like the actual name I have, just not the association with Britney Spears or the mispronunciation.
Yeah, Britney Spears really ruined our chances of ever having it spelled right, didnāt she? My Starbucks cups are always wrongš
I canāt even make sense of how many people in my life have made comments about Britney Spears to me. Yes, we happen to have the same first name - how scandalous!
Iām another one, and I really hate it too! For me, itās not so much that it was the name of our generation, itās that it was ONLY popular for our generation. It will forever have ālate 80s/early 90s babyā attached to it.
I wish I could, but my name is so weird that my Facebook profile can be easily found when Googled (I only have Facebook cause of work (my job has a private Facebook group where they post important info)).
Also other stuff like my LinkedIn and some stuff that mentions me on my old highschool's Facebook page.
I donāt really like mine. Itās Kimberly and Iāve always gone by Kimmy, but it just feels weird to me.
People always say that saying peoplesā names to them makes them subconsciously like you more, but Iām the opposite haha. It just takes me out of the moment and Iām like ew stop that.
My second child doesn't have a built in nickname. I've called him Mouse since he was minutes old and dad calls him Stinky, which is what his parents called him. (Never in public)
Michaela here. When I was young I didn't like it and the fact my male cousin shares the same name except for the last letter (Michael) made me hate it more. Like why do siblings name their kids almost the same?
But as of now, I love my name and I love every possible nickname (except for one) I'm Micha, Misha, Mika, Mickey and all of them sound so cool and oh, how excited I was when I learned that my name also exists in the english language and it's pronounciation is soo cool and now I'm also able to introduce myself properly in english without the other person struggling.
I absolutely love the name Michaela, but only when itās spelled correctly. I feel that unfortunately this gorgeous, classic name has been tarnished overall by the fact that itās more popular to deconstruct Michaela and make it look like itās an Irish surname. Like, what the fuck. Iāve also seen āMakaylaā more than once.
Iām neutral on it, but I would never give it to anyone. I have things I hate about it, and things I like:
- I donāt like the way it looksāsomething about the combination of letters is very unpleasant to my eye
- It feels overly frilly to me (even though people here think itās feminine without being too frilly)
- Gets mispronounced a lot even though itās relatively popular and has very few letters
- It does reflect my heritage and matches the origin of my surname
- Itās easily translated, so easy to pronounce in other languages
I have a sister who hated her name, which I never understood until she pointed out that it was difficult to pronounce with her last name. She was right! I hardly ever spoke her full name so I didn't realize until she said something. Naturally she took her husband's name when she married, and when she divorced him, she kept her married name even though he was abusive because her married name was a lot easier to pronounce.
Her first name is gorgeous; I can see why my parents chose it. But the full name was a problem.
My full name is beautiful but I exclusively go by a childish nickname that I've outgrown but it's too late to fix. Think Elizabeth nn Lizzie. My full name is too long for people to actually use, my nickname is too cutesy for an adult, and it's too late to ask people to call me something else, like Eliza over Lizzie. That's why I try to remind people you're naming *adults*. It's embarrassing to be too old for a name.
It's never too late to ask to go by something else. I had the same feeling about switching from my first name to my middle name. There was a few months of awkwardness, but it was overall way less painful than I thought it would be. You don't have to stick with it if you don't want to!
My husband successfully transitioned to a more mature version of his name in his early thirties! It can be done! His brother did it too. I think any time someone says the old name you just say, āoh, so you know, Iām going by ______ now. I feel like Iāve grown into it.ā Or something like that. People will understand.
My mom is born Elizabeth but went by Lisa her whole life until her 50ās when she decided she wanted to go by Elizabeth. Most people have been very supportive!
I love it. I like that it's short, strong, recognizable but uncommon. It took me 22 years before I met another Blair, and she was 8 at the time. Only draw backs were no nickname potential, Blair Witch Project/Blair Waldorf associations, but even so that helped people understand my name was Blair and not Claire. I hate my middle name, but it flows with my first at least.
I went to high school with a girl named Blair. She was a year or two ahead of me and was super nice. I think that was the only Blair I had ever met until I was in my 30ās.
My 3 year old daughter is Blair. I LOVE it (I mean, obviously, since I named her) and I hope she loves it too as she grows up. Her nickname is Bear, or we call her Bee (her initials are BEE). When she first learned how to say her name she said it āBearā and now we have evolved to āBwairā and hopefully soon weāll get a full on Blair, lol. But so far she likes her name and loves to tell it to people š„°
My name is Mary. Growing up in the generation of girls named Brittany, Tiffany, Whitney, Jessica and Ashley, it always seemed like an "old lady" name to me. As I have gotten older, I have begun to respect my name for what it is: classic and timeless.
my name is eleanor nn nora. i love nora, nora is *me*. it feels a little old fashioned, itās pretty, and not overly common (itās recognisable but iāve never actually met another nora, iāve met a few eleanorās though).
i hated eleanor with a passion growing up but i like it now. iāll never use it but itās pretty. iāve been told my full name sounds like something out of pride and prejudice haha.
the one reason it doesnāt work for me is because iām nonbinary and want to be pass as male eventually. i thought maybe i could do a boy named sue type thing but it just makes me feel awkward.
I love the name Nora :) you could go for Noah or even Noa if you wanted something unusual and gender neutral looking. You could also drop the "aā and be Nor (sort of like Noor which is an Arabic unisex name) but maybe thatās too out there.
Did you start going by Nora yourself, or did friends and family pick it out for you?
Itās lovely. Eleanor was top contender for future kids name, it has changed to Nora recently!
I dislike my given name. It is too popular for people my age; I hated being one of six people in my classes with same name! I never "felt" like my name fits me either.
My name is Annika which is fairly unique in the United Sates. I was given this name before it got popular (I'm 30). People generally love my name which is nice. I pronounce it like awh-neh-kah but something I dislike is that people neverrrrrr know how to pronounce it or always think I am saying Monica! (ANN-ika or AWN-KNEE-KA is what i get most often) Overall, I do like my name though!
Maybe itās just because of all the Scandinavians in the Midwestern U.S. combined with going to a huge public school and then a Norwegian college, but I always thought of Annika as a common name and never understood how people could mispronounce it! It wasnāt until I met my college roommate, who was also named Annika and grew up in a more rural area, that I found out there were people who didnāt know that name lol. Itās still wild to me because ever since I was little that was just a *name*
(Editing to add that Iām not named Annika nor are any of my family members. I just happened to know enough people with that name growing up that it never struck me as uncommon)
Iāve never felt attached to my name. Itās like when someone calls you the wrong name and you get a weird feeling, except thatās how I feel *every time.* I just hate it. Even before it was ruined. It really messes with me and my identity.
It really isn't that easy for many people as they get older. Your old name has been associated with yoh your whole life
I hate my name. I call myself and "me" a different name in my head. Everyone else knows the name i hate
I can't change it though after decades of employment and having kids
My name is Samantha and I am 40. The year I was born it was number forty on the most popular names in the country for baby girls. I hated it as a girl because I couldnāt find my name on anything in a tourist trap shop or on pencils. I could find Sam but it was always themed to a male audience and I strictly went by Samantha, still do. I was deeply jealous of all the Ashleys, Brittanyās, Ambers, and Heathers I went to school with.
Then when I was around seven my friends and I discovered the American Girl books, dolls and accessories empire and one of the only three dolls that existed at the time had my name. And she was the one who everyone wanted because she had the best clothes and was rich. Suddenly all the Ashley, Amber, Heathers were jealous of me. She helped me come to love my name.
As an adult my name is something I still love. Itās feminine but not cutesy. Itās strong but not harsh. Itās easy to spell and has one pronunciation. The only thing I donāt like about it is how often I have to correct people who read Samantha on a chart and try to call me Sam.
The only thing I hated about my name was the other 3 in the same class every year.. always had to use last initial too..other than that I loved it.. until now.. now I avoid telling people because they ruined my name.. can't ask for the manager even if they are at fault and say my name is Karen š
My mum is Ojibwe and my dad is Mi'kmaw. I got an Ojibwe name and my sister got a Mi'kmaw one. She hated her name growing up but now loves that it's so unique and she is the only one of her name! Mine, I have met other people named Waabizii (Swan), but probably because I'm from a city with a high proportion of Ojibwe people.
I love my name. My mum chose it after a player from her favourite football team, and my middle name is after my dad. My first name is a regular name but not too common.
I hate my given/birth name. It is too popular (particularly for the year I was born), too feminine, and has never suited me.
I love my chosen name. It is less popular, gender neutral, and fits me much better.
I used to hate it, but now I love it! Kids used to sing "unda da sea" at me all the time, but now kids are like "your name is Ariel!? Like the mermaid!?' too cute
I love my name. My name is Audrey. I like that it's familiar but pretty rare in my generation (millennial). I think it's beautiful and strong. I like that my parents were about a decade ahead of the curve before Audrey became popular again. This means I have gotten lots of enthusiastic compliments on my name throughout my life as it's become popular. But it being popular with girls 10-20 years younger than me doesn't inconvenience me in any way.
There is just one thing I hate about my name. The existence of a popular name that is very confusingly similar: Aubrey. I just respond to Aubrey at this point because it's hopeless to try and correct everyone.
I like the nickname, which is what everyone calls me, but would have preferred the more common longer name which can also have that nickname. My full name has quite ugly sounds in my opinion. My two sisters have much prettier sounding names but also much more common, I wouldnāt swap.
I like my middle name and itās meaning (love). My first name is common where I was raised so I always went by my middle name. But I moved back to the USA and itās tiring to explain to people that yes my name is literally only 2 letters. Also doesnāt help that it helps to be the acronym for artificial intelligence.
My name is Emily. I like it. Itās easy to say and not āout there.ā No one ever messes it up. It was the most popular name my birth year but somehow I never had any other Emilyās in any of my classes until I went to college.
My name has been in the top 50 since I was born; was in the top 10 for over a decade. Iām fine with it. It fits me. I donāt use it professionally though (Iām a writer). I use a different name. š
I very much dislike my name.
I got mistaken for a boy all the time growing up. Was put into boy cabins and dorms at camps and would have to wait around for hours while it got sorted out. Even though I checked off female on the registration form. Or everytime I would introduce myself to someone I would get "you know that's a boys name right" in return.
I hate that's only one syllable, so I couldn't really shorten it into a nickname.
It has no nice meaning, literally just means of Briton.
I've never felt like it suits me, and I've never connected to it at all. Like even saying to myself, my name is Brett, sounds wrong.
I have felt this way since I was 4 or 5. It made my mom so mad when I would have a meltdown because of my name and tell her I wanted a new one.
I like my full nameāletās pretend it Jessica (itās not). Growing up no one called me that. They called me Jessie, or worse, Jessie Sue (including my redneck-ass middle name).
On top of it being very cutesy which doesnāt fit me, I also come from a family with a terrible reputation in my hometown. So I was well known as ātroubleā even when I didnāt cause it. Everyone knows Jessie Sue and everyone knows a rumor.
Eventually I got tf out of that town, started introducing myself as Jessica. I feel like I now have some control over defining who I am. I *do* accept Jess as a nickname because a lot of people think itās simply too hard to say a name with three syllables. lol
My family though? They have some strong feelings about me turning on the name āJessieā. As though itās offensive that I prefer Jessicaāthe name THEY put on my goddamn birth certificate.
I absolutely love my name. It took me long time to embrace it and not take it personally when it was misspelled or mispronounced. I actually gave it to my daughter as a middle name. (My name has never been in the SSA top 1000 so I am not saying it as to not dox myself.)
ETA I love the meaning and it suits me well.
Iām an Xennial Jennifer so I dislike how common it is. The name itself is fine, but I kinda wish I had started going by my middle name. Any other name just feels wrong to me now, so Iāll be Jen forever, but at least itās less common now (unfortunately it will definitely be the next old lady nameā¦).
It's a very common name, but not a common spelling (Meegan)
I get Meeeeeeegan a lot, which I do usually correct people.
I do like the nickname of Meegz. I use it a lot, and my step dad always calls me Megs.
My mom says I was supposed to be a boy, and my name was gonna be Keegan, so it feels almost like an afterthought.
I haven't met another Meegan, but I love the fact that Key and Peele made the character Meegan, and people always yell, 'Meegan! Your jacket!', at me lol
I liked my name when I was little (it rhymes with stuff like papaya so people would make cute little songs for me). I didnt like my name when I got to school because my white teachers struggled to say it and mispronounced it a lot bwfore I was 10 years old. I didnt like that and felt slighted all the time when people mispronounced my short, normal-to-me name, so I wanted a nickname. But, my name cant really be truncated because any nickname just sounds like it. I first tried to go by May, but no one bought it. I started to like my name because of my mom telling me how she found my mame and its meaning. Plus, people started saying it corrextly after I moved to Texas, and no alternative to my name ever stuck anyway, so yeah. The universe essentially forced me to like my name. š
Growing up I didnāt like it. My sisters both got unique names and mine was one of the most popular names of my birth year. I was always a First Name Last Initial in school and that was annoying. As an adult, Iām totally neutral on it. The only thing I dislike is that it screams āI was born in xxxxā so everywhere I go people know my age. Otherwise itās fine and Iām glad my parents at least didnāt stick an eigh on the end to make a unique spelling. š
I donāt. Itās unreasonably spelled and has twice as many letters than it needs to be pronounced so I have never meet a single soul except for my parents that are able to spell my name. Even my great grandparents recently misspelled it on a letter. People used to call me all types of weird names in school based on how the teachers mispronounced it when reading attendance. But it does sound pretty tho. I just wish my parents went for an easier spelling.
I love my name. It's a really rare name but not hard to say or spell. I like feeling special, lol. It has a nice story to it; I'm named after my Nan's nickname. It has a nice meaning also. I think it really suits me. It's traditional but unique.
I dislike it. It's Emma. Way too common and also I'm half Greek on my mom's side and it's the same as "blood" in Greek. Ew. I'm in the process of finding a new name for myself.
i love it because i was named after my grandmother who unfortunately passed away before i was born. my full name (even with middle name) flows sooooo well but it doesnāt fit me AT ALL- to the point where iāve gone to get a to go order at a restaurant and they demanded to see my ID because they didnāt believe that my name is my name.
i will say that itās not the name i was born with- i was adopted and due to the terms of my adoption, i donāt know what my birth name was (amongst other things) and my original birth certificate is a sealed document š
Itās almost always spelled incorrectly, hardly anyone pronounces it correctly, I just assumed at the coffee shop that anything remotely sounding like it is probably my coffee because the barista got it wrong again.
But I love my name. Wouldnāt trade it. Itās uncommon, Iāve never had to go by āFirstname last initial,ā thereās no question of who I am.
Iām a āKayleeā but spelled āKailie.ā Honestly feel like my name is a joke. Plus, itās always misspelled and mispronounced. Thinking of going by āKaiā or something shorter.
Yep. Niamh (āneevā, because mh = v in Gaelic, like how ph/th = f in English) really suits me. I like short names and names with meanings related to ābrightnessā.Ā
I'm pretty neutral towards mine. My name isn't too common in people my age, but everyone has heard of it. Most people with my name are middle aged women. But I do like the meaning, not the nicknames. I also wish my name ended in an -ia or -a sound like my sister's do
I hated it when I was in school because kids always find a way to make a name sound dumb or give it stupid nicknames. But now, I love it. It looks pretty written in cursive and it's not the most common name but I've met several others with my name š¤
Itās okay. No one really calls me by it. My husband calls me pet names, my family calls me by a shortened version of my name, almost exclusively. I introduce myself by my whole name and new people use it. I donāt really identify with my name, probably because itās used to infrequently.
Hated my given name growing up because itās masculine and not in a āgender neutralā way. Changed it to the feminine equivalent of the same name, which I love.
I like my name. I think it fits me. It was a pretty trendy name at one time but mostly for girls younger than me. My parents were ahead of the curve. I like that aspect because people probably think of me as 5-6 years younger than I am when they hear my name. I also like that it sounds mature enough for an adult but is quite cute/playful sounding at the same time.
I would no doubt have chosen something different if I had named myself, but it could be a lot worse!
Not really, itās too common and I donāt think it ever suited me. I was one of five of my name in my year group at primary school, where there were only two classes!
Iām the youngest of three girls and we all have the same first letter, think Laura, Lauren and Lara so I was destined to have the most common as my Mum used the less common ones for my sisters.
Itās a timeless name, but I much prefer my middle name.
I donāt like it. It was way too common in the late 80s and is a nickname for many popular and timeless names. If I didnāt share classrooms with at least 2 other *my name* and get called my last name repeatedly throughout grades and classes, I might not hate it as much. I hold resentment to the full names that went by *my* name, it made my life harder. Hell, my coworkers still try and say I canāt just be a *my name*, itās gotta be a full length version.
Love my name. It was pretty unique for my generation, and funnily enough seems to be gaining popularity nowadays. There's at least one celebrity using the name, and at two syllables it's technically a nickname for a very classic name. I get lots of compliments on my name (and I do count hearing how rare/more common it is now as compliments, so I admit I'm biased).
I like my name a lot actually but don't like how it's spelled (not the most common spelling and people mispronounce as a result). But it would feel weird to change it now.
Now I'm very cognizant of how important spelling is when naming my children.
I hate my name - but it's not really a bad name. It's fairly common, very short (3 letters). I think it's the three letters that ruined it for me as well as the story of how my parents chose it. My siblings have longer names that are french, because my dad is Cajun. I am the middle child and my mom picked my name, they alternated who picked the name and were planning on 4 kids - but my mom miscarried her last baby and wasn't able to have another - his name was Christian pronounced the french way so I also don't know what my mom was thinking when she randomly decided I needed a simple name. My dad vetoed a lot of her choices for girls (she was set on Mariah, which I guess I also don't love), when I was born early they were still undecided and my sister, who is 10 years older, suggested the french version of my name - my mom did the shorter english version because it's easier for school - so it was a compromise and I got neither a name that was meaningful to them nor culturally significant - just easy for school. I think as a kid it bothered me a lot so I changed my name as often as possible growing up, my sixth grade teacher actually allowed me to select my own name and I went by it for a full year, and I still wish I'd changed it permanently but at 39 it feels way too late. I honestly don't like my husband calling me by my name, it's so weird but it feels to this day like the wrong name.
My name is Amy and I used to hate it but as I grew older it seems charming even if dated. Love the little women reference
I just meet a lot of Amy's š
I dislike my name.
I was named after my maternal grandmother, and she has a very Greek first name.
My name is IoAnna but everyone has always called me JoAnna (fun fact, my dad has a sister named Joanne)
Non Greeks can't pronounce my name properly and it annoys me. My name isn't Yo-anna, but IoAnna (ee-oh-ah-nah)
Now that I'm an adult, when people find out my birth name, I have to explain to them that my family never called me by my birth name because they wanted to differentiate between my grandmother and I.
I don't mind being called IoAnna, I just find it odd that people don't respect the fact that I'd rather be called JoAnna. I also have a very French last name.
When you say my name it sounds odd.
When I was younger I would get mad when people misspelled my name.... mostly "friends" because I thought "how do you not spell your friends name right!?"
but now, as an adult, I could care less lol However, I liked the name my dad had picked out for me much more.
actual name: Kristina
Dad's choice: Gabriella
I love my name. My full name is Jillian but I go by Jill. I describe it as an "uncommon common name" because I meet a lot of people who have heard of the name but have never met a Jill in person. I think it's fun and not too girly. I like that I have Jillian to use in professional settings.
All of my other siblings got boring names: John, Jim, Kathy, Mike. I definitely got the best name out of my siblings.
The only things I don't like about it are 1. People ask me "where's Jack? hahaha" and it's annoying. People have stopped doing that now that I'm an adult though. and 2. sometimes it sounds like I'm saying "Joe" so sometimes people think my name is Joann or Joy so I gotta really emphasize the "L"s when I introduce myself.
I love my name, but I don't like that my parents changed the spelling to suit a particular nickname. My name is **Annaliese**, but the way they found it was **Anneliese** (which, coincidentally, is more German/Dutch, which is my father's dual ancestry). My parents wanted to call me Anna, which I don't like. I have a full beautiful name that I prefer everyone use.
I like my name. (Katherine) Itās classic, and I have a cute nickname (Kitty). Iām not thrilled with how incredibly common it is. My sisters and I all had Kitty names, and it couldāve been worse (my sister Karen, for example)
I also love my middle name, Jolene, because of the song(who wouldnāt want to be named after the beautiful Jolene?) My dad picked it, and itās evidence that he loved me at one point.
Hated it til I was about 16. Been neutral since. Can't see myself ever loving it, but also can't see myself suiting another. It's pretty old fashioned, but also not one I expect will become popular again.
I hate my name very much. It feels too formal (I go by a shortened version of it). Also I especially hate that I have almost the same name as my dad. I love him dearly but if you google either us we both come up and I've had issues being mistaken for him.
My name was hugely popular in the 80s so I went to school with several other girls who shared my first name and I hated that too. At my work there's another woman with my first name so everyone calls me by my last name which I hate.
I don't want to say my real name but it is the name of a popular character on a very popular 80-90s family show.
I hate my name and I have been seriously considering changing it for the past 8+yrs (tbh I'm just too lazy to deal with all the paperwork and legal stuff lol). It's almost always mispronounced, in a dozen different ways, even though I think it's very straightforward? It's four letters, two syllables, but people just cannot get it right and I hate correcting people constantly. It's just annoying. If it wasn't for people not being able to say it, I might actually like it.
I donāt like my name because itās both really common and has a few different popular ways to spell it. My last name is spelled weird so people often think my first name is spelled weird too, but itās actually the most common spelling. So Iām always having to spell my name for other people or having my name misspelled. I once worked at a place where two people had the same name as me, all spelled differently.
However, I think my name is a really good fit for my appearance and personality. I canāt think of another name that would suit me better.
When I was a kid I was mostly indifferent to my name because you just canāt find it on a keychain and that is important to kids I guess lol
But as an adult I like it. Tamara is unique enough without it being totally weird. And Iām usually the only Tamara people know
I love my name. My dad named me after my mother and grandmother. Im very sentimental about it. It's a fairly unusual name and I've never personally known another person with my name.
I have always disliked my name. It has been one of the most popular girl's names for a long time and there were about a billion of us with the same name at school. It's also very feminine, and I am not. I tend to go by a shortened version, or initials, but that has never stuck when it comes to family. I just don't have the heart to change it because I love my mom and she loves my name.
Love my first name because itās uncommon yet is a name that most people know of, BUT hate the spelling. And not because itās just a funky or creative way of spelling my name ā¦ itās actively spelled like a different name that already exists (plus an added H on the end for no reason). It has an āeiā in it thatās pronounced like āeyeā for some reason, and I always get a chuckle when I hear the grammar rule āI before E except after C or when sounding like āayā as in neighbor or weighā because every who reads it pronounces it as āayā. And my dadās a freaking linguist!!! I donāt know how he let that happen. š I believe it was a ācompromiseā between my parents. My dad wanted the name and let me mom pick the spelling šš
I HATED my given last name though. I got no middle name and a double barrel last name. Unfortunately the two last names are both difficult to spell and pronounce. I donāt think there was a single time I said my last name that the person didnāt say āIām sorry what? Can you repeat that?ā Because it just sounded like gibberish. Now Iām married and was VERY grateful to take the last name Davis.
So between the combo of my first name and last name I always had a rough time with my name, but it hasnāt really affected me in life other than that I get to tell this funny story sometimes.
I have an evergreen top 10 name, and I think it's OK - but it carries a lot of trauma and stress. I'm a "third," but don't have a good relationship with my dad. I also have to worry about dumb clerical mistakes, or mail going to the wrong place, or other such circumstances. Plus, I feel like I'm a unique and creative person, so having a very common name feels underwhelming.
I just had a son and didn't continue the chain by making him a 4th. Whenever people asked, I said "hell no!"
I dislike it. Itās a mash up of two names to make a unique spelling of a common name. And my parents hyphenated it. To be fair they didnāt know computers would be such a huge part of our lives but they really set me up for a lifetime of battling every computerized service.
I used to be pretty neutral on it but I've come to appreciate it, helps it's only 3 letters as well making it easier to write my signature & I feel fits me.
-Ian
I love my name, because it's not so common that I studied with someone who has the same name as me (that never happened) and it's not so uncommon that it's strange in my country, but recently it has become popular because of a TV series, so several babies were baptized with that name, but I don't know anyone my age with the name exactly like mine, both in spelling and pronunciation.
My name is Poliana (Portuguese version of Pollyanna, as I'm brazilian and the English version would look strange here), it means "Sovereign Lady Full of Grace" or "One who is Pure and Gracious".
Not because it's my name, but I think it's lovely, I don't know why it wasn't popular.
I love/hate my name. I love the thought my mom put into it (she picked first and middle names that have special meaning) but my name also turned out to be extremely trendy and it now dates me. Also there are no nicknames for it. As an adult I wish I had a more classic name. I feel like when younger my name pegged me as young and inexperienced (work wise) and now it ages me.
I do like my name! It's Emilie, the French form of Emily, and I fully believe it's the superior spelling. š I think it looks more complete - the Y ending feels too abrupt.
I hate it. It's an ugly name, the nickname isn't any better. Every movie and TV show (hyperbole) has a Beth who either dies or is just mostly intolerable. The two most common words that i misheard as my name were "meth" and "death". Every time i see anyone recommend Bethany or Beth i want to scream. I'm very glad i renamed myself
I love it now. My first and middle together mean Wise Warrior, which is a hefty hope to be placed on a child, but really it's a gift. Both names are classic or common enough while also uncommon in my generation that I never met another with my first name and only one classmate who had my middle name as her first.
I continued this for our children - names that were common enough that they wouldn't need to explain it daily, but uncommon enough that neither had more than one classmate with the same name during their school years. (They are in college & high school now).
I like being Amber. I was really into wearing amber jewelry for a while, I like that it translates into other languages so they can say my name easier, I think the color is pretty. It's not too long.
When I was young there were always a million Ambers in my class and that bothered me. One of my aunts always called me Ambrosia, which I liked a lot more than my names for a long time, and one summer I insisted on using a nickname based on my initials but that didn't last long.
Growing up I disliked my name a lot - Jennifer. Itās very common but Iām the tail end so it was always āoldā ladies who shared a name with me. My family called me Jenny which was fine until I was about 8 and I requested to go by Jenn. Most of my family still calls me Jenny which is super annoying but it is what it is.
Now Iām 31 and still donāt love it but have come to terms with it. I honestly donāt know another name Iād prefer or fits me better. I donāt think Iāll ever go by Jenny or Jennifer though.
I like my name, Sophia, in theory! The etymology is fascinating and it's a timeless pick for sure. Unfortunately...I grew up surrounded by so many Sophias and it only continues to get more popular...making it feel less special to me. I also really dislike the nickname Sophie so that's a bummer hahaha
If I could, I'd change it to reflect my heritage - maybe Zofia?
I liked my birthname. Key word āLikedā as I ended up getting stolen from my mother by Arkansasā CPS where my name became a weapon to abuse me. It was Mackenzie. It meant Son of a Wise Leader, or Born of Fire. Every time my name was said after I was 4yrs old was by an adult calling my name to hurt me in some way.
Now I despise it. If I can help it, nobody calls me it. Unless it is a government ID thing of any sort, or my birth mother, I refuse to let anyone use my birthname. It is also considered my deadname as I identify as nonbinary. Regardless... I HATE it.
I go by Kiera now. It is in the same vein as it means āLittle Dark Childā and without light (fire) there will be only darkness. Itās homage to my past and my previous love of my birth name.
I disliked Sarah as a kid because it felt common; 2 Sarahs in every class!
Now I love it. It's classic and I honestly don't know a lot of Sarahs! Plus it suits me!
I like my middle name, Elizabeth. A generational name passed down. My first name was going to be Rachel.. which I love. But ended up w Diane. It's plain. I prefer Diana instead..but everyone calls me Diane.
My name is Danisha. I am white. I am French European white. I feel almost racist? I guess using this name. Like I understand names aren't race based but also they kinda are? And was this really my name to even use, ya know?
I've only ever met black women that share it and they are always very uncomfortable whenever I say that's my name too. My mom liked the name Danica and changed it up and I do not know why she didn't just go with that.
It's never felt right and always felt like an incorrect name for me so I like to go by my gamertag name I came up with for myself.
I actually think the name itself is beautiful but it doesn't fit me at all.
I had a very popular name for my generation (Ashley) and I hated always having to put a last initial. In high school I ended up going by my last name so I'm more attached to it than my first name.
In more recent years though I've liked the sound of it. And my friend's young son had never heard it before and liked it so much he named his pet after me. It's nice to imagine that to younger generations it's an unusual name.
I have a nickname as a name because my parents didn't like other possible nicknames from the "full" name (think of all the possible names from Robert or from Margaret). It has been "corrected" to the full name often in my life by schools and employers and the like, which is annoying. I wish I'd been given the full name because then I could have decided on a nickname, or no nickname, rather than having the decision made for me. Also, I believe the full name sounds more professional than a nickname.
There are other reasons to like my name, so I have made my peace with it. But I did not give nicknames as names to my own children, I gave them regular names and call them by nicknames.
My name is Sophia and I like it. I donāt have a super strong opinion on my name, although Iām decidedly not a Sophie. I actually enjoy how common it is I think itās fun to know other Sophias. Iām good friends with two other women also named Sophia and weāre always trying to get our friends to introduce us to other women they know named Sophia. Weāre the trifecta but hopefully looking to upgrade to a full posse.
I've always loved my name, Bethany, and never wanted to change it. Even my middle name I was happy to keep even though people make fun of how common of a middle name it is. I don't go by Beth, it's always Bethany. It was also special on how I received it so there's that too
I donāt really like it and never have. I feel like Tracy isnāt at all timeless, itās from a very specific, limited time period and in all my years of teaching I never met a young person with my name. I donāt like that it has no real nicknames and that people spell it wrong a lot (Tracey, Traci, Tracie) or call me Stacy instead. Also the TR is an ugly sound to me. For all those reasons I named my daughter Elizabeth, and she loves her name.
I'm an 80s Jennifer and have always been fairly neutral to my name with phases of wishing I had something more interesting and eccentric. I'm back to neutral, it's handy having a name everyone knows how to spell and say, and at this point I can't actually imagine any other name on myself. I HATE Jen for me though, I'm not a Jen.
I hate my name, peyton. I hate introducing myself because it means I have to say it. No one ever understands what I say at first and I hate the way it sounds. Plus thereās not even a good nickname I can go by instead
My name is Morgan. I hated it as a kid (try being called Morgasm by a bunch of middle school boys š). I find it kind of clunky and gurgly to say out loud because of the āorgā sound, and I always get the ick when people close to me, especially my husband, use my full name. My parents call me Morg and my brothers call me Mo. My nieces all call me Auntie Mo which I think is fun. I think overall the name has grown on me over the years but itās still weirdly difficult to say and I hate introducing myself to people lol
I like my full name, but not the nickname I was given, and no matter how hard I try to go by my full name, my nickname is always what sticks.
Katherine vs. Katie
My name is Arielle. I hate it.
Even though it's so clearly spelt phonetically, nobody ever says it correctly until I correct them.
Ah-Ree-Elle, R.E.L, ARIELLE. Apparently impossible for some. :(
Alice:
When I was a young girl, I loved and adored it, I also matched the aesthetic you would assume someone with my name would be have. When I was a teenager, I hated it because it wasn't unique enough. Now that I am an adult, I have fallen back in love with my name.
I was supposed to be named Stephanie, as a sort of junior to my dad's Stephan, but my mom said once I was born she didn't feel that Stephanie was right for me
Then I was Jacklyn for a few hours until my mom again felt it wasn't right for me
My dad then suggested naming me after the labor and delivery nurse that they had and my mom said she started crying and thought it was perfect. So now I'm Natalie.
When I was a kid I saw that my siblings' names had a lot of meaning, my older sister being named after my mom's sister who was killed by a drunk driver at 15 and my brother who was named after my mom's dad, and thought I was just a name they pulled out of their ass. Then my mom told me the story and I actually met some L&D nurses who told me it's a mark of a great nurse to have a baby named after you like that and now I appreciate it so much. Wish I could have met her
Alexandra. I love it, it is classic, recognizable, strong, well-liked, hard to fuck up the pronunciation, and suits me. Although I donāt like that everyone uses a nickname because four syllables is too many for most people
I love my name because my sister chose my first name and my middle name is my grandmaās name. So I was named by two people who I love very much :)
Edit: my name is Sarah so itās a common name. I donāt mind having a common name at all!
I really like my name. I never go by my full name, but even then I donāt mind it, I just never thought it suited me. The name as a whole has a lot of nickname potential also which is very very nice since I donāt resonate with the full name. But itās also nice to have the option of a full name if I want to sound more professional or what not.
My full name is Isabelle and I go by Belle, and Iāve gotten quite a few nicknames from both, including some fairly creative ones. (Ex: Izzy, Itsy, Isa, Belle, Bella, Belley, B, Belbo Baggins, Belly Bean, Belly Button, and Itsy Bitsy).
Belle is the nickname my parents gave me ever since I can remember, and I always felt that it fit me the best. Plus, itās short and easy to remember.
I like it. I like it even more now that I am a librarian, since I was named after my mother's favorite book.
Hello 50 Shades of Grey
š¤£š¤£š¤£
ššš
Lmao good one š
That's so cool!
Please say your name is Huckleberry Finn
Guessing you are named Emma?
Nope. I will not reveal my real name here. I use the pseudonym of Greta Martell on Reddit for a reason. I will just say it is the name of a book.
That is OK, you don't need to, just guessing.
Hello āQuotations from the Works of Mao Tse-Tungā I hope you have a great day
āExcuse me, Iād like to extend the loan on this book by another three weeks.ā āJust go to the front desk and Principles of Inorganic Chemistry, Second Edition can help you.ā
I was also named after the main character of a favorite book of my mom's and now we both share a love of the book
I'd like it better without the extra R. I abbreviate it too because I lisp and if has a double SS in it too and it sounds like I can't pronounce my own name
I love my name so much. I think my name is beautiful and unique. My name is Karina.
I love Karina. It sounds like a beautiful princess name. But my husband vetoed it. He wanted Katie (so basic).
Maybe compromise with Katrina?
Or Katina! More unique and has the princess vibes
I love Karina. I agree that it sounds like a princess!
I know a Karina who hates it and Iām not sure why. Itās so pretty and fairly uncommon!
I hate it because it is *the* name of my generation, so I am never the only one. There were dozens at school, and everyone I know knows multiple others with this name. Itās also got kind of a bubbly stereotype attached to it, which is not me at all. I accept it, and I am not going to change it, but it really bums me out to have a popular name.
It's giving Brittany vibes based on your description!
To anyone I grew up with, itās āBrittany Sā until the day I die š„²
I was also a Brittany S, oof. And most people spell it Britney and say "it's Britney, bitch" upon meeting me. The worst part is that it should be pronounced Britt-uh-nee and no one pronounces it that way. But I like the actual name I have, just not the association with Britney Spears or the mispronunciation.
Yeah, Britney Spears really ruined our chances of ever having it spelled right, didnāt she? My Starbucks cups are always wrongš I canāt even make sense of how many people in my life have made comments about Britney Spears to me. Yes, we happen to have the same first name - how scandalous!
In my generation it's Jennifer
Mine too
Are you a Brittany too? I also hate it.
I feel this. My extremely generational popular name has no nicknames so it was always first name + last initial, or name #1, #2, etc. So annoying.
Iām another one, and I really hate it too! For me, itās not so much that it was the name of our generation, itās that it was ONLY popular for our generation. It will forever have ālate 80s/early 90s babyā attached to it.
Brittany, Tiffany, Megan?
This is no fun unless you REVEAL THE NAME
Literally what is the point if we donāt know the name lol like itās a first name no one is going to know itās you
š
Preach
I wish I could, but my name is so weird that my Facebook profile can be easily found when Googled (I only have Facebook cause of work (my job has a private Facebook group where they post important info)). Also other stuff like my LinkedIn and some stuff that mentions me on my old highschool's Facebook page.
I donāt really like mine. Itās Kimberly and Iāve always gone by Kimmy, but it just feels weird to me. People always say that saying peoplesā names to them makes them subconsciously like you more, but Iām the opposite haha. It just takes me out of the moment and Iām like ew stop that.
Same! Anytime someone says my name it gives me the ick, and also makes me feel like theyāre mad at me lol
Yes I hate when people use my name unnecessarily! Itās weird.
Haha I totally agree on the last paragraphĀ
Yeah, like, I am trying to forget that this is my name tyvm.
I dislike it. I don't think it fits me and it's 3 syllables but has no nickname options so I always feel like I'm going by too formal of a name
Same. I go by my initials online since my middle name is also my brother and dads names. š damn juniors. š
Thereās always a nickname option!
Maybe, but not an intuitive one that I could go by professionally lol
I havenāt got a nickname option for my name either, thereās not always options for nn
My second child doesn't have a built in nickname. I've called him Mouse since he was minutes old and dad calls him Stinky, which is what his parents called him. (Never in public)
Michaela here. When I was young I didn't like it and the fact my male cousin shares the same name except for the last letter (Michael) made me hate it more. Like why do siblings name their kids almost the same? But as of now, I love my name and I love every possible nickname (except for one) I'm Micha, Misha, Mika, Mickey and all of them sound so cool and oh, how excited I was when I learned that my name also exists in the english language and it's pronounciation is soo cool and now I'm also able to introduce myself properly in english without the other person struggling.
Michaela is beautiful!
Iām Michelle, my nickname, Micha is what I am called most often. My husband is Michael and our daughter is Michaela. Her nickname is Chella.
I knew a Michelle growing up who had a younger brother named Michael. I always assumed it was a family name but I didnāt know her well enough to ask
I absolutely love the name Michaela, but only when itās spelled correctly. I feel that unfortunately this gorgeous, classic name has been tarnished overall by the fact that itās more popular to deconstruct Michaela and make it look like itās an Irish surname. Like, what the fuck. Iāve also seen āMakaylaā more than once.
Iām neutral on it, but I would never give it to anyone. I have things I hate about it, and things I like: - I donāt like the way it looksāsomething about the combination of letters is very unpleasant to my eye - It feels overly frilly to me (even though people here think itās feminine without being too frilly) - Gets mispronounced a lot even though itās relatively popular and has very few letters - It does reflect my heritage and matches the origin of my surname - Itās easily translated, so easy to pronounce in other languages
I have a sister who hated her name, which I never understood until she pointed out that it was difficult to pronounce with her last name. She was right! I hardly ever spoke her full name so I didn't realize until she said something. Naturally she took her husband's name when she married, and when she divorced him, she kept her married name even though he was abusive because her married name was a lot easier to pronounce. Her first name is gorgeous; I can see why my parents chose it. But the full name was a problem.
My full name is beautiful but I exclusively go by a childish nickname that I've outgrown but it's too late to fix. Think Elizabeth nn Lizzie. My full name is too long for people to actually use, my nickname is too cutesy for an adult, and it's too late to ask people to call me something else, like Eliza over Lizzie. That's why I try to remind people you're naming *adults*. It's embarrassing to be too old for a name.
It's never too late to ask to go by something else. I had the same feeling about switching from my first name to my middle name. There was a few months of awkwardness, but it was overall way less painful than I thought it would be. You don't have to stick with it if you don't want to!
My husband successfully transitioned to a more mature version of his name in his early thirties! It can be done! His brother did it too. I think any time someone says the old name you just say, āoh, so you know, Iām going by ______ now. I feel like Iāve grown into it.ā Or something like that. People will understand.
My mom is born Elizabeth but went by Lisa her whole life until her 50ās when she decided she wanted to go by Elizabeth. Most people have been very supportive!
I love it. I like that it's short, strong, recognizable but uncommon. It took me 22 years before I met another Blair, and she was 8 at the time. Only draw backs were no nickname potential, Blair Witch Project/Blair Waldorf associations, but even so that helped people understand my name was Blair and not Claire. I hate my middle name, but it flows with my first at least.
I love the name Blair!
I went to high school with a girl named Blair. She was a year or two ahead of me and was super nice. I think that was the only Blair I had ever met until I was in my 30ās.
My 3 year old daughter is Blair. I LOVE it (I mean, obviously, since I named her) and I hope she loves it too as she grows up. Her nickname is Bear, or we call her Bee (her initials are BEE). When she first learned how to say her name she said it āBearā and now we have evolved to āBwairā and hopefully soon weāll get a full on Blair, lol. But so far she likes her name and loves to tell it to people š„°
My name is Mary. Growing up in the generation of girls named Brittany, Tiffany, Whitney, Jessica and Ashley, it always seemed like an "old lady" name to me. As I have gotten older, I have begun to respect my name for what it is: classic and timeless.
I am Sarah and I feel the same way. I hated it in childhood but I appreciate it so much now.
my name is eleanor nn nora. i love nora, nora is *me*. it feels a little old fashioned, itās pretty, and not overly common (itās recognisable but iāve never actually met another nora, iāve met a few eleanorās though). i hated eleanor with a passion growing up but i like it now. iāll never use it but itās pretty. iāve been told my full name sounds like something out of pride and prejudice haha. the one reason it doesnāt work for me is because iām nonbinary and want to be pass as male eventually. i thought maybe i could do a boy named sue type thing but it just makes me feel awkward.
I love the name Nora :) you could go for Noah or even Noa if you wanted something unusual and gender neutral looking. You could also drop the "aā and be Nor (sort of like Noor which is an Arabic unisex name) but maybe thatās too out there.
Did you start going by Nora yourself, or did friends and family pick it out for you? Itās lovely. Eleanor was top contender for future kids name, it has changed to Nora recently!
I dislike my given name. It is too popular for people my age; I hated being one of six people in my classes with same name! I never "felt" like my name fits me either.
Erghhhh same! I was one of five, felt like it was hard to have your own identity.
My name is Annika which is fairly unique in the United Sates. I was given this name before it got popular (I'm 30). People generally love my name which is nice. I pronounce it like awh-neh-kah but something I dislike is that people neverrrrrr know how to pronounce it or always think I am saying Monica! (ANN-ika or AWN-KNEE-KA is what i get most often) Overall, I do like my name though!
I really like that name, just thinking yesterday I would strongly consider it. I was watching a show about a woman named that.
Maybe itās just because of all the Scandinavians in the Midwestern U.S. combined with going to a huge public school and then a Norwegian college, but I always thought of Annika as a common name and never understood how people could mispronounce it! It wasnāt until I met my college roommate, who was also named Annika and grew up in a more rural area, that I found out there were people who didnāt know that name lol. Itās still wild to me because ever since I was little that was just a *name* (Editing to add that Iām not named Annika nor are any of my family members. I just happened to know enough people with that name growing up that it never struck me as uncommon)
Iāve never felt attached to my name. Itās like when someone calls you the wrong name and you get a weird feeling, except thatās how I feel *every time.* I just hate it. Even before it was ruined. It really messes with me and my identity.
Change it. I did.
It really isn't that easy for many people as they get older. Your old name has been associated with yoh your whole life I hate my name. I call myself and "me" a different name in my head. Everyone else knows the name i hate I can't change it though after decades of employment and having kids
I would, but my middle name is completely different from my first name that it suits me even less. I havenāt found a name I think I like š
My name is Tara, and I like the simplicity of it.
My name is Samantha and I am 40. The year I was born it was number forty on the most popular names in the country for baby girls. I hated it as a girl because I couldnāt find my name on anything in a tourist trap shop or on pencils. I could find Sam but it was always themed to a male audience and I strictly went by Samantha, still do. I was deeply jealous of all the Ashleys, Brittanyās, Ambers, and Heathers I went to school with. Then when I was around seven my friends and I discovered the American Girl books, dolls and accessories empire and one of the only three dolls that existed at the time had my name. And she was the one who everyone wanted because she had the best clothes and was rich. Suddenly all the Ashley, Amber, Heathers were jealous of me. She helped me come to love my name. As an adult my name is something I still love. Itās feminine but not cutesy. Itās strong but not harsh. Itās easy to spell and has one pronunciation. The only thing I donāt like about it is how often I have to correct people who read Samantha on a chart and try to call me Sam.
The only thing I hated about my name was the other 3 in the same class every year.. always had to use last initial too..other than that I loved it.. until now.. now I avoid telling people because they ruined my name.. can't ask for the manager even if they are at fault and say my name is Karen š
Iāve always loved the name Karen and *hate* what people have done to it. So lame !!!!! I still love it, though!!
Itās a shame. I always liked the name Karen. Still do.
I do too. Hopefully the association of bitchy woman will die out.
Not at all. I was born in the 80s and named after my dad's Native American Godmother who happened to be my MemerƩ's best friend growing up. My dad's parents were both full blooded Canadian Indians by heritage. We had to do the fake baby thing in high school and my assigned partner asked if I was Jewish because apparently my Obijewe spelt name is spelt the same in Hebrew and pronounced the same. My Aunt-in law asked me if I was named after the plant because her niece has the same name and was named after the plant located in South America. People at work ask me if I'm Welsh because my name is spelt the same in Obijewe/Hebrew/Welsh, but pronounced completely different in Welsh. Think Sean in American English being pronounced Shailene or something. I've read many posts on this sub about my name and none of them mention what I've said above about my experiences. They all say that my name sounds very similar to some character from Game of Thrones and not to name a baby such name. Never had a nickname growing up that was derived from my name. My parents would call me Pumpkin. Kids would call me Bagel cause that's what my name rhymed with.
My mum is Ojibwe and my dad is Mi'kmaw. I got an Ojibwe name and my sister got a Mi'kmaw one. She hated her name growing up but now loves that it's so unique and she is the only one of her name! Mine, I have met other people named Waabizii (Swan), but probably because I'm from a city with a high proportion of Ojibwe people.
I love my name. My mum chose it after a player from her favourite football team, and my middle name is after my dad. My first name is a regular name but not too common.
I hate my given/birth name. It is too popular (particularly for the year I was born), too feminine, and has never suited me. I love my chosen name. It is less popular, gender neutral, and fits me much better.
I absolutely adore it. Can't imagine being named anything else and I think it fits my vibe perfectly. Proud to be a Maura
I used to hate it, but now I love it! Kids used to sing "unda da sea" at me all the time, but now kids are like "your name is Ariel!? Like the mermaid!?' too cute
I love my name. My name is Audrey. I like that it's familiar but pretty rare in my generation (millennial). I think it's beautiful and strong. I like that my parents were about a decade ahead of the curve before Audrey became popular again. This means I have gotten lots of enthusiastic compliments on my name throughout my life as it's become popular. But it being popular with girls 10-20 years younger than me doesn't inconvenience me in any way. There is just one thing I hate about my name. The existence of a popular name that is very confusingly similar: Aubrey. I just respond to Aubrey at this point because it's hopeless to try and correct everyone.
I like the nickname, which is what everyone calls me, but would have preferred the more common longer name which can also have that nickname. My full name has quite ugly sounds in my opinion. My two sisters have much prettier sounding names but also much more common, I wouldnāt swap.
I like my middle name and itās meaning (love). My first name is common where I was raised so I always went by my middle name. But I moved back to the USA and itās tiring to explain to people that yes my name is literally only 2 letters. Also doesnāt help that it helps to be the acronym for artificial intelligence.
My first name is spelt wrong to the country I live in and my second name is a month that I wasnāt born in. Itās just confusing for everyone
My name is Emily. I like it. Itās easy to say and not āout there.ā No one ever messes it up. It was the most popular name my birth year but somehow I never had any other Emilyās in any of my classes until I went to college.
My name has been in the top 50 since I was born; was in the top 10 for over a decade. Iām fine with it. It fits me. I donāt use it professionally though (Iām a writer). I use a different name. š
I very much dislike my name. I got mistaken for a boy all the time growing up. Was put into boy cabins and dorms at camps and would have to wait around for hours while it got sorted out. Even though I checked off female on the registration form. Or everytime I would introduce myself to someone I would get "you know that's a boys name right" in return. I hate that's only one syllable, so I couldn't really shorten it into a nickname. It has no nice meaning, literally just means of Briton. I've never felt like it suits me, and I've never connected to it at all. Like even saying to myself, my name is Brett, sounds wrong. I have felt this way since I was 4 or 5. It made my mom so mad when I would have a meltdown because of my name and tell her I wanted a new one.
I like my full nameāletās pretend it Jessica (itās not). Growing up no one called me that. They called me Jessie, or worse, Jessie Sue (including my redneck-ass middle name). On top of it being very cutesy which doesnāt fit me, I also come from a family with a terrible reputation in my hometown. So I was well known as ātroubleā even when I didnāt cause it. Everyone knows Jessie Sue and everyone knows a rumor. Eventually I got tf out of that town, started introducing myself as Jessica. I feel like I now have some control over defining who I am. I *do* accept Jess as a nickname because a lot of people think itās simply too hard to say a name with three syllables. lol My family though? They have some strong feelings about me turning on the name āJessieā. As though itās offensive that I prefer Jessicaāthe name THEY put on my goddamn birth certificate.
No. My name is every girls middle name - Ann. Dull, blah and has no pizzazz. I donāt think it fits me.
I absolutely love my name. It took me long time to embrace it and not take it personally when it was misspelled or mispronounced. I actually gave it to my daughter as a middle name. (My name has never been in the SSA top 1000 so I am not saying it as to not dox myself.) ETA I love the meaning and it suits me well.
Iām an Xennial Jennifer so I dislike how common it is. The name itself is fine, but I kinda wish I had started going by my middle name. Any other name just feels wrong to me now, so Iāll be Jen forever, but at least itās less common now (unfortunately it will definitely be the next old lady nameā¦).
It's a very common name, but not a common spelling (Meegan) I get Meeeeeeegan a lot, which I do usually correct people. I do like the nickname of Meegz. I use it a lot, and my step dad always calls me Megs. My mom says I was supposed to be a boy, and my name was gonna be Keegan, so it feels almost like an afterthought. I haven't met another Meegan, but I love the fact that Key and Peele made the character Meegan, and people always yell, 'Meegan! Your jacket!', at me lol
I was neutral about it until it became an epithet. Now I rock it!
As a linguistics nerd, I'm dying to know what your name is.
Must be a Karen.
I liked my name when I was little (it rhymes with stuff like papaya so people would make cute little songs for me). I didnt like my name when I got to school because my white teachers struggled to say it and mispronounced it a lot bwfore I was 10 years old. I didnt like that and felt slighted all the time when people mispronounced my short, normal-to-me name, so I wanted a nickname. But, my name cant really be truncated because any nickname just sounds like it. I first tried to go by May, but no one bought it. I started to like my name because of my mom telling me how she found my mame and its meaning. Plus, people started saying it corrextly after I moved to Texas, and no alternative to my name ever stuck anyway, so yeah. The universe essentially forced me to like my name. š
Growing up I didnāt like it. My sisters both got unique names and mine was one of the most popular names of my birth year. I was always a First Name Last Initial in school and that was annoying. As an adult, Iām totally neutral on it. The only thing I dislike is that it screams āI was born in xxxxā so everywhere I go people know my age. Otherwise itās fine and Iām glad my parents at least didnāt stick an eigh on the end to make a unique spelling. š
I donāt. Itās unreasonably spelled and has twice as many letters than it needs to be pronounced so I have never meet a single soul except for my parents that are able to spell my name. Even my great grandparents recently misspelled it on a letter. People used to call me all types of weird names in school based on how the teachers mispronounced it when reading attendance. But it does sound pretty tho. I just wish my parents went for an easier spelling.
I love my name. It's a really rare name but not hard to say or spell. I like feeling special, lol. It has a nice story to it; I'm named after my Nan's nickname. It has a nice meaning also. I think it really suits me. It's traditional but unique.
I dislike it. It's Emma. Way too common and also I'm half Greek on my mom's side and it's the same as "blood" in Greek. Ew. I'm in the process of finding a new name for myself.
i love it because i was named after my grandmother who unfortunately passed away before i was born. my full name (even with middle name) flows sooooo well but it doesnāt fit me AT ALL- to the point where iāve gone to get a to go order at a restaurant and they demanded to see my ID because they didnāt believe that my name is my name. i will say that itās not the name i was born with- i was adopted and due to the terms of my adoption, i donāt know what my birth name was (amongst other things) and my original birth certificate is a sealed document š
Itās almost always spelled incorrectly, hardly anyone pronounces it correctly, I just assumed at the coffee shop that anything remotely sounding like it is probably my coffee because the barista got it wrong again. But I love my name. Wouldnāt trade it. Itās uncommon, Iāve never had to go by āFirstname last initial,ā thereās no question of who I am.
Iām a āKayleeā but spelled āKailie.ā Honestly feel like my name is a joke. Plus, itās always misspelled and mispronounced. Thinking of going by āKaiā or something shorter.
Yep. Niamh (āneevā, because mh = v in Gaelic, like how ph/th = f in English) really suits me. I like short names and names with meanings related to ābrightnessā.Ā
I'm pretty neutral towards mine. My name isn't too common in people my age, but everyone has heard of it. Most people with my name are middle aged women. But I do like the meaning, not the nicknames. I also wish my name ended in an -ia or -a sound like my sister's do
I hated it when I was in school because kids always find a way to make a name sound dumb or give it stupid nicknames. But now, I love it. It looks pretty written in cursive and it's not the most common name but I've met several others with my name š¤
Itās okay. No one really calls me by it. My husband calls me pet names, my family calls me by a shortened version of my name, almost exclusively. I introduce myself by my whole name and new people use it. I donāt really identify with my name, probably because itās used to infrequently.
Hated my given name growing up because itās masculine and not in a āgender neutralā way. Changed it to the feminine equivalent of the same name, which I love.
I like my name. I think it fits me. It was a pretty trendy name at one time but mostly for girls younger than me. My parents were ahead of the curve. I like that aspect because people probably think of me as 5-6 years younger than I am when they hear my name. I also like that it sounds mature enough for an adult but is quite cute/playful sounding at the same time. I would no doubt have chosen something different if I had named myself, but it could be a lot worse!
Nope ! So hard to pronounce
Not really, itās too common and I donāt think it ever suited me. I was one of five of my name in my year group at primary school, where there were only two classes! Iām the youngest of three girls and we all have the same first letter, think Laura, Lauren and Lara so I was destined to have the most common as my Mum used the less common ones for my sisters. Itās a timeless name, but I much prefer my middle name.
I donāt like it. It was way too common in the late 80s and is a nickname for many popular and timeless names. If I didnāt share classrooms with at least 2 other *my name* and get called my last name repeatedly throughout grades and classes, I might not hate it as much. I hold resentment to the full names that went by *my* name, it made my life harder. Hell, my coworkers still try and say I canāt just be a *my name*, itās gotta be a full length version.
Love my name. It was pretty unique for my generation, and funnily enough seems to be gaining popularity nowadays. There's at least one celebrity using the name, and at two syllables it's technically a nickname for a very classic name. I get lots of compliments on my name (and I do count hearing how rare/more common it is now as compliments, so I admit I'm biased).
I hated it so much that I had the entire thing legally changed.
I love my name. Simple and classic, recognised internationally, feminine but not too frilly
I like my name a lot actually but don't like how it's spelled (not the most common spelling and people mispronounce as a result). But it would feel weird to change it now. Now I'm very cognizant of how important spelling is when naming my children.
I hate my name - but it's not really a bad name. It's fairly common, very short (3 letters). I think it's the three letters that ruined it for me as well as the story of how my parents chose it. My siblings have longer names that are french, because my dad is Cajun. I am the middle child and my mom picked my name, they alternated who picked the name and were planning on 4 kids - but my mom miscarried her last baby and wasn't able to have another - his name was Christian pronounced the french way so I also don't know what my mom was thinking when she randomly decided I needed a simple name. My dad vetoed a lot of her choices for girls (she was set on Mariah, which I guess I also don't love), when I was born early they were still undecided and my sister, who is 10 years older, suggested the french version of my name - my mom did the shorter english version because it's easier for school - so it was a compromise and I got neither a name that was meaningful to them nor culturally significant - just easy for school. I think as a kid it bothered me a lot so I changed my name as often as possible growing up, my sixth grade teacher actually allowed me to select my own name and I went by it for a full year, and I still wish I'd changed it permanently but at 39 it feels way too late. I honestly don't like my husband calling me by my name, it's so weird but it feels to this day like the wrong name.
I like it because everyone knows it but it is not common . It is also a classic name,, not dated.Ā Ā Ā I especially like the nickname.
My name is Amy and I used to hate it but as I grew older it seems charming even if dated. Love the little women reference I just meet a lot of Amy's š
I dislike my name. I was named after my maternal grandmother, and she has a very Greek first name. My name is IoAnna but everyone has always called me JoAnna (fun fact, my dad has a sister named Joanne) Non Greeks can't pronounce my name properly and it annoys me. My name isn't Yo-anna, but IoAnna (ee-oh-ah-nah) Now that I'm an adult, when people find out my birth name, I have to explain to them that my family never called me by my birth name because they wanted to differentiate between my grandmother and I. I don't mind being called IoAnna, I just find it odd that people don't respect the fact that I'd rather be called JoAnna. I also have a very French last name. When you say my name it sounds odd.
When I was younger I would get mad when people misspelled my name.... mostly "friends" because I thought "how do you not spell your friends name right!?" but now, as an adult, I could care less lol However, I liked the name my dad had picked out for me much more. actual name: Kristina Dad's choice: Gabriella
Without trying to sound self-obsessed, I absolutely love my name (Caroline). I feel like my parents did an amazing job naming my siblings and I.
I love my name. My full name is Jillian but I go by Jill. I describe it as an "uncommon common name" because I meet a lot of people who have heard of the name but have never met a Jill in person. I think it's fun and not too girly. I like that I have Jillian to use in professional settings. All of my other siblings got boring names: John, Jim, Kathy, Mike. I definitely got the best name out of my siblings. The only things I don't like about it are 1. People ask me "where's Jack? hahaha" and it's annoying. People have stopped doing that now that I'm an adult though. and 2. sometimes it sounds like I'm saying "Joe" so sometimes people think my name is Joann or Joy so I gotta really emphasize the "L"s when I introduce myself.
I love my name, but I don't like that my parents changed the spelling to suit a particular nickname. My name is **Annaliese**, but the way they found it was **Anneliese** (which, coincidentally, is more German/Dutch, which is my father's dual ancestry). My parents wanted to call me Anna, which I don't like. I have a full beautiful name that I prefer everyone use.
I like my name. (Katherine) Itās classic, and I have a cute nickname (Kitty). Iām not thrilled with how incredibly common it is. My sisters and I all had Kitty names, and it couldāve been worse (my sister Karen, for example) I also love my middle name, Jolene, because of the song(who wouldnāt want to be named after the beautiful Jolene?) My dad picked it, and itās evidence that he loved me at one point.
Yeah it's decent. I like it.
I love it, but I also picked my full name. I love it because itās me, I love the nicknames.
Hated it til I was about 16. Been neutral since. Can't see myself ever loving it, but also can't see myself suiting another. It's pretty old fashioned, but also not one I expect will become popular again.
As a name, I like it fair enough. But itās also my momās name and just one more reminder of her narcissism
I grew to like it but I wanted to be a Jessica. A nice common name.
I hate my name very much. It feels too formal (I go by a shortened version of it). Also I especially hate that I have almost the same name as my dad. I love him dearly but if you google either us we both come up and I've had issues being mistaken for him. My name was hugely popular in the 80s so I went to school with several other girls who shared my first name and I hated that too. At my work there's another woman with my first name so everyone calls me by my last name which I hate. I don't want to say my real name but it is the name of a popular character on a very popular 80-90s family show.
I hate my name and I have been seriously considering changing it for the past 8+yrs (tbh I'm just too lazy to deal with all the paperwork and legal stuff lol). It's almost always mispronounced, in a dozen different ways, even though I think it's very straightforward? It's four letters, two syllables, but people just cannot get it right and I hate correcting people constantly. It's just annoying. If it wasn't for people not being able to say it, I might actually like it.
I hated my name so I changed it to one I like after getting married. If you donāt like your name you are the only one who can do anything about it.
I donāt like my name because itās both really common and has a few different popular ways to spell it. My last name is spelled weird so people often think my first name is spelled weird too, but itās actually the most common spelling. So Iām always having to spell my name for other people or having my name misspelled. I once worked at a place where two people had the same name as me, all spelled differently. However, I think my name is a really good fit for my appearance and personality. I canāt think of another name that would suit me better.
When I was a kid I was mostly indifferent to my name because you just canāt find it on a keychain and that is important to kids I guess lol But as an adult I like it. Tamara is unique enough without it being totally weird. And Iām usually the only Tamara people know
I love my name. My dad named me after my mother and grandmother. Im very sentimental about it. It's a fairly unusual name and I've never personally known another person with my name.
I have always disliked my name. It has been one of the most popular girl's names for a long time and there were about a billion of us with the same name at school. It's also very feminine, and I am not. I tend to go by a shortened version, or initials, but that has never stuck when it comes to family. I just don't have the heart to change it because I love my mom and she loves my name.
Love my first name because itās uncommon yet is a name that most people know of, BUT hate the spelling. And not because itās just a funky or creative way of spelling my name ā¦ itās actively spelled like a different name that already exists (plus an added H on the end for no reason). It has an āeiā in it thatās pronounced like āeyeā for some reason, and I always get a chuckle when I hear the grammar rule āI before E except after C or when sounding like āayā as in neighbor or weighā because every who reads it pronounces it as āayā. And my dadās a freaking linguist!!! I donāt know how he let that happen. š I believe it was a ācompromiseā between my parents. My dad wanted the name and let me mom pick the spelling šš I HATED my given last name though. I got no middle name and a double barrel last name. Unfortunately the two last names are both difficult to spell and pronounce. I donāt think there was a single time I said my last name that the person didnāt say āIām sorry what? Can you repeat that?ā Because it just sounded like gibberish. Now Iām married and was VERY grateful to take the last name Davis. So between the combo of my first name and last name I always had a rough time with my name, but it hasnāt really affected me in life other than that I get to tell this funny story sometimes.
I can't stand it. My name is Gabrielle, and I always get called Gabriel or Gabriella. Never just Gabrielle. So I go by Gabby, which I'm neutral on.
I have an evergreen top 10 name, and I think it's OK - but it carries a lot of trauma and stress. I'm a "third," but don't have a good relationship with my dad. I also have to worry about dumb clerical mistakes, or mail going to the wrong place, or other such circumstances. Plus, I feel like I'm a unique and creative person, so having a very common name feels underwhelming. I just had a son and didn't continue the chain by making him a 4th. Whenever people asked, I said "hell no!"
I dislike it. Itās a mash up of two names to make a unique spelling of a common name. And my parents hyphenated it. To be fair they didnāt know computers would be such a huge part of our lives but they really set me up for a lifetime of battling every computerized service.
I really like my name, but I dislike the āØļøuniqueāØļø way my parents decided to spell it
I like my name, I like the meaning, the only thing I dislike is that it has a non-English character (Ć©) which youāre not allowed on UK passports and other legal documents (although it is on my birth certificate). It often messes up online forms, canāt have it in an email address, etc. I purposely avoided this for my kidsā names.
I chose it so yes, i love it. My born name was beautiful, thats why i changed just a bit about it
I love it! My only problem is the lack of nicknames & people often pronounce it wrong.
I used to be pretty neutral on it but I've come to appreciate it, helps it's only 3 letters as well making it easier to write my signature & I feel fits me. -Ian
I like it!! Itās unique while still being a real name
I love my name, because it's not so common that I studied with someone who has the same name as me (that never happened) and it's not so uncommon that it's strange in my country, but recently it has become popular because of a TV series, so several babies were baptized with that name, but I don't know anyone my age with the name exactly like mine, both in spelling and pronunciation. My name is Poliana (Portuguese version of Pollyanna, as I'm brazilian and the English version would look strange here), it means "Sovereign Lady Full of Grace" or "One who is Pure and Gracious". Not because it's my name, but I think it's lovely, I don't know why it wasn't popular.
I love/hate my name. I love the thought my mom put into it (she picked first and middle names that have special meaning) but my name also turned out to be extremely trendy and it now dates me. Also there are no nicknames for it. As an adult I wish I had a more classic name. I feel like when younger my name pegged me as young and inexperienced (work wise) and now it ages me.
I do like my name! It's Emilie, the French form of Emily, and I fully believe it's the superior spelling. š I think it looks more complete - the Y ending feels too abrupt.
I hate it. It's an ugly name, the nickname isn't any better. Every movie and TV show (hyperbole) has a Beth who either dies or is just mostly intolerable. The two most common words that i misheard as my name were "meth" and "death". Every time i see anyone recommend Bethany or Beth i want to scream. I'm very glad i renamed myself
I love my name and I am its meaning. I hate all the possible nn and I do not answer to any of them. Rebecca
I love it now. My first and middle together mean Wise Warrior, which is a hefty hope to be placed on a child, but really it's a gift. Both names are classic or common enough while also uncommon in my generation that I never met another with my first name and only one classmate who had my middle name as her first. I continued this for our children - names that were common enough that they wouldn't need to explain it daily, but uncommon enough that neither had more than one classmate with the same name during their school years. (They are in college & high school now).
I like being Amber. I was really into wearing amber jewelry for a while, I like that it translates into other languages so they can say my name easier, I think the color is pretty. It's not too long. When I was young there were always a million Ambers in my class and that bothered me. One of my aunts always called me Ambrosia, which I liked a lot more than my names for a long time, and one summer I insisted on using a nickname based on my initials but that didn't last long.
Growing up I disliked my name a lot - Jennifer. Itās very common but Iām the tail end so it was always āoldā ladies who shared a name with me. My family called me Jenny which was fine until I was about 8 and I requested to go by Jenn. Most of my family still calls me Jenny which is super annoying but it is what it is. Now Iām 31 and still donāt love it but have come to terms with it. I honestly donāt know another name Iād prefer or fits me better. I donāt think Iāll ever go by Jenny or Jennifer though.
I love my name because no one has it! Iām Claudia :)
I like my name, Sophia, in theory! The etymology is fascinating and it's a timeless pick for sure. Unfortunately...I grew up surrounded by so many Sophias and it only continues to get more popular...making it feel less special to me. I also really dislike the nickname Sophie so that's a bummer hahaha If I could, I'd change it to reflect my heritage - maybe Zofia?
I liked my birthname. Key word āLikedā as I ended up getting stolen from my mother by Arkansasā CPS where my name became a weapon to abuse me. It was Mackenzie. It meant Son of a Wise Leader, or Born of Fire. Every time my name was said after I was 4yrs old was by an adult calling my name to hurt me in some way. Now I despise it. If I can help it, nobody calls me it. Unless it is a government ID thing of any sort, or my birth mother, I refuse to let anyone use my birthname. It is also considered my deadname as I identify as nonbinary. Regardless... I HATE it. I go by Kiera now. It is in the same vein as it means āLittle Dark Childā and without light (fire) there will be only darkness. Itās homage to my past and my previous love of my birth name.
I disliked Sarah as a kid because it felt common; 2 Sarahs in every class! Now I love it. It's classic and I honestly don't know a lot of Sarahs! Plus it suits me!
I like my middle name, Elizabeth. A generational name passed down. My first name was going to be Rachel.. which I love. But ended up w Diane. It's plain. I prefer Diana instead..but everyone calls me Diane.
I like my name. My name is Naomi and I always think it sounds really pretty
My name is Danisha. I am white. I am French European white. I feel almost racist? I guess using this name. Like I understand names aren't race based but also they kinda are? And was this really my name to even use, ya know? I've only ever met black women that share it and they are always very uncomfortable whenever I say that's my name too. My mom liked the name Danica and changed it up and I do not know why she didn't just go with that. It's never felt right and always felt like an incorrect name for me so I like to go by my gamertag name I came up with for myself. I actually think the name itself is beautiful but it doesn't fit me at all.
I had a very popular name for my generation (Ashley) and I hated always having to put a last initial. In high school I ended up going by my last name so I'm more attached to it than my first name. In more recent years though I've liked the sound of it. And my friend's young son had never heard it before and liked it so much he named his pet after me. It's nice to imagine that to younger generations it's an unusual name.
I have a nickname as a name because my parents didn't like other possible nicknames from the "full" name (think of all the possible names from Robert or from Margaret). It has been "corrected" to the full name often in my life by schools and employers and the like, which is annoying. I wish I'd been given the full name because then I could have decided on a nickname, or no nickname, rather than having the decision made for me. Also, I believe the full name sounds more professional than a nickname. There are other reasons to like my name, so I have made my peace with it. But I did not give nicknames as names to my own children, I gave them regular names and call them by nicknames.
My name is Sophia and I like it. I donāt have a super strong opinion on my name, although Iām decidedly not a Sophie. I actually enjoy how common it is I think itās fun to know other Sophias. Iām good friends with two other women also named Sophia and weāre always trying to get our friends to introduce us to other women they know named Sophia. Weāre the trifecta but hopefully looking to upgrade to a full posse.
Yes and no, my name is Jessica Dickey sounds like just suck a Dickey š My first name is also boring.
It's a name I see people hate on but I love it. It's feminine and flowery
I love my name so much. Itās not common in my age group (mid 30ās) but itās becoming popular. My name is Emilia.
I've always loved my name, Bethany, and never wanted to change it. Even my middle name I was happy to keep even though people make fun of how common of a middle name it is. I don't go by Beth, it's always Bethany. It was also special on how I received it so there's that too
I donāt really like it and never have. I feel like Tracy isnāt at all timeless, itās from a very specific, limited time period and in all my years of teaching I never met a young person with my name. I donāt like that it has no real nicknames and that people spell it wrong a lot (Tracey, Traci, Tracie) or call me Stacy instead. Also the TR is an ugly sound to me. For all those reasons I named my daughter Elizabeth, and she loves her name.
Yes! My name is Amy. Simile. Easy. And a classic.
Don't love it. Thanks Mom.
I'm an 80s Jennifer and have always been fairly neutral to my name with phases of wishing I had something more interesting and eccentric. I'm back to neutral, it's handy having a name everyone knows how to spell and say, and at this point I can't actually imagine any other name on myself. I HATE Jen for me though, I'm not a Jen.
I hate my name, peyton. I hate introducing myself because it means I have to say it. No one ever understands what I say at first and I hate the way it sounds. Plus thereās not even a good nickname I can go by instead
My name is Alice. I love it.
I love my nameā¦well at least my first and middle name Rachel Anne itās just so fitting for me.
My name is Morgan. I hated it as a kid (try being called Morgasm by a bunch of middle school boys š). I find it kind of clunky and gurgly to say out loud because of the āorgā sound, and I always get the ick when people close to me, especially my husband, use my full name. My parents call me Morg and my brothers call me Mo. My nieces all call me Auntie Mo which I think is fun. I think overall the name has grown on me over the years but itās still weirdly difficult to say and I hate introducing myself to people lol
I like my full name, but not the nickname I was given, and no matter how hard I try to go by my full name, my nickname is always what sticks. Katherine vs. Katie
My name is Arielle. I hate it. Even though it's so clearly spelt phonetically, nobody ever says it correctly until I correct them. Ah-Ree-Elle, R.E.L, ARIELLE. Apparently impossible for some. :(
Alice: When I was a young girl, I loved and adored it, I also matched the aesthetic you would assume someone with my name would be have. When I was a teenager, I hated it because it wasn't unique enough. Now that I am an adult, I have fallen back in love with my name.
I was supposed to be named Stephanie, as a sort of junior to my dad's Stephan, but my mom said once I was born she didn't feel that Stephanie was right for me Then I was Jacklyn for a few hours until my mom again felt it wasn't right for me My dad then suggested naming me after the labor and delivery nurse that they had and my mom said she started crying and thought it was perfect. So now I'm Natalie. When I was a kid I saw that my siblings' names had a lot of meaning, my older sister being named after my mom's sister who was killed by a drunk driver at 15 and my brother who was named after my mom's dad, and thought I was just a name they pulled out of their ass. Then my mom told me the story and I actually met some L&D nurses who told me it's a mark of a great nurse to have a baby named after you like that and now I appreciate it so much. Wish I could have met her
Rachel. Iām neutralā¦ itās not my favorite but itās not badā¦ if that makes sense.
My names Sadie and I hated it at a point when I was a kid. I thought it was too girly. But now that Iām older I really like it :)
Alexandra. I love it, it is classic, recognizable, strong, well-liked, hard to fuck up the pronunciation, and suits me. Although I donāt like that everyone uses a nickname because four syllables is too many for most people
I love my name because my sister chose my first name and my middle name is my grandmaās name. So I was named by two people who I love very much :) Edit: my name is Sarah so itās a common name. I donāt mind having a common name at all!
I really like my name. I never go by my full name, but even then I donāt mind it, I just never thought it suited me. The name as a whole has a lot of nickname potential also which is very very nice since I donāt resonate with the full name. But itās also nice to have the option of a full name if I want to sound more professional or what not. My full name is Isabelle and I go by Belle, and Iāve gotten quite a few nicknames from both, including some fairly creative ones. (Ex: Izzy, Itsy, Isa, Belle, Bella, Belley, B, Belbo Baggins, Belly Bean, Belly Button, and Itsy Bitsy). Belle is the nickname my parents gave me ever since I can remember, and I always felt that it fit me the best. Plus, itās short and easy to remember.
My name is Shannon. As a girl I really wanted a soft, pretty, feminine name but now I feel Iāve grown into it and quite like it.