What about your name?

I was 1 of 14 Sarahs in my School and there was another Sarah with a last name that started with the same letter as mine and in the same year. People started calling me sporty Sarah while the other was called tall Sarah.. not great. There were also so many Michaels! I feel bad for all the Sophies and Olivers because most of the people in my friends group have named one of their daughters Sophie!

I love my name, it was a fashionable name in my culture back when I was born and the trend only seems to have lasted a couple of years so it feels quite unique now I'm older.

The best thing I've found is that it's easy to pronounce for English speakers - one of my let peeves is when someone has a beautiful foreign name that just sounds hideous in any other accent.

I hate my name. Late seventies baby and I’m named after my mum- why? I don’t get it!

It’s a name that is usually for older women and there was one other in my secondary school.
In the last few years I’ve been using the shortened version of it much more and I was called this by family a lot as a child as it was easier.

I’m the oldest child and neither of my brothers age named after my dad. I just don’t get why I’m named after my mum!

My dc are called Oliver (17) and Lucy (9) and have gone through school being the only ones in their class with that name. Oliver was not popular where I live when he was born in 2003 and he really suits it.
I knew when I was a little girl that I would call any future daughter Lucy, no idea why but I just loved it.

I hated it when I was young because it sounded like an old lady name but I've grown to like it. It's just a very short, 1 syllable word which doesn't really give many options for a nickname. I would rather something longer like Alexandra so I could swap and change to all sorts like Alex, Drea, Andie whenever the mood struck.

I'm a Kate from the 80s and it really bothered me that my last initial was always used. I like being Kate rather than Katherine though. I think it depends on the name as to whether I'd want the more extended version, depending on what it shortens to. And I like that my first and middle names flow, yes.

Name is ok. I've settled with it over the years but it's unisex and parents unkindly made me have short hair so I was regularly mistaken for boy.

It was a big deal and still is to a certain extent.

Unisex name are big no no for me.

Growing up I was always a bit annoyed that my name was boring and common and always one of three/four in the same class. I always wanted to be a Natalie 🙂. Once I got to college though I really started to like it - a soft sounding name, easy to spell and I think quite pretty and hasn’t seemed to date too much. Emma - not to everyone’s taste but I like my name

HATE my name.

Never met anyone of my generation with it.

Women 35/40 years older have it.

What were my parents thinking?
Were they even thinking??

I have never met anyone with my name (I'm nearing 30) but it has recently been used in a VERY popular Disney movie for the main character. I expect there to be more girls with my name in the future, but loved growing up with an unusual name even if I was teased for it. I gave my baby an unusual name - note unusual, not made-up - as I feel it helped me stand out and find my own character.

Mine is the Irish version of my BC name. I never knew another one as a child and it was unusual even in my much bigger secondary school. It was a popular name in 60s Ireland in general though, and still gets used. When I moved to the US it really stood out and it gets thoroughly mangled.

I sometimes wonder how I would have seen myself if mum and dad had flipped a coin to decide between the names they were arguing over for me - Suzanne (mum's preference) and Susannah (dad's).

In the end an aunt of mine came up with the name they eventually have me.

Suzanne would have been very 60s/ 70stastic, while Susannah is a classic. I would have been 'little Susie' either way. I would have fit in better with my siblings, name-wise, no matter which they chose, and I would have been one of half a dozen Suzannes/Susans/Susies in secondary school.

There were 5 girls with my name in my year (including me) 2 of us had nicknames and the other 3 were called their name+ surname. No big deal.

Whenever I meet another woman with my name, they are always the same vintage as me.

I tried to give my kids slightly unusual names.

My name is reasonably common but also reasonably traditional think Amy, Rachel etc - I was always known by a nickname at secondary school and uni but never at primary. I am one of 5 at work in a relatively niche industry but we are all various ages.

No, not one single Charlene. 😀

@SirVixofVixHall
Charlene 🙈 Have you not?, I've met so many over the years

csmw So Lucy ? Or Charlene ?
I have never met a Charlene. I know one Lucy in each generation.

I'm a Mary - born in a certain era .
I never came across many others BUT at senior school ended up in a class with a Maria and a Marie too. I remember my poor Geography teacher trying to tell me to be quiet during one of his lessons "Shut up Mary, Maria, Marie or whatever your name is...!!!'

My name was very common in the 80's, and I think there were about 8 of us in my school. Clearly way to many people were watching Dallas at the time as we were all named after the same actress😂😂 The character was nicknamed the poison dwarf, but I'm 6ft1 so it doesn't quite go 🤷🏽‍♀️

Am singing it now. I love that song. It is an excellent name too. 🙂

@SirVixofVixHall, you got it.

Now sing it to me ....

I have a foreign name that is traditional for my home country, although a bit old fashioned now. It's practically unpronounceable for English speakers. Thankfully the shortened version is easier, and it's also a name in its own right (a bit like Alfie is short for Alfred but is also a separate name). I just use the short version for everything apart from official documents.
I've grown to like my name but always hated it when I was growing up as I lived in an area with mostly locals with local names. I'd cringe so much when new or supply teachers mispronounced it and the whole class sniggered. My own child will have an easy to pronounce name.

I like my full name but dislike the diminutive which is now very commonplace amongst children. Neither my full name nor the diminutive were popular in school but I always hated the diminutive and resented anyone who tried to call me it.

Alison ?

@YesILikeItToo, no, I'm not Fiona, but I do love that name. So graceful. And I've liked every Fiona I've met, including my brainy and charming cousin.

@SirVixofVixHall, no, I'm not Deborah! Girls named Deborah are much cooler than I.

Think Elvis Costello, the Pixies, the Lemonheads ....

@Awwlookatmybabyspider, why did your neighbour think you were Gertrude?? Clare is lovely, btw. Makes me think of a wildflower meadow in Ireland.

I have a name that’s very common for my generation (like Sarah, Rebecca etc) and I really didn’t like it.
I felt like my parents couldn’t be bothered to think of anything original or special for me.
I also loathed having a different name on the birth certificate to my actual known as name. I would never give my child a longer birth cert version no matter what’s said on mn.

I'm Clare I hate it. It's so plain and boooorrrring .There's no friendly short version, either. Which makes it worse. I've never truly forgiven my parents for giving it to me. Mind you my mum said The neighbour at the time thought my name was Gertrude, so I guess with Clare I did get off lightly
My sister is A imee. I was always jealous that she got the prettier name.