Do you think your name helps or hinders you in life?

I don't think my name has hindered me so maybe by default, it has helped me. It's a name that was popular in the late 70/80s so there are lots of Rebeccas around but it's not a name that feels overused or tied to a specific era. Interestingly, when I was at primary school I didn't know of a single other Rebecca but we moved house a couple of hundred miles away and at secondary school I ended up in the same class as one Rebecca and the same swimming lessons as another.

Having a fairly classic, but ordinary, name that's recognisable to most people has its uses. My DC have names of a similar ilk.

I’ve got a name (nothing like my username!) which can be pinpointed to a decade or two but I really don’t like the non-standard spelling and, if you ask me, the spelling perhaps reveals my working class roots. (I’m not saying what it is though and I’m aware that’s so annoying!) My name is quite middle age, middle class if spelt correctly. I didn’t love this as an early twenty something year old interviewing alongside and trying to blend in with middle class colleagues. Towards my thirties, and as I grew up and became far less insecure, I then kind of leant into my working class background and it shaped my interests which became my strengths at work. I was the only person with my background in my team and I learned to embrace my name along with where I came from and how my experiences growing up were wildly different to most colleagues. (Previously this embarrassed me when younger.)

Having said that, we still discussed unconscious biases when naming our DC. My DH also cared about this as he has an obviously ‘foreign’ name. He thinks it’s held him back in some organisations he’d rather not work at now he’s older and more choosy but that it helped him progress in others where diversity was really valued. It’s depressing that this even crossed our minds of course. Our DC have ‘foreign’ names though and a big fuck off to any organisation where that’s a hindrance frankly.

Not hinder, but people assume with my name I am posh. I swear I was thrown from a showmans caravan as the circus left town and I landed in my mother's arms 😆.

I love my name now (derivative of Rose), hated it growing up because of a certain puppet TV programme. I feel like it's reasonably classic, not common or over used, it's nice to see it still being used now. My maiden name, well let's just say I was glad to see the back of it because I had to spell it to every single person I ever spoke to!!

@Mushroomwithaview one has to make the best of what is dealt.

@Mushroomwithaview dh is an August birthday, ds a December birthday. They are both very sporty. DH trialled for the County; DS did not quite make the cut.

OTH dd and I are May and July. Who knows if we would have made the cut if we were sporty. We aren't. It's genetic rather than birth month.

There was that research that showed that a massive percentage of professional athletes have their birthdays in he first half of the year because the kids who are older in their year at school tend to be bigger and better at sport > therefore make the first team early > therefore get the better coach and better opportunities etc.

I wonder of there is similar research to see if successful people tend to have early alphabet names!

@Mushroomwithaview my maiden name started with a v. I agree with your dic however it taught me a great deal of resilience and work that bit harder. In the end it was a massive advantage!

Something to consider: We have a surname that starts with a Z. My children all SWEAR that this disadvantages them at highschool because everything is done alphabetically and they get missed off because time runs out.

• Sit at the back of the classroom because they are asked to sit in role order. Less teacher attention.
• Don't get feedback on work because time runs out and they're always last on the list.
• Last on the list for voting (standing for school elections etc)
• Lower grades and harsher feedback because the teacher is tired and irritable by the time they finally get to the last few papers.

My eldest has genuinely considered changing her last name to my family name to be near the front of the alphabet.

I'm happy with my name. I was the only one at school. Strangely I don't meet others but in one job I had there were 3 of us! Before and since I've not met another. It's a nice enough name. Short and easy. I think it's deemed as a classy name. Given the option I wouldn't change it.

Common name for my age.
I get called by my surname.
Or say I was Lisa ... I would be Lisa x.
Never bothers me.

I also have one of the most common names of the 80s so always loads of me, and i also got addressed by my surname to solve the problem, as it was a cool surname. Then i got married and now have a really boring surname which no one uses.

I made sure to give my kids names outside of the 30 most popular names because of this. While all my friends hve literally named their kids lily, thomas, george, olivia , arthur, ava etc

It's strange isn't it? If my parents had been together I would have had a culturally different first and last name. I wonder about how this would have changed my life. Would my CVs have been rejected, would people make assumptions about my level of English comprehension, would I have had a harder time in general? The statistics show that yes, this would be the case. I think 'Magdalena Kubrakov' would lead people to imagine someone different to 'Kat Smith' even though Kat could be short for Katarzyna and Smith could be her stepdad's name, for example.

I love my name; it’s classic, but not overused.

Hinders, I’m embarrassed especially after seeing it described on here as “grim”.

I'd agree with other posters, that it is better to have a name that provides a degree of Google anonymity.

It's strange to think how that would never have been a consideration for my parents as Google did not exist when I was born.

I've been the victim of a stalker who I know looks me up online and I wonder if it would have made a difference to have been called something more anonymous, like Jane Smith.

Neither really. I have a very common Emma/Laura/Hannah type name and there was at least one other on every class and workplace I've ever been in.

It's not horrible but I've always felt it's a bit boring and not really "me". I have a boring surname to match too, and I DO like the fact it makes me completely ungooglable!

I really like my name, my parents chose well for my brother and I.. (born 77 and 79).

Its classic, easy to spell, feminine and popular now for babies too.

Both. It's classic, but a bit on the frumpy side. I'm basically never seen as someone with a "glamorous and sexy" name. On the other hand, it's standard enough to fit a lot of different roles and personalities, and it's often associated with older, responsible women (about 30 years older than me), so for some occations that's a positive.

My friend changed their Eastern European name by deed poll and instantly got a lot more responses for their identical CV.

That said, there's so many bat shit middle class names now I wouldn't worry so much. (I quite like the odd ones too - not being as a harsh as I sound.)

I've spent decades disliking my name, it's boring and plain but in its favour, it is definitely not "naff". I've recently started to like it more. I like it's simplicity and the fact that it's very no nonsense and not "frilly".

@Bluefell why would I need to trust the taste of a supplier? My taste determines what I spend money on. I might think a friend looks fab or an artist is brilliant but I wouldn’t be influenced by an influencer.

Whilst not in the private jet league, I don't have what I have by following others and there are plenty of skint Aramintas and Ruperts out there. My parents did give me a very posh name though .

You seem to inhabit a curated rather than a genuine world.

@Topseyt123 @Nc1424 and me !. DH had a well known and easy to spell but very infrequently used name in his generation and really resented his mother for what he saw as the vanity of her choice.He is far from a shrinking violet ; very much a top of the class/ captain of the firsts type but still would rather have been named Mark or James or whatever.There is a lot of agonising over names and yet there are so many that would be lovely that there is really no need to saddle your child and later adult offspring with something difficult .

I’m not on the other side of a counter. I acquire and sell expensive things. Part of the job is to appear as someone whose taste and recommendations the customer can trust. I’m convinced the really big spenders prefer to do business with people who share their tasteful background, and part of their assumption is (I believe) based on the name of their broker.

@KStockHERO , if you were born in the 80s you are still quite young in a work setting, but once you get in your 50s ageism might be a factor.

If your name is a bit of a date-stamp, subconscious bias might kick in.