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

My name hinders me. It’s lower class and prevents me doing well in my job. I’m in sales and selling fairly expensive stuff, but the sort of posh people who can afford that stuff don’t feel any rapport with a sales person who has a lower class name. If you’re spending £50-100k you want to spend it with Alexandra or Camilla or Jocasta, not with Sharon.

@Smartiepants79It only hinders you if you allow it to.
That's your opinion. People IRL can be rude, and they often get my name wrong.
I try to style it out when I introduce myself but I do wonder 'What were my parents thinking?'

If I put my name into Google, only one person comes up. There is no anonymity which is a blessing and a curse. This. I find it's not a blessing though.

Never thought about I am sure we can pick every single thing and turn it into an issue if we tried hard enough

Helps. I love my first name, it’s very unusual without being weird or difficult to spell.

My name immediately identifies to most people where I’m from in the world.

I didn’t like it as a child as I felt it was too unusual and too ‘strong’ growing up in the UK, and it has a tricky spelling.

But I love it as an adult and I think it does make me stand out. People remember me because of my name, and I get a lot of compliments on it.

Interestingly, in my country of origin, it’s not unusual and marks me out as middle aged .

Mine is fine, name is easy to spell and say, not too popular but common enough that it has no particular connotations.
I just wish my parents called me the name they planned to actually use, rather than give me a 'proper' name and a loosely connected nickname from birth.
It's just a bit of a faff, I don't automatically answer to my long name or feel like its mine, but it still has to go on work forms and as my work email and all forms of ID so its just an unnecessary extra when the short nickname name would have been perfectly fine. It's not like I am Beatrice who is stuck being called Bunny, more like Miranda who has always been Mia. Just Mia would have been fine. I think of it as more of an annoyance than a hindrance though.

My given name is ridiculous and pretentious from my 70s hippy mother. I use a shortened version that sounds more normal. Had I become an actress or singer my name might have worked but from 14 I knew I just needed a normal name and never used my real name again. When naming my own I tried to think of the adult they'd become and not the cute 4 year old with the interesting name.

No one can ever ever pronounce it. Weirdly mumsnet loves it.

For me it hinders. I have a name which is often used by drag acts, prostitutes being represented on tv/novels, likewise rough women. It isn't a popular name.

My children have very classical names.

People do make assumptions about me based on my name.

I think people can assume from my name that I'm likely to be middle class and pretty likely to be white. Let's be real that that still often gives people an advantage in our society. So, while I don't assert my whiteness or middle class-ness to gain advantage, perhaps my name does it for me?

I can’t help but laugh along with him when he starts giggling halfway through each story 😂😂😂

I think Myra would have been really popular now if it wasn't for the association.
I think it would have been up there with Maya and Mila.

I have PTSD and can't cope with the sound of my full name.
I insist people only call me the shortened version of it, which can prove hard when seeing doctors etc, as they just shout out my full name when calling me in.

You're the first person who has got it! 😁 I laughed like a drain for an age when I first heard it, then recently played it to other people and it set me off all over again!

Helps. The variation I use is unisex and considered pretty ‘cool’ (even though I’m in my 50s) by the young people I work with which helps them engage with me more. My parents and siblings still call me by the more 1970s twee, girly version though - proper annoying 🤣

I have this problem too.

I don't think any names can "help"

However, as repeated psychology surveys show, first impressions matter, and if your name is perceived negatively, then it's possible there will be times when it's a hindrance.

I have a simply lovely family member, born in the late 1950s before the Moors murders, named Myra. At the time she was given it, it was unusual but liked. But then became unusable. People knew the choice was made years before the murders, but still they heard the name and thought of child-killers. You can't always predict which names are going to be problematic.

So choose a name you love and hope for the best.

If in doubt, go classic, because Rose is the name of an even worse killer, but people don't make the connection because the name is in such general use

My first name is unusual and posh. It was not a little girls name and I hated the comments which were continuous and from those who should have known better.

As soon as people heard my name they assumed I was born with a silver spoon. My maiden name was also unusual and forrin. My married name is unusual, long and very very English. It invites far fewer comments than my maiden name.

If I put my name into Google, only one person comes up. There is no anonymity which is a blessing and a curse.

Our DC have classic names without any spelling variants. DD had three in her class at primary - 10 girls in the class! It was very underused when we chose it and it then became exponentially popular.

I don't mind my name now. My childhood would have been easier with a name like Susan or Angela.

Hinders as it's very identifying as to my age, so recruiters then ignore me. I'm from a generation of Julies and Traceys, with a similar ageing name. Some names don't age you- Catherine, Helen, Claire etc. but mine does.

I think my name has helped. It's pretty and feminine without being fussy, it doesn't have any particular social class attached to it, and while everyone has heard of it and most people can spell it, it's never been overly popular so even in my all girls school there were only three of us and I was the only one in my year.

Neither tbh. My name is not often heard. I have only met one other person with it. I am usually called something else, which is more common. I only correct them, if I am likely to be in contact with them often. I am chilled like that😀

It only hinders you if you allow it to.
I have no opinion about my own name. It’s classic, not particularly popular (especially right now) but still around. Some might consider it old fashioned or dull.
So what? It’s me, that’s it.
Along with things like being short (like me) or red haired they are only a negative if you yourself believe that. I’ve never seen my short stature as a problem so therefore it isn’t.
How does having the same name as other people hinder you anyway?

Mine is great, short and simple, straight forward, quick and easy to write, it does have a couple of alternative spellings and pronunciations but that is not an issue

I like my name, it’s relatively common for my age group but not too overused, it’s short enough not to be shortened by others, it’s got one standard spelling and pronunciation, and it works internationally. My parents did a great job choosing it!

Mine hindered - it's a bit little girly and when I was in a proper job.

In my current career it simply dates me to a 3-4 year period in the 60s.

My advice to parents naming their children - go classic and don't name your children after flash-in-the-pan celebrities