Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Do you know anyone whose name doesn't suit them?

161 replies

Louwheeeeeze · 03/04/2023 20:15

I name-changed for this, since I'm about to reveal my actual real name...

I'm a Louise, and I've never felt that I look like one. It just doesn't suit me! I think of it as quite a feminine name and I'm a big clumsy oaf who can break things that other people wouldn't consider to be breakable. But at the same time, I always think that Louise sounds ugly, with all the emphasis on that "wheeze" sound at the end. It's just about ok when French people say it, but alas, I am English.

Do you know anyone who has a name that just doesn't sound right on them? I sometimes see on the Baby Names board comments like "We were going to call him George but when he arrived he just looked like a Sam" and I wish my parents had had that sort of ability when I was born.

OP posts:
dreamingofsandytoes · 03/04/2023 22:15

My name is Lynsey and I'm 24.
I hate it because every other Lynsey is at least 10/20 years older than me and the only way to shorten it is Lyn which is a very old lady name.

Maxifly · 03/04/2023 22:20

I really like my name, it's fairly uncommon, hasn't come back into fashion like many others. But when I was a silly teenager I wanted to be called Rachel, practised writing it and told people it was my middle name! Cringe...

xPaz · 03/04/2023 22:21

I love the name lindsay. It's one of the few names that I forgive creative spelling!

id spell it Linzey

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Families
aSofaNearYou · 03/04/2023 22:22

Tbh your description of yourself does fit Louise to me - but that's because it's not dissimilar to other Louise's I've met before, and I think people we've met are the main influencer to our perception of a name.

I don't really agree with people that say things like "my baby looked like a Sam" - I've known all kinds of different Sam's and they all fit their name, because it's just a word and it IS their name.

Sillysosij · 03/04/2023 22:23

I don’t seem to suit any particular name but particularly not my own. I’ve had multiple people say I don’t seem like a (my name) but no consensus on what I do seem like… seems to err on the feminine though. People also mistake my name regularly even on email. At work I’ve been called:
Jessica
Elizabeth
Rachel
Anna

None of them are close to my real name!

Gardenerboo · 03/04/2023 22:26

I think Louise is a lovely name. I know a Louise who goes by Lou and I always think it’s very cool sounding. She is cool though, maybe that helps.

Houselamp · 03/04/2023 22:27

I met a tall muscley bear of a man with a massive beard called Timothy-Paul, that didn't seem to fit him at all.

A bouncy giggling toddler called Mildred

A previous boss was a very formal and prickly woman called Clare Blair

My name is Roxanne, I have been told by a teacher at college that it didn't suit me because she "didn't think I seemed like a stripper" but I've also been told that my name does suit me so who knows

DalmationCalledStripe · 03/04/2023 22:37

I also know a completely Joyless Joy! How strange that so many Joys don't embody their name...unless we all know the same one by some eleven billion to one odds 😂

The other misnamed person that sticks out is my acquaintance Poo. She's Thai and it's a very popular name there though, so although to my ear it obviously doesn't suit her, in Thailand it doesn't mean the same thing at all and is perfectly lovely.

Loveatortie · 03/04/2023 22:37

I hate my first name, started using my first middle name when i was an early teenager over 40 years ago. My first name has never made a come back. Says it all.

Friarclose · 03/04/2023 22:43

I'm Victoria. I never go by that because Victoria is a royal name and as such it makes me think its more for girls who are classy, a bit posh..

I'm a wine swilling potty mouth who's about as feminine as a toenail. I go by Vick 😆

Tessisme · 03/04/2023 23:12

I used to work with a Marigold. Triffid would've suited her better.

spiderlight · 03/04/2023 23:28

I had a granny name long before granny names were cool. So many of my friends' grandmothers shared it, or it was their mums' middle name. I was the only one in my school and I still don't know any others who aren't at least 25 years older than me. My mum chose it because she wanted a name that couldn't be shortened, which meant that I went through school without a nickname, desperate to be a Nikki or a Jo like everyone else! It's a nondescript, mousy little name, but unfortunately that means it suits me perfectly! 😕

Pieceofpurplesky · 03/04/2023 23:30

I've taught a Star and a Precious. Neither lived up to their names.
Star was a lovely girl but solid and practical. Precious was a madam who was a bit of a bully.

SkaneTos · 03/04/2023 23:38

Perhaps you get to know a person named, let's say, Hilda. And you know that person for many years. And you know no other Hilda than that Hilda.
And then suddenly you meet someone else named Hilda, and she is very different from the first one. That can be tricky.
(This is not the case with very common names, I think. With very common names you kind of get used to them being connected to a lot of different persons).

Groutyonehereagain · 03/04/2023 23:42

I worked with a Joy, we called her Joyless, behind her back.

Groutyonehereagain · 03/04/2023 23:43

Friarclose · 03/04/2023 22:43

I'm Victoria. I never go by that because Victoria is a royal name and as such it makes me think its more for girls who are classy, a bit posh..

I'm a wine swilling potty mouth who's about as feminine as a toenail. I go by Vick 😆

You sound great, can we be friends please? 😂

TheOtherBennetSister · 03/04/2023 23:47

I have a lovely name - never met anyone who doesn't like it and I guarantee you know at least 3 of them. A classic - Catherine / Emily sort of name. It does not suit me in the slightest. What's funny is that no one who knows me well calls me that name. After a while they all slide off to calling me something else. It almost feels jarring to hear myself called by my name. I think it has affected my identity and sense of self a bit. I would have loved to relate strongly to my name.

Tryphenia · 03/04/2023 23:48

Hazelnuttella · 03/04/2023 22:05

All babies look like squishy potatoes though so I’ve never understood the “he just looks like a James” thing.

I’ve met a toddler girl called River, which to me conjures up an airy fairy hippy waif like creature. She was quite robust.

Yes, if you called a baby a name that suited what he or she looked like, all newborn babies would be called Winston Churchill.

hadenoughofhisshit · 03/04/2023 23:49

I too have a crap late eighties name and there were double figures of girls in my year with it. I absolutely hate it. I go by a shortened version that I can just about tolerate but because it's not usually shortened as much as other names like Jennifer or Stephanie for example people always elongate it again. Pisses me right off.

Bernadinetta · 03/04/2023 23:49

I know a couple called Tracy and Wayne. They’re both highly educated and employed in professional careers, high up in their fields.

BobGalaxy · 03/04/2023 23:50

I'm another with a name from the previous generation. It's a Donna/Karen/Tracy type name. I'm 35 😑

CaringIsWaring · 03/04/2023 23:51

Grace is a helluva name to live up to. Never met a Grace who does.

Ishouldbeoutside · 03/04/2023 23:59

I ve always hated my name. I don’t associate with it. I went by a nickname at home and when my teachers called me the full name it felt like a rebuke. I knew no one with the same name at school. Not one person so I felt marked out as odd. Now it’s quite a common name . I still hate it. My sister has a name I really like. All through my life people have called me her name by mistake. It’s my belief I should have had her name! It’s really strange. I have toyed with the idea of changing my name but the thought of having to change all documentation and tell everyone seems like too much effort. It seems a curse to have a name you hate your whole life though.

I should add that my family and friends all use my nickname . When strangers use my full name, I still flinch. I don’t like the nickname either.

Notellinganyone · 04/04/2023 00:03

I went to school with a Prudence who got pregnant aged 15.

hadenoughofhisshit · 04/04/2023 00:06

spiderlight · 03/04/2023 23:28

I had a granny name long before granny names were cool. So many of my friends' grandmothers shared it, or it was their mums' middle name. I was the only one in my school and I still don't know any others who aren't at least 25 years older than me. My mum chose it because she wanted a name that couldn't be shortened, which meant that I went through school without a nickname, desperate to be a Nikki or a Jo like everyone else! It's a nondescript, mousy little name, but unfortunately that means it suits me perfectly! 😕

Anne?