Your name

[Bobje]

Do you like it?
Or do you curse your parent’s choices and think what the hell were they thinking?
Do you think your name dates you - perhaps you’re a Patricia from the 50s, or a 60s Susan, 70s Sharon or an 80s Louise?
Did your name influence your choice/s for your own child/ren?

I think my name is pretty neutral, probably considered a classic. I don’t mind it, and I know a lot of the shortened version amongst the school mums in my locality.
If I could choose a name for myself now, I like to think I could pull off something like Genevieve 🤣
What would you choose?

Dislike mine intensely, always have. What I do find odd is that I came across maybe four down South in 55 years. Moved up North and it’s really common!

I am one of seven 60/70's children and three of us have changed our names...

My mother, I her infinite wisdom, decided to call me alexandra, while liking the name Alex.
Everybody knows me by the short version.
Anyone who called me Al was called Betty.
Most people guess my full name as Alexander or alexandria, which is just as annoying.

I think I have the same name and I hate it now. I now use my middle name, but my mum isn't happy about it.

I love, love my name. However I hated it when I was a kid because people didn’t know how to pronounce or spell it. I even threatened my folks that I was changing my name when I was 18 😂 But as I got older I began to love it and I’m glad I wasn’t given a different more “common” name at that time (70s)

My name is very beige to me but I was surprised to see it in a name thread as being pretty. I don't think it is pretty at all! My DF wanted to name me after a relative who had died which even in the old-fashioned-name thread wasn't a popular choice. So I will take my name over that one any day of the week!

I'm fine with my name. I just wish my parents had made it my first name instead of calling me by my middle name. It's been a lifetime of explaining now at age 57.

I should have changed it when I turned 18 really, but wasn't confident enough in myself and was unsure how my parents would react. I now know they would have been fine with it but it feels too late now because of the number of legal and official things it is on.

My first and middle names are derivations of very ancient Roman names. Whilst they are OK, I’d have preferred if they had chosen the original names as they are more timeless (and less boring). Perhaps I need a new internet pseudonym.

I adore my name and everyone else seems to like it. I have met very few people with my name. The only problem is that it lends itself to many varieties of shortened versions. Some I hate and others I loathe.

Ooooh I wonder if this is the same name I’m thinking!
I have a few friends from “up North” with this name, but only one down south.
Does it begin with a ‘D’ @Gilead ?

@Bobje no, J.

I hate my name. It dates me specifically to my birth year but that’s not why I dislike it. It’s just so trashy. On paper I sound like an airhead cheerleader or a chav. I would have preferred something more classic and neutral like Joanna, which sounds like a well educated middle class professional. I’m sure people judge me on my name and I think I must have lost many job opportunities because my name doesn’t sound posh or educated.

I hate mine. My mother insisted on it and my dads made no secret he didn't like it. It was a dated name when I was young before it became cool to have old names. Lifetime of bullying followed. I actually saw someone ask on the baby name section on here about my name. Everyone hates it

Mine is classic and was very popular in my generation. There's nothing at all wrong with it, but I've never liked it (on me - it's fine on others). As a child I wanted to be called Lucinda.

Re. my own kids - I purposely picked nice neutral classic names which have been used by the aristocracy for centuries. Names that would sound ok for a GP or a high court judge or a professor, but equally ok for an actor or a shop assistant. I didn’t want them to be dated or discriminated against or pigeonholed.

Mines soo old fashioned you'd be hard pressed to find someone under 80 with it except me, I've always hated it. I use the shortened version for most of my life as its so much nicer.
But there's six of us and only one has a decent name so obviously both parents were just crap at chosing names.

I've also been laughed at for my name for my whole life, it's no wonder I don't use it at all. Took the opportunity to totally dump it when I got married and everything is legally the shorter version.

Well there goes my theory 😆

The name I had in my mind was Donna.

@HowDoYouSpellThat my absolute best friend at school was called Leonora, and I think it is the most beautiful and elegant name in the whole wide world. Our DD was going to be called it too, but we also know a Nora and a female Leo and didn't want for our DD's name to be shortened too. It is without doubt very regal and warm. There are just far too few Leonoras about ❤️

I'm fine with my name and there were very few when I was at school. In fact I used to feel annoyed if there was another one.

My middle name is one of the compulsory ones of the time and, unfortunately, combined with my first name makes another name (as far as I'm concerned). Think Mary Jane sort of name. I spent the best part of a year when I was 6 being called 'Mary Jane' by my teacher when I moved schools, because she said " Are you called Mary Jane?" and I said Yes, not realising she meant is that the name you go by. So Mary Jane I was and I hated it. Still do.

When I pointed this out to my mum years later, she said " yes, I wish I hadn't given you that middle name. I heard it on the radio and thought it sounded nice".

My gp surgery went through a phase of flashing it up on the 'next please' board but seem to have stopped that. Probably due to no appointments but still...