To hate constantly having to explain my name?

[lsfhs]

I have a welsh name. (I don’t live in wales and never have.) No one can say it or spell it. Plus, my parents called me my middle name but gave me a first name that is different (and horrible.)

I can’t change it but I hate it. I really don’t think it’s an exaggeration to sa my life would be different if I’d been given a nice ordinary name!

"horrific"? That is a strong word. C'mon, you need a new name whether by deed poll or just informally.

My widowed aunt changed her name in her 60s when she remarried. She wanted to keep her first husband's surname as a tribute to him, but also wanted to mark her new life with her second husband. So she asked people to call her by a new name. It took a few months to get used to, but now it rolls off the tongue.
People will get used to your new name if you change it.

Not particularly.
It's more to do with how the language works. Adjectives in Welsh usually follow the noun. In English they usually precede a noun.

It is also quite common to be known only by first and middle name.
An example would be something like Llywelyn Jones and his wife might call their child Firstname Llywelyn instead of Firstname Middlename Jones.
It only gets a bit weird when someone known by the middle name drops the surname in adulthood.
Say something like John Llywelyn Jones dropping the Jones. He then gets called Mr Llywelyn even though he's called Llywelyn by friends and family.

I can think of some who are known by the middle name but, for work or if they live the other side of Offa's Dyke, use the firstname.
Think Peter Geraint Roberts been called Geraint until he went to uni in Sheffield, where he started being called the less problematic Peter.

• I have made up the names, apologies if that is your real name.

My name is dreadful too - I sympathise. It doesn't matter how many times someone says 'but that's a lovely name', I still hate it. Thankfully, my initial sounds like a name in itself and that's what people call me? Might that work for you?

@lsfhs

Change your name if you want to. It's a free country!!!

This reminds me (somewhat) of Gemma from Coronation Street who had her quadruplets in a hospital in Wales. So she gave them all Welsh names!

Not a single JOT of Welsh in her (or Chesney, the father of the quads,) but gave them Welsh names, coz she had them in Llandudno!

Batshit.

You have my greatest sympathies, OP. I, too, have a really unusual name and have hated it my whole life. It's not a terribly ugly name but I am sick and fed up of always having to repeat it several times before people get it and always having to spell it out. I don't think people quite realise what a burden - and sometimes what a confidence-knocker - an unusual name can be. I have often felt like a problem for people right from the off.

I worked with a woman who changed her name when she was 40. She changed it from Zelma to Anne. Why she waited so long I have no idea.

It took us (her coworkers) about 1 day to get used to her new name. And there were virtually no 'slip ups' and calling her by her old one.

Had to google the Gemma and Chesney quads - Bryn, Llio, Carys and Aled.

All pretty portably names apart from Llio. Llio is lovely but it's not pronounced Cleo.

My friend changed her name when she was 30. Her second name wasn't even close to her old name. You can change it whatever

Bryn, Carys and Aled seem a bit middle-aged as far as names go.

Why are you too old to change it?

If you hate it, do something about it.

Do you have a dream name that you would like to go by?

Owlandthepussycatwenttosea best comment on this thread goes to you!

I’m worried now because my daughter has a welsh name. I hope she doesn’t grow to hate it.

My family has a history of this sort of thing. My father was only ever known by his middle name, but at least the middle name was common and easy to pronounce.
My granny had a Welsh first name (Essyllt) and she never even knew how to say it properly! She was from a Welsh family, but brought up in India and had never been to Wales until her late 50's. Her middle names were quite grand and didn't really suit her, so she was always called Sally. I don't know if she disliked her name , but she was very embarrassed about not being able to pronounce it.

The restrictions which are stopping you from changing your name are self inflicted, which will make it even more liberating when you change it. You don't have to feel yourself to be any different internally, just choose a nickname for yourself. Even if it's 'Sue' or something.

I think if you present it to people with confidence, and your name is a difficult one, you'll get support. If someone said to me 'I really can't be bothered with Myfanwy anymore, please call me Alice from now on.' I would fully respect that.

@Minionbums, it depends on the name. Most welsh names get mangled by non-welsh speakers.
Some will crack quite offensive remarks about them.

I comment regularly on Welsh Name threads. The same names are trotted out, many names are misspelt, mispronunciations are argued over. Most of the names that are trotted out are names that were popular in the 1960s and seem a bit when you know dozens of people with the name and none of them younger than 45.
Think names like Michelle, Sharon, Tracey, Lindsay, Neil, Darren and Wayne being suggested for a newborn.

You're not dead yet! Change it.

It’s why I discourage people from naming their children really obscure names. It’s really not fun having to pronounce and spell your name

I gave my dd an obscure name together with a lovely very common name, just in case she didn't like my first choice. She absolutely hates being called by the common name.

I changed my name a year ago and I'm in my 50's. I waited all this time because I was worried what people (family) would say and how weird it would be. But one day I woke up and decided this was my life and my name. The day my new bank card came with my new name on was one of the best in my life. I felt like a new person and the weight of years of having an awful awful name I hated fell away.
Go for it, you're never too old. And you absolutely will feel better and lighter for doing it.

I have a very unusual first name, and I did hate it as a kid/teen/when I was at school, but I love it now. I literally don't know a single SOUL with the same name as me - so I love having my very unique name.

It gets commented on quite a lot, and people think it's a lovely name.

What has being old got to do with it? My mother changed her name last year. She’s almost 70. She dyed her hair purple also as part of her new image. It was a bit of a hassle with informing the bank and other institutions but not impossible.

You don't even have to change your name legally. Just start using the name.

Let's say you are called Doris Myfanwy Davies and you are sick of being called Miffamway or My-fanway or Miff, just tell everyone you want to be known as Sally from now on, and then that is your name, but your official paperwork will still be Doris Myfanwy Davies.

If you were Victoria and told everyone that you no longer wanted to be called Vic/Vicky/Victoria but instead wanted to be known as Vita or Tori, it wouldn't be that tricky

This clearly illustrates why expectant parents on the naming threads on MN need it spelling out to them that try too hard names, names with creative spellings or names that are difficult to pronounce are such a PITA.

I hate my name. It is unusual, and I got teased at school about it. As a result, DD has a name that is easy to spell and everyone has heard of. My employer employs several hundred people, but my name is so unique that if you type my first name into the address book, I am the only one with that name.

Another angle is that a very distinctive name can be a pain because you are easy to google.

I wanted to get in touch with a former colleague with an ordinary name and it was much easier to find her brother as he has a fairly unusual first name and uncommon surname.