To want to change my first name

[Winecurestiredness]

Is it offensive to my parents?? They named me Jennifer. It really doesn't suit me. I don't suit Jenny, or Jen really but I've become known as Jen. I honestly wish they named me something more feminine as that's more what I'm like. I get name envy sometimes, not even at particularly extravagant names, but names like Laura or Samantha for example.. sound so much more feminine. As a student I named myself "Jenna" but my parents didn't like it and kept correcting my friends that I'm actually called Jennifer..is it unreasonable to want a nicer name?

Jennifer is a very feminine name. Very strong too. I have a Jennifer, and I love it along with all of the regular shortenings.

Why not officially change your name to Jenna? If your parents don't like it and try to correct people then tell them very firmly to wind their necks in and bugger off. You are an adult now, not a toddler.

My parents were always sticklers about not allowing us to be known by shortenings of our names. Only my sister had a name that was easily shortened and they would pointedly and publicly correct her friends if they didit. That always made both of us cringe. It was so embarrassing in my sister's teenage years. My Dad was the worst, but as my sister grew up she eventually did tell them to stop.

Oddly enough, my parents have both always been known by short versions of their own names, so it was double standards.

Thanks for all your replies. I think my issues with my name might be trauma related. In school when I was badly bullied I was called jenny, was always shortened to jenny in school and no one gave me a choice over it..just 'jenny sounds better so I'm calling you that (from teachers and pupils)' then in college I was jenna, but I was an alcoholic and a party girl with zero self respect so again that is associated with shame, feeling bad about myself etc. After I had my kids I decided to shorten to Jen simply because I thought it sounded more grown up and people were more likely to take me seriously as an adult and mother. And it's OK, it just sounds and feels dull, and now im not a SAHM anymore and I'm looking for work, studying at uni, I feel like maybe it's time for a change. I'm actually thinking Jenna-Louise (my middle name is louise) or just Jennifer as that sounds better than jen in my opinion...and I love the whole hippy vibe thing..im 29 but my mum being from a different generation named me after the 1960s song "Jennifer juniper" and used to sing it to me as a child. And no I wouldn't suit Laura or Samantha, it's just that I come across that name a lot in my age group for some reason!