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

[BrickPoet]

Hindered in primary due to too many with the same first name

I don't see how that would actually hinder you though? It might have been annoying for you I guess but have you actually had significant failings in life because you shared a name with many others in primary school...?

I think very unusual names make you stand out, which can go both ways. The "imagine a High Court judge called Pixie Zoella or Rayzor Chelski" oft quoted on here does have some standing.

Neither tbh. I've never particularly liked my name. I don't meet many people with my name, but not because it's unusual in a cool way - it's a bit frumpy, I've always thought. It was a bit more common in maybe the 1970s and I was born in 1971. But I seriously doubt it's had any effect whatsoever on how I've got on in life!

Definitely a hindrance for the opposite reason. Everyone gets it wrong and there are only so many times you can correct people. Hate introducing myself!

Mine is an underused classic and doesn't date me to a particular decade. I'm grateful for that, it's never been a hindrance.

My birth surname, on the other hand... Let's just say I didn't think twice about changing it when I got married, and my DC are relieved they don't have it.

I fine with my name, but I do wish my parents had made it my first name rather than deciding from birth that I would be known by my middle name.

I've had a lifetime of having to explain it so that's the hindrance rather than the name itself, which I do like.

Helps - it's pretty classic. Combined with my married name I have a really common name which I love. I really enjoy the anonymity

Completely off topic but I love your username!

It was the nineeeetieeeeesssss

No. I can't see why it ever would. 😇

I like my name, it's unusual in my peer group, but it's not weird or obscure (seems to have had a bit of a revival for kids in last 10-15 years). I don't think it has any negative associations - it's the sort of name you might associate with sexy women which is funny as I am not at all foxy!

Hinders. Too unusual and the pronunciation and spelling aren't obvious.
I don't really like the sound of it as 'firstname surname'.

I have always felt hindered by my name.
If is an old lady name which often comes up in here as a name which isn't going to come back.

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

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 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

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?

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😀

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.

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.

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.

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

I have this problem too.

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 🤣

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!

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.

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.