Were you teased because of your name?

[oysterpots]

If so, was it because your name is unusual? Would you choose a different name if you could? Do you know anyone who wasn't teased about their name?

Seems like some people are pretty scared to pick anything out of the ordinary in case their DC might be teased - I always thought people found something to tease you about, if not your first name then your surname, or the way you look, or what your family's like.

Am I wrong? Genuine questions.

My name was quite unusual when I was growing up, certainly different from the usual Karen, Lynn, Debbie, Susan, Gillian etc.

It has a "t" in the middle which of course everyone used to drop and makes my names sounds really coarse and awful.

Breyen is a lovely name. Is it Welsh? We gave dd a Welsh first name, even though we have no roots there whatsoever.

My brother's step children had such a hard time because of their "exciting and unusual names " that the eldest became a school refuser. We arranged a re-naming ceremony before he went to secondary school so that he could start afresh with a very ordinary name he chose himself.

the most appalling bully at my school was called Somma Fowles. No,she was never bullied in school. (she may be out there! hello..)

the most bullied: valerie Smith.

the amount of money spent on trainers on the other hand was a factor...

I still get 'That's a boy's name isn't it?'. Very overused reply of 'let's nobody tell him and maybe he won't want it back'

Breyen - It's supposed to be Irish - but the gaelic spelling was completely different. DS1's name is also Irish (same name as the partner to Ant)

My family were originally from Ireland many years ago - it turns out that my mothers family were from Ireland, and so were my fathers. Strange how it works. While my family were starving in the great famine - my husband's family had servants! And LAND!!! LOTS OF IT!!! I've no idea where it is now though, as I can assure you we own no land and I can only wish for a servant!

tmmj that's very very interesting (and a really good reason/explanation of using a popular name).

First name is Juliet, and although I've grown to love it, I did used to resent that every boyfriend I dated had the letter 'o' added to the end of his name a la Romeo.
I did very briefly date a lad called Jerome (I know, he had his own issues!) but we parted ways shortly after when taunts of "Je-romeo" became too much.
And don't even talk to me about that feckin' Dire Straits song which has haunted me for nearly three decades now!!
Spelling was always an issue too, even though my parents chose the simplest (and classical Shakespearian) spelling, people still seem inclined to add an extra 't','l', 'e' or two.
That being said, I now love my name as it's unusual but not too 'out there'.

I avoided a boy with the surname Swayne even though he had the hots for me because I knew I could not live with passing down that surname to my offspring

My sister was in the delivery ward with a newborn whose name was Dwayne Pipe. A girl in my school had the initials VD.

The most amazing names I've ever heard were Tweety Ip (in HK) and Sunny Ha (Korean)

I have an unusual name, but was never teased about it. I was teased for being skinny and having no boobs in my teens.

my dc names are all slightly differnt not made up but just unsural in the uk , 2 italian ds names, 1 arabic dd name(name was chosen by a very good famiy friend) though there is a more common spelling of her name thanks Mr Eric Clapton , and ds 3 is irish name and yep none can spell any of them lol

isn't it extraordinary how rude people are about names. children i could just about understand, but teachers? mils? i'd just stare at them.

I wasn't really teased/bullied because of my name though surprising 'cos pretty much everything else was fair game!

However, I do have very unusual name which is difficult to pronounce from the spelling. In first year at secondary school our English teacher decided to read out our results at the end of the year and had a sudden panic when he got to mine and didn't know how to pronounce it!

My 3 DCs all have popular, straightforward names but more because those seemed the 'right' names for them iykwim, rather than any wish to avoid problems. Part of me wonders whether I should have chosen something more unusual but I know that their names suit them.

In each case, their name picked them rather than the other way round. My DD's names 'arrived' when I was about 12 weeks pregnant! Took the rest of pregnancy and several weeks after to convince DH! Bizarely, and unknown to me, they're almost exactly the same name as a long-dead relative (one letter different in 2 names!). Found that just a bit spooky!

"They used my big fat arse more than my name!!"

Hecates - did you go to school in prison?

I didn't like my name whilst growing up but I do now.
Its Emmaline, and at school I would be called semolina etc.
Also teachers would pronounce it Emma-Line when its pronounced Emmaleen.

My mum came to visit me when I had Ds2, you have to buzz an intercom to be let through, she asked to see Emmaline .... and was told by the midwife "you mean Emma-Line?" My mum answered "no, I mean Emmaline, I named her!"

My brothers have quite unusual names too, my children have been given very classic names!

I haven't got an unusual name - in fact quite the opposite (from the 70s). My pet hate was ALWAYS being called 'name surname' because there were 3 in my class and 11 in my year. When I went to senior school one of the 11 went to a diff school, but another 4 joined us.

Due to this I have called DD a mildly unusual name (not wacky outthere) hoping that she will be the only one......and so far (she is 4) she has been (through nursery and pre-school).

If I have another DC I will do the same again, looking at the 20s/30s/40s census to pick one, then check the 'most popular' lists - DDs name was 92nd the year before I had her, 78 in year she was born, it's more popular now, but no so much in her age group.

(At DDs pre-school there was a Kayden, Kaiden, Jayden, Brayden, Braydon and Payton - and 2 Jacks, 2 Josh and 3 Thomas bloody confusing for those poor boys)

(oh and - because I have slipped off topic - I was teased/tormented because my parents were the oldest, nothing I could do about that, so yes, I think kids will always find something to be horrible about!)

Emmaline is a fantastic feminist name!

My guess is that LtEveDallas is called Sarah, Emma, Nicola, Michelle or Deborah.

Mama, no try again (hint, think Osmonds)

I was more upset that I couldn't find mine on mugs or keyrings anywhere in this country.

Vowed mine would always find their names on a mug.

Then went on to give very Welsh names whilst living in England

In my defence - there are a hell of a lot of places you can get stuff personalised compared to when I was little

flame-one of the most romantic things that dh ever did when we were 'courting' was have a keyring made with my name on! because i had NEVER had anything like that my whole life!

I've got an old Cornish name, and never got teased for it. (For being flat-chested and swotty, yes. But not the unusual name!)

bare clare
has got no hair...
down there!
still in therapy

Agree with the rest of the posters - I have a very common name akin to "Jane Smith" and when bullies (and teachers) wanted to have a go they'd use my full name as some sort of taunt. KIds will be teased about something, teasers will find something they feel sensitive about and have a go.