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Does Your Name Fit You, and Would You Like Another One? Janine picks a new name
Interesting, well, mine is Raisa, and it works fine. I get the "weird name" comment more often though.
I'm named after both my grandmothers--Mary Elizabeth--and grew up as "Mary Beth", which I never liked. I dropped the "Beth" in college. Yet "Mary" is so plain and wholesome, it's still not quite right for me. I had an alternative identity in my college days, "Hadassah Schulmann", given to me by a dear friend, "Dr. Menachem Schulmann" (not his real name), but try telling people your name is "Hadassah", especially in a noisy drunken environment, which my 20s typically was.
I think Gretchen fits me. I used to want another one but now I'd never trade it. I like being the only one most people know and rarely having to use my last name.
I love my name... now. I hated it as a kid because everyone always pronounced it wrong. I didn't change it when I got married and, now that The Kid Tumor is about to pop out, my better half and I have had some very intense discussions about how important names are.
Gretchen wrote: "Is your name actually Zen?"Zenia. No, not like like flower, not like the city on Ohio, not like the warrior princess.
Please pronounce like Kenya and you will be the closest that the American alphabet (and I) can handle.
And yes, my real last name begins with a "T".
Now that I have had this great reveal.... is your name actually Gretchen? Do people call you that? Or are you a Gret, Greta, Eta, Chen-chen (yes I know someone who goes by that) or something completely different.
In fact - who are all of you anyway? Are any of you actually using your real names????
Like Larry... what are you really hiding.... I know your name is really Zorak.... and you and RA and Heidi just sit around and make trouble...
Wow Zenia/Kenya you have us pegged!
Gretchen is my real name but I often wonder why the F*CK I'm using it here where I air lots of personal business. I might change it. My family calls me Hotchie, some friends call me Smetchie, my co-workers call me Gretchen or Gretch, some GR friends call me Greatchen, Wolfy, Dirty. Bunny once called me Gretchling (which I thought was cute), my husband calls me Honey, my kids call me Mama and people I'm about to start hating call me Ma'am. That about covers it.
Larry wrote: "Wow Zenia/Kenya you have us pegged!"
Trouble maker extraordinaire!
Trouble maker extraordinaire!
Trust me, growing up with the name "Gus", and being roly-poly as a child, made you beg the Gods on a daily basis for another name.
My full name is Omar Gustavo; I just went by Gus for practical reasons, I suppose. But when you're 7 years old and about as tubby as Eric Cartman, you tend to hear "Gus, Gus, big as a bus!" a lot.
I can just imagine. My legal name is Laurence. Every year, on the first day of school, when the teacher would ask if Laurence were present, there was always a big laugh (or so it seemed to me, one who just wanted to fade into the background among strangers).
Yeah, I got over it.
My maiden name was Featherstone. There, I said it. Needless to say, it was hell.I am fair-skinned, blonde and blue-eyed yet you would truly be amazed at how often I was asked if it was Native American.
I was born on a rainy morning, so I'm Misty. I think I have a sunny disposition most of the time, so I guess Misty doesn't really match that, but I've always thought it sounds like a "bubbly" name, and I've never wanted to change it.I have always liked the name Gretchen, and it was the name we had picked out if our son had been a girl :)
Are you new to TC, Misty? If so, welcome. If not, sorry I missed your arrival.
I work with a guy who looks a lot like Larry. His name is Charles but he goes by Kip.
Fair Play, SC sounds like an interesting place.
Thanks, Larry! I joined a long time ago and participated some; then I lurked for a while after I had my baby because I never had time to really get involved! Fair Play is interesting...Dollar General, post office, and no stop lights! We are near beautiful lake Hartwell, though, so that's a plus. (beautiful when we have enough rain)
I "studied" at Clemson, so I know about Lake Hartwell. Can't say I recall your particular bend in the road, though, Misty.Google map picture shows an overpass on I-85 for Fair Play.
That's it, right at the Georgia line. I, too, studied at Clemson...education degree. What did you study, and why the quotes?
Larry wrote: "Well ... is it?Better than Flintstone."
Wow, Flintstone. Never heard that one before.
The quotes are because I didn't study as much as I should have. I left after only two semesters of enrollment in the Architecture school. I discovered I really wasn't cut out to be an Architect, by the way.
I see! It's a beautiful campus, though, and the party atmosphere is great, too :) My husband and I used to play darts, and our team made the rounds in those cool bars!
Mary wrote: "Wow, Flintstone. Never heard that one before."Uh huh. Sure.
I like being Jackie, short for Jacqueline. I can't imagine having another first name.
In real life, I'm Amanda or Manda to everyone but my mom who calls me Amanda in Spanish. My name doesn't fit me at all. It's too boring and unoriginal. I would totally change it to something more fun, but I don't know what. So jealous of Gretchen.
Mandy, I LOVE your name, in all its versions. It means "beloved," you know. And it flows so beautifully, not like "Jackie" which has an "ack" sound in the middle of it. :P
Mandy - Plus, you can pretend Barry Manilow and/or David Boreanaz is singing to you :)I've always been fine with Sarah, but resented all of the other Sarahs around for making me have to live with Sarah P. all the way through high school. My mother swears there were no other little Sarahs around when she named me, but I never had a class with less than two (and had some with as many as four).
We can switch!! I could totally rock the "ack." Yeah. My parents were all about the meaning of names. "Beloved" and then "pure soul" for my middle name. That one always gets a laugh from anyone who knows me. "Slightly evil soul" would have been better. :-)
Jackie "the Librarian" wrote: "I like being Jackie, short for Jacqueline. I can't imagine having another first name."That's who you are.
I could never stand my name growing up. There were a million of us, and always had to go by Heather C. so that the teacher could distinguish who she was speaking at. It was really interesting when our last names started with the same letter. I thought about going by my middle name, but it sounded old fogue-ish at the time. I have learned to live with it, but I think it is too generic a name to represent my personality in any way.
I don't mind my name but when I was a kid I hated how it is spelled. Everyone always spelt it wrong...They still do but I don't really seem to mind as much now.I probably wouldn't change my name but I do like "Jayme" better.
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For some reason people always think I've said "Dolly" on the phone, which I find humiliating. Dear god, thank you for not letting her name me Dolly.
Sally is old fashioned, but even more so when you find out that my real name is Sara Catherine and I was intentionally named with the nickname in mind. Sally-for-Sara only makes sense to those over 70 years old. Everyone else looks at me like I'm bonkers. I'm not. I don't think.
Zenia/Kenya - you're due to push one out soon too!??! Wowza! I love meeting other mommas to be. Yes, the name conversation is hard with a hubsand. Sweeter has completely differnt ideas than I on this subject, and I'm not a fan of having to share the process.
He nixed me all time favorite names because they are too unusual - he wanted something more classic. And I have to compromise, it is his kid too. :(
But back to the original question, I do think that my name fits me and I'm glad I have it.
Sally wrote: "Yes, the name conversation is hard with a hubsand. ..."Speaking of husbands and names.... let's expand RA's question:
Does your last name fit you? Do you like it? Did you marry into a new last name?
I didn't change mine because after all this time "I yam who I yam!" as Popeye would say. I also know a girl who is currently on the fence about changing her last name because her fiancee's name is the same as her most-hated high school teacher (talk about bad memories). Additionally, I know a couple who both changed their last name upon marriage (they both disliked their own last names).
My first name is Chris (i always hated it as it could be male or female) i wanted it spelled with a K at least ('Cambridge' is where i am from) .....and thank goodness i married into the last name i did, i shed my maiden name like a bad habit :) . I can't imagine BOTH partners changing their names, that seems very new generation hippy 60's type deal....
I was named for both of my grandfathers. Unfortunately, even though they knew they wanted to call me by the one that became my middle name, my parents put the other one first because of family tradition.Every year in school the teacher would call out the names, and would have to say mine two or three times before I remembered it was mine. There are still times when I can get government agencies totally confused.
Not a fan of my first name, but love my middle.
My name is Youndy. I go by Youndy, no nicknames, and no shortening of the name. I don't really remember hating my name in school, though I got teased a LOT - my name rhymes with Ghandhi, so you can imagine. On the phone a lot of people think I'm saying "Melody" which I find very confusing.When I got married I kept my last name. It's boring and I always thought I would change it since I have zero relationship with my dad's side of the family. But my husband's last name is a long italian name and I just couldn't bear the thought of constantly having to spell both my first and my last name.
Wait. Your name is really Youndy? I thought that was, like, a nickname. And now I can say it properly...thanks:)
Yep, really Youndy. Though, like Gretchen said earlier, perhaps I should be using a penname here. Youndy is a great name. I think it suits me. It's different, requires explanation, and is unfamiliar though sufficiently akin to other more familiar names that it doesn't seem exotic.
A woman who works at the local Costco has the name "Sherrick."She gets a lot of questions about it, so she had a nametag made that said, "mother's name Sherry, father's name Rick." She eventually got rid of that nametag because it caused even more questions.
My name really is Flora. Flora Mae. I've never really liked my name, it just sounds so old fashioned. I was named after both of my grandmothers and I keep telling myself that it could be much worse. I could've ended up as Mable Ethel lol
As a teen I always thought it would be cool to have a name like Raine or Blue. Raine was the name of the lead singer of a band I loved "Our Lady Peace" and Blue was a name of a girl in a "Verve" song. The name Bonnie isn't that hip and If someone asks me if my husbands name is Clyde once more!!ugh It's getting old people!! I'm happy with my name now It suits me and my heritage..If only I could lose the nick name BonBon
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What about you? Does your name fit you, or would you like another one? What name would you want?