Your first name

TuffysMommie

How happy are you with your first name?  Is it too common, too uncommon, hard to pronounce, or just not a favorite? Or do you love it and can't imagine being anything else?

If you hate it, is there something else you would rather be named?

Friends and family members are having babies, and I just wonder if the names that are chosen now ever happily fit the recipient.

smw42

Mine is the abnormal spelling, and I plan on naming our children a name that they can tell someone when making a dinner reservation without needing to spell out. On the other hand, I also don't want to name our future children something that has to be associated with the last inital in school because there are so many of them in the class with that name.

mrs.spunky1508

I was ok with my first name as a kid, even into college. As an adult, I think it is childish. It's a nickname for a very common name, Catherine/Katherine/Kathleen/Cathleen. However, if I said I were to change it, or didn't like it, it would upset my mother, as I was named after her mother. I go by a nickname (same nickname my grandmother went by) that I think is simpler and more mature. Everyone wins!

kwilkinson14

I like my name and thinking back never disliked. I do know I was a little annoyed as a little kid and writing out my name. Both last and first name are long. But I never really liked any nicknames so never used one. I am definitely going to give my kids unique names but nothing so outside the box they would hate it. I do know I will not give use nicknames for my kids.  

Danes983

I like my first name, but wish it was Italian. I love Victoria or Francesca and I will naming my kids Italian names.  So I will look out of place on the xmas card. LOL

uppereastgirl

I like my first name a lot.  But I *hate* that people assume that they should call me Vicki.  This happened all through grade school, and I never corrected anyone so that part is my fault.  But I'm always surprised that doctors and such will call me Vicki the first time I visit.  Is it so hard to say 4 syllables?  And people do this in professional situations too, which drives me crazy.  I don't understand why men in their 60s seem to think that a 31 year old lawyer needs to be called "Vicki."  It drives my parents crazy too -- they hate Vicki and wanted me to be Tori if anything (that never stuck, except among some family friends).

(I am perfectly happy with Vic as an abbreviation though -- it isn't like there are no options besides Vicki.)

clarereedy

I love my name!  I was the only Clare in school and 9 times out of 10 when you meet another one, they spell it Claire. My parents had a whole story behind my name....my maternal grandfather was from County Clare, my middle name is my maternal grandmother's name, my initials are the same as my dad and my paternal grandmother, and my paternal grandfather just wanted a granddaughter....everyone was happy!!!

When we have children and have to come up with a name, we are going to have a hard time. I'm the youngest cousin to have children, so many names have been "taken" already and I'm a teacher which eliminates a bunch more names!! 

VanessaB24

I didn't like my name as a child. Also back then no one seemed to have the name Vanessa. I didn't like saying my name... I just felt like the odd one in class...but now i don't mind it. Now i feel too many people have my name and i don't like it lol. Originally my name was spelled Vanesa with one S i added the other S in 1st grade. lol I'm not sure what i'd change my name too but I know it would be something different not a name you hear everyday.

ffbride_0813

I hated my name.  I have been called Aunty Em, Astronaut, ATM.  They all stink.  Now most people seem to have a positive outlook on my name so i have learned to like it but it was hell in grade school.

mbcdefg

I didn't like my name growing up because I thought it was too old-fashioned, but now I like it a lot better because I think it's got a bit of charm, and it's unique without being ridiculous or made-up-sounding. I also like being the only person who usually has this name, versus the dozens of Nicoles, Jessicas, Amandas, Jennifers, etc. that I knew in school. And I like having a name that isn't so trendy that people can automatically attach it to my birth year.

However, my legal name is different than the name I go by, and having a double first name (especially when it's not my legal name) can be a real pain in the _ass. My mom also named me after herself, so it was really annoying when people would mix us up or constantly compare us. When I lived at home, she'd open some of my mail because she said she thought it was for her. I thought about legally changing my first name to the name I always use, but I think that'd hurt my family's feelings so I won't.

I'll be glad to change my last name to MH's to finally set myself apart from my mom's name, but I don't like how my first name flows with his last name. It's really too long together ... my maiden name is one syllable and his name is three. If we weren't planning on having kids then I might not have changed it at all.

We don't want our kids to have double first names, names that are hard to spell or pronounce, abbreviated names (AJ, EJ, etc.), trendy names, or be named after either of us or a close relative (although we might use family names for middle names).

HobokensFury

My first name is Siobhan - pronounced Sha-von.  It's very difficult to pronounce from the spelling.  It was very difficult as a child and still rather annoying as an adult.  I will name my kids something simple. LOL

demarcosjd

I love my name and the spelling of it. When I was younger I wanted to be named something else. Now that I'm older I appreciate my name so much more. It's not really common which I like and I do not plan on naming my kids something too common. No offense but some names just sound little girlish.

lovbulldgs

I love my name now but growing up I was always sad that I could not walk into a store and find things personalized with the name Shannon.  It is a much more common name these days then growing up. 

dmoney79

i actually love my name, but, it is very popular....esp in my age range...
there were 5 (including me) danielles in my graduating class.....
and i go places and hear my name being called out, only its not me, its someone else...

but, it is easy to find things with my name on it...which i always felt bad about my sister...growing up it was hard to find anything with carly on it, but now the name is everywhere....

DandT1206

I love my name. it's common but too common.  I just hate when people  spell it Daniel.  it's like - hello, i'm clearly not a man!!!

Denise91980

I don't love my name, but I don't hate it. I hated it as a kid but I guess I just got used to it. It's not too common. But I hate when people sing the old "Denise" song to me. My ex's father used to call me Dens....which used to drive me crazy.

akmackay

I have always liked mine... depending on my mood I switch between Allison and Allie- like at work I'm normally Allison and when I introduce myself to industry people I say Allison, but with friends and close co-workers I'm Allie. I just think Allie sounds little girl while Allison is more grown up... but I'm sure a lot of nicknames are that. I'll forever be Allie to my DH. Surprisingly until middle school there was only one other Allison and one Ali (who was Alexandra) so it wasn't too bad in elementary school.

cvl105

I love my name. I like that it's unique, but not weird. Although it's becoming more common nowadays I guess.

Just Jen

It's just too common. I don't mind it, but it has no personality on it's own...

rlb81

I've always loved my name. Growing up, I was the only Stephanie until 6th grade, and then there was one other until I graduated high school. My father's name was Stephen so I like that I was named after him. However I spell my name the most common way, and I hate when I tell my name to someone and they ask how it's spelled. I thought most people would just assume it's spelled the common way.

When I was in elementary school there was an episode of Full House where Stephanie Tanner wanted to change her name to Dawn, because her classmates were calling her "Step on me." So yea, thanks for that Full House. To this day my best friend's brother STILL calls me step on me.

Lola Minnie

I like it but don't love it.  As a child, I never found "kristin", only "kristen" for any personalization which was sad to me.  But when we have children, I won't give them a wacky name like some people do now.  Rather them not be ridiculed for something that wasn't their doing.

grace_ann

when i was growing up i didn't like it because it was an "old lady" name but now I like it more

jcg98

I like my name - Joanna - and I love that I have a song (thank you Kool & the Gang!)  FI uses it as his ring tone for me.    My only issue is that when I was born my dad decided he wanted to pronounce it like the German without the 'h' (Jo-AHN-a instead of Jo-ANN-a) and I hate the way it sounds.  No one calls me that anymore except family, which I've learned to live with.  A few people call me Jo, which is ok, but NEVER JoJo.  I think there's no way to pick names for your kids that will absolutely be to their liking, so we'll go with names we like or have special meaning to us (like Cecilia, the patron saint of music - we are both musicians.)

ahhndrea

Personally, I like my first name, but the problem is that it is spelled "Andrea" and everyone says "AND-rea" when it should be pronounced "ON-Drea".  (Like the girl from 90210...and let me tell you the nightmare when that came out).

I like having a different pronunciation, however I hate correcting people. Trust me, I will not make my kids go through the same mess that I did, they will have names that sound the way they are spelled!

Related Story: My fiance and I had mutual friends all through college, we weren't really friends with each other, just friends of friends. Well 5 years after graduation, I ran into him at homecoming and when I went up to him, he said "Hi Andrea" using the correct pronunciation! There are people who have known me forever who can't get it right, but he did and we hadn't seen/spoken to each other in years...not that that has anything to do with why I'm marrying him, but I do care more (in general) for people who remember my name and the way it sounds.

TuffysMommie

I'll answer my own question:

I actually really like my  name. I'm the only Alexandra I know - basically. (Like Allie, I know of another Alixandra but she is called Ali)

It's classic, people can generally spell it and there are a ton of nicknames. Most people presume they can shorten it to Alex. I don't love the nickname Alex, but it's fine. I'm also called Alexa a lot. Mbcdefg, I'm actually also an "AJ" (Alexandra Jordan) but that was never a nickname for me.

Overall, I love the first and middle name my parents picked for me. I hope I name my children as well as they did! 

Oh! Sometimes people call or write out "Alexander." Seriously? That's obviously the boy version!! Duh!

kasabby

I love my name! The only thing is that is commonly misspelled--Kerry. I get Keri, Carrie, Carey, Terry--etc. 

raangoli

I love my first name. It's unique since it's "foreign" (Indian) but even amongst Indians, it's not very common.

That said, I do get the random pronounciations and people who just call me a completely different name. Shally, Shannon, Sherry...yeah, all not my name. I will correct people though, even if people think I am rude. It's Shaily. Pronounced "shay- lee"

What I find to the really odd though is each and every hotel reservation I make when I travel to India thinks I am a male and my name is listed as "Mr. Shaily" Ugh. Seriously? They of all people should realize it's a female name!

mrs.spunky1508

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_first-name?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:90Discussion:4da82fa5-a90a-47c7-8219-022be68b233fPost:cac49de5-0750-4e08-847e-8ae8e3f5dacc">Re: Your first name</a>:
[QUOTE]My first name is Siobhan - pronounced Sha-von.  It's very difficult to pronounce from the spelling.  It was very difficult as a child and still rather annoying as an adult.  I will name my kids something simple. LOL
Posted by HobokenBride2012[/QUOTE]
My cousin has the same first name as you and she messed around with the spelling while in HS - Chavon or Chavonne, I forget. She went back to the normal spelling eventually.
It's a gorgeous name!

Faith2730

My first name is Kristy and I have always really liked it!  I do have a lot of people ask me if its short for kristine.  Also, my name is commonly misspelled (Christie, Kristi, Kristie).

StefaniBel

I love my name. It is spelled "Stefani".  Because the "normal" is "Stephanie", people usually end up misspelling my name.  But I don't mind.
My name is common and easy to pronounce.  And I think is a beautiful name.
My mother was the one who picked the name because of the princess from Europe.
She make a good choice in my opinion.

Jaytee501

I love my name- Jamie- because I was named by my mom for my (now deceased) father; he was my best friend & the best person I've ever known

I didn't know another female Jamie (only a boy, "Jamie" for James) until I got to highschool and she spelled it Jaime, as many girls do.

I defend my more "traditional" spelling (seeing as "James" is the origin) & love it!