I have a friend from college- legal name Kathryn. Went by Kitty all through college. At some point after college, she became Kat. So there was this odd balance of when you became friends with her and what you called her. Got confusing sometimes.
Also, my sister once dated a Chris. His legal name was Chris but people INSISTED on calling him Christopher all the time- or putting it on things. He got very annoyed by that.
I love this thread because I've been doing the exact same thing as the OP for the last week or so. It's super entertaining. I think there are some names that sound straight up cray and all the peeps over there are cooing over it because it's so proper or whatever.
My mom has a friend named Dorcas. That's her legit first name. I guess it's from the bible or something? We also had a cleaning lady whose first name was Herthico. Also, I think (?) from the bible.
LOL I know a Dorcas too. Awful isn't it!
One of my friends named her son, Amare after the b-ball player, and my ex-husband to this day calls him Atari...
I know a little girl named Percocious. Seriously... what were they thinking when they named her? If you were going for precocious... don't. You spelled it wrong, anyway.
I have a friend from college- legal name Kathryn. Went by Kitty all through college. At some point after college, she became Kat. So there was this odd balance of when you became friends with her and what you called her. Got confusing sometimes.
Also, my sister once dated a Chris. His legal name was Chris but people INSISTED on calling him Christopher all the time- or putting it on things. He got very annoyed by that.
I have a HS friend who's legal name is Katie. She said that was one way to weed out her junk mail or telemarketers. People who didn't know who her used "Katherine".
My roommate in college had a friend from her hometown who at the wise age of 4, was allowed to name her younger sister, Precious Beautiful.
This gif is the best.
Agreed. Also, this was how my parents had a dog named Sweetie for 16 years. When you let 3 girls aged 2, 6, and 8 name your dog, you get something extremely girly.
I have a friend from college- legal name Kathryn. Went by Kitty all through college. At some point after college, she became Kat. So there was this odd balance of when you became friends with her and what you called her. Got confusing sometimes.
Also, my sister once dated a Chris. His legal name was Chris but people INSISTED on calling him Christopher all the time- or putting it on things. He got very annoyed by that.
I have a HS friend who's legal name is Katie. She said that was one way to weed out her junk mail or telemarketers. People who didn't know who her used "Katherine".
My grandpa's legal name was Billy. Apparently his mom had said "If I name him William, people will call him Bill. If I name him Bill, people will call him Billy. Why don't I just name him what people will call him?" Well the answer, Madame Shortsighted, is when little Billy grows up and it's ridiculous. :-p
My BIL is Andrew. He hates Andrew. My sister has been with him for about 10 years now, 11 maybe. My family has called him Andy for years, but my sister calls him Drew, and he introduced himself to my now-husband as Drew.
After a couple years of puzzlement we asked my sister why, and she said he got sick of the name Andy. So now, people who have known him a long time call him Andy and people who have met him in the last few years call him Drew. Now I feel bad, but I can't shake the name Andy.
And my friend Katherine refuses to go by anything but Katherine. Kate is like nails on a chalkboard to her.
Yes, yes, yes. I accept Kate or Katie from family, but I have never introduced myself that way.
I loathe being called Kathy. A professor in college took it upon herself to start calling me that. I politely corrected her multiple times and she still persisted. One day she called for "Kathy" to answer a question and I gave her total deer in headlights look. Nope. Not responding. Not my name. You don't get to name me. My momma did that already.
She finally got it after that.
My full name is Jennifer. I'm okay with being called Jennifer, Jenny, or Jen. I've also spelled Jenny as Jenni so I'm okay with that too.
I don't go by Jenna, however. If someone called me "Jenna" it would not occur to me that they meant me. My best friend of many years was also full-named Jennifer and her nickname of choice was Jenna. Going by different nicknames made it easier for our families and friends to tell us apart.
I have a friend from college- legal name Kathryn. Went by Kitty all through college. At some point after college, she became Kat. So there was this odd balance of when you became friends with her and what you called her. Got confusing sometimes.
Also, my sister once dated a Chris. His legal name was Chris but people INSISTED on calling him Christopher all the time- or putting it on things. He got very annoyed by that.
I have a HS friend who's legal name is Katie. She said that was one way to weed out her junk mail or telemarketers. People who didn't know who her used "Katherine".
My roommate in college had a friend from her hometown who at the wise age of 4, was allowed to name her younger sister, Precious Beautiful.
This gif is the best.
Agreed. Also, this was how my parents had a dog named Sweetie for 16 years. When you let 3 girls aged 2, 6, and 8 name your dog, you get something extremely girly.
We got a dog when I was 3. I wanted to name her Raggedy Ann. Did not happen. Can't imagine if my parents had tried to let me name a human being. Boy? Donatello because he's the best ninja turtle or Kit Cloudkicker because TailSpin was an awesome show. Girl? Gosalyn Mallard.
I have a friend from college- legal name Kathryn. Went by Kitty all through college. At some point after college, she became Kat. So there was this odd balance of when you became friends with her and what you called her. Got confusing sometimes.
Also, my sister once dated a Chris. His legal name was Chris but people INSISTED on calling him Christopher all the time- or putting it on things. He got very annoyed by that.
I have a HS friend who's legal name is Katie. She said that was one way to weed out her junk mail or telemarketers. People who didn't know who her used "Katherine".
My roommate in college had a friend from her hometown who at the wise age of 4, was allowed to name her younger sister, Precious Beautiful.
This gif is the best.
Agreed. Also, this was how my parents had a dog named Sweetie for 16 years. When you let 3 girls aged 2, 6, and 8 name your dog, you get something extremely girly.
We got a dog when I was 3. I wanted to name her Raggedy Ann. Did not happen. Can't imagine if my parents had tried to let me name a human being. Boy? Donatello because he's the best ninja turtle or Kit Cloudkicker because TailSpin was an awesome show. Girl? Gosalyn Mallard.
OMG. My neighbors (at the time, ages 7 and 5, I think) were allowed to suggest names for their future baby brother. They came up with Zack, which isn't a bad name, but they got the name from the black power ranger and the parents actually accepted the suggestion and went with Zack!
I have a friend from college- legal name Kathryn. Went by Kitty all through college. At some point after college, she became Kat. So there was this odd balance of when you became friends with her and what you called her. Got confusing sometimes.
Also, my sister once dated a Chris. His legal name was Chris but people INSISTED on calling him Christopher all the time- or putting it on things. He got very annoyed by that.
I have a HS friend who's legal name is Katie. She said that was one way to weed out her junk mail or telemarketers. People who didn't know who her used "Katherine".
My roommate in college had a friend from her hometown who at the wise age of 4, was allowed to name her younger sister, Precious Beautiful.
This gif is the best.
Agreed. Also, this was how my parents had a dog named Sweetie for 16 years. When you let 3 girls aged 2, 6, and 8 name your dog, you get something extremely girly.
We got a dog when I was 3. I wanted to name her Raggedy Ann. Did not happen. Can't imagine if my parents had tried to let me name a human being. Boy? Donatello because he's the best ninja turtle or Kit Cloudkicker because TailSpin was an awesome show. Girl? Gosalyn Mallard.
OMG. My neighbors (at the time, ages 7 and 5, I think) were allowed to suggest names for their future baby brother. They came up with Zack, which isn't a bad name, but they got the name from the black power ranger and the parents actually accepted the suggestion and went with Zack!
Is that how you spell Zack? I thought it was Zach...do people spell it both ways?
My mom's name is Joan. At some point in middle school, the mother of one of my friends took it upon herself to call my mom Joanie. Totally unsolicited. It made my mom so ragey.
And she would even introduce my mom to new people as Joanie!
I know a girl with whose name is Jenniffer. Yes, with two f's.
I just read an article on USAToday that the Frozen craze is so big that people are naming their kids Sven. The article quoted an actor in the show saying "if it gets to the point where you are naming your child after a reindeer, you really need to get yourself checked out."
I know a girl with whose name is Jenniffer. Yes, with two f's.
I just read an article on USAToday that the Frozen craze is so big that people are naming their kids Sven. The article quoted an actor in the show saying "if it gets to the point where you are naming your child after a reindeer, you really need to get yourself checked out."
This made me laugh because Sven is a valid name anyway, primarily in Scandinavia. My mom and sister and I had a really hot waiter named Sven once (he was indeed Scandinavian). After, we used to joke for years if we came across a hot service worker we'd say, "My waiter / plumber / UPS guy was a total Sven!"
I have a friend from college- legal name Kathryn. Went by Kitty all through college. At some point after college, she became Kat. So there was this odd balance of when you became friends with her and what you called her. Got confusing sometimes.
Also, my sister once dated a Chris. His legal name was Chris but people INSISTED on calling him Christopher all the time- or putting it on things. He got very annoyed by that.
I'm also a Kathryn... I've been called everything under the sun. As a kid (and still to family and friends from childhood), I was Katie, which was fine back then but I started getting uncomfortable introducing myself as Katie towards the end of college. At work, I go by Kathryn, mostly because I was too shy on my first day to correct anyone. Outside of work, I'm Kate. It's nice to have the options. But then, I get called Kat (which I don't mind terribly but it's not really me) and the dreaded KATHY. It's like people see the Y in my name and forget the R and the N. I really really hate being called Kathy.
I'm also a Kathryn... I've been called everything under the sun. As a kid (and still to family and friends from childhood), I was Katie, which was fine back then but I started getting uncomfortable introducing myself as Katie towards the end of college. At work, I go by Kathryn, mostly because I was too shy on my first day to correct anyone. Outside of work, I'm Kate. It's nice to have the options. But then, I get called Kat (which I don't mind terribly but it's not really me) and the dreaded KATHY. It's like people see the Y in my name and forget the R and the N. I really really hate being called Kathy.
YES.
People think I'm irrational over this, but it's not my name damnit!
I'm Katherine and I still get Kathy. There is no "y" to be seen in my name. I don't get it.
My roommate in college had a friend from her hometown who at the wise age of 4, was allowed to name her younger sister, Precious Beautiful.
I have a cute story. When my mom's cousin was pregnant with their second child their oldest (he was about 6 at the time) kept calling the baby Stephanie. They had no idea if they were having a boy or a girl or anything yet but he kept insisting that the baby was Stephanie. He was very very adamant. So when the baby was born and was a girl they named her Stephanie.
I'm also a Kathryn... I've been called everything under the sun. As a kid (and still to family and friends from childhood), I was Katie, which was fine back then but I started getting uncomfortable introducing myself as Katie towards the end of college. At work, I go by Kathryn, mostly because I was too shy on my first day to correct anyone. Outside of work, I'm Kate. It's nice to have the options. But then, I get called Kat (which I don't mind terribly but it's not really me) and the dreaded KATHY. It's like people see the Y in my name and forget the R and the N. I really really hate being called Kathy.
YES.
People think I'm irrational over this, but it's not my name damnit!
I'm Katherine and I still get Kathy. There is no "y" to be seen in my name. I don't get it.
It's not irrational at all. I totally get it. It's a respect thing for me. That is not my name. Please call me by my name. I call you by yours.
A few more/comments on stuff other people posted/followup
I also hate -leigh instead of -ly. I went to school with a girl named Ashleigh who we all hated and behind her back we all called her "Ash-LAY" like immature third graders (this was literally in grad school).
I'm on the opposite side as some people re: nicknames. I hate hate HATE when NICKNAMES are used as given names. My cousin named her son Liam. Liam is not a name. William is a name, for which Liam is a nickname. That is the entire point of nicknames.
I also went to middle school with a girl named Unique. Literally.
Also, a girl from college who I cannot stand. She embodies all of the negative stereotypes about southern sororities - super rich and pretentious, overly concerned about her appearance, always decked out on Lilly Pulitzer and Jack Rodgers, very vaguely racist, etc. She named her daughter Ellora. I figured it wasn't a real name and googled it. For SO long I was tempted to comment on one of her posts about the baby "That's awesome, I didn't know you and your husband were such huge Star Trek fans!"
A few more/comments on stuff other people posted/followup
I also hate -leigh instead of -ly. I went to school with a girl named Ashleigh who we all hated and behind her back we all called her "Ash-LAY" like immature third graders (this was literally in grad school).
I'm on the opposite side as some people re: nicknames. I hate hate HATE when NICKNAMES are used as given names. My cousin named her son Liam. Liamis not a name. William is a name, for which Liam is a nickname. That is the entire point of nicknames.
I also went to middle school with a girl named Unique. Literally.
Also, a girl from college who I cannot stand. She embodies all of the negative stereotypes about southern sororities - super rich and pretentious, overly concerned about her appearance, always decked out on Lilly Pulitzer and Jack Rodgers, very vaguely racist, etc. She named her daughter Ellora. I figured it wasn't a real name and googled it. For SO long I was tempted to comment on one of her posts about the baby "That's awesome, I didn't know you and your husband were such huge Star Trek fans!"
I'm pretty sure Liam is totally a name on it's own. I've literally never heard it as a nickname for William.
Re: Worst Baby Names
Also, my sister once dated a Chris. His legal name was Chris but people INSISTED on calling him Christopher all the time- or putting it on things. He got very annoyed by that.
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fka dallasbetch
LOL I know a Dorcas too. Awful isn't it!
One of my friends named her son, Amare after the b-ball player, and my ex-husband to this day calls him Atari...
This gif is the best.
.. (Pronounced "Umlaut")
--William Shakespeare (Sonnet 25)
My full name is Jennifer. I'm okay with being called Jennifer, Jenny, or Jen. I've also spelled Jenny as Jenni so I'm okay with that too.
I don't go by Jenna, however. If someone called me "Jenna" it would not occur to me that they meant me. My best friend of many years was also full-named Jennifer and her nickname of choice was Jenna. Going by different nicknames made it easier for our families and friends to tell us apart.
And she would even introduce my mom to new people as Joanie!
I just read an article on USAToday that the Frozen craze is so big that people are naming their kids Sven. The article quoted an actor in the show saying "if it gets to the point where you are naming your child after a reindeer, you really need to get yourself checked out."
Of course, if I had been allowed to name a little sister at that age, she would have been Ariel Belle.
I have a cute story. When my mom's cousin was pregnant with their second child their oldest (he was about 6 at the time) kept calling the baby Stephanie. They had no idea if they were having a boy or a girl or anything yet but he kept insisting that the baby was Stephanie. He was very very adamant. So when the baby was born and was a girl they named her Stephanie.