Childhood Name Favorites?

Did you have any interesting/strange name favorites or made-up names when you were little? (This is inspired by that recent blog post about the poster’s childhood namelist.)

I wasn’t interested in names until a few years ago, so I never had any long lists. The only name I made up was the alternate name I gave myself at maybe 5, which was Kaana ([name_u]Kay[/name_u]-ah-na) [name_f]Marylin[/name_f] [name_u]Leaf[/name_u]. My last name is not actually [name_u]Leaf[/name_u], nor is my mother’s name [name_f]Marilyn[/name_f] but I pretended it was? I don’t know what I was thinking.
Then there was my imaginary friend, whom at a similar age to making up Kaana I named [name_f]Mara[/name_f]. Yes, [name_f]Mara[/name_f] as in [name_f]Mara[/name_f]-from-the-Bible as in name-meaning-bitterness, and I named her that not for the pretty sound of the name but for the Biblical meaning. I was a strange and dramatic child, and at the time I believed my family was prejudiced against me and I was perfection embodied.
We - my little sister and I - had a bunch of dolls too, but they were, with one exception, named fairly conservative names - [name_f]Rebecca[/name_f], [name_u]Joyce[/name_u], [name_f]Carrie[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f], and [name_f]Caroline[/name_f].

My sister’s alternate name was [name_f]Joanna[/name_f], and she at age 3 was responsible for that exception, our most, um, creative doll name. Oppicheeto. (Opp-uh-cheeto.) Inspired by Cheetos.

Later, when I was around 11 or 12, I loved lots of flowery-nature-E names that I’ve completely burned out on now, and some made-up ones. My list would have been something like [name_f]Elsa[/name_f] (before Frozen), [name_f]Elva[/name_f], Fauna, Ella, [name_f]Lilia[/name_f], Verda, [name_f]Elle[/name_f], [name_f]Eva[/name_f], Aira, Fira, Sylva, and then I also liked weekday names, month names, and gemstone names, but none in particular.

I remember the first name I’ve ever loved was [name_f]Veronica[/name_f] (saw it on the TV) and my favourite barbie doll was [name_f]Isabella[/name_f]. I don’t think I can ever use [name_f]Veronica[/name_f] anymore -at least not as a first, as [name_m]Ive[/name_m] already strongly associate it with a friend. [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] is on the short list for future daughter though. I don’t think I’ve ever made up anything strange. :slight_smile:

When I was in middle school I loved the name [name_f]Apple[/name_f]. My best friend’s mom at the time mentioned her co-worker’s kid with that name and I instantly fell in love. I thought it was so great and declared to everyone that that will be my daughter’s name. Anyways, it lost it’s jazz a few years later (puberty):smiley:

For boys though I always said to my mom I liked the name [name_u]Dexter[/name_u] and [name_m]Linus[/name_m] around that same time I fallen for [name_f]Apple[/name_f]. And I still like them! I definitely plan on using [name_m]Linus[/name_m] one day. I just adore the peanut character so much! I loved [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] [name_m]Brown[/name_m] growing up and [name_m]Linus[/name_m] was my favorite character. The name itself is great so it’s perfect for me. As for [name_u]Dexter[/name_u], I like it and I may very well use it but there are just a few other boy names I like a bit more. Another on my list (sorta from childhood, I was 17) is [name_m]Fox[/name_m]. I love it to death but I constantly picture a mini [name_m]Fox[/name_m] Mulder when I imagine a future son with this name lol. I don’t think that would stop me from using it though. It’s been my top boy’s name for years now.

I’ve noticed though that I stuck with many of my boy names than I do with the girls. I’m pretty open to most names for girls but I think that makes me pretty indecisive where as oppose to boys i’m much more picky and know what I don’t like.

I remember liking [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f] a lot because of [name_m]Aladdin[/name_m], Lol. That’s about it I didn’t really think about names until I was 18/19 years old. My favorites back then were [name_f]Myla[/name_f] [name_f]Jade[/name_f], [name_f]Lilah[/name_f], [name_u]Eden[/name_u], [name_m]Cole[/name_m], [name_m]Nolan[/name_m], & [name_m]Asher[/name_m].

I made up Shellra (inspired by seashells) when I was 5 or 6 years old and loved it for a few years. I also made up Malcra a little while after that. I loved [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] because there were all these “cool girls” in books named that. I liked [name_f]Veronica[/name_f] too. I don’t remember liking any boys’ names in particular as a child.

For some reason I was madly in love with the name [name_f]Bianca[/name_f] as a child.
And I had one imaginary friend who was called Aneba (Annieba) and they persisted for a long time (age 7 until I was about 12) and then someone told me that amebas were small germy things.

When I was very small, maybe four or five, I had an imaginary friend named [name_f]Vanessa[/name_f]. When I was a little bit older, I loved the name [name_f]Brittany[/name_f] and I had a [name_f]Barbie[/name_f] doll with that name. I can’t remember ever coming up with names for myself that didn’t exist, but I did insist that, if I had a son, I would name him Handsen. Pronounced “hand-son.”
My last name sounds sort of similar to that, and I thought it would be a good way to honor my last name without actually using my last name. Creative, I guess?
When I was maybe around ten, I fell in love with the names [name_f]Charity[/name_f], [name_m]Henry[/name_m], and [name_m]Charles[/name_m]. I suppose that was my first sibset. I do still love [name_m]Henry[/name_m] and [name_m]Charles[/name_m], but [name_m]Henry[/name_m] has lost some of its charm for me. [name_f]Charity[/name_f] isn’t a favorite of mine anymore, but I still like it.
I also remember being enamored with the name [name_f]Ariella[/name_f] when I was about twelve, which I (for some reason) can’t stand anymore.

Off the top of my head, I don’t think I came up with any names on my own. I focused on names that were around me at the time. The American Girl Dolls inspired some of my oldest favorites like [name_f]Samantha[/name_f] and [name_f]Felicity[/name_f], while [name_f]Clara[/name_f] came from “The Nutcracker” ballet. I’m not sure where [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] came from, but I’ve liked it for a long time as well.

For boys, many of them came from guys that were on a college team that I was around for awhile. I specifically remember an [name_m]Alistair[/name_m], [name_m]Dominic[/name_m], [name_m]Oliver[/name_m], and [name_m]Graham[/name_m]. I’m assuming [name_m]Gabriel[/name_m] came from when I still went to church.

I had imaginary friends named [name_f]Alyssa[/name_f] and [name_f]Sabrina[/name_f].

I’ve always loved names and when I was little I had imaginary children. They were: [name_f]Samantha[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] “[name_u]Sammy[/name_u]”, [name_u]Evan[/name_u] and [name_m]Eli[/name_m] (twins lol) (I used to love the name [name_m]Eli[/name_m] so much, now I love [name_m]Elijah[/name_m]), [name_f]Kaley[/name_f] (I LOVED this name), [name_u]Izzy[/name_u] which I’m pretty sure was short for [name_m]Isaiah[/name_m], and [name_f]Addie[/name_f], not short for anything.

I also made up names for my stuffed animals and imaginary friends, like I had a stuffed bear named Broner (brah-ner).

I loved [name_f]Brittany[/name_f] and [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] as a child. I also had an imaginary friend named So-So. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t ask me to explain that choice because I cannot. I remember hating the name [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] for no real reason.

As a kid it looked a little like this (excluding the ones still on my lists now)
Girls: Hadysin, Zeony, [name_f]Peony[/name_f], Raelie, J-[name_f]Lin[/name_f], [name_u]Alex[/name_u], [name_u]Max[/name_u], [name_m]Austin[/name_m], Celerity, Adysin, Madisin, [name_u]Hunter[/name_u], [name_u]Tyler[/name_u], [name_u]Tyson[/name_u], [name_u]Hayden[/name_u], [name_m]Tanner[/name_m], [name_m]Wilson[/name_m], [name_u]Kelsey[/name_u], [name_f]Samantha[/name_f], [name_f]Selena[/name_f], [name_f]Serena[/name_f], Selera, [name_f]Caylie[/name_f], [name_u]Sunny[/name_u], [name_u]Skylar[/name_u], [name_f]Phoebe[/name_f], [name_f]Danyela[/name_f], [name_f]Cadie[/name_f], [name_f]Olive[/name_f], [name_f]Kat[/name_f], [name_f]Natalie[/name_f]/[name_f]Natalia[/name_f], [name_f]Isabella[/name_f], [name_f]Nova[/name_f], [name_f]Hope[/name_f], [name_u]Ashley[/name_u], [name_f]Ashlyn[/name_f], [name_u]Ash[/name_u].
Boys: [name_m]Crash[/name_m], [name_m]Brian[/name_m], [name_u]Shane[/name_u], [name_u]James[/name_u], [name_m]Tobias[/name_m], [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m], [name_m]Gunther[/name_m], [name_m]Milo[/name_m], [name_m]Adam[/name_m], [name_m]Eric[/name_m], [name_m]Jakob[/name_m], [name_m]Derek[/name_m], [name_m]Drake[/name_m], Zuko, [name_u]Wyn[/name_u], [name_m]Brandt[/name_m], [name_u]Mason[/name_u], Masum, [name_m]Jax[/name_m], [name_m]Joshua[/name_m], [name_m]Ethan[/name_m], [name_u]Ollie[/name_u].

I had imaginary friends named [name_f]Donna[/name_f] & [name_f]Sue[/name_f] (we’re talking back in the '70s here). When I was an early teen I wrote a fairly long story (147 handwritten pages) about a girl who was named [name_f]Sonia[/name_f] nn [name_u]Sunny[/name_u]. I also used the name Valleri (from the Monkees song) for a much shorter (& abandoned) story.

The name that first got me interested in names as an 8-year-old or so was [name_u]Paris[/name_u] (on a boy). My mom told me about a family friend who had a son with that name and I was absolutely enchanted. (As a teenager I got the chance to finally meet that [name_u]Paris[/name_u] in person and he was every bit as cool as his name.)

Some names I assigned my most beloved toys were: [name_u]Bo[/name_u], [name_m]Chip[/name_m], [name_f]Amethyst[/name_f], [name_m]Boris[/name_m], [name_m]Waldo[/name_m], [name_f]Augusta[/name_f], [name_m]Dudley[/name_m], [name_f]Cleo[/name_f], and [name_m]Angelo[/name_m]. I used to get comments from grown-ups on how unique my toys’ names were, haha

I also used to go through & highlight or underline names from my aunt’s old baby names book that I liked. I still have it, heavily taped up and with several loose pages. Here are a few I had highlighted: [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f], [name_f]Caprice[/name_f], [name_f]Charmaine[/name_f], Leotie, [name_f]Jonquil[/name_f], Murdoch, [name_u]Emlyn[/name_u], [name_u]Urban[/name_u], [name_m]Laramie[/name_m], [name_f]Firth[/name_f] (I did have quite a crush on [name_m]Colin[/name_m] [name_f]Firth[/name_f] as a child…)

So yeah, I started early on the unusual names kick.

Oh gosh, I actually have a names list that I made eleven years ago - I would have been twelve or thirteen. Here are some highlights:

Ayven (Still love [name_u]Haven[/name_u].)
[name_f]Antigone[/name_f] (I was [and am] a theatre kid, which explains A LOT of these.)
[name_f]Aphrodite[/name_f]
Aviendha, [name_f]Birgitte[/name_f], Nynaeve, [name_f]Elayne[/name_f] (I was hugely into the “Wheel of Time” series by [name_m]Robert[/name_m] [name_u]Jordan[/name_u]. Have moved on to “A Song of Ice and [name_m]Fire[/name_m]”, but unfortunately my favorite characters are the ones everyone else hates, so I keep my love for their names a little more secret :P)
[name_f]Desdemona[/name_f]
[name_f]Elodie[/name_f]
[name_f]Jessa[/name_f] (This is my friend’s name, and I went through a phase where I was OBSESSED with it.)
[name_f]Juliet[/name_f]
[name_f]Lilian[/name_f]
[name_f]Lilith[/name_f]
[name_u]Madigan[/name_u] (Did anyone else read the “ttyl” series by [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] Myracle?)
[name_f]Naima[/name_f]
[name_f]Persephone[/name_f]
[name_f]Tibby[/name_f] (As you can tell, my tastes were vastly influenced by books, in this case “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”.)
[name_f]Titania[/name_f]

So yeah, things have really changed. :stuck_out_tongue: Partially because at the time I was unaware I would end up with a Latino SO and want to give my children Spanish names. I still enjoy names rooted in mythology, but the ones that make it onto my list tend to have more diverse origins now. And there’s still a disproportionate number of girls’ names that start with A that I adore.

the first names i ever remember liking are [name_u]Kennedy[/name_u], [name_f]Annabelle[/name_f], [name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_f]Kaitlyn[/name_f], [name_f]Rhiannon[/name_f], [name_u]Aspen[/name_u], [name_f]Ella[/name_f]-[name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_f]Poppy[/name_f] and [name_f]Millie[/name_f]. it’s funny how 10-15 years later, some of these are names S/O and I are considering!

Mine were pretty normal, but influenced by my favourite TV show ([name_m]Doctor[/name_m] Who). Going chronologically I liked:

[name_f]Imogen[/name_f] [name_f]Elspeth[/name_f] & [name_m]Alonzo[/name_m]
[name_f]Imogen[/name_f] [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] & [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] [name_f]Breanne[/name_f] ‘[name_u]Rory[/name_u]’
[name_f]Pandora[/name_f] [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] [name_f]Breanne[/name_f] ‘[name_u]Rory[/name_u]’, and [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] [name_u]Orion[/name_u]
[name_f]Pandora[/name_f] [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] [name_f]Breanne[/name_f], and [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] [name_u]Hunter[/name_u]/ [name_u]Hunter[/name_u] [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]
Then when I properly got into names: [name_f]Pandora[/name_f] [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], [name_m]Caspian[/name_m] [name_m]Edmund[/name_m], & [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] and I wanted a girl name with nickname [name_f]Fae[/name_f]/[name_f]Faye[/name_f] etc.

[name_m]Way[/name_m] back in my childhood years, I was fond playing [name_f]Barbie[/name_f] dolls as well as dressing them up. I remembered I named one of them as Cathleeya and I am really hooked with that name before. I ended up writing it in my notebooks and then as my teacher read the names on it, she will call out the name Cathleeya. The fact was that no one of us who’s name is Cathleeya and I suddenly chuckled, walked in front and then told my teacher that it was really my stuffs, just written with the other name. Lol.

I never really paid much attention to boys names growing up, but I was crazy about all sorts of girls names. My favourites were [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] and [name_f]Kaitlin[/name_f] (I’m pretty sure), but when I was a little younger, maybe 7-9, I loved jewel names. [name_u]Ruby[/name_u], [name_f]Sapphire[/name_f], [name_f]Emerald[/name_f], [name_f]Amethyst[/name_f], [name_u]Onyx[/name_u], [name_f]Topaz[/name_f], [name_f]Turquoise[/name_f].

I can’t think of any names I ‘made-up’ but as a kid I remember thinking it would be so great to name my first daughter [name_f]Brittany[/name_f] and then our names would rhyme. I loved it and told everyone about my plan which my family still teases me out.