"I wish my mom named me ________."

Have you ever wished your parents had chosen a different name for you?

What name do you wish was yours, and why?

Ex:

  • Was there a girl growing up with a name you just loved?
  • Or maybe a sibling or a cousin has the name you wish was yours?
  • Perhaps you just had one of those “wow, what a beautiful name” moments…

Back story:
I’m expecting a baby girl in a few weeks and am so confused about what to name her! I’m hoping to uncover some gems I haven’t thought of, and I just think it’s a fun question :slight_smile: Thanks in advance!!!

[name_u]Ever[/name_u] since I could speak, I’ve been “renaming” myself! As a young child, I remember wanting to be called Semhar, [name_f]Layla[/name_f], [name_f]Acacia[/name_f], [name_f]Shirley[/name_f], [name_f]Oksana[/name_f], [name_f]Ivy[/name_f], [name_f]Mercedes[/name_f]… my taste was all over the place. Now I usually use [name_f]Christine[/name_f] as my “coffee shop” or online name. It’s not my taste in terms of naming a future child, but I love it on myself.

I don’t think it’s to everyone’s taste, but ever since I met a woman named [name_u]Echo[/name_u] when I was 6, I have always wished that was my name. It’s simple but striking and not a name you hear everywhere. Growing up with a name where there were always, always other girls in class who shared it, I just wanted something that wasn’t everywhere, but also didn’t necessarily command attention. I also remember wishing I was [name_f]Winifred[/name_f] ([name_f]Winnie[/name_f]) when I was like 4 because I thought it went better with my little sister’s name, [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f]. Which is pretty funny because I’d find them way too matchy now.

Other names I remember from when I was in school that I always really liked:
[name_f]Wednesday[/name_f]
Maricruz
[name_f]Itzel[/name_f]
[name_f]Lorelei[/name_f]
[name_f]Signy[/name_f]
[name_f]Emerald[/name_f] (who had sister’s named [name_u]Ruby[/name_u] and [name_f]Pearl[/name_f])
[name_f]Johanna[/name_f]
[name_f]Ingrid[/name_f]
[name_f]Mercedes[/name_f]

I grew up in a time where most girls my age were [name_u]Kelsey[/name_u], [name_u]Ashley[/name_u], [name_f]Britney[/name_f], [name_u]Haley[/name_u], [name_f]Amanda[/name_f], [name_f]Marissa[/name_f], [name_u]Andrea[/name_u], [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f]. So the names that stood out then still stick with me.

I remember wishing my name was [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] when I was little. I have no idea why! Maybe after the dragon?? I really don’t like the name now though, so it amuses me a lot lol

I don’t really think about renaming myself nowadays. My name is already unique, so I don’t feel like I need to stand out any more. shrug
(for those thinking “it’s not that unique”, [name_u]Kay[/name_u] is just an NN :stuck_out_tongue: ).

As a child I actually loved my name and never wanted to change it. I did like some of my friends names too, but the longest lasting one -one I still love to this day, would be a name of a girl I met in [name_f]Sunday[/name_f] school: [name_f]Violetta[/name_f]. It’s just so beautiful and romantic and more unexpected than [name_f]Violet[/name_f]. It’s on my short list for a future babe’s name. ”

I have always wanted the name [name_f]Julia[/name_f]/[name_u]Jules[/name_u] for myself.

[name_u]Ever[/name_u] since I found out one of the names my parents considered to name me was [name_f]Astrid[/name_f], I’ve always wanted to be named that instead!

But if I ever decide to change my name today I’d either go for [name_f]Saga[/name_f] or Amaranthe!

[name_f]Tuesday[/name_f] or [name_f]Wednesday[/name_f] maybe :joy:
People often compare me to [name_f]Wednesday[/name_f] Addams. I also always thought that [name_u]Ruby[/name_u] fit me. But no one sees it on me :frowning:

Thanks for all the great replies to this thread!!! It was really fun reading what came to mind. I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_f]Violetta[/name_f], it reignited my interest in [name_f]Violet[/name_f] as a possibility for our daughter. Thanks again!!!

I’ve always wanted to be called [name_f]Renee[/name_f], but in my mother’s culture [name_f]Renee[/name_f] is a man’s name and the only [name_f]Renee[/name_f] I’ve met is a boy.

Now that I’m older I’ve started to love my name, but sometimes I still wish I was a [name_f]Renee[/name_f] :slight_smile:

I occasionally wish I’d been named [name_f]Frances[/name_f] or another F name: [name_f]Farrah[/name_f], Faraday, [name_f]Flora[/name_f], [name_f]Fay[/name_f] or [name_f]Francine[/name_f].

[name_u]Love[/name_u] them! And I love [name_f]Franny[/name_f] or Francy as nn’s. Used [name_f]Frances[/name_f] as my daughter’s middle. She’s 2 and loves telling people it’s her middle name. Bless. Probably knows I love it!

Only popular F name I don’t like is [name_u]Frankie[/name_u].

I wanted to be [name_u]Julie[/name_u]. Until I met a [name_f]Gemma[/name_f] in my teens, then I was (and still am) hooked on that name!

I spent my entire life wishing my parents had given me a different name! I wanted to be either [name_f]Veronica[/name_f] or [name_f]Loretta[/name_f]. I did change my name but to something quite different. I renamed myself after my favourite singer.

I wanted to be named [name_f]Julia[/name_f] when I was little. I don’t think I really cared too much about my name until I was maybe 21, when I really fell in love with my name. When I was a kid everyone called me [name_f]Katie[/name_f] or [name_f]Katelyn[/name_f], and I never cared too much for either of those. From high school on, though, I’ve always introduced myself as [name_f]Kate[/name_f] and when I was in college I really started to love that. It fits me perfectly, I think.

Most of the names I would like for myself I don’t necessarily like in general. I wish I had a more classic, timeless name like [name_f]Mary[/name_f], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f], [name_f]Victoria[/name_f], or [name_f]Catherine[/name_f]. There are even some names that I hate in general that I would be fine with as my name ([name_f]Nancy[/name_f] “[name_f]Nance[/name_f]” or [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] “[name_u]Jess[/name_u]” both are names that my parents considered). To a lesser degree there are names like [name_f]Isabella[/name_f], [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], [name_f]Marta[/name_f], and [name_f]Elena[/name_f] that aren’t as “classic” but are still fairly ageless. The main things that I would look for in a name for myself are timeless (I don’t like that my name is fairly young and came into style and then fairly quickly became somewhat tacky) and international (I would want a name that is well known or fairly well recognized in other countries and languages versus a very “English/American” name).

I desperately wanted to be named [name_f]Bronwyn[/name_f] growing up! I found out my parents had considered it, but instead went with one of the most popular names of the year. That meant I was always name plus my last initial and i hated it! I always compared myself to one of the many more outgoing/cool girls with my name. I have often wondered if I might have had a more outgoing personality if i had been named bronwyn, since I wouldn’t have blended into the crowd!

[name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]. I’ve always loved how classic and universal it is and the many, many, nickname options. My favourites are [name_f]Libby[/name_f], [name_f]Zibby[/name_f], [name_f]Bess[/name_f], [name_f]Beth[/name_f], [name_f]Eliza[/name_f], [name_f]Liza[/name_f]

[name_f]Margo[/name_f]. I would have been an awesome [name_f]Margo[/name_f] :smiley:

What a fun idea :slight_smile: I actually don’t think I’ve ever wanted to change my name - [name_f]Heather[/name_f]. It’s most things I like about a name. Instantly recognizable, easy to spell and pronounce, yet not so common that I ever had to go by my initial. It doesn’t lend well to nicknames or jokes, though very few people who have tried to call me “heath” (not my favourite, lol). Distinctly female but not dainty. Few people associate the name with any particular meaning (at least in [name_u]North[/name_u] [name_u]America[/name_u]), though it is a flower in [name_f]Scotland[/name_f]! I think it would be a great name to pick nowadays, and it’s much less popular than when I was born!

As a child I always wanted to be called [name_f]Lea[/name_f]/[name_f]Leah[/name_f], because I come from an bilingual background and many people where I lived weren’t able to pronounce my own name.
My favourite story was about a girl called [name_f]Lea[/name_f] and I was just amazed my the fact that the name could be pronounced in many different languages, especially my two native languages!