If you could pick your own name today...

General Name Discussion
1

So the story goes (at least, by my parents!) that I was the one that actually picked my name when I was born (which I find ironic, since I’m not too fond of it now. I would have much preferred one of their other choices, [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] [name_f]Danae[/name_f]!). And as today is my birthday, it has me thinking of what name I would have picked now, after I’ve had years, rather than seconds, to think on it. :slight_smile:

So if I could have submitted a name option to my parents 27 years ago, as the perfect name for the present me, I think I would have offered up [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f]. :slight_smile: [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] because it suits me, [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] because I know it’s a name they actually liked, and [name_f]Grace[/name_f] after my favorite grandma. I’d even be okay with [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] [name_f]Grace[/name_f]. :slight_smile: I’d even be willing to offer up some back-ups, too: [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] [name_f]Kate[/name_f], [name_f]Annabel[/name_f] [name_f]Sofia[/name_f] [name_f]Daisy[/name_f], [name_f]Lena[/name_f] [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_f]Grace[/name_f] [name_f]Emilia[/name_f] [name_f]Fleur[/name_f], or [name_f]Lydia[/name_f] [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] [name_f]Elise[/name_f] “Liddy”.

What about you? If you could have submitted the perfect name to your parents for the modern-day you, what name would you pick?

2

[name_f]HAPPY[/name_f] BIRTHDAY

[name_f]Aurora[/name_f] [name_u]Ashley[/name_u]/[name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f] sounds beautiful!

I personally detest my real name, and my parents personally detest the name I picked for myself, so I dunno what I’d do. [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] is what I’ve wanted to change it to since I was 8 or 9 (could have been a tad older I can’t remember right now) but now with TFIOS…

Probably [name_u]Jodie[/name_u], actually. I think I could totally rock that. Mum hates that one too though. She only likes trendy gender-obscure names.

3

Thank you, @steampunkleo! Your FN is [name_u]Jordan[/name_u], right? I think you could totally pull [name_u]Jodie[/name_u] from that, if you wanted. :slight_smile: But I know what you mean. I sort of go by [name_f]Annabel[/name_f] at work, sometimes, and I think if my mom thought of me going by [name_f]Annabel[/name_f] or [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], she would be none-too-happy. :slight_smile:

4

[name_f]Happy[/name_f] birthday!!!
Also, my name is [name_u]Jordan[/name_u], and I’m quite okay with it. I wouldn’t mind being a [name_f]Hazel[/name_f], a [name_f]Frances[/name_f], a [name_f]Louise[/name_f] or an [name_f]Erin[/name_f] instead, though.
As I got it, your real name is [name_u]Ashley[/name_u]? I love it, especially on girls! :slight_smile: Other names you’ve written about are beautiful, but to my mind, [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] is a tad too sweet and tied with the Disney princess. I like [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] better. :stuck_out_tongue:

5

[name_f]Happy[/name_f] Birthday, [name_u]Ashley[/name_u]! Wishing you loads of happiness and permanent good mood. :slight_smile:
I could have been a [name_f]Maria[/name_f], but I don’t like it, so maybe my own name is not that bad. Still, I like my sisters’ name better.
My dream name was always [name_f]Victoria[/name_f] despite the fact neither my mother nor my father like it.

7

I’m not fond of the “cheerleader” connotations of [name_u]Kimberly[/name_u].
Definitely not something I would have picked for myself.

I think I’d have gone with [name_f]Margo[/name_f], [name_f]Noelle[/name_f] ([name_f]Nell[/name_f]), or [name_u]Dara[/name_u]

8

I think I would have offered up [name_f]Belle[/name_f] as my FN.
My mom nicknamed me [name_f]Belle[/name_f] from the moment I was born, since I wasn’t named for about 3 or 4 days because I was supposed to be a boy. I asked a few times why she just didn’t make [name_f]Belle[/name_f] official.

9

[name_f]Happy[/name_f] Birthday! (I’m also a twenty-something aspiring novelist–we have so much in common.)

My name is [name_f]Stephanie[/name_f]. My mom’s choice. My dad wanted to name me [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] after his favorite grandmother. I’m glad I am [name_f]Stephanie[/name_f] over [name_f]Madeline[/name_f], even if [name_f]Stephanie[/name_f] seems more “dated” right now? I like it, though sometimes I wish it were [name_f]Stephania[/name_f]. (steh-[name_f]FAWN[/name_f]-ya) But, [name_u]Steph[/name_u] is a fun nickname, and I always felt like it was kinda a cheerleader and therefore hot girl name? :wink:

Anyway, but if I could pick, I think I would have told them to name me:

[name_f]Ivy[/name_f] Lycoris [name_f]Blythe[/name_f]

That’s what I imagine my name is in the alternate dimension where I’m at Hogwarts. :wink:

10

[name_f]HAPPY[/name_f] BIRTHDAY!!! :smiley: [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] is gorgeous, and one of my oldest name loves. Also, out of interest, how did you name yourself? I keep imagining a baby looking through all the options, and just saying no, yes, maybe to everything lol.

I’ve never really thought I suit my name (neither does my mum), but I can’t imagine being called anything else now. Plus I like how my dad chose it, and there aren’t many names I like that work with my surname. My perfect me (i.e. Confident, cool, intelligent etc.) perfect name is probably [name_f]Scarlet[/name_f] [name_f]Athena[/name_f] plus 2nd middle. Maybe [name_f]Scarlet[/name_f] [name_f]Athena[/name_f] [name_u]Jay[/name_u]? Or possibly another first that has nn [name_m]Jam[/name_m]/[name_f]Jami[/name_f], since I’m more used to that as my nn.

11

Haha, I love all of these responses! And thank you for all the birthday wishes, as well. I’m stuck inside because of the snow (yes, snow, on the first day of spring! I swear, the weather here hates me. I like that there’s still snow around, surprisingly, but I wish I could have gone out to do something on my birthday, since I have the day off, lol), but it was nice catching up on some TV and doing a bit of writing. As far as life can go at this point, it’s pretty good, but either having all my loans paid off or a job offer would have been the best present I could have gotten, haha.

@adelina_sophia and @myosotis (sp?) - erm, yes. They had three names picked out ([name_u]Ashley[/name_u] [name_f]Marie[/name_f], [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] [name_f]Danae[/name_f]/[name_f]Denee[/name_f] (I think they planned on the latter spelling, but I think [name_f]Danae[/name_f] looks better), and [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f] Eileeen), and since they had no clue when I arrived, my dad held me in his arms and tried out first [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f], and I cried bloody-murder. Then they tried out [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f], and I still whimpered. They tried [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] last, and I was happy as a clam, so I guess that’s how I picked my own name. haha. Sometimes I wonder if that was actually their favorite, but ah, well. My sister ended up with the MN [name_f]Eileen[/name_f], and my distant cousin [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f], so I guess it’s fine that I ended up [name_u]Ashley[/name_u], but I would have liked the femininity of [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f], and the unusual [name_f]Danae[/name_f]/[name_f]Denee[/name_f]. I just think [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] [name_f]Danae[/name_f] is a really great combo. I would have rocked being [name_f]Annie[/name_f], or even [name_u]Allie[/name_u]. Although I’m sure I would have ended up an [name_u]Alex[/name_u] by default, knowing how predictable my dad is when it comes to naming.

@ablur - haha, well, I share my name with my uncle, so I don’t find it that attractive for girls, to be honest. Not a bad name, and I like some of the ties to it, and I think [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] suits me pretty well, but I find it rather blah and boring, and I would have liked being [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f], or even [name_f]Annabel[/name_f] (which I sometimes go by at work–it’s a long story!) more. Then again, if I actually WAS [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f], [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], or [name_f]Annabel[/name_f], who knows how I’d actually feel. haha.

12

[name_f]Happy[/name_f] Birthday!

I think I’d stick to [name_u]Haley[/name_u], but change the spelling to [name_f]Hayley[/name_f] or [name_f]Hayleigh[/name_f], and throw [name_f]Claire[/name_f] or [name_f]Rose[/name_f] onto the end of my name, to follow the tradition in my mum’s family that no one carried on (double middles). [name_f]Claire[/name_f] and [name_f]Rose[/name_f] are parts of my aunty’s name, the sister that my mum ironically is closest to, so it’d be perfect.

I also love my mum’s idea for my sister: [name_f]Lillian[/name_f] [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]. I’d love to be called [name_f]Lillian[/name_f] [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f].

13

I actually quite like my name as it is! I have so many nickname options that I can basically change my name as and when it suits me.

If I were to pick a different name… maybe [name_f]Layla[/name_f] (after the [name_m]Derek[/name_m] and the Dominoes song), [name_u]Vesper[/name_u] (after the [name_m]Bond[/name_m] girl), [name_f]Saskia[/name_f], [name_u]Sacha[/name_u], [name_f]Phoebe[/name_f] or [name_f]Hannah[/name_f]. No reasons why specifically. The funny thing is I’m quite tomboyish but all those names to me seem pretty and feminine! Maybe I’m getting in touch with my girly side at last!

14

Joyeux Anniversaire [name_u]Ash[/name_u]!

I would be [name_u]Wren[/name_u] but I’m not sure about middles. I thought about [name_f]Morwenna[/name_f] nn [name_u]Wren[/name_u] which would lead to more mn options. Although I quite like my own name, I just wish I had found my nickname sooner and used it through my childhood.

15

[name_f]Happy[/name_f] Birthday!! I hope you’ve had a good day!
I went through a phase of hating my first name but it’s grown on me and I definitely prefer it to my Dad’s original suggestion of [name_f]Samantha[/name_f]! I still don’t like my middle though. I think that’s probably because I know so many people with the same ‘filler’ middle and that I’ve meet a few with [name_f]Louise[/name_f] as a first who weren’t very pleasant. I really wish I had a family middle like my brother.
I think if I could pick a name for myself, today it would be [name_f]Nell[/name_f] [name_f]Joanna[/name_f]. A first I love and an honour name middle.

16

I see myself as a [name_f]Vera[/name_f] today. That’s mostly because people in my family don’t like [name_f]Ekaterina/name_f they wouldn’t pronounce it right anyway.

17

I think [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] actually suits me rather well; I just wish it wasn’t an honor name. I’d rather have a name my parents loved and chose just for me rather than to honor somebody else (my grandmother, in this case). Not sure about my dad’s style, but I know [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] and [name_f]Jacqueline[/name_f] were two of my mother’s favorites when she was pregnant with my little sister (who ended up being named [name_f]Laura[/name_f]). I wouldn’t have minded either of those names, although now that my daughter’s name is [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], I wouldn’t choose [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] for myself today. I remember Mom also mentioning she liked [name_u]Lisa[/name_u]. [name_u]Lisa[/name_u]'s not really my style, but I would have loved being an [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], maybe with a nickname of [name_f]Beth[/name_f] to keep the [name_m]Little[/name_m] Women connection that led to my real nickname of [name_f]Meg[/name_f]. For a middle name, maybe my confirmation name of [name_f]Veronica[/name_f]? [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] [name_f]Veronica[/name_f] is really nice.

18

I wouldn’t actually rename myself because I think my name actually suits me. But if I did, I would choose [name_f]Eliza[/name_f]. I think it would fit me very well.

@ashthedreamer, [name_f]Happy[/name_f] belated birthday, I have always admired your naming style. And you seem like such a nice person:).

19

[name_f]Happy[/name_f] belated birthday, [name_u]Ash[/name_u]! Best wishes x

I’m fond of my name now, but I always wished that my parents had gone with some of their (cough, my mom’s) other options. My mom considered [name_f]Lina[/name_f], which I quite like, as well as [name_f]Anna[/name_f], [name_f]Liva[/name_f], [name_f]Cornelia[/name_f]. All with super rare family middle names that I don’t want to post here. My aunt begged my parents to call me [name_f]Martine[/name_f], but alas, my father was very adamant that I’d be named what I’m called now. Ironically, my best friend has called me [name_f]Martina[/name_f] from the first day we met (without me telling him the story). I used to go by my middle name, which has a similar sound, and he mistakenly called me [name_f]Martina[/name_f] - it just stuck!

[name_m]Long[/name_m] story short: I think I’d love to be a [name_f]Martina[/name_f]. Maybe [name_f]Martina[/name_f] [name_f]Liv[/name_f]?

20

[name_f]Happy[/name_f] Birthday week! I have not been able to logon and my wishes are very late. You are memorable to me for your lovely name, taste and suggestions.
I feel old 'in my thirties" age. I really admire how you share knowledge.
If I could change my name today, I’d be [name_u]Ember[/name_u]. I like fire associated names. [name_u]Ember[/name_u] is a bit burned out.:smiley: I have been told I am fiery and sometimes it’s helped me in life, or not, but it’s why my love of names like [name_f]Rachel[/name_f] and [name_f]Grace[/name_f].([name_f]Aurora[/name_f] [name_u]Ashley[/name_u]/[name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f] sounds beautiful.) seems very inappropriate for me.
I am happy to have [name_f]Alessandra[/name_f] as one of my names I use [name_f]Alessandra[/name_f] or nn mostly.
[name_u]Ember[/name_u] or something compact. [name_u]Marian[/name_u] -Maid [name_u]Marian[/name_u] has impacted on me lately.
Have a lovely week [name_u]Ashley[/name_u]! [name_f]Snow[/name_f] and all. I once rang a (long term) friend a month earlier for her birthday. It was fun in the end. She had a month of birthday so maybe it would be appropriate to have more than a day.
Best wishes. [name_f]Alessandra[/name_f] @ Ornella.

21

[name_f]Happy[/name_f] belated birthday, [name_u]Ash[/name_u]. [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] is always a girl name for me, probably because I know/heard of a few female Ashleys before the male ones, so I tend to identify it as a girl name. [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] would definitely suit you though. And [name_f]Grace[/name_f], you’ll make a wonderful [name_f]Grace[/name_f]. :slight_smile:

I love my fn [name_f]Cynthia[/name_f], mostly because of its mythological connection and the story of how my dad kept this name in his mind since he was still dating my mom (dunno exactly how long, but definitely more than 5 years until my birth). Mom unofficially added a middle name when I was a toddler so it’s not on my birth certificate. I really hope to officially add it someday, as I believe [name_f]Cynthia[/name_f] [name_f]Angelina[/name_f] suits me. :slight_smile: if I ever have to choose another name, I’ll pick something related and perhaps add a second middle name. I’d love to name myself [name_f]Luna[/name_f] [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] [name_f]Audrey[/name_f].