[name_f]My[/name_f] story goes quite far back. [name_f]My[/name_f] name is R@chel and I was in the 6th grade when I first started trying to alter my name. I shared a name with 5 other kids at school and didn’t like feeling common, especially since my brother had a VERY memorable name! [name_f]My[/name_f] parents are traditional and when I voiced my desires to change it, they were not open to any changes.
I guess it’s also worth noting that my grandmother HATES her name and is her 80s and still talks about it often, my mom hates her name, and I do not like mine either. Yet nobody has changed it. I’ve had “chances” like marriage, college, etc…but I always chicken out. We have a move in schools and social scenes (still within our current city, though) coming up and I am really tempted to finally DO IT!
@kachenka on here suggested to do my initials RB and turn it to [name_f]Ruby[/name_f]. I get butterflies thinking about it. I LOVE this name so much more than mine! I would still keep my original name, but would like to add it in as a first. Ru6y R@chel Bl@ire.
Thanks for reading this and caring to do so!
Please come on with your thoughts (I welcome them) and I’d be especially curious to know if anyone has changed names in their 30s…
I absolutely don’t think it’s too late! It will sound sappy, but it’s never too late to do something that makes you happy – and if someone else thinks it’s weird, who cares? It’s harmless and brings you joy! Ruby makes a lot of sense to me as a nickname from your initials, so you don’t even have to legally change your name if you feel like that change is too much. But, if you do want to make Ruby your legal first name, I think that works too! You would still have R@chel in there, so it’d be easy to explain away why some family members call you R@chel as “they call me by my middle name” so you wouldn’t even have to explain your name change to others if you don’t want to. I’d say to go for it! Maybe you could try using the name Ruby socially before you make the change legally, to see how it feels?
It’s never too late to live more authentically! Everyone does things on their own timeline. You could inspire others who’ve wanted to make a change but felt too alone to take the plunge.
@tallemaja This made me teary. Such sound advice to test it out first and I will do just that and then see how it feels.
@catherine89 Thank you for this kindness. It’s funny how I would 1000% give this advice to someone else and cheer them on, but with myself I’m like “how could you even consider this?” And I worry about people thinking I’m having some mid-30s crisis when I’m really not. I just feel like I want to have a choice in something that has not felt good to me…ever!
I understand this feeling well as when I turned 18, I changed my first, middle, and last name for no other reason than I wanted to. I never loved my name and also was always 1 of 5 in a class. My family was wary at first but now, 5 years later everyone has forgotten anything changed. They all completely accept and use my new name. With the exception of one family member who doesnt accept me in general. I no longer have the cringing feeling every time my name is used and I feel so so comfortable being called my new name. I no longer care if people mispronounce it because I am so confident in being called what fits me. The ones who matter with change for you!
It may take a while to really feel like the new name fits you- don’t be alarmed or worried by this. It will all work out! There were moments when I felt like neither name was me. All it took was time.
I love Ruby! One bit of advice that I appreciated when I was picking a name was to just go with what you love. I spent of lot of time trying to pick a new name that would be an easy change for people and something that wouldnt be too hard for people to switch to. I ultimately decided on a name that has nothing to do with my previous one and I’m so grateful I didnt cater to others in a change that was for me anyways. So if Ruby is you- that’s amazing! But if you feel like you love another name that isnt so close to yours- people will adjust just fine!
It’s never too late! I also think you can come up with some type of reason not to at any age. At 30 people may say it’s a midlife crisis and like me at 18 people could have thought I was a stupid reckless teenager. None of it is true. You know who you are and why you’re doing it. Do this for you!
I’m so excited for you and wish you so much luck!! It’s so worth any of the hassle of changing your name to feel like you every day! Do it!!
[name_f]Do[/name_f] it! I changed my name at 26 and it went far smoother than I expected it would. Now if only I could figure out how to change it on nameberry!
I played off my name! I go by [name_f]Sadie[/name_f] which is a nickname for [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], but not a very common one at least around my parts.