I was reflecting the other day and decided that either [name]Emmeline[/name] or [name]Rhiannon[/name] would have suited little-girl-me perfectly (but don’t fit the person I currently am nearly as well.) It got me thinking about how people can grow into and out of names.
So if you could go back in time and rename kid you, what would you choose?
(Note: I’m not asking what you would have renamed yourself at 10, but what current you would name 10-year-old you.)
At that age I was a bit shy, but I still made a lot of friends. At that age I also identified more as Swedish than American, which is what I identify myself with at this age. So I would have chosen a sweet, maybe a shorter name, that sounds/is more Swedish than [name]Ashley[/name]. I think [name]Emmy[/name] or [name]Saga[/name] would have suited me perfectly at that age.
As a little little kid I was definitely a complete drama queen. Something like [name]Tallulah[/name], [name]Brigitte[/name] or [name]Josephina[/name] comes to mind (yes, all over the place, but those all give me the image of a spunky, outgoing, loud and in-charge little girl).
By age ten my style had developed into very alternative, still outgoing, definitely into music, etc. Except for my obvious “little girl” appearance, I definitely acted well older than my age and deserved a name a lot more mature too. Names I picture for ten-year-old me are things like [name]Aurora[/name], still [name]Brigitte[/name], [name]Demi[/name], [name]Eliana[/name], etc.
At 10…I loved the name [name]Jacqueline[/name], but probably something softer like [name]Shannon[/name] or [name]Seraphine[/name].
I was shy and a bit of a know-it-all. I also could be quite silly at times. I think [name]Sophie[/name] or [name]Clara[/name] would have suited me then.
Hm. I was a bit of weird one…something of a quiet, thoughtful hothead. Maybe [name]Lou[/name]. [name]Just[/name] [name]Lou[/name]. Or [name]Nic[/name]. [name]Nic[/name] makes sense, too.
I definitely was a quiet, thoughtful hothead (thanks lizgingermitch for a description!). I feel like [name]Elizabeth[/name] would work, since [name]Lizzy[/name] [name]Bennet[/name] comes to mind. I also feel like [name]Fiammetta[/name] would work too…something soft, but with a fiery meaning.
At the age of ten, I would probably be named [name]Claire[/name]. I was kind of shy around people then, but at home I was outgoing. This is what I imagine a [name]Claire[/name] would act like. 
[name]Violet[/name]. Small, thoughtful, a bit nerdy, but not completely introverted. Nature, but too curmudgeonly (yes, I was a curmudgeonly 10 year old) to be a hippie [name]Meadow[/name] [name]Rainbow[/name] type name.
Interesting responses! I feel like berries sometimes seem more self-aware than the general population.
I was Fiery, Feisty, and full of energy as a little girl…I think the name [name]Mieke[/name], [name]Liv[/name], tatiana, Sansa, larke…something spunky…
My name is [name]Natasha[/name], and I think this actually suits me quite well =) good job mama!
Me at ten? Ugh. I shudder to think about it. I was overweight, clunky, awkward, loud. I was also too smart for my own good and didn’t know how to handle it. I don’t recall being a real pleasant child and it’s a wonder I had any friends.
All that said, the first name that came to mind when you posed this question was [name]Wilma[/name]. [name]Gertrude[/name] would also fit. I would never, ever choose these name, but they definitely would have fit the obnoxious 10 year-old me.
My name is [name]Sarah[/name]. I think that name fit me as a kid, but doesn’t fit me now. But for the sake of this board, I would probably see myself as these names:
[name]Sierra[/name]
[name]Clara[/name]
Hmm I did this once on a quiz, and can’t remember the results. I wish I did, because I felt it fit me perfectly. It may have been [name]Sariah[/name]. So I think something similar to the name I have. I was once called [name]Rachel[/name] so maybe that one too.
As a child, I was bossy and rather willing to lie and create my own rules over my friends. And being around people, gathering attention, that was my forte. I’d say I was a [name_f]Maris[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f], [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] [name_f]Eliza[/name_f], Rowa [name_f]Marie[/name_f], or [name_f]Maya[/name_f] [name_f]Katherine[/name_f].
Around six or seven, I started developing my artistic skills, but I still had very much the same personality. I was just addicted to music, inched into being a spirited personality, and lost control of my clean habits. I could’ve been simply [name_f]Tara[/name_f] [name_f]Justine[/name_f], [name_u]Jessie[/name_u] [name_f]May[/name_f], or [name_u]Carlin[/name_u] [name_f]Nicole[/name_f] (names I dislike, that are just plain).
As for an early teenager, I was super outgoing and attention-demanding, but insecure. All my talents disappeared and I went to almost waste. I could’ve been called [name_u]Lindsey[/name_u] [name_f]Anne[/name_f], [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_f]Paige[/name_f] [name_f]Christine[/name_f], or [name_f]Cammie[/name_f] [name_f]Jane[/name_f] (names that are ridiculously mainstream, mostly out of inspiration from the dull friends that I wanted to be like).
But as a late teen/early adult, I’ve developed into my name, [name_u]Addison[/name_u]: preppy, clean cut, and (although suddenly mainstream) pretty unique. If it could change into the artistic, flighty new names I’ve always wanted, it’d probably be [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] [name_u]June[/name_u], [name_f]Abigail[/name_f] [name_f]Louise[/name_f], [name_u]Blair[/name_u] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], or [name_f]Colette[/name_f] [name_f]Marie[/name_f].
At age ten, I was very a loud, nosy child who liked to get into anything - the cookie jar, other people’s business, etc. I craved attention and often got it. I had a super large circle of friends but I wasn’t close to any of them, really. I was pretty tall (5’4’’ at late 10) and was a bit awkward. You could say I was a smart kid, I guess. I was in 6th grade at the age of 10. Names that might suit me:
[name_f]Daniella[/name_f]
[name_u]Taylor[/name_u]
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f]
[name_f]Katheryn[/name_f]
[name_u]Casey[/name_u]
[name_f]Camille[/name_f]
[name_f]Bella[/name_f]
[name_f]Larissa[/name_f]
[name_f]Hailey[/name_f]
[name_f]Victoria[/name_f]
[name_f]Jana[/name_f] [name_f]Alice[/name_f].
[name_f]Jana[/name_f] would be honoring my late maternal grandmother and [name_f]Alice[/name_f] would be honoring my paternal grandmother. [name_f]Jane[/name_f] is my late maternal grandmother’s name and my middle name. I always thought it would’ve been cool to be named after both of them.
That was around the time that I was most extroverted, but still very shy. I think I was an [name_f]Iris[/name_f] at 10.
Honestly? I have been a [name_f]Kate[/name_f] my entire life. I can’t think of another name that fits me better, at any time in my life. My SO thinks I am a [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] though…