What's the story behind your name?

General Name Discussion
1

[name]Hi[/name], Berries! I’ve been on here for a while and it seems that we do a lot of discussing of naming others… while we never talk about our own names! So, I’m curious: what’s the scoop behind your name? Why did your parents choose it for you? Did it hold meaning to them or did they just randomly choose it at the last second? Tell me all about it!

I guess I’ll go first: My mother lost her father, [name]Abraham[/name], when she was fourteen and her beloved older sister, [name]Elyse[/name] “[name]Lesi[/name]”, when she was 21 ([name]Elyse[/name] was 26 and died in childbirth; the baby sadly passed away, too). [name]Both[/name] my father and mother are nonreligious Jews, and so they decided to name their “double-yolker” twins after my mother’s late family members. Before she passed on, [name]Lesi[/name] had named her own daughter, [name]Ariel[/name], who was three when her mother died, after their father. So my nana tried to convince my mom that [name]Abraham[/name] was already accounted for and that she should name one of her twins after my nana’s late sister, [name]Fritzie[/name]. Oh man. [name]Both[/name] my mom and dad nixed that.

So! My parents thought of my twin’s name pretty early on: [name]Alexis[/name]. They loved the meaning behind it nd thought it was a very cute, strong name (even if my sister is ubiquitously known as [name]Lexi[/name]). My name came later. My parents didn’t dig a lot of e names, but they finaly settled on [name]Elana[/name]. Almost no one spells my name with an e, or at least they don’t where I live, so I feel quite unique :slight_smile:

Bonus: My mom’s name is [name]Carol[/name], but my grandparents could not decide on a name for her! She was almost named [name]Edith[/name], [name]Ethel[/name], and [name]Itka[/name]. They couldn’t settle on a name for so long that the nurses actually had to put down “Female” on my mother’s birth certificate, so technically her sex is her legal name! (Cue laughter). Anyway, on their first day home, my grandparents heard [name]Neil[/name] Sedaka’s “Oh, [name]Carol[/name]!” on the radio–and fell in love with the name. So, my mother was named [name]Carol[/name].

All right, now it’s your turn! [name]Don[/name]'t worry about being too long (I certainly didn’t). Spill the beans about your name!

2

My mom wanted my name to be [name]Clare[/name] [name]Lorraine[/name] (middle name after my grandmother). My dad wanted [name]Penelope[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] (nickname [name]Penny[/name] [name]Jo[/name]). My mom won the battle. Once I was born, my mom decided I really did not look like a [name]Clare[/name] at all. They decided on [name]Emily[/name] [name]Clare[/name] instead. I’m glad they didn’t go with the more common spelling of “[name]Claire[/name]” since my first name is already so common, and I will always be “[name]Emily[/name] [insert last initial]” in school.

3

I, myself am also a twin. My name is [name]Briallen[/name] Aerona and my mum has my name picked out ever since she was 15. Like many of us on this site, she was a name fanatic and researched names almost every day and came across [name]Briallen[/name] and Aerona. She immediately loved them together and since I only have older brothers, I got her favourite name. My dad just agreed to the name as it was something my mum has loved for a [name]LONG[/name] time and he got to name my sister. He spent a long time coming up with a name that my mum would hopefully love and when we were born, he annouced the name so my mum couldn’t nix it. He named my sister [name]Cerys[/name] [name]Arianwen[/name] and my mum absolutely adored it!

[name]Bree[/name]

4

From what I’ve been told, my mum was very keen on the name [name]Robin[/name] until she saw the name [name]Zelia[/name] in some credits of a movie and completely fell in love with it. I guess it’s pretty good she did because [name]Robin[/name] is mainly used as a boys name here in Denmark. My middle name, [name]Elvira[/name], is for my great-grandmother whose name was [name]Laura[/name] [name]Elvira[/name]. My mum was so close to my great-grandmother that most family members actually expected her to call me [name]Laura[/name].

5

I am named after my dad. His name is [name]Daniel[/name] and I am [name]Danielle[/name]. We also have the same middle name which is my Grandma [name]Doris[/name]’ maiden name, [name]Leslie[/name]. I was almost named [name]Catherine[/name] because I was born on my father’s Aunt’s birthday. She went by the nickname Caddy. I am glad I wasn’t named this because I grew up with so many girls named [name]Kate[/name], [name]Katie[/name], [name]Kaitlin[/name], or [name]Catherine[/name]. I only knew one other [name]Danielle[/name] who was a year or two older than I was but she lived in the same town. My older brother was named after my mom in the same fashion, he has the male version of my mother’s name. My younger sister just got a name that both my parent’s liked.

6

I got my name from some movie. My aunt found the name in the credits of a movie (she doesn’t remember that, so I don’t know which movie, whether it was an actress, an actor or a make up artist or whatever). She liked it, told my mum about it, she liked it too. My Dad thought it “looked to short” so [name]Dana[/name] became [name]Dhana[/name] (in [name]German[/name] that doesn’t change the pronunciation, it’s alway Dah-nah). I’m pretty sure it was an American movie because the name isn’t very common in Germany.

7

My mother’s childhood friend was [name]Glenys[/name] and she named me after her. She is also my god-mother and she was also named after her mother’s childhood friend [name]Glenys[/name]. :slight_smile: None of my friends are going to name their daughter after me though. [name]Glenys[/name] is a very unusual name in [name]Canada[/name].

8

My parents actually thought I was a boy, but my mom can’t remember the name they had picked out for me which drives me crazy. I was born 6 weeks early so they needed a girl name. My mom picked [name]Kayla[/name] after the character [name]Kayla[/name] [name]Brady[/name] on the soap opera Days Of Our Lives. My middle name [name]Dawn[/name] is after her mother, [name]Donna[/name].

9

My mom and dad had my brother pick my name out of a hat when I was born. I was supposed to be a boy and neither of them could agree on a name so they just thought up random ones and put em in a hat. I ended up a [name]Kristina[/name] which I am less then thrilled with. You could have at least picked a name that one of you loved!

10

My mum is irish and always wanted the name [name]Niamh[/name]. So i was a [name]Niamh[/name] before i was born, my dad’s suggestion of [name]Rhiannon[/name] got pushed away! My full name, [name]Niamh[/name] Ethna [name]Patricia[/name] means [name]Bright[/name] [name]Little[/name] [name]Fire[/name]. I think its wonderful and i love it!

11

Those in the US may be familiar with [name]Baby[/name] [name]Jessica[/name] in the well?

A little girl got stuck in a well in [name]Texas[/name] in 1987. I believe she was stuck in there for over two days, and she was only 18 months old. My mother and my grandmother followed the story and decided if the little girl lived they would name me [name]Jessica[/name]. They wanted to name me after her bravery and high spirit. They say that she sang a lot while she was in there, and would talk to her rescuers. She lived, and I became [name]Jessica[/name]. My mom originally had [name]Erica[/name] picked out.

12

Mom and Dad decided when they got married that their first daughter would be named after both their mothers, while their first son would be named after their fathers. That’s how I became [name]Margaret[/name] [name]Cynthia[/name]. My nickname [name]Meg[/name], however, was chosen because [name]Little[/name] Women was my mother’s favorite book growing up. My sister is [name]Laura[/name] [name]Ann[/name]. She shares her middle name with our mother, while her first name was also inspired by [name]Little[/name] Women. Since we already had an older cousin named [name]Amy[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name], and Mom hates the name [name]Josephine[/name] for some reason, they named her after [name]Theodore[/name] “[name]Laurie[/name]” [name]Laurence[/name].

My parents never did have a boy, but due to already having two cousins named [name]Charles[/name] (one named after my paternal grandfather, the other from my mother’s side of the family), they changed their planned name of [name]Charles[/name] [name]Dominic[/name] to either either [name]James[/name] [name]Dominic[/name] (after my dad and my maternal grandfather’s middle name, since my mother’s brother is a junior) or [name]Thomas[/name] [name]Dominic[/name] (after both grandfather’s middle names).

13

My twin sister and I were named after our grandmothers, [name]Martha[/name] and [name]Irene[/name]. A couple of years ago, I asked my dad what other names he and my mother considered. He said he couldn’t think of any. He said that they both loved the idea of naming us after their mothers – and tbat they actually loved the names too. He said they never regretted their decision. I was given the middle name [name]Jane[/name]. (My mother was “[name]Mary[/name] [name]Jane[/name].”) And, my sister was given the middle name [name]Claire[/name], which my mother just chose. I’ve always wondered what my name WOULD have been if I had not been a twin.

14

My name is [name]Kate[/name] ([name]Katherine[/name]). My mom realized she liked the name when she had a [name]Kate[/name] in her class (she was a schoolteacher). She liked the name because it was sweet and strong and works for a baby and a 90 year old. I’m very fond of it. I like that it means “Pure” as well.

So fun to read everyone’s stories!

15

My parents were set on naming me KC [name]Marie[/name]. They just liked KC, and [name]Marie[/name] was after my mom, whose name is [name]Mary[/name]. My mom used to care for and old woman (I believe her name was [name]Rose[/name]) at home, and [name]Rose[/name] suggested [name]Shelly[/name]. They liked it, and stuck with [name]Shelly[/name] [name]Marie[/name]. Personally I like KC better. I fits me much better.

16

These stories are so great to read! I especially love dovah’s story. What a touching story of strength, hope and faith!

Mine is just a chain from my French, [name]German[/name] & English ancestory of which I’m very proud of. My name is [name]Francine[/name] [name]Anne[/name] [name]Wilhelmina[/name] [name]Rose[/name]. I’m glad they chose my first name as it is. My Mother wanted my first name to be [name]Rose[/name] (with the same others, just different order), but my dad talked her out of it. The name [name]Francine[/name] has been in my family for many generations. It has been used in some way as a first, middle, or even third (middle) name for all of the females on my father’s side as far back as 1880. It is actually considered an aesthetic in our family. It is a name pertaining to a sense of the beautiful or to having a sense of artistic beauty; and a lovable character. My ancestory has many refined women with a sophisticated style and it is always associated with the name [name]Francine[/name]. The name is considered tasteful, elegant and chic. It is fashionable all on it’s own and a true component of European [name]Romance[/name]. I am so proud to have it as a first name and we’ve given it to my little girl as well. [name]Evelyne[/name] [name]Francine[/name] [name]Alia[/name], who is one of an 8th generation of Francines’ in my family. I’m hoping that she carries on the tradition someday too.

17

My name is [name]Julia[/name] [name]Marla[/name]. [name]Julia[/name] is after the beautiful song by the Beatles. [name]Marla[/name] is after my late Aunt. I love my name and hope I can name my own children with a name that means so much to them.

18

My name is [name_f]Catalina[/name_f] [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f], [name_f]Catalina[/name_f] because my parents went to [name_f]Santa[/name_f] [name_f]Catalina[/name_f] Island of the coast of [name_u]California[/name_u] and fell in love with it and [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f] because [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is a family name but my dad thought it was really overused so they did a twist on it.

19

My first name is a family name, so it’s not that exciting.

My middle name is much more interesting…

Back in the day, my mom got a really new ultrasound tech. Apparently she thought that my hamburger was a hotdog, and therefore they piled on the blue baby clothes and decided to name me [name_m]Ashley[/name_m], because my mother was a Gone With the Wind holdover.

A few months later it became really, really obvious that was not a hotdog… So my mother in her infinite southerness decided that I should be named [name_f]Laura[/name_f] [name_f]Ashley[/name_f] after the designer. So glad my dad didn’t let that happen.

So they changed it to [name_f]Ashleigh[/name_f], and for the first 10 years of my life I didn’t know what a middle name was, because my mom decided that it sounded more sophisticated than my first name.