The post on [name]Andrea[/name] reminded me that it would have been my name had my father been more cooperative. 
[name]How[/name] about you? Did your parents ever mention the other names they wanted to give you, or the name they chose for your opposite gender? And which do you like better: your actual name or the runner up?
As mentioned, [name]Andrea[/name] was my mother’s second choice for me. She also wanted to use her maiden name, [name]Morgan[/name], which I always secretly wanted… at least, before it became trendy. She decided not to because there was a big, brawny D-I football player whose first name was [name]Morgan[/name] and whose last name was the same as ours, and mom was convinced he would become insanely famous and I’d hate her forever. (Apparently she was wrong: you ever heard of a football player named [name]Morgan[/name]?)
If I’d been a boy, I would be [name]Kevin[/name] [name]Michael[/name]. I’m glad I wasn’t; [name]Kevin[/name] doesn’t feel like a name that ages well. It’s permanent boyhood.
I was going to be [name]Phyllis[/name] ----- Farson. That was what my father wanted to name me. He thought [name]Phyllis[/name] sounded great with Farson. Then my mom said she looked at me when I was born and suddenly insisted on naming me [name]Deborah[/name] [name]Sue[/name]. I like [name]Deborah[/name] more than [name]Phyllis[/name], but I really love [name]Susan[/name]. My father wrote a letter to his brother that said [name]Deborah[/name] sounded like some big, stocky woman who milks cows.
If I’d been a boy, I was going to be [name]David[/name] [name]Allan[/name]. If my older sister had been a boy and her name had been [name]David[/name] [name]Allan[/name], I was going to be [name]Stephen[/name]. I really love the name [name]Stephen[/name]. Probably because it sounds a lot like [name]Susan[/name].
The other girls name that my parents were seriously considering was [name]Melissa[/name]. However, my sisters name is [name]Laura[/name] and my mom didn’t want two Greek names. When I looked [name]Laura[/name] up it says it is Latin, so I’m assuming my mom mistaken.
If I was a boy I was to be [name]William[/name], which I hated when I was younger because there was a mean boy in my class named [name]William[/name], but now I think it has a kind of classic charm.
Pop wanted me to be [name]Rebecca[/name], Mom wanted [name]Lucy[/name] or [name]Alice[/name]. [name]Laura[/name] was “the compromise” name as in “Well, it’s feminine, pretty looking and it’s been around a while…”
I would have made a spectacualr [name]Alice[/name] but can live with [name]Laura[/name]. If I’d been a boy? [name]Michael[/name] [name]Wayne[/name] ([name]Wayne[/name] for Pop) if Mom had gotten her way. If Pop had gotten his choice, [name]Michael[/name] [name]Aaron[/name]. Funnily enough, My brother (born 18 months to the day later) got [name]Steven[/name] [name]Michael[/name] [name]Oliver[/name]. So I suppose their tastes changed a little bit. Then again, [name]Laura[/name] ranked #15 the year I was born and [name]Steven[/name] ranked 15 the year he was born. Only [name]Kathleen[/name] got off lucky, her name was #42 the year she was born. Following the rank 15 thing, she should have been [name]Kelly[/name]!
The two options I’m aware of are [name]Grace[/name] and [name]Elizabeth[/name]. I wasn’t named [name]Grace[/name] because my grandma said “They’ll call her [name]Gracie[/name]!” and apparently that would be the worst thing ever. I think [name]Elizabeth[/name] was more seriously considered, but my maiden name is the same as that of a very famous [name]Elizabeth[/name], and my mom thought that would be too much to live up too. I so wish I had been named [name]Elizabeth[/name]. I probably would have changed my nickname a million times, but I would have loved it. My dad picked [name]Lyndsay[/name], I don’t know why. If I’d been a boy I would have been [name]Jeffrey[/name], which is my brother’s name who came along 5 years later. Their other option for him was [name]George[/name]. We would have been a fabulous [name]Elizabeth[/name] and [name]George[/name], but instead we’re [name]Lyndsay[/name] and [name]Jeffrey[/name].
Great idea for a post. My father wanted to name me [name]Yvonne[/name] after a former girlfriend. My mom told me as a teen that it worked well with the girlfriend’s last name, but it sounded awful with my maiden name. I’m not sure if she seriously considered it or not. My mom had twins unexpectedly. (This was pre-ultrasound days.) So my twin brother got the boy’s name they had picked out, [name]Rodger[/name]. I always thought [name]Jill[/name] and [name]Rodger[/name] didn’t match and [name]Jeffrey[/name] would have been much better. My mom said that they didn’t rethink the names when we were born, but just went with what they had already decided on.
I know my father liked [name]Alessandra[/name], which my mother thought sounded to wannabe because you’d always have to explain you’re not [name]Alexandra[/name]. Another name that was considered was [name]Alina[/name], so apparently they settled early on an A-name. If I would have been a boy I would be a [name]Pascal[/name]. Strangely though, my two years younger sister [name]Dana[/name] would have been named [name]Fabian[/name].
So, my parents did not seem to like pascal so much after only two years time. That always made me wonder if they also didn’t like [name]Annika[/name] after that time anymore…
If I was a boy I would’ve been [name]Jason[/name] - thank goodness I’m a [name]Megan[/name] instead My dad also liked [name]Christy[/name] or Katchina.
If I had been a boy, I would have been [name]Carl[/name], which I hated as a child. I still prefer [name]Charles[/name], but I think [name]Carl[/name] is ok, and I could have been a good [name]Carl[/name] or [name]Charles[/name]. My little sister would have been [name]Gregory[/name]. Thank goodness they had girls!
My mother really liked the name [name]Isolde[/name] (prn. Iz-old-a), and would have nicknamed me [name]Zoey[/name]. My dad, a huge [name]Wagner[/name] fan, vetoed [name]Isolde[/name], not wanting to use the name of an opera character on a real person. I love my name ([name]Annelise[/name]), but I also love love love [name]Isolde[/name]. [name]Isolde[/name] sounded fine with my maiden name, so it would have worked for me, but not so great with my married name, so I won’t get to use it myself. Oh well.
My current name is [name]Danielle[/name] [name]Nicole[/name], but a couple of other names my mom wanted to name me were:
[name]Autumn[/name] [name]Jewel[/name] (plan to use this for my own daughter some day)
Garbielle (don’t know the middle name but I think it was still [name]Nicole[/name])
If I were a boy:
[name]Nicholas[/name] [name]Steven[/name]
[name]Daniel[/name] [name]Nicholas[/name]
My current name is [name]Danielle[/name] [name]Nicole[/name], but a couple of other names my mom wanted to name me were:
[name]Autumn[/name] [name]Jewel[/name] (plan to use this for my own daughter some day)
Garbielle (don’t know the middle name but I think it was still [name]Nicole[/name])
If I were a boy:
[name]Nicholas[/name] [name]Steven[/name]
[name]Daniel[/name] [name]Nicholas[/name]
my dad wanted to name me constance nn cony he also liked xanth mum didnt like them to much i dont think dad then wanted to call me bronwynne i ended up being a samantha bronwynne . i wouldnt mind being a constance as that was my grandmas middle name and she went by cony if i was a boy i think i was going to be a lachlan james with is my little brothers names
I would have been [name]Samuel[/name] nn [name]Sam[/name].
I like [name]Sam[/name], and actually I would have made a great [name]Samantha[/name].
if i had been a boy, i’d have been kenneth lawrence, called laurie (love little women, but come on!).
my mother wanted to name me hillary and still says it with a wistful little look into the distance.
instead, my dad thought naming me after my much older adopted brothers would “bond the family.”
for some reason, my mother agreed to this.
I’m [name]Erica[/name] [name]Nicole[/name]. Mom liked [name]Erica[/name] and Dad liked [name]Nicole[/name], and [name]Nicole[/name] [name]Erica[/name] just doesn’t flow well.
If I was a boy, I was either going to be [name]Cody[/name] [name]John[/name] (my brother’s name) or [name]Jared[/name] [name]Allen[/name]
If i was a boy i was to be [name]Samuel[/name]…thank goodness i wasn’t as i’d have had the same name as my auntys cat…
My name is [name]Emma[/name], but i was going to be either [name]Josie[/name], or [name]Kayley[/name] (long before it was popular). I think i like [name]Emma[/name]…the only thing i don’t like is that my dad calls me emma dilemma! And i’m not a fan of [name]Em[/name] as a nn, other wise it is fine.
I’m not sure what my sis was gonna be called but… my brother was going to be [name]Madeline[/name] after the little french cartoon character…luckily he is an adam.
Well, my name’s obviously [name]Sophie[/name]. My parents originally wanted to call me [name]Alice[/name], but mum was adamant on my mn being [name]Anais[/name]- and really, [name]Alice[/name] [name]Anais[/name] would sound pretty ridiculous! I know [name]Madeleine[/name] and [name]Fleur[/name] were in the running too, but apparently they liked [name]Sophie[/name] best. My parents are French, and they wanted to honour that, so I think they chose well.
If I were a boy, I think I was going to be called [name]Emile[/name], [name]Benjamin[/name] or [name]Joshua[/name]? Really glad I wasn’t a boy; the names aren’t bad but I prefer their girl choices!
My brother - [name]Erich[/name] - was going to be an [name]Isabelle[/name] if he were a girl, and if my sister - [name]Juliet[/name] - were a boy, she’d have been [name]Benjamin[/name], from memory!
So, apparently I was the only one they had any trouble naming! (the start of the middle child syndrome perhaps?! )
I’m [name]Olivia[/name], but was almost [name]Lily[/name] or [name]Jean[/name] [name]Louise[/name] (nn [name]Scout[/name]”as I’ve mentioned before, my Mom is a huge To Kill a Mockingbird fan!). Had I been a boy I would have been [name]Andrew[/name].
My boy name was to have been [name]Jude[/name], but en route to the hospital for my delivery, Dad turned to Mom and said, “I don’t think I like the name [name]Jude[/name].” Luckily, they didn’t have to come up with a last minute replacement. If they had, my mother is pretty sure I would have been [name]Kenneth[/name] [name]Jr[/name]., as my brother was named 5 years later.
I think [name]Jude[/name] is great, and it goes very well with my married name, so perhaps my mom will get a [name]Jude[/name] someday after all. And my father, I’m sure, will be thrilled.