Would You Change Your First Name If You Could (Easily)?

I was named after my dad so I was stuck w/Gerri either way. But thankfully I wasn't a boy b/c they i would've been J. Sherwood, not G.. Did I hate my name, do I still........YES! I remember changing it myself to Marcia Brady when i was younger LOL!!!! My friends father even gave me a bunch of name tags to wear! I could never find anything w/my name on it like most kids could, but I got over it and my mother-in-law even had an anklet made for me w/my name! And not only that, I'm named after a pretty cool guy! But the worst part of all, after all of the complaining I did, I went and named my oldest Samantha & all we do is call her Sam or Sami (which by the way was also the name of my first most favorite cat I had growing up)!

I hate my name because it's so common. Amanda. I've even got the super common middle name as well, Lynn. I wouldn't change it though, I imagine if I did and people were calling me something different I probably wouldn't even acknowledge it. LOL

I have always hated my name. It is normally found with a different ethnicity and so anytime anyone sees my name they assume I am that ethnicity until they meet me. Sit it doesn't fit at all.

Isn't Cricket a nickname for C.? So it seems like that would be easy.:)

I would! A Lot of people like my name (T.) but I hated it growing up and am still not sure I like it. Mispronounced, misspelled, a little TOO different. I wanted to use my middle name when I was younger, but being Dawn Johnson in the early 80s was no good either ;)

I always wanted to be Emma after my grandma, even more now that she's gone! I would also pick Gianna, Sofie, Allegra, evelyn, harper, or Madeline..all names I didn't use for my daughters but were on my list.

Vivian! I loove that name, it just sounds sexy and sophisticated!

Cricket is a great name or nickname and pretty close to Chris. I did know one girl who when by it as a nickname. Everyone went by nicknames at camp where we met but I think she used it all the time.

I have a fairly common name (R.) but always liked it. My daughter's name is a little too popular but she was named for a friend. At least we all have a good chance at getting personalized stuff ;-)

i was named after my mom, so i wouldn't change it. i didn't really like the name, though. i'm also called terri, which i didn't like either. but i DO love being named after my mom. i've settled with liking my name fine though (and not just because it was my mom's name). i named my baby after us as well. we call her Rhys (Reese) instead of the more typical nicknames for T.. so, no, i wouldn't change it. it's fun to be named after my mom.

if i could choose any name, it would probably be something we'd named our daughters...emma, violet, rhys, or sage. I like the name C.! My sister is Christina.

But I LOVE the name C., especially the way you spell it! I've never met a Chris (male or female) I didn't like!

I've grown into my name, I think. When I was a pre-teen I hated it. I especially hated the Teri that went along with it. I felt that both Theresa and Teri were foofy holy names, and I'm a no-nonsense get down to business kind of person.

Somehow, over the past 3 decades I've come to peace with it. In the end, my mother was right, I really AM a Theresa!

:)

43 us a little old to start using Cricket, I agree (unless you come from the serious old money set) but why not Tina?

Basically, your name is whatever you say it is to a degree. Introduce yourself by whatever it is you wish to be called.......

C. is my middle name, so I kind of like it. :) And I wouldn't change my first name, even though I graduated with 5 other Amandas in high school. I think there were close to 25 when I graduated college.

We have a 50 something year old Cricket that goes to my parents' church back home. She's well off and runs her own small business. They deal internationally with fashion houses and things of that sort. Everyone takes her seriously, but she's still a very nice woman. So, Cricket could work for you at 43. You just have to own it.

My name is V., and when I was younger I hated it! mostly for the Archie comic book reference lol (I still do not like the nickname Ronnie at all). I constantly get called Victoria or Vanessa for some reason. I guess my name its hard to remember?? Now, I do like my name. It is not that common, but its not odd ball. I wouldn't change it. I already gave my favorite girl name to my daughter :) but I'm partial to Erica. Thats what my grandma wanted to name me after AMC's Erica Kane lol.

I do understand where you're coming from, saying that you're a "Chris". My sister is Christina, her best friend in high school was Christina lol. I have 2 Christina's, a Kristina, Kristy, C. and my BIL Chris in my phone! My sister gets annoyed with misspellings or being called C. over Christina. Plus she always had at least one other variation of a Chris in her grade. its a great name though, thats why its so common :) i think Cricket is a nickname for C.?

yep when I was a nanny there was a little girl whos name was C. but they called her Cricket:)

When I was young I always wanted to be a Stephanie!! I think that was in my Dallas/Dynasty phase!! :-) Now - I am totally happy with my name. Its not too common, I love that it has an E on the end (without an E is more popular) When someone is filling out forms for me I always say "F. with an E" because they ALWAYS spell it without but it doesn't bother me I would rather they got it right first time. Plus you cant't really shorten it. lol

Yes I would. My sister is Amy very pretty and feminine. So we had 4 Amy's in each class in 1976, or 3 Nancy's, or 5 Linda's. THere was only one Marjorie and I hated it, even worse my mother calls me Marge. ugh

So I would like to be an Emma, Emily,
Jayne, Jessica, Angela, Sarah, Rachel, Rebecca, Annemarie, Maryanne, Annaliese. Something more common, more feminine, easier to say, spell----just prettier.

HHHHHHmmmmm....I've got a not so common name - i didn't run into another Cheryl until I was in the 5th grade!!! Funny - there are two other mother's at my kids school now!!

I don't know...my ex changed EVERYTHING - first middle and last - it was kind of freaky if you ask me...his parents now call him "Himself"...

So I guess no, I wouldn't change my name!!! :)

Well Cricket, I like the name C., but I suppose it is pretty common and you are tired of it now after 43 years. My daughter was in Kindergarten with Christy, C., Christina, Christopher, Kersten, Kiersten, Kelly, Kristen, Christian, Chelsea, Chelsey, and to top it off, her name is Kelsey.
I grew up with the name Colleen and only knew 2 others with the same name. I wished I had a more common name. Im ok with it now, but I did feel really wierd when I was younger.

I have a friend named Kristin and she HATES her name for the same reason as you. It's so common. She doesn't shorten it, but she hates that there are so many variations: Kristin, Kirstin, C., Crystal, Krista, Christian, Christina, etc.

She gets SO tired of people getting it wrong and she would gladly change her name to something more original.

Good post!!! She will appreciate when I tell her she's not the only one!! :-)

Nah, because I know i'd change my mind about what name I wanted every few years. That'd probably just confuse everyone!

No, I love my name. But when I was younger people called Vicki. I finally just insisted on being called by my name. I don't like being called Virginia though.
My brother hated his first name. So he started switching his middle name to his first.

I probably wouldn't now because everyone knows me by "K.". However, I don't like the name. It just sounds so dull and kimberly is such a long name and kimmy is too young sounding. I feel badly that I don't like it, since my parents put so much effort into naming me, but I really do hate it.

When I was a baby, my parents divorced. I ended up with my mother, who remarried and changed my name. The relationship with my mother and her husband was never good, and after I seperated from my girl's dad (we hadn't married), I changed all of our names, adding middle names and changing our last names so they were all the same. Because I didn't have a relationship with my dad until I was 20, I didn't feel comfortable using his last name again, so I went way far back into our family tree, and picked a name. The middle names I added were names that I absolutely loved and had sort of regretted not naming my girls in the beginning. I left thier first names alone as they did have beautiful first names already, and I didn't want to completely confuse them! :)

I went through the court process, and even had a name change party! :) I now use my middle name mostly. It wasn't exactly an easy transition, but it was funny none the less-because I work with people via telephone and email, they all thought I had gotten married. When I said "No, not married." There was an ackward silence as they assumed I had just divorced! I learned to quickly reassure them it was just a name change!

So here's my advice. If you don't like your name, change it! It takes a while, but people come around and eventually it'll stick. If you want to go a safer route, add whatever you want to your name, and start introducing yourself that way. Eventually, people will start calling you whatever you want them to! I know I feel so much better introducing myself and hearing the name that I feel suites me better... :) Best wishes!

In Highschool I had the same issue you did - J. was like THE most popular name in the laste 70s and early 80s, apparently - there were at least 2 Jessies in each class, and 8 or more in Band and Choir. I would've liked to , back then, but now, I am too used to it, and not really friends with any ohter jessie's in real life - a few of myold high school friends are online on facebook and still friends,too.

Wow, you've gotten such a variety of answers! I've had fun reading them. Thought I'd add my 2 cents as well. My name is L., and I've never been particularly fond of it, but like someone else said, my parents put thought into what they'd name me, so I stick with it. I wish I had had creativity and the courage to introduce myself to new people by some other name when I was younger. That could have been fun, and could have led to a fun nickname (I have never had one that stuck)! Good luck with your decision!

I don't like the fact that my name was trendy in the 60s and so readily identifies me as a child of the 60s (although it would probably be obvious anyhow). However, I would never change it. It's me. What it did make me do is choose more traditional names for my children that I hope will better stand the test of time. I actually had a puppy once named "Cricket" so to me that name is more of a name for a pet. Sorry! I did love the name for my puppy though.

I wasn't crazy about S. when I was a kid, especially when we couldn't find bracelets and such with it. No one ever spelled it right and if they did they pronounced it wrong. When I met my husband and we went bowling for the first time I was shocked that he spelled my name right the first time. I asked him how he knew it was spelled that way he said he dated a S. in high school and thought that was how everyone spelled it. Come to find out her middle name is the same as mine Lea...lol Now I tell him if anything happens to me he can marry her and not change anything. I like my name, it is common but the spelling makes it stand out. In VBS we had 3 of us but with each one spelled differently. There is a sherry, Sheri and S....lol Oh and we had a lady cleaning the church named Sherri.

My 4 year old granddaughter Emmalyne insisted on being called Nova Candlelion for a while. Her mom would ask her to get somethng for her and she would say "No Emma here" So her mom would say "Nova Candlelion or whatever your name is, could you get mommy or whatever name I am this please?" lol It was so funny. Can't find a prettier name then Emmalyne (pronounced Emma-line, not Emma-lynn) Lillian... and she still wanted to change it.

PS I know a Cricket that is in her late 50s.

No. I like my name. :)

I know a 40-year-old Cricket (yes, nickname for C.) and she does just fine. I also know a 38-year-old who decided that her name did not fit her and changed it. She sent out a very nice email to all her friends and acquaintances saying, essentially, "I've been doing a lot of soul-searching and I truly feel that my given name does not fit me or my life, so I have chosen a new name for myself, please call me _____ from now on."

Yes, it'll be a little weird. Yes, some people will judge you for it, but do you really want to hang out with those people? Try to have a sense of humor about it, when telling people, and reintroducing yourself to people, and when people call you by your old name, gently and with humor correct them.

Speaking as a someone equally plagued by a common name (in my 4th grade class of 26 kids, SEVEN of them were Jennifers), I feel for you. When I was first in my 20s, I felt like I should start calling myself "Jennifer" as it would be more "grown up" but in my early 30s, I realized that the name that feels like *mine*, that feels like who I am, is "J." and so I got it printed on my business cards and haven't looked back. People continue to re-nickname me all the time (the people who will call me Jen no matter what I say, and then there are those who persist in called me JEANie) but I just gently correct them and move on.

So start calling yourself Cricket. Ask your friends to call you Cricket. Introduce yourself to new people as Cricket. When you go to the doctor, and they call your given name, just say, "Please call me Cricket." Go for it!

I had a friend in high school with a very common name, and when she was young, she just started asking people to call her by her middle name. I always knew her as Courtney (her middle name) and not until after we graduated did I come to find out her real first name is Jennifer! Maybe start going by your middle name. Another thought for C., would be Tina or Christy or whatever. Just start telling people when they call you Chris, "oh, you can call me Tina - my friends do!" And people will soon pick up on it.

I HATED my name when I was really young (middle school, mostly) because it's a "boy" name. Now, I don't mind it at all - I don't really think about it much, actually. I wanted my name to be Kimberly back then... I have NO idea where that came from. Haha. I named my daughter a very clearly "girl" name... I wonder if it was a subconscious thing due to my distaste for having a "boy" name. Hmmm... Oh well, she'll probably have a phase where she hates her name, too!