Are you happy with your name?

This was done over a year ago in survey 290, but I wanted to ask again with more options.

I like my full name. I don't use my first name and plan to drop it when I marry, but it's served me well.

I like my first name, Mandy. I used to hate it when I was younger because I was called "Candy" or "Mindy" jokingly. My middle name is another story. I hate it. I would change it but I don't want to go through the fuss. My last name is great, although I never tell anyone what it is. I like to be mysterious and impersonal.

I like my name, Gilana, but I rarely use it; I've been called Gilly all my life.

My real name is Sarah. I want to change my name to Eeah.

How do you pronounce that? Which syllable gets the accent?

I like my name (I changed my last name when I married). I liked my maiden name too, but it became unpopular and I had to change it when I married.

When I was younger I didn't mind my first name and hated my middle name, now I like my first name and am fairly indifferent about my middle name. I was determined to change it when I was about six though :) I have considered adding another name, but I seriously doubt I'll ever change my first name, and I'm not likely to change the middle now either.

E- aah The E gets the accent.

I'd like to change my middle name. What kind middle name is Dalles anyway?

Jody: your maiden name became *unpopular*? What was it, Hitler?

Not at first, but it grew on me.

gilly - No, it was Bobbitt. After the whole Lorena thing hit the papers, the only good news was most people did a creditable job of spelling it right! But I got tired of the 1 a.m. crank phone calls, and decided to change it when I got married. And, funnily, I got used to being asked if I was any relation. At first I just waved the question away, but it seemed to discourage their curiosity much more strongly when I gritted my teeth, drawled out "yesssss...." and smiled evilly. Truth be told, I'm sure I am related to John Wayne Bobbitt, her husband, but that's hardly better than being related to her, now, is it?

I used to be indifferent about my name. The other day this guy I had met goes "Jane? I love that name! It's beautiful." So now I like my name a little more. :)

I have 13 names!

Has anyone had experience trying to change their name? If so, do you think it would be possible to change it to something with numbers in it, such as Da5id?
Dustin dsysko@colorado.edu

I feel the same way about my name as I did when this survey question was first asked.

hunter -- are you planning to take your husband's first name when you drop yours?

I like Amanda...it is lovely..although most people call me Mandy....which is so "perky" I could retch...but oh well...It's me.....I'm cute and bubbly and I just have to live with it.

I Changed my middle name from Nathaniel to Nothing because Everyone used to make fun of it and laugh at it.

I used to think my name sounded dorky or slow-- then when my self esteem climbed so did my impression of my name. I now use my full name, with middle name, in my marketing literature because I think it sounds most artistic and professional that way.

I hate my name - first, last, and middle. Oh well...

I prefer a nickname (Liz, Lizzie, etc.) to my given name of Elizabeth. My middle name is my mother's maiden name, and I vacillate between liking the connection to my mom and hating that I don't have a "real" middle name.

Yep.....................................................michael

Ah yes, what's in a name? [Warning!! Long, Boring Anecdote Ahead!!]

My given name is Noah Harrison Ripps. Until 10th grade, I went by "Noah" and was subjected to all of the stupid Ark jokes and other comments people could think up. Then, during the summer before 11th grade--I don't know how it came up, but I remember being in a diner with my grandparents. We were talking about names and how some people use their middle name. So I tried it out--"N. Harrison Ripps"--and I liked it.

My first day back at public school, I corrected all of the teachers during the inital attendance count. "Sorry, I'm not 'Noah'. I'm 'Harrison.'" And the funny thing is, hardly anybody noticed. Because not only had I changed my name, but I started to lose weight, I traded in my glasses for contacts, and got a real haircut. I really looked like a different person--Noah's brother, perhaps.

The next year, instead of entering my senior year, I was a junior again, but this time at a private school. My father felt that my odds of getting into a good college were better from a private school. Here, getting the new name to stick was really easy. My transformation into this new identity was complete.

The only person who didn't honor the name change was my father. And my stepmother had this really annoying habit of introducing me as "Noah--oh, I mean Harrison--he just changed his name." This was excusable in the first few months, but she was telling people that I had -just- changed my name for two or three years after the fact. In fact, for the first few years, I was -super- sensitive about the name thing. I think this was because I equated "Noah" with everything that I hated about myself and my upbringing.

Now, eleven years since the name change, I don't care as much. It seems to have panned out such that my family mostly calls me 'Noah' and my friends and business acquaintances mostly call me 'Harrison'. Occasionally people try to annoy me by calling me Noah when they know me as Harrison, but I'm not bother by the association with my name, anymore. Besides--'Noah' invented 'Harrison' in the first place.

dsysko: I liked the book too, but wouldn't that be going a bit far? ;)

The rules on changing your name vary quite a lot from country to country (and from state to state in America too presumably). I think generally they would not allow numbers, but I can't be sure (there's the urban myth about the guy in England changing his name to his number plate, because it's cheaper than getting a personalised plate). The one thing that seems to be fairly universal is that it's cheap and easy to officially change your name, and they won't allow offensive names.

dysko: call your local city hall and ask for the office of the clerk or registrar and they will be able to tell you the specific rules and fees that apply--in the US it's generally ~$50 and some forms to fill out.

I would spell my first name differently.

I'm happy with my name, but not so happy when someone automatically contracts it to "jon". I didn't really push on the subject until college (where I was surrounded by people named "John" for some strange karmic reason), so a lot of friends from high school and earlier still call me "jon".

I like it. Kinda rare, but not so weird that nobody can remember it.

i hated my birth name so i just use the first initial
and go by my middle name so its legally J. Renee'. Im
also married so i asume thats changing my last name

My name is Jennifer I never use this name, instead I use Jenny.

So what's in a name? Its the character of the person that counts, don't you agree?

i don't like my name at all

Yes, I like my MIDDLE name, but my first name is too...I don't know...just..not ME.

why should you feel bad about your name...i don't why people change their names unless they are on witness protection