Tell me your name stories

[Popcornbaby]

My dad wanted to name me Caroline after the song Carolina in my Mind by James Taylor. My mom wanted to name me Andrea. My mom won. I think it was just because she thought the name was pretty. Caroline is my middle name and if I was a boy, I would have been Andrew.

[Qing_Jao]

My mom liked the Bible names too. My sister is Rebeca (She liked the Spanish spelling), my brother is John, and my little sister is Ruth. Ruth went for three days without a name, though because they couldn't decide whether they liked Ruth Marie or Anita Ruth. So, they called her Ruth, and then a few days after that, added "Lorrain" as a middle name.

Josh, Joshua and Jesus are both derived from Yeshua which means "Jehovah is Salvation" So, they are essentially the same name through different linguistic lines, as I understand it.

Sara(h) means "Princess" or "Mother of Nations".

[VelvetElvis]

Helen means "Light" or "Great Beauty." Elizabeth means "Blessed One."

My mother wanted to name me Sara(h) Elizabeth so she could call me Sara(h)beth. My father stuttered (he doesn't now, which is a story in and of itself), and couldn't say "Sara(h)." So I became Helen Elizabeth.

I think I have a beautiful name. My family uses both names, ususally. I didn't care one way or the other until my Nanny died. She never called me "Helen," always "Elizabeth" or "Helen Elizabeth" (another story). I now prefer it when people use both names.

[RoyalMother]

I was named after my grandmother (kinda) she was Emma Lou.....I am Emmala. Pronounced Emma-la (La like do re me fa so) Not Emall-ia, Amelia, etc.
I used to torment my mother (who did NOT do drugs) and say my name was the result to too many drugs in the 60's.


*cough* Helen is also your great aunt's name, Elizabeth.

[RoyalMother]

Helen means "Light" or "Great Beauty." Elizabeth means "Blessed One."

My mother wanted to name me Sara(h) Elizabeth so she could call me Sara(h)beth. My father stuttered (he doesn't now, which is a story in and of itself), and couldn't say "Sara(h)." So I became Helen Elizabeth.

I think I have a beautiful name. My family uses both names, ususally. I didn't care one way or the other until my Nanny died. She never called me "Helen," always "Elizabeth" or "Helen Elizabeth" (another story). I now prefer it when people use both names.

The REASON she did not use Helen is another story and a half.

[VelvetElvis]

Helen means "Light" or "Great Beauty." Elizabeth means "Blessed One."

My mother wanted to name me Sara(h) Elizabeth so she could call me Sara(h)beth. My father stuttered (he doesn't now, which is a story in and of itself), and couldn't say "Sara(h)." So I became Helen Elizabeth.

I think I have a beautiful name. My family uses both names, ususally. I didn't care one way or the other until my Nanny died. She never called me "Helen," always "Elizabeth" or "Helen Elizabeth" (another story). I now prefer it when people use both names.

The REASON she did not use Helen is another story and a half.

It's just one story. An interesting one, but just one.

[DamienVryce]

My first name was after someone that I don't know (Barry). However my middle name (Lloyd) was after my great grandmother's family's last name.

Oh, I'm back, without my Hellsing avatar though. Woe is me.

[Jayelle]

Who are you again?

[Jebus]

DamienVryce = DamienVryce

[Bevis]

then theres my boy names and everyone makes fun of me for those... its anoying... anyway theres Sayden Strife and Koden, and Etias, and Rigel. i love them all, but everyone says saden strife is an aweful name and that they will call him satan... grrr

I'm more concerned about Strife. The definition I'm reading pegs that word as a violent conflict. Ouch.

[Luet]

Edited

[Jayelle]

Naomi Sarah, eh? Those are some good women to look up to in the Bible. Big shoes to fill!

[Yebra]

[blank]

[shadow-petra]

My name's Jasmine, but my dad wanted to name me Mimi...not Michelle. Mimi. My mom and family friends said if I was named Mimi [last name], I'd definately get teased at school. It sounds ridiculous and doesn't flow well at all. So Mimi turned into Jaqueline. And I'm assuming that's what they told the doctors because on that hospital baby pic they pass out, Jaqueline was printed. Then my uncles thought Jaqueline was too hard to spell. They went through J names, and came up with Jasmine. Reasons: Jasmine is a good tea, good rice, good flower, and it's eay to spell....at the time.

[hive_king]

Mimi (your last name)? Wow, I see your point. That would definately not work. besides, alliteration in names is just lame.

Yes in all that deliberation, they couldn't find time to give you a middle name?

[shadow-petra]

chinese ppl usually dont have middle names.

[Gravity Defier]

I originally saw the NameVoyager about two years ago, lost the link, and finally found it again. For all those as obsessed with names as I am, I thought you'd get a kick out of this. Getting to look at the trends make my inner-sociologist giddy; the only way I would be happier was if there was a map of the most popular names by county/state for each decade of the past century.

[Xenofreak]

my mom wanted me to be cory...*shivers*

Hi im Corey, , named after some singer in the 80s. My middle name is Jerome after my uncle Jerry, whom i've never met but i am told he was a great person. I also managed to make it through middle school with the last name Jurkiewicz (Jerk-i-witz). When i was in high school people called me by my last name (not in a bad way) witch has continued now that im in the military. nickname... "J-Witz"

[Gravity Defier]

Hi im Corey, , named after some singer in the 80s.

I wonder if your mom would be so cruel as to name you after Corey Hart, debut album out in 1983. *hums "I wear my sunglasses at night"* Then again, that's a bit better than being named after Corey Feldman or Corey Haim (of The Lost Boys, License to Drive, Dream a Little Dream, etc.).

[Claire]

Alea, have you found this website? Its my favorite:

http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/

[daPyr0x]

I don't quite know how my father ever consented to my name...I have resolved to the idea that he never knew where it came from, but I know the truth

When my mom was little, she met a boy named Cameron. She had a big crush on this boy, and loved the name. 20 years later, she has a son, and named him after a mysterious young boy she used to have a crush on... I always hated it because it was unique; it gave the many people who enjoyed making fun of me more ammunition and that wasn't something I wanted. Now I've come to accept it, though it is still somewhat frustrating at times.

My middle name was handed down to me from my father's side of the family. My dad has it, my grandfather has it, his father had it, etc etc etc. At my grandfather's recent funeral they had a family tree posted, and it turns out that the name dates back to the 1600s. Apparantly one of my great (great, great, etc) grandmothers didn't want to lose her name when she married, so she kept it as a middle name when she married, and passed it on to her child(ren? I don't know if there was more than one child or not). Knowing all of this, I have become extremely proud of it, and will ensure that I (and hopefully my brother as well) pass it further down the family tree. For what it's worth, my brother does not share the middle name, his middle name comes from his mother in ways I do not understand.

[Gravity Defier]

Alea, have you found this website? Its my favorite:

http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/

Ooh. Completely loving that they give the top 100 by state and the top 1000 by decade.

I am amused/surprised that AZ seems to be the state with the highest amount of Hispanic names in the top 5 (with Angel and Jose for the boys).

I am definitely disappointed that the girls -who I thought had more social leeway with the more unusual names- seem to have the same top 5 names in all 50 states: Emily, Emma, Isabella, Hannah, Ava...Some of them seem to be in the same order even, amongst multiple states.

[Xenofreak]

I wonder if your mom would be so cruel as to name you after Corey Hart

Yeah, um, I dont really want to talk about that

[Janus%TheDoorman]

I think I was going to be Jordan, no matter what my gender turned out to be. Which wouldn't have been bad either way, I suppose. The strange thing, though is that my mother and father chose my name quite arbitrarily, and it turned out to be my great-grandmother's maiden name, who had passed recently.

On top of that, it seems Jordan is, for those aware of it's meaning of "descendant" reserved for the first child of a generation, which I happen to be for my family.

[Eddie Pinz]

Sorry Xeno, I didn't mean to be a hater, but it is definitely not a name that I would ever want.

I have been thinking about baby names, as my brother and his wife are expecting. So I am going to throw out a new question: What have/would you name your children and why?

I don't really have any strong feelings for girl's names, but I have a couple for boys. I like Logan, Trajan and Edward. Edward kind of seems out of place with the other two, but I have always liked my name and it would be more a tribute to my grandfather than naming him after me.

[Petra456]

I change my favorite names all the time. Normally I can't find any girl names I like and tons of boy names I love.

Right now my favorite girl name is Ayla. I've only ever known one Ayla and she's such a fun person that it just fits. I've also been wanting a name where I can call the girl Eve, just because I really like how it sounds. I'd probably have to go with something like Evelyn to get that though, and i'm not sure how much I like Evelyn for a child.

I'm kinda burnt out on guy names right now. I use to be really attached to the name James, but i've been growing less attached to it over time.

[Luet]

The only thing that Ayla reminds me of is the Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean Auel (and you'll probably find many 30-50 year olds that have the same experience). She was the main herione in a series of four books. Some of which I like to refer to as 'caveman erotica', just some very explicit sex. Reading those books constituted much of my sex education as a 13 year old.

[Dr. Mobius]

Fred, it's only fitting that your children should follow in your footsteps. Call her Steve.

[Petra456]

The only thing that Ayla reminds me of is the Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean Auel (and you'll probably find many 30-50 year olds that have the same experience). She was the main herione in a series of four books. Some of which I like to refer to as 'caveman erotica', just some very explicit sex. Reading those books constituted much of my sex education as a 13 year old.

Well, she said her mom got it from a book, she just didn't know which one. Hmm... I still like it : )

Fred, it's only fitting that your children should follow in your footsteps. Call her Steve.

I could go back to my old ways and call her Door Knob. : )

[Gravity Defier]

Yeah, um, I dont really want to talk about that

Ha! Erm, I mean, I'm so sorry.

[BonitoDeMadrid]

My name's basically an alternation (did I spell it right?) of a Judge's name from the bible.

[Claire]

Oh, I forgot, this website is gold too:

www.nymbler.com

[Gravity Defier]

people called me by my last name (not in a bad way) witch has continued

Bold emphasis mine.

(Dude, despite appearances, I'm not picking on you. You're just unintentionally making me laugh. It doesn't help that I'm bored right now...)

Claire: I like the idea of that site, but I'm not sure I like it in practice. Maybe I should play around with it more?

[Gravity Defier]

*bump AND double post* I'm going to Pweb hell.

A friend invited me out to Starbucks tonight and after I ordered, they asked for my name. I told them "Alea," as clearly and slowly as I could without it being too awkward. I was even proud of myself for not mumbling through it or speaking too softly. Order up, drink, talk for a bit. And, as I tend to do, I started playing with the cups when I notice a sticker on the both of them. Look at my friend's cup and they had her name, though, spelled incorrectly (she's a Rebekah). I get all excited to see mine (name vain over here) and I see Ooo.

Um, what? I don't know if that's the default, if the guy just didn't hear/understand, or if he didn't know how to spell it...but I am on Ooo? Is that like, "Ooo my god, I don't know how to spell that"?

At the very least, put Lea(h).




ETA: I've seen two movies in the past month in which my last name was used for important characters, and I did a mini-happy dance in my seat both times.

[neo-dragon]

Why exactly does Starbucks need to know your name anyway? (I don't drink coffee, and have never purchased anything at Starbucks).