I was thinking about names the other day, because it is something I tend to think about every so often.
I went to school with twin girls named Misty and Summer.
Their last name? Weathers. True Story.
Names are fun.
Shakespeare, through the voice of Juliet, asked us to consider: "What's in a name?"
Well, what is?
Were any of you named for other people, specifically, family members?
Does being named after a beloved relative heap unfair pressure on you to be a certain way--act a certain way--love certain things--just because the person you're named after did?
What about those of you who were named for favorite actors or actresses, literary characters or anything that your parents thought was cool at the time?
Do you love your name? Does it suit you? Would you change it if you could? To what?
Do you ever think you might be a different person or even look like someone different if you were named something else?
I got to thinking about that when I heard a mother call out to her son in Target the other day. "Dylannnnnn--come over hereeeeee" was kind of how it went.
I couldn't see who Dylan was, whether he was a teen or a toddler, but I had a definite PICTURE in my head about what he SHOULD look like according to his name.
Do you know what I mean? When you read about characters in books or stories do you ascribe certain characteristics to them based on their names?
For example, my name is Cassandra, which comes from Greek Tragedy, Agamemmnon by Aeschylus, but my mother and father didn't know that.
So, I have no idea really, where they got it from, but I often wonder if I would be a completely different person if my name was something simple like Lisa or Diane or something like that.
Do you know the origin of your name?
How did you come to be a Emily or a Madison or a James or an Olivia, Amaziah or a Sal?
When other people shorten your name does it make you angry? What about when people mispronounce it?
There are a lot of questions here--make sure you hit all of them. I italicized the questions to make them easier to see.
A name holds a certain connotation for different people. I have a list of names I can never name my future kid because I had a bad experience with this person at some point in my life. When I hear the name Ariel, I immediately get thrown back to eighth grade whereas most people think of the Disney character. A name is something you use to relate experiences to people. My first name is not a family name but my middle name, Caroline, is the name of my great grandmother. I don’t feel a lot of pressure to be like her for two reasons. The first reason is I never knew her. She died before I was born so I don’t know how I would even want to act if I wanted to be like her. The second reason is because my family tells me I would have loved her because I am just like her. She was the nicest person with the sweetest voice and she was always just so happy to see our whole family come together. My shortened name, Cassie, was my mom’s favorite character in a soap opera when she was a kid. My mom named me Cassandra so if I didn’t like Cassie I had options. I could be Cassandra or Sandy or Sandra or just Cass if that was what I wanted but I was always supposed to be a Cassie. I have never actually watched this soap opera but I have seen pictures of this character. A tall, pretty blonde with blue eyes. Ironically my mom named me this before realizing that I was going to be a blonde with blue eyes. I am happy with the way I look with my name because my mom got exactly what she wanted when she decided that was what I was supposed to be named. I love my name. I wouldn’t change it in a thousand years. My only option would be to legally change my name to Cassie instead of Cassandra but I refuse to do that for an aesthetic reason. Cassandra Caroline sounds nicer than Cassie Caroline and that is honestly the only reason I won’t change my name. I feel like my name does suit me. Cassie is short and happy and I feel like that’s who I am but I can also tell people my name is Cassandra in a more professional setting and it sounds fancier than Cassie. The only way I can see myself being a different person is if I was called Cassandra instead of having my name shortened to Cassie. I feel like I would be the same person with a different name because I would have still been raised the same exact way if I was a Sarah or an Emily or a Maddy. I don’t really care if people call me Cassandra, Cassie, or Cass because I have always lived by all of those names. Different people also call me different names. Tyler and Chance are the only people in the world who only call me Cass, like that is my contact name for them. Most people call me Cassie and occasionally shorten to Cass. There are only two people who call me Cassandra whenever I really see them and that is Andre and Lauren’s mom, Mandy. I definitely associate traits to names. For me this mainly happens in books because I need a picture to create in my head when I first hear a name. In Percy Jackson there is a character named Reyna which to me just sounds like a fancy name. She walks with her back straight and chin up, shaking hands instead of hugging people. She is hardened by life experiences that no one really knows about but just assume are there by the way she carries herself. Then there is another character named Hazel. She is a soft person. Her eyes just make you want to talk to her because she looks like the nicest person in the world. She hugs people when she first meets them and says hi to every person she sees walking down the street. It’s stuff like this where a name absolutely determines how you see someone but there are also people who are total opposites. Also in Percy Jackson there is a guy named Frank. I see him as a jock. Someone who thinks they are better than everyone else in the world. But in the book he is a sweetheart. He falls in love with Hazel because they are the exact same person. So yeah everyone has a name but that doesn’t mean anything about who they are.
ReplyDeleteI’m not really sure how or why I was named Emily. When I was younger, my mom told me that I was going to be named Alivia at first. Weird, right? She told me that my dad did not really like that name so they continued to think about what I would be called. Eventually, I guess they just decided to name me Emily. In the end, my mom said that she liked my name better than Alivia. I have to agree with her because I feel like Alivia doesn’t suit me like Emily does, I have nothing against the name, but it’s just not for me. I couldn’t imagine my friends calling me Alivia, or any other name besides Emily. I feel like it would be weird if I had a different name and I would never change the one I have. If I had a different name or if I changed it, I feel like I would take on a different personality and basically become a new/different person. I would probably act the same and look/dress the same, but a different name would make me feel like a separate person. At the same time, if I had a different name from birth, I wouldn’t feel any different. I am just so used to being called Emily that it makes it seem like being called any other name would be weird. If I was named something else, I would say the same thing about being named Emily. It’s just all in how we grow up and who we become, and name has almost no influence on that. Our names are just a way to associate someone with how they look and act. When I hear a certain name, especially if I know someone with the same name, I create a vision of what I imagine that other person would be like. If another person has the same name as my friend or someone else I know, I picture that person to be someone similar. I associate their traits to their names, so I imagine that others with the same name will look and act similarly to them. It’s a weird concept because everyone is different, no matter their name, but it is hard to not make an assumption about what they will be like solely on their name. I don’t mind when people shorten my name to Em or “m and m”(like my parents call me). It’s all the same and it’s not like they are making fun of me. It all has the same meaning and usually means that the person is more comfortable around me. I don’t get mad when people mispronounce my name because that never happens. I mean, c’mon, Emily is a really common name that is nearly impossible to mispronounce. It would be really bad if someone messed it up. Even if they did, it happens to everyone and mistakes happen. No big deal. Overall, I love my name and I would never change it. At this point, it is a part of who I am, and it is a way for others to identify me. Everyone knows me as Emily, so it would be weird to change my name now.
ReplyDeleteI used to think that my name was special, as I didn’t really know any other people who possessed it. But at the same time, I was tired of being called one of Alexa’s counterparts, like Alexis, Alexia, Alex, etc. I honestly got used to all of the endless mispronunciations, and was just happy that I was being acknowledged. Well back a couple years ago, my distinctive name was given to a smart speaker owned by Amazon, and all I could think was “Oh boy, here we go...” “Alexa how’s the weather?” “Alexa play Despacito.” Alexa this. Alexa that. I felt like the universe was paying me back for wishing that my name had been common, and not misshaped by everyone that I met. On the brightside, now everyone knows my name, and I finally have a “personality trait” that everyone associates with me- me being your robotic little assistant. I often wondered why Amazon decided to pick the name “Alexa” for their virtual servant, so I looked up why. Supposedly, the engineers selected Alexa because it sounded fairly unique, with it's soft vowels and "x." The name is also a little reminiscent of the library of Alexander, which was at one time the keeper of all knowledge. Now, I don’t mind being associated with that, but I could definitely deal without the corny jokes. I feel like in 20 years, people will think that I was named AFTER Amazon’s robot, since the details of when it actually came out will be all foggy then. I also feel like people will actually start naming their children after Amazon’s success, and it won’t be so unique anymore. But there’s so much more to the name, my name; not where I got it, though. My name was supposed to be Alexis (which is actually disgusting to me, no offense to any Alexis’ out there), and then one day, my dad went to work and met a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman named “Alexa.” He told my mom about it, and she thought that it was the prettiest name, and she quickly changed her mind about naming me Alexis; honestly thank God because I like “Alexa” a lot more, and I definitely would be different if my name was. However, my middle name is my mom’s name, Beth. My mom justified giving me that “privilege” because I looked like her, which made sense; but at the same time, it put pressure on me because I thought that she wanted me to be just like her. I still feel like I’m the “favored” child just because I’m like the exact replica of my mom and her side of the family. That definitely stresses me out at times, as I feel like I’ll never live up to my mom’s expectations. And honestly, she doesn’t put a lot of pressure on me at all, and she’s always there to support me. I just put the pressure on myself because I feel like I need to live up to my mom. Anyway, back to my first name. I looked it up to see what it really means, besides just being associated with Amazon: Alexa is the female form of Alexander, which comes from the Greek. It can be broken down into “alexo” meaning “to defend” and “ander,” meaning “man.” So basically my name means “defender of man.” I’m still a little weary on what that says about me, but whatever. A name is a name, and everyone shares one with other people. I do happen to love my name, and I honestly feel like it suits me; “Alexa” sounds sweet and subtle to me, and I feel like that’s how I am (to most people at least). It’s kind of hard to explain how much it means to me, but it’s mine and it’s something permanent that I can hold onto in life. As I mentioned before, if my name was different, I’d definitely be a different person, or at least look different. For example, if my name was like Eleanor or Samantha or something, I’d probably dress like some stuck-up, privileged, Catholic girl. If my name was just Alex, I’d probably dress more like a tomboy. I feel like my name right now is the perfect mix of girly and tomboy-ness, if that makes sense.
ReplyDeleteYour name really creates your life. Like everyone knows that Kyles drink monster and cool ranch doritos while playing video games, and run up their basement stairs on all fours when their mom says that the hot pockets are done. And Madisons are stuck-up bitches who get everything and anything they want by sucking up to everyone they come in contact with, and who whine when they don’t get their way. And how every girl knows to STAY AWAY from any guy who’s name starts with a “J.” Maybe those are just my perceptions, and I don’t know how other people view me based solely on my name. My only hope is that they don’t base me off of Amazon’s virtual assistant.
Deleteomg i'm so sorry maddy, i didn't mean to use your name like that; i just thought a girl name- and i knew a madison in middle school who left a bad taste in my mouth
DeleteWhen I was born, my mom said that it took her at least 4 days to come up with my name. Originally, my name was supposed to be Chelsea. My oldest sister is named Alexis and then my other older sister’s name is Brittany. So it was supposed to be A-B-C, then D for my brother later on, like the alphabet. I guess if that worked out it would have been pretty cool, but I am completely content with not being named Chelsea. I just can’t picture myself having that name. My mom said she always liked the name Maddy and she knew when I was born that I definitely was not a Chelsea, so she went with Madison. I wasn’t named after anyone special, she just thought the name was pretty. My middle name is Renee. This has always been a little weird to me because all of my siblings' middle names are the names of our grandparents or great grandparents, but mine isn’t. Like my first name, my middle name does not have any cool origin or special meaning behind it. I’m fine with this because I don’t have to live up to any expectations or fill any shoes. However, I do kind of wish that my name had a little bit of significance like my siblings do. I think my name suits me pretty well. It’s rather simplistic, but that’s what I like so much about it. I mostly go by Maddy or Mads anyway, only some teachers call me Madison. I like how my friends and family can call me by my nickname, but I do have my full name as a more formal option I guess. If I had the opportunity, I wouldn’t change my name. I think my first and middle names sound too good together to change them. I do often relate names to certain characteristics like hair or eye color. For example, I don’t know why, but the name Chelsea just seems like it belongs to a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. That's why I don't think that name would really fit me. Similarly, when I read, I make a picture of the characters in my head just based off of their personality and how they act. Often times, when the movie version of a book comes out, the actors are not at all how I pictured the characters would look, which kinda sucks. My name is pretty basic and I’ve never heard anyone mispronounce it. The one common mistake is spelling it Maddie with an ie, instead of Maddy with a y, which is what I prefer personally. It doesn’t really make me mad though because it’s an easy mistake to make.
ReplyDeleteSince I was my parents first kid together, naming me was something they struggled with for the entire pregnancy. My mom was basic, and wanted to name me Zoey, they both loved Lenny Kravitz and wanted me to have the same name as his daughter. Who, by the way, is STUNNING. But, my dad wanted my name to be different, and stand out from a crowd. And boy oh boy, it sure does. Amaziah. Straight from the bible, a name of a King, but a unisex name meaning extraordinary. Talk about setting some high standards straight from birth. Do I love my name? Ye. I've never met another Amaziah, and people are always fascinated by this name. I don't know if it "suits me". I don't think people who don't know me would see me and go, "Hmmmm... she looks like an Amaziah". But I do strive to live up to the standards of my name's meaning, and anytime I am not, my parents love to remind me of. If I were named something else, I don't think I'd be anyone different. I think I'd still be goofy, bubbly, Mazi or Zoey or whatever I would be named. But, I think I would blend in more. I feel like my name makes me stand out. When I read, I always picture the characters in my head. I am a visual learner so I'm not sure if that's apart of it but I always have an idea in my head of what they look like, sound like, dress like, etc. I don't get angry when people shorten my name, in fact when people call me "Amaziah", I'm usually in trouble. Anyone and everyone calls me Mazi or Maz, but Maz is usually for the people I'm closest with. If I hear Bunjor ,my parents or Wilbraham call me Amaziah, I know I'm in some shittttttttt.
ReplyDeleteMy mom knew since the first day of her pregnancy she wanted me to be a Rachel. My aunt, her sister, had my cousin a year before me and wanted to name her Rachel. My mom and her got into a little argument about it because my mom always loved the name. My mom ended up winning obviously. My mom did mention she heard Rachel from the show Friends and just stuck with it. I do like my name, it isn't different, but also isn't basic. I never met as many Rachel's as I did Livs, Giannas,Emilys, etc. I've had many nick names. Just the basic Rachel I get called once in a while, but my mom's uncle has always called me Ray Ray. During softball my team called me Stuber or Ranchel Sherbert. I haven't had many other nicknames.Some people will mess around and call me Rachelle, but other than that I don't have many. None of these nicknames make me upset or mad, I find them funny. Stuber people mess around with and say stupid or scooter. You can't really mess up Rachel which I like, I wouldn't have to correct people.
ReplyDeleteA name to me can say a lot about who you are. Names do have meaning, mine just isn't as interesting as other peoples. Basically Olivia means the Latin origin of "olive tree". But other people have pretty cool names like Hope, Winter, Love, etc. I was not named after a family member or anyone in general. My parents joke around and say they named me after the show "Olivia The Pig", which I hope isn't true. I was suppose to be named Nicole until my mom switched it at the last second and decided Olivia was prettier. My middle name, Rose, was named after a family member. Being named after a relative never gave me pressure to act like them or anything like that. Maybe because it's my middle name and not my first name, but still. I don't necessarily adore my name. I think Olivia doesn't suit me. I actually don't like when people call me Olivia. It just sounds too proper for me. If I could change my name I would change it to Liv. Liv suits me and that's what I prefer to be called. I've been called Liv for the past about 7 years now and sometimes people actually think my real name is Liv because people use it so often. I do believe I would look different if my name wasn't Olivia. I always think about how I would look or what my personality would be if my name was Nicole. I know what you mean by knowing what people look like by their name. For example, I always think of Emily's and Hannah's with blonde hair and blue eyes, and I think of Gianna's with brown hair brown eyes. I personally love when people shorten my name to Liv or Livy. I hate when people pronounce my name with an A in the front instead of an O, like "Alivia". Like no, my name is "Olivia", so you have to use the O in the beginning, and to be surprised, many people do this.
ReplyDeleteJames King Curtis iii, It's a name I am honored at having. A legacy I have and have to pass on to my future son James King Curtis IV. My Grandfather started the legacy that I'm proud to be part of. My Grandfather has changed SO MANY people’s lives drug dealers, gangs you name it. He was well a well-known minister and a friend of so many. He was respected by many and respected them no matter the background or who they are. My father James King Curtis ii or jr. was raised well by my grandfather. While I'm still learning his ways I'm glad I was taught one thing. To love all those equally. This lesson has impacted my life and others. This lesson alone has gotten along 17 years of my life; this was something he was taught and something I have to pass down as well. I am blessed to have a spiritually filled family, I was able to see God work so many powerful things in my dad's life. Now that I carry the name I don’t think of it as a burden i think of it as responsibility almost as a sacred name. This name I have to keep on living to its fullest potential, I was trusted with this name and now I have to let it live on. If I was named something else I don’t know if it would have much of an impact on me but the fact my name was decided from the day my dad was born, it was already known I will have that name. If I had to go back t my great grandparents and think why they started the legacy I would think it had something to do with the Bible. James was Jesus's brother in the bible so I would say it has to do with being a friend of Jesus which explains why we are so close to him. If I had to be honest, when people shorten my name there are a few students in me but its not a big deal, I don’t want to become too arrogant with my name. I do believe at the end of the day names have a purpose but for each person it's different. For example, in the bible, these characters were named after something like Queen Ester named after a star or Elijah meaning my God is YAHWEH.
ReplyDeleteFrom the day my mom found out she was pregnant, she knew she wanted my name to be an Irish name to flow good with my last name, which is also Irish. So her and my dad went through a bunch of Irish girl names and the one that stuck out the most to them was Skyler. They think it flowed the best with my last name. I can't imagine why. SKYler MOONey. hmmmm. I would make a good metoroligist. I have always loved my name because not a lot of people have it, especially spelled the way mine is spelled. My parents opted with the E instead of A because my middle name starts with an E and my last name has an E in it. I think my name is kind of unique. Most people just call me Skye, which is a name I also really like. My middle name is Elizabeth. And this is weird to say, but my middle name is actually named after Queen Elizabeth l, of England. My grandmother is from England, and it is a tradition in the family, where everyone has to have a middle name that is of a King or Queen. This tradition is quite popular amongst English families actually. So it was always between Victoria or Elizabeth for my parents, but in the end they went with Elizabeth because my dad ended up not liking the name Victoria anymore. I honestly think if I had another name I wouldn't really like it. My mom and dad both have uncommon names so I just wouldn't like to have one that is common. I know I wouldn't look different or act different but I think that I would feel different.
ReplyDeleteLuckily I have already written a paper about the meaning of my name and proudly presented it way back in third grade. Janessa Marie Dauber. My mother named me when she was apparently sitting in Dunkin Donuts with her best friend at the time. She always loved the name Vanessa, however she knew her magnificent daughter was going to be different. She told me that she sat there and went through the alphabet with the -anessa ending.. Anessa, Banessa, Canessa. Then she got to the letter J and here I am known as Janessa. In my mother’s mind she invented my name, however there are other Janessas out there. If you do a quick Google, or Instagram search you will see, most of them have brown eyes and brown hair. According to my mother Marie was a popular middle name and she thought it flowed with my first name. Janessa Marie. The name that she would call me if I was getting yelled at or if I was being told how much I was loved. Dauber is my mother’s last name, she was an unmarried teenager when she had me so she gave me her last name. In seventh grade I wrote and presented another paper about my name, this time it was focused on nicknames. I remember my seventh grade English teacher, Mrs. E, and how she kept telling me how she loved the name Vanessa and Janessa because a nickname that followed closely by is Nessa. Nessa is indeed my nickname, however only family calls me that. “Ness”or “Nessa” would constantly be called around close friends that I would bring around my family and soon they started to call me that too. I wouldn’t mind when my best friends would call me that, but I used to get annoyed when they would call me Nessa in front of other people, then they would think they had the right to also call me Nessa.In school I have always been Janessa but when I got home I would be Nessa. I recently grew out of this feeling during basketball season while I was a manger, my best friend Maddie called me Nessa in front of the basketball boys and soon they caught on. Anytime I see them around school they don’t hesitate to yell out the name Nessaaaaa and it doesn’t seem to bother me like it did in the past, I enjoy being acknowledged. I have other nicknames too. My grandma has a few nicknames that are SO EMBARRASSING. Not only once, but twice she has walked into my room calling me this one particular nickname while I was on facetime not realizing how bad it actually is. Of course the people I was facetime with acknowledged her ridiculous nickname and made fun of me when they got the chance. I will not post it on here but just know that it’s pretty bad, but it’s okay because I love it. I love it because my grandmother only has the right to call me by that nickname and she has called me that for as long as I can remember. Another embarrassing nickname my grandmother gave me is Messy Nessy. Ahh I know.. cringe. She gave me this nickname because I was the messy child, I can bring up countless baby photos with food smeared all over my face. This nickname was only a phase, and as I grew up and learned how to properly eat, my grandma stopped calling me that. Personally, I love my name, it’s unique but not too different. Growing up I disliked it, I always thought why couldn’t I just be named Vanessa, but now I feel like Vanessa wouldn’t suit me. People often mispronounce my name, which I find it hard to understand, my name is Vanessa but with a juh sound replacing the vuh sound. I often get called Ja(knee)ssa when people read my name off a attendance sheet.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the fact that names stick with you and as soon as you hear that name another person’s character traits come to mind. However I don’t think I would be much different if my name wasn't Janessa. If I had a more common name I probably would feel like I fit in more or either made me feel even more isolated due to the fact that I don’t act like the others that have the same name as me. I believe a first name carries an expectation, especially if a person has known another person with that name. I believe that first impressions and how you introduce your name has significance. Last names, in my opinion, carry more weight than a first name. I see ancestors’ history written in every letter of a last name. It’s a disadvantage if your ancestors/family hold a specific reputation and you don’t fit in it. “Oh you don’t act lIke a__”, “You’re siblings would never do that”, “I heard __s are crazy”. You get the point. When it comes to stories I guess I do ascribe certain characteristics to characters without even acknowledging. Like I mentioned before, as soon as I hear a familiar name I relate them to the person I already know.
DeleteMaxwell Dean Tran, my name has no connection with anyone of my family members. I am one of few that have an english name on my father's side and not an vietnamese name. I knew my parents wanted me to have an english name. Therefore, I never felt the stress or pressure of leaving under the shadow of a family member due to their name. However, I understand how such a title would lead to expectations to replicate who he or she is named by. For myself the original plan was for my name to be my middle name. So instead of Maxwell it would have been Dean. Thankfully my Dad stumbled upon a coworker at the FAA. Who has the name Maxwell and he goes "oh that's a nice name," hence how I got my first name. I can't imagine my name being Dean only one syllable. I don't mind if people shorten my name to Max it easier and sounds less tense when people say "Hi Max," instead of "Hello Maxwell," it boils down to that in formal occasions I rather have people address me as my full name, but with just my friends or at school by all means do what you please. However, I have been commented that my name is basic. Oh well not many people have it so it's special to me. I do agree that if I had a different name my personality would have been different. Your name leaves and identity to who you are and your legacy.
ReplyDeleteWell my Dad wanted to name me after actor Ethan Hawke but he only go half of his wish so that’s how I ended up with my first name being Ethan. This was definitely weird but it wasn’t anything new as my Sister got her first name Melina from some famous person too. My middle name Cyprian was my grandfathers first name and my last name Vialva was from my Dad’s side of the family. Having the fail my name didn’t put any kind of enormous pressure on me to be something because despite my father and my grandfather both serving in the military at one point, I was never pushed too hard about following in their footsteps. Im fine with my name now, but when I was younger I went through a “phase” where I wanted to change my name to Jake Wood (you can’t make this stuff up). I was promptly teased about it and thankfully it knocked me back to my senses. If I had a different name then might have been a different person because names have special meanings to them. The name Ethan is Hebrew in origin and means Firm or Strong. The name Cyprian is Latin in origin and means from Cypress, Greece which is a location. The name Vialva means Destiny, Luck and Powerful Symbolism. In its own way names give character to people and can influence who they are.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading literature, it can be easy to give characteristics to characters based off their names because a book leaves a lot to the imagination and unless they give you a character description, then you would probably take a first guess as to what a character will be like based off their name. I don’t really mind when people shorten my name as my Dad calls me E but when people mispronounce my last name multiple times, I get slightly annoyed because the truth is that my last name really isn’t that hard to say ( it’s pronounced V-Alva) but a lot of people don’t want to take the time to correct their pronunciation of it or even don’t really care. We all have names for a reason and every name is special to the person given that name.
I was named Brooke because of my great grandmother on my mom's side. She just happened to like the name, but the interesting thing is what I was almost named. My dad being the guy he was was trying to name me Longport. L-O-N-G-P-O-R-T. I'm thankful that it fell through, I mean imagine trying to explain that to people who asked. It comes from the place I was conceived not that it makes anything better. I think I would have just told people my name was porter if they asked. If i didn't, I almost guarantee that it would be a long string of bullying. I got my fathers last name, Denshuick, which is German I think and my middle name is Ann. Though, I'm not sure why, I think it was just a go to on the birth certificate. So there, Brooke Ann Denshuick, or B.A.D if you prefer.
ReplyDeleteMy name and nickname have a long story behind it. Either way if I was going to be a boy or girl my name was going to be based off of a relatives, or just a family last name. I'll start off with the girls name since, I’m not one obviously. My name would have been Ireland Flippen. This was all based off of my Great Grandfathers last name Ireland, who my mom was very close with, but that I never got to meet, because he passed away before I was born. Now to the boy part, Between my parents they wanted two different names, my Mom wanted George and to call me Geo, after my late Great Grandfather, and my Dad wanted David. My Dad picked David after his brother David Flippen who he was closest with out of all of his 10 siblings. My Uncle passed away as well a few years before I was born. Obviously as you can tell now my Dad won. The only thing with this though is my mom hates the name David, especially Dave. My mom could care less what anyone wants to call me, but when someone tries to call me Dave she would and will usually correct them , and tell them no it’s just David. So my full name is David James Flippen, the James being for my grandfather and Uncle on her side, so you could say my whole name is just relatives combined. Anyway, my mom didn’t want anyone calling me David, so she decided my nickname was going to be DJ, and as you can tell its stuck ever since. Honestly, I love my name I couldn’t imagine being a George, or anything else, and plus it’s wayyyyy less common the name David. It’s very rare that after someone meets me they keep calling me David, It’s either DJ, Deej, or Flip. Since I didn’t know my Uncle David I don’t feel as if there really was any pressure on me, now if I knew him maybe there would be, but from what everyone says, him and the rest of past family members I didn’t get to meet, everyones always telling me they would have loved me. I’ve never been the type of person to put a certain name to a face, or imagine what they look like, certain wardrobe choices maybe, but not a look on their face. If my name wasn’t David James Flippen or DJ, I don't think I would be the same person I am today.
ReplyDeleteMy name is original to my family as far as I know, but I would imagine that if I were named after a family member, I wouldn’t feel any pressure to act like them or “be as good as them.” That’s because I think being named after someone is simply a formality by the parents to show admiration or respect to that person, it’s sort of unfair to the kid, but it really has nothing to do with them. I think I do love my name, I would say it suits me because I can’t imagine being called anything else, but I would be saying the same thing about any name if I had been called that all my life too. I don’t think I would change it, when I was little (5-7), I wanted my name to be Trent because that was my favorite Power Ranger’s name, but now I don’t think I’d want to be anything but Steven. I don’t think having a different name would change anything about me other than just that. All I can say is thank god my name isn’t Chad, Brad, Bryce, or something of that sort because those names definitely have negative connotations, at least to me. Those are really the only names that I associate characteristics to and that characteristic is… douchey. I know that my name is from Greek origin, which is pretty cool, and it’s a royal name meaning crown, honor, or fame. I became Steven due to a multitude of reasons. My mom had a cousin named Stephen named after Saint Stephen and my mom liked the name, but changed it to the “v” variant to make it different. At the same time, as hilarious as this is, my older sister was obsessed with blues clues at the time and the host’s name was Steve. My mom is also a teacher and thought to herself that she never met a Steven she didn’t like, so that contributed to it as well, because the other name she was considering for me, Anthony, had some negative connotations because of kids she met in her job. So that’s the story of Steven. I don’t get mad when people shorten it to things like “Steve” or whatever, that’s fine. Oddly enough though, not that many people call me Steve, so it’s always weird on the first day of school when teachers ask, I usually tell them I don’t care between Steven or Steve, and if they insist I opt to Steven because really the only people that call me Steve are my immediate family and some of my closest friends, so it’s sometimes weird to hear other people use it. At the start of High School though, both of the sports I participate in, Chess and Baseball, (I love calling Chess a sport because it technically is and it gets people mad sometimes), were coached by Sean Olson, who knew me years before and always called me Flick because of my last name, so, now everyone in Chess and Baseball calls me Flick and I’m pretty sure half of the Baseball team doesn’t know my first name which honestly doesn’t bother me. As far as mispronunciations go, I think you’d have to be actually illiterate to mispronounce Steven, so I never encountered that issue.
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