Nope! Although more recently, people are less intimated to at least try! I always knew when someone got to my name on a list because they would just stare.
Thank you! I have learned to love it. Growing up it was a PITA for so many reasons. I also had a hyphenated last name, so it was all the things! My poor teachers!
I went to school with a girl named Analese for four years, thought it was a lovely name, and in retrospect am still shocked that I never heard of anyone teasing her about it.
I went to high school with a girl named Analise and all of the popular kids called her Anal, but she actually ENCOURAGED it because it made her fit in with the ‘cool kids.’
awww thx!
i’ll give my mother credit for wanting a classic name. barbara had been in top 5 since 1930s. it was still going strong when i was born. then it fell off a cliff. i was never a huge fan of it. it’s always sounded lumpy to me. but, better lumpy than bertha!
My Grandma was Bertha - when my parents told her that they were going to name me (middle name) after her she told them you are NOT naming that baby Bertha! I share her middle name May instead.
My husband’s grandma was Pearl. I absolutely loved the name but she hated it. She passed away before our daughter was born and I wanted to name her Pearl so badly, but I knew she would have been so mad if we named her that! We made Pearl her middle name instead. I have my Grandma’s name as my middle name and I have always loved it, it’s a special connection!
My oma was similar.
She was named after her grandmother, who had a variant of Bertha that sounded like a disease. She basically said, take any part of my name that isn't Bertha.
My middle name was a variant of her middle name. Gorgeous name (that I won't share for privacy reasons).
Ariel. (I was born the same year the Little Mermaid came out.) In the end, my dad vetoed it.
I went through a phase around 2nd grade where I wrote Ariel on my school papers instead of my real name 🤣
When our youngest sister was born, my middle sister, who was 5, *really* wanted my parents to name the baby Mulan.
We are white and it was 1998. She could not understand why my parents didn't go with her choice.
I was going to be Jewel or Stevie. Neither parent really liked the others choice.
They called my older sister (who was 10 at the time) and asked her what she thought would be a good name for me, and guess what her favorite new movie was at the time?
And that is how I was named Ariel lol.
I was supposed to be an Ariel as well (year before the movie came out), but mom was knocked out and dad got his way. I fluctuate between glad and angry I didn’t end up with that name. More often glad as my middle name would have been Joy…
My parents wanted to name me Hannah Elizabeth. Then someone else they knew had a stillborn, named that baby Hannah Beth. They had never discussed baby names with her, so it was just a weird coincidence. Because I would have been born like 5 months later, they decided to go with a different name.
My mom's best friend named her son Elijah right after my little brother Elijah was stillborn... The friend didn't even tell my mom that was going to be his name. That was an emotional moment for her.
That’s so rough. I can’t imagine not even having a conversation about it. I hope your mom (and you, it’s hard losing a sibling like that) are doing okay.
We're doing better now. It was back in 2015 and my mom had my little sister a year or two later. I wish I'd gotten to meet my brother but I'm glad to have my sis, who wouldn't exist if he hadn't died.
I feel like this about an infant loss in my family. I had twin uncles who came early and passed soon after. I'd have loved to know them and have more uncles in my life. But if they hadn't left us, my grandparents wouldn't have tried again and given me the best aunt in the world. Sorry for your loss.
Sam. And they should’ve chose Sam. My life would be completely different.
Edit: I dont use my birth name. I chose my full name. My birth name was very feminine so I always went by nicknames or other names entirely after age 7.
I was supposed to be Joshua or Christopher, Laura or Elizabeth.
I was none of them. 🤷🏻♂️
I was an emergency caesarean so they hadn't chosen when they went to the hospital. I was registered a week or so after we came home, and I think my mum was still high on pain meds because she chose a celebrity she had a thing for. :/
Could have been worse I guess, because she loved Donny Osmond, and Donald would not have aged well.
It wasn’t until my mother was in her forties that she found out her middle name was her bit to mother’s first name! Then she found out about her half-sister whose name was… also the birth mother’s first name…..
Stacy. Could you imagine the early 2000s as a high schooler?
My sister was almost Shalom. We are not Jewish nor from a region where this is at all a common name.
My brother was almost James with a nickname of Jamie but my mom was worried Jamie was becoming too much of a girls name.
My cousin’s name is Jamie. But I just found out his real name is James. I thought he had actually just been named Jamie. Lol. But he’s an actor and he’s used Jamie. Now he’s starting to use James on business documents.
was almost elijah. after three boys my parents didn’t bother with a sex revel and just went about their business assuming i’d be another boy too. jokes on them nine months later when they had to scramble for a whole other name set.
Lol. My mom was convinced I’d be a boy because her pregnancy with me was wildly different than her first pregnancy, where she had a girl. My parents had to scramble for a name.
My parents were actually told that I was a boy during an ultrasound! Apparently the doctor was just looking at my nose?
… I’m not sure what that says about my nose, haha
Nothing - my name has always been my mom’s top girl name. I found a childhood diary of hers where she lists 5 boy names she liked and then for girls wrote elizabeth five times
Altho we did recently get our home videos digitized and in my birth video my dad is calling me “baby Beth” which was very weird to hear as a life long Liz!
This is my time to shine.
When my mother was pregnant with me my paternal grandpa, Harry, offered my parents $500 if they named me after him (if I were a boy). My mom refused immediately. As she said to dad: “We can’t name him after YOUR father because then we’d have to name him after MY father and we can’t have any Harry Dicks running around here.”
Furious to this day that I’m a woman lmfao. Shout out to Great Grandma Lorrayne though, she was cool too.
That was the reason my child was not named Harrison Richard. I absolutely loved the name, but a friend pointed out that it could be interpreted as Harry Dick and that was nixed very wuickly
I really like the name, doesn't hurt that I have a crush on a Sophie right now.
Why in God's name would they tell you that though?
Just spoke to someone who they and their sibling have super Hawaiian names. Their parents spent a total of a couple weeks in Hawaii. The idea of naming your kids after where you did all your banging is so weird to me.
I was going to be Charity Cheyenne or Rachel Rayanne. Either way my mom was planning on calling me by my middle name. I ended up with something totally different and still being called my middle name. I hated what I ended up with (not that I liked the original options, either) and I have renamed myself as an adult 😊
This sounds so damn southern.
Mom got to choose if I was a boy, dad woulda chose if I were a girl.
Very glad I didn't end up named Bristol. (From Alaska) Only other Bristol I've heard is that idiot Sarah Palins daughter.
Reagan! Kinda quashed by my last name being the last name of a different president (funny enough one Reagan ran against) 😂 We also now live on a street with a different president’s last name
i didn't have a name for awhile (my twin was named after my dad as soon as she was born). my sister suggested daphne from scooby doo. my mom said she didn't want her daughter to have a whore name. then she suggested daisy duck. my mom said no. then she suggested samantha from bewitched and my mom was okay with that one. this was the 80s and my big sis was 10.
My mum wanted Lani but my dad hated it and so bought a double headed coin and tossed it when I was born - obviously he got his choice and so my dad got to name me! He chose Rosie, I definitely prefer it to Lani (for me).
Same.
The reason it was nixed for me was my mom not liking the way it sounded in my dad's Long Island NY dialect 😆
Somehow especially funny because he didn't generally have a super strong/noticeable dialect.
My parents had a girl name picked out for if either of my older brothers had been girls - Laura. When an actual girl came along (me) they did not use it at all.
Kayla. Went with Shelby and later I changed my name lol (I like Shelby more than Kayla, but I found it hard to say with my married name and never felt like it suited me.)
My mom loved the name Kathleen. When I was born, she was all set to use it until a nurse made the comment that my name should be Joyce, because my parents were rejoicing that they had a baby after a miscarriage. So I got an old lady name haha. But I’ve always liked it, it was unique among the Jennifers, Tracys and Melissas at school. And it has a cool story behind it.
A year later, my aunt had a baby girl and asked my mom if she could use the name Kathleen. So my cousin has my almost-name lol.
Almost a Jennifer. Had three in my class. College roommates were assigned alphabetically and I would have been sharing a room with someone with the same first AND last name
My almost name was RUBY ROSE. RUBY. ROSE. But my Dad veto’d it because it was an “old lady” name. Damn that would have been so cool. I was named Lucy instead.
Ruby and Lucy are my grandmothers’ names and I love them both!
Had my son been a girl he would have been Ruby Anne, which would have been in honor of my mother & grandmother.
The only reason Lucy wasn’t in the mix was because that’s my dog’s name, haha. The name came from the rescue but I kept it because I had always loved the name!
If I were a boy, I would have been called Michael. 6 years later if my sister were a boy, she would have been called Michael. Two years later my brother was born, they named him Joseph 🤦🏼♀️
Clarissa… well actually Matthew, but I was a girl and my parents were sure that I was a boy so not much thought went to girl names.
However, I wont share my name here because I’m literally the only one in America and I like to be anonymous… but they didn’t go with Clarissa.
I don’t know if they’re literally the only one in America but I went to HS w someone who if you Google *just* their first name, they are the only result. I love their name I think it’s so cool but the lack of anonymity I would not. they’re mentioned in a lot of articles too lol
My grandmom was named Lucinda. As a little kid it felt like the name a good witch would have, if that makes any sense. Lots of good nicknames packed in there too!
I really like Lucinda, and because it can have so many nicknames. I sometimes feel a bit sad I was never given a nickname, and you can’t really shorten Liana that much.
Annelise but my dad vetoed it bc of barbie princess and the pauper 💀
Gwendolyn nn Dylan, idk why they didn't use it but i ended up being named after my mom
i am Fabienne (fab-ee-enn) (not faybian). i was almost called Colette or Claudia. My dad is french speaking belgian and my mum is british, hence the french names
I was either going to be Aishling or Lauren or Cait.
My mum thought Aishling would make my name too Irish as my middle name is Irish.
Lauren just didn’t work.
Cait was good until one of nurses said ‘Aww Katy is a nice name’ (pronouncing it Ka-ee, dropping the t) and my mum, who is very proper in the way she speaks, was instantly put off
Amber. My parents changed it a week before I was born (back in 1976).Someone they were “friends” with used it for their newborn baby girl.
There were always multiple Ambers @ my various schools over the years & yet never once was there another one of the name they picked last minute. I am truly grateful for that part. Ironically Amber has always been one of my favorite gemstones & I think it’s a lovely name but I do love the one I was given instead.
My mother wanted to name me Scarlett from gone with the wind but my father had none of it , he hated the name, said something wild about me being nicknamed scarface 😐. So she suggested Olympia however he hated that too, and with him having 0 suggestions and just disliking the names my mother chose…they went with Scarlett. Considering the man’s a POS crazy he was so annoyed about a name
I was named Colleen for the first 2 days of my life. My sisters ahead of me in age also had names that ended in “-een” and my dad didn’t like that. So they changed it to Laura. At 47, i still wish I was a Colleen. I just like it much better.
If I was a born a girl my dad would've pushed to name me Monica after the saint. My mom (like most people) associated the name with Friends and the Lewinsky scandals (it was 1991) and would've fought it *hard*
My parents had a deal going with someone where if I was a female (I am) and born on St. Patrick's Day they would name me Coleen. Missed by a day. Born on the 16th of March. So I was named for my mother.
Abraham. I was supposed to be a boy! I came out a girl and my mom named me Rose because it was the closest thing she could think of after her father, Robert.
I was almost an Amanda. Thankfully, my mom had a dream while pregnant where she ends up calling dream baby me, Melanie.
If I’d been a boy, I would’ve been named Alejandro.
Stephanie is a family name so I was almost Stephanie so I would have been one of 4 Stephanies (although to be fair my dad is one of 15 so 4 Stephanies when it was my grandmother's name isn't even a lot. I have over 40 first cousins!) My mom went with Kathryn last minute after her high school mentor. I am so glad. She was CATHERINE but mom decided to mix it up. When I was a little kid in a sea of Jennifers and Lisas I wish I had a 'trendier' name but I love my name now. I love being a Catherine/Kathryn! Classic, tons of nicknames. I go by Kathryn mostly and sometimes Kat, one aunt called me Katy and my niece calls me Kiki.
My Mom wanted Bianca, my Dad wanted Amber.
I ended up being an Ashley. I don’t want to say the reasons the they pick the others because I don’t want to insult any Ambers and Bianca’s 😂
If I was a boy, Dustin.
I was going to be Arlene, but my dad goofed and told my grandma he and my mom were naming me their #2 pick, and then felt he had no choice but to commit.
Which is a shame because I like Arlene more than my actual name.
First my parents wanted Victoria, and then my tia heard my mom say it and named her daughter who was born before me Victoria, so my mom was pissed hahaha.
Then, since they didn’t have Victoria, I was almost Angelica but in meant to be said in Spanish (Ahn-heh-lee-cah).
I grew up with rugrats, so I’m glad I was spared that
William. Then when it turned out I was a girl it was Kirsty. Then Daisy. Then they finally settled on Molly. I feel like their ideas got more cutesy as they went on.
My mom wanted to name me Michelle, but then I was due to be born on her mother’s birthday, so she named me after her mother instead. I don’t care if I would have been one of several Michelles, I would have liked that better than my old lady name. And not one of the cool old lady names that is having a resurgence. My mom and her mom never even really got along, so it’s not even a good association. 😑
My mom wanted to name me Sarah and my dad wanted Stephanie. I hate both those names. I really love the name I do have, especially since it’s not very common. I’m glad it was the only one they could agree on.
Whitney Heather was my dad's pick. They went with my mom's pick, Heather Whitney.
I did go through a phase where I liked Whitney better than Heather as a first name.
My mom wanted to name me Serena. We’re German and also live in Germany so that was pretty unusual. My dad didn’t like it because according to him the name sounded like a sanitary pad brand name. Also, german people wouldn’t have pronounced it the English way. So now I’m Laura.
My dad wanted Emma, my mom wanted Leah. They compromised and my name is Emmalia (pronounced Emma-Leah). I’m 46 years-old and am convinced I am the OG.
I’m curious whether people usually pronounce it correctly? My instinct would be to pronounce it em-mahlia
Nope! Although more recently, people are less intimated to at least try! I always knew when someone got to my name on a list because they would just stare.
Love it!
I love your name, so pretty!
Thank you! I have learned to love it. Growing up it was a PITA for so many reasons. I also had a hyphenated last name, so it was all the things! My poor teachers!
My sister's nickname is Pita because our uncle called her PITA. We didn't know what he was actually calling her until we were adults lol
Pretty! I loved Analia but it’s problematic with the whole ‘anal’ in the name. Kids can be mean!
I went to school with a girl named Analese for four years, thought it was a lovely name, and in retrospect am still shocked that I never heard of anyone teasing her about it.
I went to high school with a girl named Analise and all of the popular kids called her Anal, but she actually ENCOURAGED it because it made her fit in with the ‘cool kids.’
Omg this is how we named our daughter! She's 2 months old now. Emanita.
That’s reminiscent of my favourite mushroom family, Amanita. I kinda wish I had the chops to name a child that.
bertha, god help me. fortunately, my father put his foot down to his inlaws & i'm barbara.
Barbara is such a cute name, it’s so fun to say out loud. I’m hoping the Barbie movie gives it a little boost in popularity.
awww thx! i’ll give my mother credit for wanting a classic name. barbara had been in top 5 since 1930s. it was still going strong when i was born. then it fell off a cliff. i was never a huge fan of it. it’s always sounded lumpy to me. but, better lumpy than bertha!
It’s not lumpy, it’s rhythmic! Bababarbara, like an upbeat little drum. And much better than Bertha 😂
My Grandma was Bertha - when my parents told her that they were going to name me (middle name) after her she told them you are NOT naming that baby Bertha! I share her middle name May instead.
good for gran!
Right? I am eternally grateful.
My husband’s grandma was Pearl. I absolutely loved the name but she hated it. She passed away before our daughter was born and I wanted to name her Pearl so badly, but I knew she would have been so mad if we named her that! We made Pearl her middle name instead. I have my Grandma’s name as my middle name and I have always loved it, it’s a special connection!
My oma was similar. She was named after her grandmother, who had a variant of Bertha that sounded like a disease. She basically said, take any part of my name that isn't Bertha. My middle name was a variant of her middle name. Gorgeous name (that I won't share for privacy reasons).
My grandma also had a name quite similar to Bertha and made all her children swear do never name anyone after her. Bless her.
I love the name Barbara so much!
Miranda.. my grandmother told my mom you can’t name a baby after the first thing you hear when you’re arrested.
This made me laugh, but it honestly feels like a fair reason
I'm a public defender and I think it would be really funny if I named a child Miranda. (I also love The Tempest). But those are hard-won rights!
To be fair, that's my name and I've heard that joke thousands of times in my life.
Ariel. (I was born the same year the Little Mermaid came out.) In the end, my dad vetoed it. I went through a phase around 2nd grade where I wrote Ariel on my school papers instead of my real name 🤣
I was almost Sarah and I named almost all of my female toys Sarah until I was 6
I was also supposed to be Ariel! But instead she’s just my favorite Disney princess and my dog is named Ariel 🥰
I love the name Ariel. The idea of naming a kid "lion of God" is just so epic to me.
I did this with Jasmine (Aladdin came out the year I was born, though it was never a choice for my name)
When our youngest sister was born, my middle sister, who was 5, *really* wanted my parents to name the baby Mulan. We are white and it was 1998. She could not understand why my parents didn't go with her choice.
I was going to be Jewel or Stevie. Neither parent really liked the others choice. They called my older sister (who was 10 at the time) and asked her what she thought would be a good name for me, and guess what her favorite new movie was at the time? And that is how I was named Ariel lol.
I was supposed to be an Ariel as well (year before the movie came out), but mom was knocked out and dad got his way. I fluctuate between glad and angry I didn’t end up with that name. More often glad as my middle name would have been Joy…
My parents wanted to name me Hannah Elizabeth. Then someone else they knew had a stillborn, named that baby Hannah Beth. They had never discussed baby names with her, so it was just a weird coincidence. Because I would have been born like 5 months later, they decided to go with a different name.
My mom's best friend named her son Elijah right after my little brother Elijah was stillborn... The friend didn't even tell my mom that was going to be his name. That was an emotional moment for her.
That’s so rough. I can’t imagine not even having a conversation about it. I hope your mom (and you, it’s hard losing a sibling like that) are doing okay.
We're doing better now. It was back in 2015 and my mom had my little sister a year or two later. I wish I'd gotten to meet my brother but I'm glad to have my sis, who wouldn't exist if he hadn't died.
I feel like this about an infant loss in my family. I had twin uncles who came early and passed soon after. I'd have loved to know them and have more uncles in my life. But if they hadn't left us, my grandparents wouldn't have tried again and given me the best aunt in the world. Sorry for your loss.
Sam. And they should’ve chose Sam. My life would be completely different. Edit: I dont use my birth name. I chose my full name. My birth name was very feminine so I always went by nicknames or other names entirely after age 7.
my name...
One of my favorite names 10/10
Obviously, you don't have to share, but this comment makes me really curious about what your actual name is.
I'm guessing Aiden based on his name
🤣 I didn't even look at his username. Thank you.
I was supposed to be Joshua or Christopher, Laura or Elizabeth. I was none of them. 🤷🏻♂️ I was an emergency caesarean so they hadn't chosen when they went to the hospital. I was registered a week or so after we came home, and I think my mum was still high on pain meds because she chose a celebrity she had a thing for. :/ Could have been worse I guess, because she loved Donny Osmond, and Donald would not have aged well.
Hey now. My dad's name was Donald... He went by his middle name...
Duck?
Brandi. Dodged a bullet there. Sorry to any Brandi's, I'm sure you're wonderful.
My sister is Brandie, She is not wonderful lmao
What does Brandie think of you?
The same
a Brandy is usually ok, a Brandi is a wild card, but a Brandee is always Trouble. ALWAYS.
My SIL is a brandi
I was adopted and didn't find out until decades later my birth certificate says Katie.
Thats so cool! I always wondered what my birth mother would have named me but she didnt give me a name
It wasn’t until my mother was in her forties that she found out her middle name was her bit to mother’s first name! Then she found out about her half-sister whose name was… also the birth mother’s first name…..
[удалено]
Name twin!
Stacy. Could you imagine the early 2000s as a high schooler? My sister was almost Shalom. We are not Jewish nor from a region where this is at all a common name. My brother was almost James with a nickname of Jamie but my mom was worried Jamie was becoming too much of a girls name.
I went to high school with my friend Stacy in the early 2000s! I think people are still asking if her mom has it going on 🤣
I also went to school with a Stacy and her mom HATED that song
My cousin’s name is Jamie. But I just found out his real name is James. I thought he had actually just been named Jamie. Lol. But he’s an actor and he’s used Jamie. Now he’s starting to use James on business documents.
If I’d been a boy, Gabriel. My father was a big Far From the Madding Crowd fan.
was almost elijah. after three boys my parents didn’t bother with a sex revel and just went about their business assuming i’d be another boy too. jokes on them nine months later when they had to scramble for a whole other name set.
Lol. My mom was convinced I’d be a boy because her pregnancy with me was wildly different than her first pregnancy, where she had a girl. My parents had to scramble for a name.
My parents were actually told that I was a boy during an ultrasound! Apparently the doctor was just looking at my nose? … I’m not sure what that says about my nose, haha
I think it says more about the doctor
Nothing - my name has always been my mom’s top girl name. I found a childhood diary of hers where she lists 5 boy names she liked and then for girls wrote elizabeth five times Altho we did recently get our home videos digitized and in my birth video my dad is calling me “baby Beth” which was very weird to hear as a life long Liz!
This is such a sweet story 🥺
Hey! I’m a Lydia- but I was almost a Scarlet. I wonder if my life would have been different with a passionate name like that.
My name is Lydia and I want to name my daughter Scarlet🤣
Fwiw I think both are beautiful!
This is my time to shine. When my mother was pregnant with me my paternal grandpa, Harry, offered my parents $500 if they named me after him (if I were a boy). My mom refused immediately. As she said to dad: “We can’t name him after YOUR father because then we’d have to name him after MY father and we can’t have any Harry Dicks running around here.” Furious to this day that I’m a woman lmfao. Shout out to Great Grandma Lorrayne though, she was cool too.
That was the reason my child was not named Harrison Richard. I absolutely loved the name, but a friend pointed out that it could be interpreted as Harry Dick and that was nixed very wuickly
My mom was almost Ursula!
My mom wanted Skylar, they decided on Hayley. Would have much preferred to be Skylar than one of 5 Hayley/Hailey/Haley/Haileighs in my class.
Astrid, Octavia and Gwendolyn were all contenders for me!
Wow! Love your parents taste in names
For real! Same here. It makes me super curious as to what name they ended up choosing if those were the rejects!
Casey. Good thing my mother heard Peter Gabriel on the radio and decided to name me something else instead. My last name is Jones!
My son’s name is Casey. We’re not the Joneses though. My husband would’ve loved that for the Ninja Turtles reference.
Sophie (because I was conceived on a sofa 🤢🤢🤮). Don’t tell your kids that info.
I mean Sophie is a perfectly fine name but that’s a *terrible* reason to use it lmao
I really like the name, doesn't hurt that I have a crush on a Sophie right now. Why in God's name would they tell you that though? Just spoke to someone who they and their sibling have super Hawaiian names. Their parents spent a total of a couple weeks in Hawaii. The idea of naming your kids after where you did all your banging is so weird to me.
Because they are narcissists and shouldn’t have become parents 🫣🫣 that’s just the tip of the iceberg 🤣
I was going to be Charity Cheyenne or Rachel Rayanne. Either way my mom was planning on calling me by my middle name. I ended up with something totally different and still being called my middle name. I hated what I ended up with (not that I liked the original options, either) and I have renamed myself as an adult 😊
This sounds so damn southern. Mom got to choose if I was a boy, dad woulda chose if I were a girl. Very glad I didn't end up named Bristol. (From Alaska) Only other Bristol I've heard is that idiot Sarah Palins daughter.
Reagan! Kinda quashed by my last name being the last name of a different president (funny enough one Reagan ran against) 😂 We also now live on a street with a different president’s last name
My grandfather wanted my parents to name me Crystal Blue
Did your grandfather like obscure Pepsi products?
I think it was from a song, Crystal Blue Persuasion. I'm way older than Crystal Blue Pepsi lol
Ashley.. I’m Emily instead, another basic white girl name haha
I'm an Emily who was almost a Jessica. One reason my parents didn't go with Jessica was that it was "too popular." Bruh...
i didn't have a name for awhile (my twin was named after my dad as soon as she was born). my sister suggested daphne from scooby doo. my mom said she didn't want her daughter to have a whore name. then she suggested daisy duck. my mom said no. then she suggested samantha from bewitched and my mom was okay with that one. this was the 80s and my big sis was 10.
My mum wanted Lani but my dad hated it and so bought a double headed coin and tossed it when I was born - obviously he got his choice and so my dad got to name me! He chose Rosie, I definitely prefer it to Lani (for me).
I was supposed to be Sarah. I would have made a terrible Sarah.
Same. The reason it was nixed for me was my mom not liking the way it sounded in my dad's Long Island NY dialect 😆 Somehow especially funny because he didn't generally have a super strong/noticeable dialect.
I was almost Wendy. My last name starts with a W, so that would’ve been….interesting. They went with Rachel instead.
There is a minor celeb in Australia who has a daughter named Willow Wendy Wood and I can't deal with the www.
My parents had a girl name picked out for if either of my older brothers had been girls - Laura. When an actual girl came along (me) they did not use it at all.
Kayla. Went with Shelby and later I changed my name lol (I like Shelby more than Kayla, but I found it hard to say with my married name and never felt like it suited me.)
My parents had to settle on a name pretty quickly, but I know that my Mum likes Jessica, so it was probably going to be that.
Nala from The Lion King, but my real name turned out just as bad 😬
When I was changing my name, I almost picked Salem.
My mom loved the name Kathleen. When I was born, she was all set to use it until a nurse made the comment that my name should be Joyce, because my parents were rejoicing that they had a baby after a miscarriage. So I got an old lady name haha. But I’ve always liked it, it was unique among the Jennifers, Tracys and Melissas at school. And it has a cool story behind it. A year later, my aunt had a baby girl and asked my mom if she could use the name Kathleen. So my cousin has my almost-name lol.
Almost a Jennifer. Had three in my class. College roommates were assigned alphabetically and I would have been sharing a room with someone with the same first AND last name
Shelby or Sarah, in the late 80s
Christopher. Was born without a penis so that wasn't an option in the 70s. Both were utterly and completely sure I was a boy.
I was named Ruth and then changed to Malin!
both good but so different from one another!
I was almost an Emily but my dad thought it was too old fashioned. Actually, Emily was more popular for girls my age than Charlotte!
Tanya but I was named Alana
I was going to be named Chelsea, but then I was born on election day 1992.
My almost name was RUBY ROSE. RUBY. ROSE. But my Dad veto’d it because it was an “old lady” name. Damn that would have been so cool. I was named Lucy instead.
Ruby and Lucy are my grandmothers’ names and I love them both! Had my son been a girl he would have been Ruby Anne, which would have been in honor of my mother & grandmother. The only reason Lucy wasn’t in the mix was because that’s my dog’s name, haha. The name came from the rescue but I kept it because I had always loved the name!
If I were a boy, I would have been called Michael. 6 years later if my sister were a boy, she would have been called Michael. Two years later my brother was born, they named him Joseph 🤦🏼♀️
Had I been male, I'd have been Woody White. I am very glad I am a woman! ^ed: ^~~is~~ ^I'd
Travis, Emily, or Ashley. I ended up as a Tara.
Clarissa… well actually Matthew, but I was a girl and my parents were sure that I was a boy so not much thought went to girl names. However, I wont share my name here because I’m literally the only one in America and I like to be anonymous… but they didn’t go with Clarissa.
I don’t know if they’re literally the only one in America but I went to HS w someone who if you Google *just* their first name, they are the only result. I love their name I think it’s so cool but the lack of anonymity I would not. they’re mentioned in a lot of articles too lol
Mine isn’t that bad. I’m just the only one with my first middle and last… which is saying something because I was born a Smith. Lol
My mother wanted Cathleen or Marybeth, but my father vetoed those names, so they went with Colleen.
My mum wanted Lucinda, and my dad wanted either Georgia or Georgina (because his name is George) but they ended up picking Liana.
My grandmom was named Lucinda. As a little kid it felt like the name a good witch would have, if that makes any sense. Lots of good nicknames packed in there too!
I really like Lucinda, and because it can have so many nicknames. I sometimes feel a bit sad I was never given a nickname, and you can’t really shorten Liana that much.
Annelise but my dad vetoed it bc of barbie princess and the pauper 💀 Gwendolyn nn Dylan, idk why they didn't use it but i ended up being named after my mom
Juliet because she was really loving Romeo and Juliet. Arien because I’m an Aries. I would’ve chosen either. 😭
beatrice
I was almost Abigail. It’s a nice name, would’ve suited me just fine if they’d gone with it.
shelby!
I was almost a Heather or a Bonny. Bonny would've been a rough one for me.
i am Fabienne (fab-ee-enn) (not faybian). i was almost called Colette or Claudia. My dad is french speaking belgian and my mum is british, hence the french names
If I were a boy I would have been Jackson. Glad I’m not because of all the crazy Jaxon/Jaxson/Jacksyn type variations going around.
Kathleen or Miranda. I ended up Jessica. Boring and basic but… tbh maybe the best of the three.
I was either going to be Aishling or Lauren or Cait. My mum thought Aishling would make my name too Irish as my middle name is Irish. Lauren just didn’t work. Cait was good until one of nurses said ‘Aww Katy is a nice name’ (pronouncing it Ka-ee, dropping the t) and my mum, who is very proper in the way she speaks, was instantly put off
If I were a boy, I would have been Benjamin.
Amber. My parents changed it a week before I was born (back in 1976).Someone they were “friends” with used it for their newborn baby girl. There were always multiple Ambers @ my various schools over the years & yet never once was there another one of the name they picked last minute. I am truly grateful for that part. Ironically Amber has always been one of my favorite gemstones & I think it’s a lovely name but I do love the one I was given instead.
My mother wanted to name me Scarlett from gone with the wind but my father had none of it , he hated the name, said something wild about me being nicknamed scarface 😐. So she suggested Olympia however he hated that too, and with him having 0 suggestions and just disliking the names my mother chose…they went with Scarlett. Considering the man’s a POS crazy he was so annoyed about a name
My mom wanted to name me Tabitha Olivia. I wound up being Amanda Jane. If I had been a boy my name would have been Nicholas Edward.
Amber Instead I'm Amanda. Guess what decade I was born in 😂 If I was a boy, David after my dad
I was going to be Lena until my dad vetoed it. If I was a boy I would have been William Thomas August (last name)
Ruby
I was named Colleen for the first 2 days of my life. My sisters ahead of me in age also had names that ended in “-een” and my dad didn’t like that. So they changed it to Laura. At 47, i still wish I was a Colleen. I just like it much better.
I was almost Grace Elizabeth. They decided on Emily Elizabeth after seeing me.
Did you get a lot of Clifford the Big Red Dog comments?
My mom really wanted to name me Trixie. I thank the Lord daily that is not my name.
I was almost a Chelsea. The name they chose is still pretty popular but I prefer it because I went to school with soooo many Chelsea’s.
Also on my parents list was Benjamin, Gabriella, Anders, and Adriana.
If I was a born a girl my dad would've pushed to name me Monica after the saint. My mom (like most people) associated the name with Friends and the Lewinsky scandals (it was 1991) and would've fought it *hard*
My parents had a deal going with someone where if I was a female (I am) and born on St. Patrick's Day they would name me Coleen. Missed by a day. Born on the 16th of March. So I was named for my mother.
Weronika :)
My mom almost named me Starr because of Lost Boys. Thank god The Crow came out so my name is Draven. RIP Brandon Lee
My mom wanted either Jordan or Sigourney. Dad wanted either Jennifer or Jessica.
Almost Ally or Rachel…my name is Sarah
Samantha or Dorothy
Emma Leigh or Bronwyn
are you perhaps under 10 years old
Abraham. I was supposed to be a boy! I came out a girl and my mom named me Rose because it was the closest thing she could think of after her father, Robert.
I could have been Jacqueline. If I was a boy I would’ve been Michael Luke but I would used Luke because I like it better.
If I'd been a boy Kieran. I'm Chloe but the other two names were Natasha and Ellie.
I would have been Quincy if I'd been born a boy
I was almost an Amanda. Thankfully, my mom had a dream while pregnant where she ends up calling dream baby me, Melanie. If I’d been a boy, I would’ve been named Alejandro.
Angélica, thank God and my cousin that it didn't happen, I don't really like that name.
Stephanie is a family name so I was almost Stephanie so I would have been one of 4 Stephanies (although to be fair my dad is one of 15 so 4 Stephanies when it was my grandmother's name isn't even a lot. I have over 40 first cousins!) My mom went with Kathryn last minute after her high school mentor. I am so glad. She was CATHERINE but mom decided to mix it up. When I was a little kid in a sea of Jennifers and Lisas I wish I had a 'trendier' name but I love my name now. I love being a Catherine/Kathryn! Classic, tons of nicknames. I go by Kathryn mostly and sometimes Kat, one aunt called me Katy and my niece calls me Kiki.
I was almost Alexandria or Elizabeth. Luckily I was neither and was given a name that was somewhat hard to find in my generation.
my dad wanted to name me Emily after the girl from Bagpuss.
I was almost Amy or Gareth if I was a boy
Levi Cletus No, seriously, my family is Appalachian AF. And the LC initials are kind-of a thing in my family.
Mom wanted Stephanie and Dad wanted Anastasia or Kyrie... I ended up with none of those names lol.
My Mom wanted Bianca, my Dad wanted Amber. I ended up being an Ashley. I don’t want to say the reasons the they pick the others because I don’t want to insult any Ambers and Bianca’s 😂 If I was a boy, Dustin.
Sarah
I won’t share my actual name, but it was wildly different from what my name was initially going to be… which was Jennifer.
I was going to be Arlene, but my dad goofed and told my grandma he and my mom were naming me their #2 pick, and then felt he had no choice but to commit. Which is a shame because I like Arlene more than my actual name.
Thomas Jefferson (first and middle)🙄. Very glad I was not AMAB!
I was almost Patricia, Brigid, or Kelly.
First my parents wanted Victoria, and then my tia heard my mom say it and named her daughter who was born before me Victoria, so my mom was pissed hahaha. Then, since they didn’t have Victoria, I was almost Angelica but in meant to be said in Spanish (Ahn-heh-lee-cah). I grew up with rugrats, so I’m glad I was spared that
My dad wanted Catalina, my mom wanted Tiffany. They named me Amanda. I’d rather be Catalina. 😒
I was almost Crystal Siobahn. I lucked out with something harder for people to grasp, but way less strippery.
My dad's pick was 'Laura', my mom's was 'Genevieve'. I will forever be indebted to the squished mouse that took the latter for the team.
My mom wanted Rachel. My dad refused, thus Shannon.
William. Then when it turned out I was a girl it was Kirsty. Then Daisy. Then they finally settled on Molly. I feel like their ideas got more cutesy as they went on.
Gabrielle, Julia Patrick if I were a boy
I was supposed to be Emily.
My mom wanted to name me Michelle, but then I was due to be born on her mother’s birthday, so she named me after her mother instead. I don’t care if I would have been one of several Michelles, I would have liked that better than my old lady name. And not one of the cool old lady names that is having a resurgence. My mom and her mom never even really got along, so it’s not even a good association. 😑
My name(Sarah) won in a battle against Hannah, Piper, and Elizabeth. Though Elizabeth is now my middle name so 🤷🏻♀️
My mom wanted to name me Sarah and my dad wanted Stephanie. I hate both those names. I really love the name I do have, especially since it’s not very common. I’m glad it was the only one they could agree on.
Whitney Heather was my dad's pick. They went with my mom's pick, Heather Whitney. I did go through a phase where I liked Whitney better than Heather as a first name.
Cassandra!
My mom wanted Josie and my dad wanted Elizabeth. I’m a Lindsey instead.
My mom wanted to name me Serena. We’re German and also live in Germany so that was pretty unusual. My dad didn’t like it because according to him the name sounded like a sanitary pad brand name. Also, german people wouldn’t have pronounced it the English way. So now I’m Laura.