Do you hate your name?

I always have to spell my last name. For some reason, whenever I say "T", they hear "P".

OP, ...Which begs the question....

I don't hate it but I wish I had a sexier name. Adrian or Xavier, something like that. I have a very generic four letter name.

Yes. My brother was give a beautiful Italian name and I’m stuck with a bland 1950s style name.

^given

I have a name that is very similar to an A-list celebrity. People constantly ask if we are related when it is obvious that we cannot be since our last names are spelled differently. Also, my first name is the same as a very well known TV character and I have to hear the same stupid joke about it every time I introduce myself (as if no one before them ever thought of the joke).

My name is Matt. At Starbucks they always write Max. Apparently I cannot speak.

I like my first name but my last name is hard to spell and pronounce

I hate my name but everyone else thinks it's great, so I deeply distrust myself when it comes to judging me.

People just suffer. I knew a woman who said she loved pepper in everything, and that she hated her bland name (Ann). I suggested she start calling herself 'Pepper' and she stared at me blankly.

No way I'd get stuck with a bad name.

haaaaate my name. mother fuckers have been singing it to me my whole life. finally there was another song with it and I now just say, I'm more the other song and if they know the other one it shuts them up.

don't sing at people, it's not cute or original.

I love, love, love my name, both the the first and last name combination, plus the full name. When stating my name, I more often than not get a comment about it.

You have no idea

R11 My name is also in a song from the 80s but my name is spelled slightly differently which changes everything. My last name, forget about it. Seymour Butts would have been better than what I ended up with.

Wow, rescue-chick’s name is Oscar Mayer.

R11 rescue-chick ha now I’m curious. So many possibilities but I think “Cecelia” would be one of the worst!

Mine’s alright and I always appreciated having a surname that lands near (but not at) the top of the alphabet.

it is r15 😢!

I don't hate or love my name, it's ok. It's a biblical name so it could have been worse.

I like my first name (Mark): a classical name and a great Saint. But it's so abrupt that people always tag on a few extra syllables.

r10 If she had put the two names together, Pepper and Ann, she could identify as that animated character.

No, I like mine. It references a grandfather.

My husband, otoh, hates his given name.

My name is Jack so when I was growing up it was always Jack and the Beanstalk.

Then Titanic came out and it was always King of the World.

The best thing about it was when I was in my late teens and working retail and had to be gone a day, the stupid woman always wrote on the calendar "Jack Off".

My name is both a girl's name and the title of very popular hit song from a huge late 1960s movie.

I was tormented. Tormented.

R23 Your name is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? Aww, that's a great name!

[quote]I don't hate or love my name, it's ok. It's a biblical name so it could have been worse.

Methuselah?

[Quote] I have a horrible name. I've spent my entire life spelling it out for people. My parents are fucking idiots.

Oh my God I would hate that too! Why didn’t they change it???

I’d hate to be called Rose Fucking Idiot.

Don't get me started.

Well at least it’s better than mine, R27

OP, you think YOU have problems with people spelling your name?

Let’s face it: THIS GUY was cursed with the worst name ever, even in Poland.

I always hated my first name. It was my grandfather’s name, so I always associated it with being older. And it didn’t help that no contemporaries shared my name. Imagine my surprise when, deep into adulthood, a much younger co-worker gushed, “Even your [full] name is attractive.”

I hate that my father insisted on my first name, but my Mom and siblings have always called me by my middle name. My last name is ethnic and is impossible to spell. Consequently, I have to use the initial of my first name, followed by my full middle name (which is long), and then my long, hard to spell Greek surname. I once lost my turn at the DMV after a long wait because I did not recognize my first name when it was called. Same for medical appointments. The end result is that my name sounds pretentious. If I were a WASP, it would sound something like "J. Rutherford Worthington". Hate it. My family nickname is Dino, which became "T. Rex" throughout school, and then just Rex, which was adopted by my family and then my partner the minute he found out.

I joke that my full name makes me sound like the WASPIEST extra that Julian Fellows could have ever come up with. It's a family name, so I appreciate it, but growing up solidly middle class, I have definitely taken some ribbing.

R11 - rescue-chick...could be Gloria, Rosanna, or Sweeeeet Caroline...

Understand fully, R33. My paternal side is English, I've a three-syllable middle name and the whole thing just swings out screaming WASP! Unfortunately WASP with money, as my grandfather and father had it, were well known. So now I've the mantle. Do not mind it.

Ha, R35. Very much the same. I live in a wealthy area, and it can be used to advantage from time to time.

Don’t really like my first name but love my last name

It’s why I married him

My last name has “cock” in it and I sometimes get blocked on websites for it.

My mother gave me (a male) her maiden name as a middle name. It was fine until 1982 when “Family Ties” debuted and the name -Mallory-became used a girl’s name although until then it was mostly a surname.

First name - after the patron saint of Scotland as I am of Scots heritage.

Middle name - mother's maiden

Last name - unusual and no one ever spells or pronounces it right - unless they are from Massachussets.

"Yes, I hate my name."

YES. My brother and I both got terrible, outdated names that nobody under 80 have. Maybe even 90. My sister is named Jennifer—a popular and normal name for Gen X. I guess they hated us. I’m keeping it until my mom dies then changing it.

Oh, and I was almost named Willy. Not William or Will—WILLY. A super fun name in England.

My first name has two common spellings, which means I have to clarify which one it is every time.

R40 = Andrew Wells Naugatuck

[quote] I've spent my entire life spelling it out for people. My parents are fucking idiots.

I'm the same as you OP. My stupid parents gave me the name Jolyon (which is the old English version of Julian & it's from the Forsyte Saga and the Tintin books) and nobody could pronounce it or spell it so they all either halted saying it during trying to say it or just mispronounced it and it was a total fucking disaster all through school, university then working. It got the point when I couldn't deal with it anymore after several decades because I knew what was going to happen before it happened and it got me so worked up all the time. I got called a plethora of names like Jocelyn, Joylon, J.... Jahleen and on and on - so I had it legally changed when I was 24. I've never looked back and am so glad I had it legally changed.

Used to hate my name then a famous TV show made it cool so I’m good.

We're so happy for you, Elsbeth at r47.

r34- none of those have another song than the original fortunately. or. God forbid, Roxanne. can you imagine strangers squacking that at you?

Yes, I hate my first name. It is a very elder millennial baby of the 80's name and not in a good way. Mostly go by my middle name when possible.

R49 - omg, I hadn't thought of Roxanne!

You don't have to turn on the red light!

R6, I feel your pain. It’s 2025 and people still say “beam me up, Scotty” to me on occasion. Always a man, never a woman.

R52 - Maybe you should stop saying “I dannae is she can take any more, Captain!”

My last name is one letter short of a common word, so when reading it, most brains add the additional letter. The common word has a short vowel pronunciation, mine a long vowel. It has been mispronounced my entire life.

I never know if it's rude to correct people, so most of the time I don't, but then I start my conversation with them angry that they mispronounced my name.

I hated it when I was learning to write because it was long but i had a great teacher who showed me how beautiful it looked.

My name is the same as a well-known historical figure. I was tormented endlessly as a child, but the dumbing down of America has left me out of the history books.

Sometimes an old person will mention it, but the ignorance of today's society bothers me.

[quote] Yes, I hate my first name. It is a very elder millennial baby of the 80's name and not in a good way.

Hi Justin!

Nope. It's a bit uncommon now but at least it's a respectable name. I know otherwise fine people who named their 12 and 9 year old daughters Willow and Echo. 🙄

What if someone named their kids Siri, Alexa, and Heygoogle?

I don't hate it, but the full version of my name belongs to my dad, and the diminutive to my nephews.

My first name is a bit boring, but then the last name would not pair easily with a more exotic or eccentric first. I like that is just odd enough not to be immediately forgotten, and curious enough to leave open some possibility.

My first name was one of the most popular names of the time I was born and is now rather rarer and old-fashioned, but it has the advantage of carrying little ir no expectation of a "type."

I'm the 7th and last in a generational chain to have the name (there was an interruption of another common first name 8 generations ago, and before that two or three more of my name combination, passed father to son.

R56 is it Napolean?

* Napoleon

My last name is Scottish, but strangely enough, looks Chinese. My sister-in-law at work says people always start speaking to her in Chinese when she's on the phone, thinking she'll understand.

[quote] My last name is Scottish, but strangely enough, looks Chinese.

MacChang? MacChong?

I don't feel bad about my name anymore.

R56 Is your name Adolf Hitler?

My mom named my sister Sandra Dee [last name]

If I had a son I'd name him River Phoenix.

Which one you asking about??!

In my local suburban paper, I was reading the court cases page and saw that a man had come to petition for a name change. His last name was Dikshit. I would have asked for a new name also.

What do you expect when your name rhymes with a part of the female anatomy?

I like my name, but it has become more bisexual (?) because of a few pop culture figures.

Wait a minute. A thread about hating your name appears right after a thread on birthdays? What's next? Mother's maiden name and pet?

[quote] I have a very generic four letter name

Oh hi, TODD!

I'm okay with mine, its very very common just like me, so its appropriate

I love my name! First and last.

My middle name is my dad's first name (a very common generic "western" name). In college, professors would go straight for the middle name, because they couldn't be bothered to try and pronounce my first name. I would patiently let them know how to pronounce my first name.

I don't hate my surname but it's fairly unusual so I just automatically spell it out after saying it e.g. on the phone booking an appointment.

No I love it! We Spunkbubbles need to stick together.

Ha. Some numb-nutz parents J know just named their first kid Perseus, so they call him Percy. It'll quickly morph into 'Pussy' when he goes to school. If he does. Mom is an anti-vaxxer/home-schooler type. The baby is UGLY, by the way. No two ways about it.

I’m old now, but if I were 18 again, I’d certainly change my surname. It’s been a pain to be honest with an unwieldy amount of letters and requiring me to constantly spell it. More importantly, it’s very uncommon, and consequently, I can be easily be found online. In this day and age, I’d like more privacy. I wouldn’t want super common like Smith but something short and easy to spell with little misunderstanding…names like Lake, West, Stone, Field, Grant, etc.

I’m ok with my real first name, but my coffee ordering name is always Damien after Damien Thorn in the Omen.

Duh, I chose it myself!

I HATED IT!

The good thing about having an unusual name is you’re unique and there’s never any confusion .

The bad thing is, studies show, people with weird names don’t get the same opportunities offered to them

[quote]studies show, people with weird names don’t get the same opportunities offered to them

I think that can go either way: weird strange or unusual distinctive. The pairing if first and last name matters, too.

R81 - well done little girl! Have a lollipop.

I have a very famous first name and I like it. My last name is Italian and people struggle pronouncing and spelling it. It’s not a hard name, but for some reason it throws people.

Hi Madonna R86

My first name is VERY unique, or at least that's what I've been led to believe. People always ask me where my mother/parents got my first name from and I have absolutely no idea.

However, I do share it with the late and wonderful actress who played Elena Tyrell from GoT.

Both my first and middle name I've had to spell for everyone most of my life. I went by my middle name from 1st grade until I was around 22 (because I was teased in first grade a bit and announced to my parents I wanted to change it), but my middle name is even more difficult to spell/pronounce than my first name. I didn't think about that part as a first-grader and my parents allowed the switch. All of my school records from 12th grade to first grade are in Middle Name, First Name, Last Name, not the proper, birth certificate-order.

I finally got sick of it and switched back to my first name. People get it right about half the time (spelling-wise). At least it's easier to pronounce/figure out than the middle name.

Not really. It's a pretty common name for women of my age group.

I have always enjoyed being Sniffy Cuntington no matter how many times I have to spell it.

Ms. Sniffy Cuntington.

I love my full name and have thanked my mom for it. My first is Zachary back in the day when there were no other Zacharys. It’s common enough that people know it, but unique enough that you don’t hear it often. We are a small community and differentiate ourselves by how we spell our nickname. Zac, Zach, Zack. People ask me if I prefer Zac or Zachary. I tell them I like both, you choose.

I know someone who called their daughter “Hero”. No idea why. Poor little thing. She’s going to hate her name once she grows up I’m sure…

I don’t mind my first name, but there are way too many of us. Well, there used to be—it was in the top 10 of boy’s names for decades and decades, but isn’t as popular anymore. What bugs me about it is that my last name is also very common. Not as common as “John Smith” but kind of like that. Couldn’t my parents come up with something else? My mother claimed she wanted to use her maiden name as my first name, which would have been kind of cool, but my dad vetoed it.

In college, there were THREE of us in one class with the same first and last names. The professor was one of those idiots who took roll, so he had to differentiate the three of us by our middle initials. I have even dated a couple of guys with the same name, which isn’t as cute as it sounds. I also have one of those names that people assume they can shorten, which I do NOT like.

There are also a couple of old celebrities with the same/similar name and I’ve gotten jokes about that over the years.

Now we need to guess r94's name.

William Peterson?

My last name is not a common one, but it's neither especially curious nor difficult to pronounce or spell.

We were the only ones to have the name within a two hours drive, but just beyond that there is a street with the family name in Baltimore and Philadelphia. My mother took a perverse delight in people who would ask her to spell the last name. She would rattle off the letters and smugly assert, "Just like it sounds."

When I was college, she asked if people had trouble with the name and was a little perturbed when I said, "no, not at all, must be you or the shitty little town."

An old college professor of mine had the same first and last name as a semi-famous country singer and would complain about it

I have a friend with a very uncommon Bohemian-Czech family name he hates because only he and three other people in the United States share his first and last names.

Making him really, really easy to find.

I’m a Joe who is continually amazed at just how uncommon my name is.

R94 here. I’m not going to say my name, but I have two brothers and all three of our names are in the Top 10 of the 70s, the decade we were all born in. My parents sure didn’t have much imagination!

Well, you're either a William or one of your brothers are.

Don't even fucking get me started.

I've always liked my name. I feel like my parents nailed that! I think it "suits" me (whatever that means) and has a pleasing syllable combination of first-middle-last. I especially loved my first name after learning that my mother floated the idea of naming me "Dorothy" early-on (Wizard of Oz was her favorite book & film growing up) but my father said NO, for which I am eternally grateful. I surely would have strangled her once I hit my teens.

My name was ranked around #30 the year I was born. Not unusual, but a half-step off the beaten path of Lisas, Kimberlys, Michelles, Susans & Jennifers. It peaked in popularity a few years later and has all but disappeared (outside the top 2000) .

Deborah, r103?

R88 here. As a kid, I always envied kids who could find their names on the little license plates they sell in stores. I always looked but it was never there.

Cosmo r105 (same). Neither first OR middle name, and it did bug me.

R104: Nope. Although significantly better than Dorothy, I wouldn't have cared for that either. And just to clarify: when I said "a pleasing syllable combination of first-middle-last", I did not mean that there are three syllables in my first name. I meant the number of syllables in my first name, middle name & last name when all said *together* (or even just first & last). There's a good cadence, flows together nicely. (doesn't always happen when parents are determined to use certain family names, etc.)

I knew what you meant, r107 (about first-middle-last [name]).

Deborah popped into my head and so I asked you.

My name is Stephen. I hate when people pronounce it like "Stefan."

However, the worst part is that it's not pronounced like "Steven." The proper pronunciation is "Step Hen." My parents are constantly stoned, so they gave all three of us (me, my sister Marcia Marcia Marcia and our little brother Wo) unusual names.

I have a friend who was named after the First Lady of the United States. Child of patriotic Navy lifers forever stationed at Pearl Harbor. Went to high school in Honolulu. Hate hate hated her name.

She had it legally changed when she was 18. She wasn’t going through life, or Stanford, named Mamie.

My last name is a town in Denmark.

And IKEA named a rug after it.

I just got off the phone with an HR rep who misspelled my name five times (and got my job title wrong twice). Gotta love outsourcing.

Any time a friend announces a pregnancy, I say, "You know what's a good name?" and then say my first name. Without fail, they all laugh like it's the funniest thing in the world.

Thanks Mom.

For most, it's a curse being named after relatives - usually relatives you end up not liking. My first and last names were very ethnic from a Western European Catholic family, and labeled me, even though I was as generic white bread America as you could be. At the time, most people expected me to speak with an accent. My middle name was Arnold, after my grandfather's middle name, and although it's nerdy, I didn't mind it.

When I was 22, and tried to join Actors Equity, I discovered (to my amazement) that there already was a member with my same first and last name. That he was in his 80s and hadn't worked in decades meant nothing, since he was still a dues-paying member. So I willingly (and happily) changed it to a much more generic name. I did keep the same middle name.

Many years later, I took a DNA test and discovered to my amazement that I was more than 50% Ashkenazi Jewish! I discuss that mystery/shock in another thread.

R108: I figured you probably did, but I just clarified because upon re-reading my post at R103...I could have worded that a little better/more succinctly. 👍

I am not very fond of the diminutive form of my name but others naturally default to using it. Because I don’t want to seem prissy by insisting people address me using my proper name I never say anything. I’d once thought of switching to my middle name but then my schizophrenic cousin acted upon the same idea and I was forced to abandon it.