What do you think of YOUR name?

[lola]

My name is Laura Elisabeth Susanne. yes, spelled that way. :) I've been saying that since Grammar school. I hated my first name as a kid, I mean, I was renaming myself daily at age 2 because I have never liked the overly soft, almost fluffy name Laura. Try writing it out too; the AUR written down always trips me up (and it's my own bloody name!). I've always liked my middles because they're linked to family or friends.

I've grown to like my name, it's clearly feminine, yes, it's a bit fluffy but I'm finally starting to appreciate the fluff, and I'm still a bit miffed about not having a family name, My siblings got first names that both my parents really liked and are linked to family. Mine was the "I wanna name her Lucy, No, I wanna name her Rebecca" compromise name. Mom heard it on a Soap Opera just before I was born (and she was a nasty character too, played by Diana Millay) Why they just didn't go with Lucy Rebecca or Rebecca Lucy, I'll never know! And best of all, it's not exactly "dated". There were a little over 1000 girls named Laura in 2007.

Could have been worse (Rebecca) or better (Lucy); but I'm content with my name now.

I've been called Lola, Lolo & Ra-ra (by any little kids at first) and I'll even accept Laura in full occasionally but never, ever, ever call me Lori/Laurie, Blech.

[butterfly]

My name is Anna Michelle and I like it :)

Mum wanted Michelle, Dad said okay but Mum said she would nickname me Shelley and he didn't like that.

I was premature 32 weeks and they still didn't have a name, Anna was the first one in the book they both liked

[iris1973]

My name is Katheryn. When I was growing up (in the late 70s and early 80s) no one had a long, clunker-ish name like mine that ended with a consonant. They were all Amys and Tracys and so on. I dreamed of a short, cheerleader-esque name that ended in "y". Trying to find my name on the novelty key chain rack was excruciating as well, because they only ever had "Katherine" or Kathryn". I felt like I didn't exist. For 35 years I've had to remind people about the "e" in the middle, which they frequently leave out, or don't even bother to learn to spell it (I have a colleague in my graduate school class who still spells it "Katherine" after three years of knowing me). I wish I would have been given the original spelling (Catherine) or a truly unique and wild name instead of a variant spelling of a classic. Most people I know call me "Kat", and I prefer it to my name because I still dislike the way it is spelled.

[zohara]

my name is Zohara.
I love it.

[overwhelmedmomma]

My name is Vivian Emery. Emery is a family name (my greatgrandmother's maiden name), and I always liked it more that Vivian (Viv, Vivi). Vivian is a good name, but since my siblings are Olivia (Liv, Livi), Trevor (Trev), and Kevin (Kev), I didn't feel very unique as a child. Once I moved out, I liked my name a lot more. I still like Emery, but I wouldn't dare go by it nowadays with Emily being so popular. So I would suggest naming your daughter Vivian, though I like the spelling Vivienne a little bit better, as long as her siblings aren't Olivia, Trevor, and Kevin.

[corine]

My name is Corine Demian—Corine (Cor-een) after my great grandmother Cora (and my great aunt Mabel Corrine), and Demian after the Hermann Hesse book by the same name. I love my first name (nickname is Cori, which isn't my favorite), but it took awhile to adjust to my middle name ("But it's a boys name!"). Now I love it (mainly because I read the book and loved it). I never had any other Corines in my classes growing up, but I did have a lot of trouble with the pronunciation—everyone always thinks it's Cor-in at first, which drives me crazy!

[sunshinesarah]

I'm Sarah Louise. While I always wished I'd been given a less common name, of it's own accord I actually love Sarah as a name, and it suits me really well. So, yeah, I'm another one who likes my name but wishes it wasn't so popular. I also like the flow with the name Louise, but am not a particular fan of Louise as a name by itself. Plus so many people I know born around the same time (late '70's) have the mn Louise. In my math class at high school there were 4 of us - Sarah Louise, Juliet Louise, Paula Louise and Teri Louise. Oh well!

[jillian]

I am Jill Christine. For about a minute when I was little, I wanted a more glamourous name like Samantha, but then I started loving it and I still love it. I am just Jill, even though people call me Jillian, which I also love. Jill is a cute name and I am cute, so it fits me perfectly. I also love my middle name - it is sweet and barely anyone else has it. I didn't meet too many other Jill's growing up (I am 28) but I did have a roommate Jill in college!

[jillwall]

I am also Jill Christine! I have never met anyone else with that name. I like my name. Jill was just a name my parents liked, and my middle name is after my dad's sister who died as a baby. I like that Jill is easy and simple but that it is not one of the very popular names of my generation (I am 26). Like the previous poster said, I don't meet many other Jill's. I like that it is a little different, but still easy and well known.

[pdxlibrarian]

My name is April Marie. I have always liked my name. Marie is kind of common and I wish it were something else with an M, but it's not so bad. I briefly tried to change my name to Amy in 3rd grade, but only because my initials spell Amy and I was trying to assert my independence. I have a very unusual last name and usually get questions about whether I am a romance writer or if my parents were hippies (in fact they are Conservative Baptists). My name isn't difficult to spell, but it's easy to remember. I am the only person with my first and last name that I know of and I really enjoy that.