How did you get your name?

[Gemini]

A discussion on Facebook prompted this thread.
Who chose your name? Were your named after anyone? Are you known by the name you were given? Do you like your name?!


My father named me, as my mum was 100% certain she was expecting a boy so she let him choose! It was just a name he liked, and I was born on Prince Philips birthday. My middle name is after my paternal grandmother, who died before I was born.
I like my name, very much. It is classical and has a variety of shortenings to choose from! I disliked it as a child and teenager however!

[Plantaholic]

Well not sure but I do think my mother chose my name but since I was the youngest of six, I am sure she was running out of ideas. I know my eldest sister chose my middle name which is Frances. I am quite happy with my name

[Nanto2girls]

I don't know who chose my name.I think my middle name Irene was after my paternal grandmother or she chose it.

[Guest]

My first two names are French (French mother) named after my mother and a maternal great aunt. They are misspelled and mispronunced here so I don't use them in this country. My third name is English. That's the one I use in England and I'm quite happy with it.

[Oma]

I was to be called Wendy but my sister could not say it she kept saying Windy so i was called Jean after the baby across the road who was 6 month older than me and also my school friend all the way through education years , my middle name Elizabeth was a family name passed down to most of the girls from my g great grandmother , i love my name it cant be shortened

[Grauntie Mag]

I asked my Mother why she called me the name I was christened ( it's as bad as it gets) and she couldn't think of an answer. Maybe it was to toughen me up,( think 'A Boy Named Sue') when I went to senior school I changed it to my middle name which is bearable.

[WeeGranny]

I was named after my maternal granny. Don't think my mum wanted to call me after my paternal granny! I don't have a middle name

[Daisy]

I have a real hang up about my name. My dad wanted to call me Margaret, but my mum thought it was too long with our long surname. So she chose the nearest name to my sister who died before I was born.

I've always felt quite challeneged by this, because as many of you know I didn't have an easy relationship with my mother, and there were times when she said my sister would have been a better daughter. It didn't exactly endear me to my name, although my overriding and biggest wish was that my sister had lived - I never felt anything but sadness that I was an only one.

Like WeeGranny, I don't have a middle name, which would have been handy since I married a man with one of the most common surnames in the country!!!!

[Shemadee]

I mentioned on another thread that my Mum had a last minute change of mind. She couldn't bear names being shortened and thought she had it cracked though I think Anne might have been a better option! If boys called for my brothers and used their nickname she would say "no one of that name lives here" and shut the door!! Being Irish she came from an area where there was a strict naming system. Paternal parents then maternal parents then people who had died. By the time they got to her name she was called after a girl who fell from a window and died in her teens - and she really hated the thought so she slightly changed her name and lived and died by it. She didn't name us in this way. My older brother has grandads name as his middle name, my middle name is Mary which covers a multitude of relatives for a catholic girl!, my next brother has my Dad's name for his middle name and I can remember her discussing with a neighbour what to call number three son - not after anyone at all!! A baby who was not named in the set system died during my Mum's childhood and this was blamed on the fact that she had broken with tradition!! Mum thought this was nonsense! By this tradition I would have been Lilian - quite trendy now but not in the 1950s!

[Enfys]

I was named after both grandmothers and my middle name is the feminine version of my father's middle name. I'm ok with my name although as it's so short it tends to get lengthened! That's ok with me too

[Oma]

Shem i love the name Lillian , Two of my friends are called Ruby and Violet i love there names too , My oldest Sister is Gladys but we always call her Glad she was named after my mothers sister who died young , we used to laugh at her name when we were children i mean fancy shouting for a toddler Gladys come hear hahaha but now it fits her age

[Elisi]

I was adopted and originally called Ann. No middle name. My natural mother begged my adoptive mother to include Ann somewhere in my new name as it was special to her.

So my new parents called me Gillian. A compromise of sorts but a promise kept. My new middle name was Margaret, after my adoptive mother. Little did I know I also had an elder half sister called Margaret.

[WeeGranny]

DD's middle name is after my Mum who died shortly after I became pregnant. Mum's middle names were her Grandparents surnames.

I rarely get called by my Christian name now, it's been shortened and now I really am called after my maternal granny 'cos that's what she was called!

[Glammanana]

I was called after my dads brother who died from injuries he got during the 2nd WW, everyone was convinced I would be a boy but mum surprised them by having a girl and boy so my brother got the male name after my Uncle and I got the female version so he must have been a much thought off brother to land us two innocents with his name but my name is now very much "In Vogue" with the naming of the new Royal Princess I have never been called anything else but Charlotte its never been shortened even at school.I for one have never named any of mine with first names from the family but used names as 2nd names with both my boys

[Nanto2girls]

I was told many years ago, that one (don't know which) of my grandmothers wanted me to be called Charlotte.