My DH was very difficult in the naming process due to his own hangups about his name, and we wound up with a name that was his first (and only) choice but basically only acceptable to me. And my one request was that we not use a specific nickname with it that I didn't like. And then he and his family immediately started using that nickname exclusively. And later claimed the name AND nickname that I had explicitly said several times I don't like were both my idea and he was just going along.

And yet I still would not divorce over this. While I do harbor resentment about how that all went down, I acclimated to both the name and the nickname and also realized in the end the name itself is not that big of a deal. Though we've worked a lot on him actually listening to me and being more willing to compromise on stuff where we have to agree in order to make a decision. He is definitely better.

I have a simple, dated name and while I don't hate it, I don't love it. Growing up I always wanted a nn, but there just isn't unless you call me by my first initial. Even first 2 initials don't work because its a state.

Anonymous wrote:My name is Kathleen. I have always liked it pretty well, but I think it feels dated and a bit ugly to a lot of people. I was born in the early 90s so I've had very few other Kathleens in my cohort. It fits me.

I do not like that I am frequently called Katherine and I do not like my nickname options. Kathy is just...ACK! I literally bristle when people call me that. There were a million Katies growing up.

In my 30s I have started going by Kat in some circles, and it's grown on me.

Kathleen is a lovely name, PP! Very refined and elegant.

I like my kid’s names and so does their dad.
I think it’s important that we agreed on them.

I don’t like my first name. I go by a different name. I’ve contemplated changing it legally but it seems like a lot of work (I know it’s not).

My name is Kathleen. I have always liked it pretty well, but I think it feels dated and a bit ugly to a lot of people. I was born in the early 90s so I've had very few other Kathleens in my cohort. It fits me.

I do not like that I am frequently called Katherine and I do not like my nickname options. Kathy is just...ACK! I literally bristle when people call me that. There were a million Katies growing up.

In my 30s I have started going by Kat in some circles, and it's grown on me.

Anonymous wrote:Yes. I have an exceptional disdain for my first name. I also have no idea what I should be named.

But, I think this is because people don’t like me. So when my name is said there is usually vitriol involved .

Yeah, I'm the Karen poster and when I hear my name in my head it's being screamed at me. Guess who the black sheep was in my family?

Anonymous wrote:^Not because I think Sarah is a better name, but because I know it wouldn’t be mispronounced/misspelled nearly as often, if ever

Ugh, that’s my name and not only is it not conducive to any nicknames, but it’s constantly misspelled (how?!) and people pronounce it in the weirdest ways.

Personally I hate it because it also has a slight rhyme with my last name that I cannot believe my parents didn’t notice. If you don’t pause or take a breath and enunciate in just the right way, it sounds like a stupid nursery rhyme. I will definitely change my surname as soon as I get through some annoying sponsorship/passport stuff.

Yes. I have an exceptional disdain for my first name. I also have no idea what I should be named.

But, I think this is because people don’t like me. So when my name is said there is usually vitriol involved .

I don’t love my first name because everyone knows I’m a Gen xer. Wish I had a more classic name, but it’s not like I’m changing it or anything.

Didn’t like my name when younger but fine with it now.
Live DCs names- all very traditional- Top 50 names for decades.

Anonymous wrote:I love my first name, it’s beautiful, but it’s long/“foreign” (Spanish/Italian) and is CONSTANTLY misspelled and mispronounced. I wish I had been given the name my dad wanted to give me, which is Sarah.

Ha, I am a Sarah and have a love/hate relationship with it. When I was younger I didn't like that it was so "boring" and fairly popular, but I've come around to being glad that even if popular, it's at least pretty classic and not really trendy. After living internationally for many years, I came to appreciate how easy it is for people in almost every culture and language to spell ("with or without an h?" Is about all you get) and pronounce, and it's often a conversation starter because so many people have an aunt, mom, sister etc Sara(h). Very simple as a Sarah, but I bet I would also be jealous of your beautiful long name!

I hate my first name (very Gen X name that should end in -y but ends in -i). I love my children's names. I think because I hate mine, I was very deliberate in my choices. DH and I did not agree, so compromises were made, but we were both happy in the end.

I've always hated my name, since I was a child. Karen. I always wanted a name that has a nickname, even if it was Jennifer.

I can’t stand my first name. It’s constantly referred to as a Basic B name (think Brittany, Courtney, Tiffany). I’ve wanted a nickname and wished I had a classic name my entire life. I’ve been told numerous times that my name doesn’t fit me.

Because of my strong hatred towards my own first name, dh and I struggled to name our first child. She went without a name for nearly a month. Tons of crying (lack of sleep and I was postpartum, clearly not rational). In the end I let dh name her since he never once wavered on the name he loved. I can’t stand the name and haven’t ever once called dd by it. She goes by a nickname that I sort of love. I debated divorcing Dh over this. I know it sounds silly but the name meant a lot to me and I hate dds name. We’d thought the baby would be a boy and had a boy name picked out. My #1 name that I’d always wanted was his cousins name and family told me I was selfish if I named my child that.

I love my 2nd and 3rd daughters’ names, everyone does. It’s cathartic to me that I love their names so much after what happened with my first. Dd1 actually doesn’t like her given name since it’s so common.

Anonymous wrote:I really love my first name even though it is super common (Elizabeth).

And I love both my kids' names, which DH and I aligned on very easily and quickly--before we even became pregnant.

I love that name too! I would have liked to call DD that, but it's the name of my aunt and my mother would have been hugely jealous, so I didn't.

Interestingly, when DD entered middle school, she told everyone at school her name was Elizabeth! Even though she didn't know the above!