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"Hi, my name is..."

Started by Banana Woofwoof, December 15, 2005, 11:34:21 AM

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Okay, apparently I was going to be called Jennifer.  Jennifer?! But I'm Seaneen.  And it's an odd war-cry, "I AM...!" (insert yer name, not Spartacus, smartarse)  And when you say, "I am" it's a pretty big claim to make based on such a trifling as a name.  

That dirty wee hoor Juliet of Shakespeare fame was talking out of her arse when she said "What's in a name?" then went on to bludgeon any possibility that your name actually contributes something to who you are.

But I don't know- I think had I been christened Jennifer, things would have been different. Jennifer would have long brown hair and a smaller nose and Jennifer might be more self-assured, a bit cheekier, a gap in the teeth and freckles over ruddy cheeks.  Seaneen is rather different.  Seaneen sounds round and everything about me is round- round body, round face, large round eyes.  I look as my name suggests.

What is in a name?  There does seem to be a type of person for a type of name.  For example, have you meet many Emilys who aren't pale and slightly posh?  Why does the name Emily seem to be confined to the wan shy types? Emilys and Amys tend to meld into one, and Louises and Rachels do so too.  Have you noticed that certain types of names seemed to be assigned to certain types of people, almost as if they were given after they became a proper person?

It's weird how people of the same name, especially girls, for some reason, can be rather similar in type, if not exactly so in personality.  It's weird because your name is assigned before you were really "I am", but yet it seems to matter.  

Do you think a name contributes anything to who you are?  It's essentially your identity but also considered meaningless.  Do names matter and how do they matter?

P.S- Today at work I have come across the forename Detective Princess Nhikitta Xena.  Heh.

People occasionally forget other's names, but a few years ago I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't remember my name. I knew who I was and where I was, but had some kind of temporary block on my name. Very peculiar.

Don't worry kids, I've long since remembered what it is.

Craig Torso

Surely people with the same name are sometimes similar are because of the parents?  Those who would consider the name Emily might be more likely to be slightly posh (I only know two girls called Emily, one is very beautiful, pale and slightly posh.  The other is just pale and slightly posh)?  This is a hard subject to talk about with reverting to huge generalisations about what specific groups of people choose to call their children.

The only other people I know who share my name (Jonathan) have been similar to me.  But they also have similar backgrounds.  A name doesn't make you who you are, but who your parents are will have an effect on what your name is.

Why, hello there, you!

Oh yes, it's very general but I still find it interesting.  I find trends in name interesting- I mean, the type of parents who'd call their kids Chardonnay are not the type who'd call them Emily- one under the pretence of poshness, one really is posh.

It matters regionally as well- in one area there might be a lot of Emilys, or in another, such as Belfast, not very many and her name is almost a status symbol, it represents a slightly different social class.

boki

I was gonna be called Adam. note wrong wi that, but I'm glad they decided on Stephen.  Steve's cool.

Is Steve cooler than Adam?

See, this is it. My fella's called Rob Britton, which sounds cool.  So, he can be a cocky tool based on the fact that he is indeed Rob Britton.

But what if he was, I don't know, Nigel Britton?  Saying "I am Nigel Britton" has a much less assured air that "I am Rob Britton".

Am I making any sense at all here?

Cerys

I was almost a Sian, apparently.  Or at least I would have been if my (older) brother had been a girl, and nabbed 'Cerys' before I got a look-in.  Sian would have been shorter, rounder, and humourless.  Either that or a complete slapper.

Mildly Diverting

Quote from: "Banana Woofwoof"Is Steve cooler than Adam?

Yes, yes it is.

Regards,
Mildly "Stephen" Diverting

Mediocre Rich

I nearly got called Paul, as my Mum is a Beatle fan, but my older Brother is called John, so I would have been Mcartney to his Lennon!

Thank fuck I'm Richard so I can be the Lionheart to his mean King John!

boki

Quote from: "Banana Woofwoof"Is Steve cooler than Adam?

Yeah, but not by too much.  Adam's still cool, and I've certainly met people called Adam who were cooler than me, but it's more of an everyman kinda name whereas Steve's the party dude or summat.

Gazeuse

I am a Garry (Mum and Dad didn't know it was meant to be one 'r'). I've often wished that they'd called me Garfield, the full version...I rather like that.

I was nearly Ashley...A lucky escape, because Ashley was a 'beating-up' name at my school and I would also have been the namesake of a Hollywood actress.

If I'd have been a girl, I would have been Lesley, which would have made me the namesake of a Blue Peter presenter. Another lucky escape.

Garry was quite unusual when I was born, but it's became rather common for a time...I think I'm over the hump now.

I don't think of myself as a Garry, but I automatically associate it with me (Of course)...What I'm trying to say is that I think of myself as a 'thing' which doesn't have an 'out loud' name...I'm just me and Garry is a convenient label for it.

Rubbish Monkey

I was almost called Garland, which is my Dad's name (although everyone uses his middle name instead) and his Dad's name. I'm Matthew instead.

QuoteMatthew : English form of Ματθαιος (Matthaios), which was a Greek form of the Hebrew name Mattithyahu which meant "gift of YAHWEH". Saint Matthew, also called Levi, was one of the twelve apostles (a tax collector). He was supposedly the author of the first Gospel in the New Testament.

QuoteGarland : From a surname meaning "triangle land" from Old English gara and land. The surname originally belonged to a person who owned a triangle-shaped piece of land.

I used http://www.behindthename.com to look those up by the way.

Gazeuse

Quote from: "Craig Torso"Those who would consider the name Emily might be more likely to be slightly posh (I only know two girls called Emily, one is very beautiful, pale and slightly posh.

Time makes a difference too...My Auntie Em was a little Cockney lady who used to say 'orspiddle' instead of 'hospital.' It's got very fashionable now.

Quote from: "Banana Woofwoof"Why does the name Emily seem to be confined to the wan shy types? Emilys and Amys tend to meld into one, and Louises and Rachels do so too.

Do you mean that Louises tend to be wan and shy?  Or that they meld into Rachels, I'm slightly confused.  My best friend is a Louise and she's anything but shy.  She's nothing like a Rachel either.

If I'd been a girl I'd have been called Verity Elizabeth.  I've no idea what I'd have been called if I'd been a boy before someone else does that joke.

Louises to me tend to be lawwwd and slightly gum-chewy.  Rachels I've met are laaawwwd but not gum chewy, and I've never met a Rachel who wasn't very clever.  But it's like astrology, innit, all based on coincidence and you extract your own meaning.

surreal

I'm David, but I was adopted at a few weeks old, and my name was Paul until then - its kind of odd knowing you had this whole other persona and life set up for you until it was changed, kind of like being a 6-week-old spy....

I was christened*, and indeed still technically am, Ian.  With apologies to the Ians of the world I hate it.  When I went to University I took advantage of the clean break to become Richard, vaguely influenced by Richard Thompson.  It's much better and 21 years later I'm happier for it .  I'm currently experimenting with 'Rich', but I'm not 100% sure yet.  Maybe in a while I'll change again.  But not 'Bernie,' as that would be wrong.

* Edit: not christened, named.

hencole

I want to change my Surname to Fiskum. My dad was adopted and that was his Nowegien fathers surname. Henry Fiskum has a nice gentlemanly ring to it.



A cool due.



A cool dude.



Makes The Fonz look like William Hague.

Suttonpubcrawl

My name is Robin May, which at school people used to rhyme with gay to create a devastating insult against which no comeback was effective. What shining wits. Robin May is a good name because you don't meet that many people with the same first or surnames.

I like to think of ways to create amusing names. I know someone whose surname is Barron, they should call their first child Drugs. Actually, I think they should call their first son Drugs, because Drugs Barron seems like a boy's name more than a girl's name to me. Alternatively, he could call his son Darren, to make the name rhyme. If I have a daughter I've considered giving her the middle name April so she would be (something) April May. I also considered giving any son I might have the middle name Sutton, so that if asked to explain it he could say that his dad used to post on the internet under the name Suttonpubcrawl, a name relating to a time that a man saw a group of yoofs on a pubcrawl of the Sutton area and one of them was in a wheelchair. BWW, what you really need to do is marry someone called Connery and take their surname. I think that would improve not only your name, but also your life and your social standing. I'm clearly not the only person who has thoughts like this, there's some bird on BBC News 24 called Julia Caesar. What a name to give your child! I admire those people. And I had a teacher at school whose middle name was Zap, and could only explain this with the sentence "my dad must have been drunk at the time". Given all the wonderful names possible, I sometimes wonder how you can give the name "John" to a child whose surname is Smith with a straight face. Isn't that only mildly less generic than just naming your child Firstname Surname?

hencole


There's a producer on Radio 4, who I presume is also the same person who is working as scorer on their coverage of the cricket, called Jo King.  This raises a smile every time I hear it.  Everytime someone says to her (I think it's a her, it could be Joe King) "you've got to be joking!" she'll have to say, "yes, I am."

Dark Sky

I hate my name.

There's nothing good about the name Nicholas.  Especially at school.  For a starters, it sounds like someone who isn't wearing any pants.  And that's before you realise just how many rude words 'Nick' rhymes with.

And of course even aged 16+ your parents still call you 'Nicky' in front of your mates.

I almost did what sick as a pike did and changed it when I went to University.  'David' is my favourite name and I was almost called it (except a cousin got there first), but I don't think I suit it.  

I wish I looked like a David.  (Dave is horrible though...)

Interestingly, I have also never met another Nicholas whom I've liked.  They're always weird and socially inept and annoying.  I think it's a cursed name.

Mediocre Rich

Quote from: "Suttonpubcrawl"My name is Robin May, which at school people used to rhyme with gay to create a devastating insult against which no comeback was effective. What shining wits. Robin May is a good name because you don't meet that many people with the same first or surnames.

Imagine the joy when children realise that Richard can be shortend to Dick!

Funnily enough some people do call me Dicky which I actually quite look, although it makes me sound about 65.

Quote from: "Suttonpubcrawl"the middle name April so she would be (something) April May.

March?

Nah, fuck that, I'm going to marry Rob Britton and we're going to call our kids:

Great
Sir Arthur King of the
The Readers' Digest A-Z Of
An Illustrated Guide to the Birds Of
101 Ways to Enjoy Yourself In

But yeah, I reckon it's quite cool when people name their children in accordance with their surname.  Only when appropriate, mind.  I hate people who name their children with the same first name as surname- you know what I mean, the surname is a plural version of their first name.  

My friends and I once made up a character called Dr. Thomas Foster.  He was a doctor of everything and we used to reference him in essays where we wanted to express our own opinion but couldn't.  So he was the source, and it sounds so respectable no-one ever questioned it.  This is where wacky comedy names fall down...like Euronews presenter Torsten Poppel.

EDIT: all this was in reply to Sutton, sorry!

Labian Quest

I think  the names people choose for their I think kids probably do say quite a lot about what their aspirations and expectations are for them, which will also affect the way they bring the kids up, so there probably is some vague correlation between someone's name and thier personality. I think a lot of people end up saddled with silly names because their parents get carried away with some pretentious notion or other in the heat of the moment.

Rubbish Monkey

Quote from: "Suttonpubcrawl"Given all the wonderful names possible, I sometimes wonder how you can give the name "John" to a child whose surname is Smith with a straight face. Isn't that only mildly less generic than just naming your child Firstname Surname?

We have a John Thomas at work.

SurferGhost

Quote from: "Partridge's Love Child"There's a producer on Radio 4, who I presume is also the same person who is working as scorer on their coverage of the cricket, called Jo King.  This raises a smile every time I hear it.  Everytime someone says to her (I think it's a her, it could be Joe King) "you've got to be joking!" she'll have to say, "yes, I am."

She is indeed a lady, there was a question about it from A Listener of Tonbridge on Right To Reply (or whatever it's called) once. It's always great when the announcer intones, "...and the producer was Jo King."

Quote from: "Mediocre Rich"Imagine the joy when children realise that Richard can be shortend to Dick!

There's a teacher in Bradford called Richard Head.  I promise you I'm not making that up.  You'd think that if there's one profession you'd been keen to avoid with a name like that, teaching is the one.  At my school Mrs Donkersley got a rough enough time with people buying her a carrot every Christmas.  (You'd think it wouldn't hurt after the third or fourth time, but apparently it always made her cry.  Still, serves her right for being a bitch.)  Imagine the stick you'd get for being a Penis Tete.

Quote from: "Banana Woofwoof"I hate people who name their children with the same first name as surname- you know what I mean, the surname is a plural version of their first name.

Not forgetting Neville Neville, the father of the famous footballing brothers.

mook

I had a lucky escape by being born with nads, had I not I was to be named Buffy after some folk singer apparently. Dear God, the nineties would have been fucking awful time for a girl called Buffy.

Quote from: "Gazeuse"Time makes a difference too...My Auntie Em was a little Cockney lady who used to say 'orspiddle' instead of 'hospital.' It's got very fashionable now.

Heh, I had an Aunty Em too. A formidable looking women who would descend upon my Grans's house at Christmas time and other family gatherings to help with the cooking. She was like a force of nature in a green flowered house coat and a liberal dusting of flour. I loved her to bits because she had a laugh like Sid James and would eat slithers of raw liver to freak the kids out.