What's in a name?

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Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
24,913
8,167
113
#1
There's probably already a thread for this, but if I post there someone will holler about zombies. (Though this IS October, zombies are in the forecast...)

I've always thought that Jenny was a nice name. I like names like Jennifer that sound nice even when they are shortened
This thread is about your name. Do people always shorten it? Do you like that, or would you rather be addressed by your real name? Did you have a nickname growing up? Do you still have one? Do you like it or hate it? Is your name common or rare, and how do you feel about that?
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
24,913
8,167
113
#2
My name is Isaac, and I have become somewhat resigned to people misspelling it. Issac, Isacc, Izac, Izak... People shorten it to Ike, and I don't like Ike. Is two syllables too much of a strain?

I do like having a relatively rare name, but sometimes when I meet another Isaac I get a jolt that Chris and John don't understand. They are used to other people having their names. I was in the local supermarket one day and heard, "Isaac, come help sack" on the loudspeaker. I thought, "What? I don't get a paycheck here. No way I'm helping!"

I always wanted to change my name too, I think because there were so many people named Jennifer when I was growing up. Now I like it, I actually like Jenny which is what most people called me growing up, that and Fenner. My husband hates the name Jenny and will only call me Jen or Jennifer. I don't know why he hates it. I think I mentioned on here before that growing up I wanted to be , Ziggy Stardust like David Bowie. I'm glad that never happened.
For sure, Jennifer seems to be a popular name. Back in the ApostolicChat days (may that chatroom rust in peace) we had so many Jennifers that they ran out of nicknames. Two of them were moderators. Jennifer, Jenny, Jen, Jenn, Jennn, InJen, Ynnej...
 
W

wwjd_kilden

Guest
#3
My name can't really be shortened.

I do have a middle name, but it is only used by my family "up north", and I like it that way, it makes it a bit special :)
Also, if I tell people I meet that my name is Firstname Middlename, for some reason they start using my middle name only,
and as I am most used to my first name, that gets confusing :p so I only present myself with my first name.

I was called Asbjørn (male name) by some fellow pupils at school, Ashley at a festival, and Mandy by a kid in kindergarten.
I also wrote a script with a friend where we "were" two of the main characters, which left me with the nick Chris.

I'll respond to most nicknames as long as I know they apply to me :p
 

Demi777

Senior Member
Oct 13, 2014
6,877
1,949
113
Germany
#4
Well my name is Demelza. Most people shorten it to Demi or Dem. People dont usually can e by my 2nd name Celeste. People tend to misspell Demelza a lot..like..Demiza, Dementa,Dementza,Demelsa...lol
 

Fenner

Senior Member
Jan 26, 2013
7,507
111
0
#5
My name is Ziggy Stardust, yeah you read it right. My Mom was super cool, her favorite group wasn't The Four Freshman and her favorite singer wasn't Tennessee Ernie Ford it was David Bowie. Yeah because she's super cool. She met my Dad on a groovy outer space trip and they listened to Starman and Major Tom all the time. My Dad was like, Babe we have to name our future super groovy totally cool Daughter Ziggy Stardust and that's how it happened. You have to believe me because everything on the internet is true.https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tRcPA7Fzebw#
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
24,913
8,167
113
#6
Demi: At least they haven't hit Dementia yet. ;)
 

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
May 23, 2009
14,943
4,586
113
#8
Well my name is Demelza. Most people shorten it to Demi or Dem. People dont usually can e by my 2nd name Celeste. People tend to misspell Demelza a lot..like..Demiza, Dementa,Dementza,Demelsa...lol
You have a gorgeous name, both first and middle.

It truly sounds like a princess! :D
 

Demi777

Senior Member
Oct 13, 2014
6,877
1,949
113
Germany
#9
You have a gorgeous name, both first and middle.

It truly sounds like a princess! :D
Well..Demelza means ''your sweet one'' and Celeste ''from the heavens''
so u got pretty close hehe
 

Huglife

Senior Member
Aug 15, 2016
2,543
50
48
#10
My mom spelled caitlen differently because she wanted me to be different I guess:)
People call me kaity, my grandma calls me kaitybug…

My name don't mean nothing special lol. My grandmas daughter is named lawana. Its Indian for water:) My middle name is rain, though:)
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
24,913
8,167
113
#11
Nobody calls you kaitydid? What are they thinking? :p

Well I guess kaitybug is close...
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
55,885
26,046
113
#12
My given Christian name gets automatically shortened quite frequently, much to my dismay. So often in fact that when people do call me by my full name it sometimes sounds weird! Honestly, when I have just met someone and I have told them my name is Xxxxxxx, and they immediately call me Xxxx, I wonder what just happened to cause almost half of my name to disappear??? And why do people think it is okay to do that, to take such liberties and call me something that is not my name?

I had one guy at work arguing with me about it once. His argument was that it should be acceptable simply because so many people do it! However, when I shortened his name and started calling Keith "Th" he got so upset he could not carry on the conversation, got up, and stormed out of the room.

Sometimes I see the last three letters of my name on a license plate, and I think to myself, oh, it did not disappear into a black hole after all :eek::D:rolleyes:

As for Magenta, people shorten that and it does not bother me. Maggie, Mags, M, haha it is all good. Some people even call me Magneta. I guess that is the female version of Magneto? I must be very powerful :D
 

seoulsearch

OutWrite Trouble
May 23, 2009
14,943
4,586
113
#13
I like it when people call me by my full name.

Namely... Kimpending Doom

Or, if they're feeling really fancy--The Kim Reaper.
 

Lenardzw

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2015
425
22
18
#14
My name is Lenard. People have almost always spelt it with an "o" (Leonard). So at work i'd be called by the shortened form of the name with the wrong spelling, "Leo." In fact, some of the general workers (I was on a farm at the time) called me "Mr Leo." They still don't know my proper name or my surname! My friends call me "Len." I had a nickname in school which my brother and his wife still call me by (and a few high school friends too) but I'm not too fond of it. The problem was, people would then introduce me to others using my nickname, then I'd correct them and say, "Hey! That's not my name!" So at times I'd have some virtual stranger greeting me at the gas station using a nickname I wasn't really feeling. I always use a person proper name by default then take my Que from them if they want me to use a shortened form. Usually that prompt comes from how they introduce themselves.
 

Dino246

Senior Member
Jun 30, 2015
24,688
13,377
113
#15
Very few people here know my real name. There are even fewer people who get away with shortening it, and they aren't here. ;)
 

melita916

Senior Member
Aug 12, 2011
10,418
2,660
113
#16
My nickname is Melita. It means honey.

Sometimes, people call me Mel.

My real name means fierce warrior.
 

Sonflower

Senior Member
Jan 30, 2016
850
147
43
#17
My name is very common but I'm ok with that. I really love my name. I think my name is very much "me". My name is Angela. Some used to call me Angie. I can't stand that. I don't know why. My mom will still call me Angie sometimes. Now, my nickname most used is Ang. I like that one a lot. So, Angela or Ang. My name means heavenly messanger, although, I don't really feel very "angelic" at times. ;) Maybe that's why God gave me a middle name that means "wild and frenzied".
 
Feb 7, 2015
22,418
413
0
#18
My full name is Algonquin J. Calhoun. But I answer to Willie T.
 
N

NewWine

Guest
#19
According to google, there are 7 people in North America with my name, 2 with my full name (surname included). I'm not sure I buy that, but I have met online 1 other person with my name, and I have met one on the phone with my name. People shorten my name all the time and eh, I don't mind. When I was young I despised my name, but now, it's just part of me. People rarely pronounce it correctly without hearing it, so as long as they come close I will answer. I used to get touchy about it, but people pronounce things differently in each area, so eh, tomato- to-mah-to.
 
N

NewWine

Guest
#20
And Lynx I think you already know my real name lol