I was born in 1951....yep, way back in the dark ages. In my classes at school, there were a lot of girls named Kathy and Susie. Popular names back then. My given name is Kathryn, but no one ever called me that. My mom sometimes called me Katrina. Not sure why she did, but I liked it.
My parents had a difficult time keeping me and two of my sisters straight because they named us Karen, Kathy and Kay. Not a lot of creativity there.
When it came time to a name our first child, I wanted to be different. I didn't want a regular name that everyone else had. We chose Tresa. Not Theresa or Teresa, but Tresa...pronounced tree-suh. A simple and easy to say name that turned into a mini nightmare. I should have known it was going to be a problem when the hospital staff came in twice to ask me if that spelling was correct....and kept asking, "How do you say that?"
Having an unusual name also means you can't find any cute little personalized things at the store...like the pencils and little license plates with your name on them. It also means a lifetime of correcting people when they pronounce it wrong, or just allowing them to pronounce it wrong because you are tired of correcting people.
Our boys were easy. Our first son was named after his dad and his grandfather. He is Irving Michael....very old fashioned name. He has always been called Michael. His dad was always Junior to his Aunts and Uncles. I love the name Michael so there was no argument from me. I wasn't really sure about a baby named Irving, but it made some grown men very happy. Michael took a great deal of teasing when his friends found out his real name, but it didn't phase him.
Our youngest was going to be a Matthew no matter how popular the name was. It has always been a favorite of mine. The name suits him well. He decided in Junior High that he was to be called Matt and not Matthew. I usually call him Matti.
How about you? Do you like your name? If you have children, how did you decide on their names?
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7 comments:
I don't really mind my name. I was born about two months early and my mom just kinda picked it out on the spot. I understand she was under pressure. Her name was Ginger and even though she didn't like that name- If I ever have a little girl I want to name her Ginger Isabella (my mom really wanted a little granddaughter named Isabella)
Oh, and Aubrey says thank you! He was too excited!
Names don't come any more unusual than mine, so I can relate to Tresa. But I love my name and the fact that it's unique. Passed it on to my daughter as her middle name.
I did not like my name growing up but I don't mind it now.
My 2 children are Brian and Katie (Kathryn like you). Brian (the oldest) was the only boy's name we could agree on when he was born, and Katie got her name cause a week or so before she was born the Lillian Vernon mail order catalog came and on the cover was a picture of 2 stockings hanging on the mantle - Brian and Katie! I felt is was fate!
Me: Teri Renee
Mother: Sheri Renee
Grandmother: Mary Renee
Great Grandmother: Renee!
...by the time I was twelve I was calling my mother "George" and it still sticks!...so there.
Love that you Mama referred to you as "Katrina"...she likes you.
And I never actually like any name that any new baby is given, until they finally grow into it over time.
I quite like my name, I think I was lucky that there was a name left for me as I am the youngest of 10 children and I would think my mom had had enough by the time I arrived. My children are named Andrew which we chose because we liked it and he gets called Andy by his friends, Drew by my husband and I and his sister calles him Andrew. My daughter is Kate she is christened Kate not Kathryn, Kathleen or any other just Kate which we thought was nice and easy but, because it is short it gets lengthened to Katy, Katie, Kathleen, Kathryn and lots more which used to really annoy her when she was a teenager but now it's o.k
my parents wanted an English name for me and asked the doctor to give me one. Since I was born in December close to xmas they named me Christina. My family can't really pronounce it so they call me chrissy. I did name my younger brother Benjamin Alan... because I've always wanted a middle name and with names like that he can chose to call himself, Ben, Benji, Benjamin, Al, Alan, BA.. etc... =D
My husband and I were born in the 50's too so we have VERY common names. Our son's name, while very common now, was a bit unusual at the time and we took a lot of ribbing for blessing him with it. Our daughter was named after a girl my hubby went to church camp with. The name is unusual and people mispronounce it all the time. She found it to be both a blessing and a curse when she was in school. Once people knew her name, they knew her. She was never ___'s little sister, her brother was ___'s older brother. On the other hand, if she did something she shouldn't she couldn't blame it on another Jennifer or Amy, etc.
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