Possibly risking offending some, but genuine question.

10 minutes from me Mama Caz! Sadly, the Fool's Nook has closed down now. Pity, it was a lovely place to go on a summer evening.

Both DH and I have been known by our middle names all our lives. I don't know why our parents did it - maybe the names sound better that way. We always say we have two identities, one for friends and family and one official one for doctors, dentists and anything else where full name is needed.

Exactly, chewbacca. That very bit of canal

Fool's Nook Mama Caz? In Cheshire? Near a beautiful stretch of canal waterway?

I think our eldest was conceived at a place called Fools Nook. We joked about making a name from that, but went for a very conventional in the end, thank goodness!

My friend taught in a school where there was a child (male) named Kreg. When asked where the name came from, Mother replied "He was conceived in our K-Registered Astra". Friend really didn't know where to look!

My OH, and quite a lot of other folk I know, have always been called by a middle name. Why do parents do that? It just makes for a lifetime of complications and confusions when filling in forms, passports etc.
Oh, doesn't it just varian - DH has always had problems because this is what his DM decided to do.

I have to repeat some of these names a couple of times before I 'get' them - KVIIIy in particular!

I agree about Cain although I do know a Cain and he is a lovely boy
As for Charon, well, I would have thought the registrar could have had a kind word before committing the name to paper!
Cerberus anyone?

I do know a Damien who hates his name and uses his second name. However, it was probably chosen before the film came out.

I`ve always been called by my middle name, so therefore I sometimes don`t answer when someone calls out my first name, such as in hospital or at the doctor`s.
My granddaughter is Jenny, but her godfather always insisted on calling her Jennifer.

My OH, and quite a lot of other folk I know, have always been called by a middle name. Why do parents do that? It just makes for a lifetime of complications and confusions when filling in forms, passports etc.

Another annoying auto correct interference there - should say Evangelina, not Angelina. I am getting really p****d off with auto correct now!

It's funny how differently we all think, isn't it, lam64!
I am the opposite - if the parents have no intention of calling a child anything but, for example, Evie, for the rest of its life, I really don't get why they have 'Angelina' put on the birth certificate. I do get your point about choice in later life, but no matter what their 'official' name, I am sure that today's youngsters will not hesitate to choose a different name later in life if they want to, anyway.

iam64

yes! actually gave daughter elizabeth as a middle name just for that reason
over the years she has wandered from one to the other and finally when not using her first name uses lizzie.
gave her an ambiguous first name

i had found my name gave me the option of being female or male and has come in handy over the years.
so i did the same for her
not the same name just one she could play with altho a very common one.

I love the return f traditional names. I'm old fashioned enough to prefer birth certificates to say Arthur, rather than artie, Archibald rather than Archie and so on. I'm perfectly happy for the girls and boys to be known by the shortened form but these lovely names give them so many choices later in life. Elizabeth, Beth, Betty, Liz, Lizzie, Betsy - endless choices from one beautiful, trad name.

this is so funny
in the digital age
people dont want themselves"outted"
on forums facebook etc
but choose names for their children that are so weird that all it takes is one google to find them.
also posting pictures...
it all out there and all available.

again i site the midwife whos patient wanted to know the word on the box in the delivery room
and named her child Modess
a brand of sanitary napkins.
i still muse on that child,she would be an adult by now

Only just logged on to GN Phoenix so haven't read all the posts.
We have an Australian family member with the Aimee spelling.
There is also a similar name for another member of the family.
but could be too much information.

Off to read the rest of the posts

My friend at school was christened 'Vicki' but was always being asked if it should be 'Victoria' - she was forever having to explain herself which she found irritating.
I find the boys' names, Marc, Nic and Ric a bit silly.
Near us we have a waitress called Charlee.

Why has the accent changed since I typed that? Grrr - give us an edit button!

If we are talking foreign names, i love Agnės (I think the grave accent is correct?) when pronounced the French way - Ann-yez -, but really don't like its English equivalent!

In a farmers market in France a year or two ago, someone was calling their little daughter, 'Aurelie' they called. Such a lovely name. I haven't yet heard it mangled over here. There's time, I suppose.

Arthur is definitely coming back into fashion. A friend has a fairly new GS called Arthur (Artie) and another friend a son aged about three also called Arthur. I don't think it's after the cat in the adverts .

I do think tv programmes give rise to all sorts of names and spellings thereof. I remember in the 60s there was a programme starring Clint Walker called Cheyenne. Lots of little Cheyennes appeared around that time.

And Bodie... I could go on.

Actually, Phoenix - to be correct, Amy is the Anglicised version of - ahem - Aimee, the original French name!
However, I am not without sympathy for your irritation - I did hear in a supermarket a rather disturbing "call" from a mother to her darling toddler "'Ere, our Chardonnay, f***ing gerr 'ere". Oh dear.... And I am aware of a lovely young woman who's parents saw fit to call her - wait for it - Bordelle. Presumably they thought it was exotic and sophisticated!
So, for my money, bring on the Aimees, Aymees, etc - rather those than the others...

My friend's grandson is called Kristofor.
Why?

It irritates me beyond all reason!

I don't mean the foreign versions of names, but just plain stupid spelling of "normal" names.

It's not like, for example, a parent is going to stand in the middle of the park and call - "Come here Jenni-spelled-j - e - n - n - i ", or some other variation of a normal name. The name SOUNDS exactly the same, so why try to be clever and spell it in some fancy way.

All that happens is that the poor child is going to spend their entire life having to correct people's spelling of their names.

That might explain why so many children dislike their middle names, Imperfect - at least, i remember that a lot of those who I was at school with did.