If you could change your first name what would you have ?

I love my first name , wouldn't dream of wishing for a different one.

I have a name after a character in an opera. My mother picked it out because another mum she knew called her daughter by this name. We later became friends until she emigrated to Australia under the £10 scheme.

The other name I fancied was Guinevere. Its associated with Lancelot and Arthur but is actually of Welsh origin.

I had an aunt called Ethel and always thought it was a really old
name and very unfashionable. Now, though, I think of Scandinavia and people like Ethelred the Unready so I have changed my mind about it. You watch, betcha it will come back into fashion!

I very much like my middle name and dislike my first name. I've used the middle one on occasions, and my ex partner always called me by it.

I like Charlotte. A number of my grandmothers and g and gg grandmothers were Charlotte. Miranda is nice too. The one I really love though is Viviana. I met one a few years ago and she had Italian parents.

Casdon

When I was younger I always liked the name Caroline, but I think I’d go for something Welsh now - I like Eleri, or Alys.

My Dad's cousin was Alys. She was quite formidable, I believe! They weren't Welsh though.

petra Ethel was perhaps after a favourite Aunt of your father. Thank goodness he didn't get his way.
I was nearly Wendy, it wouldn't have suited me at all.

TerriBull

Catherine! it was my maternal grandmother's name, one of my mother's names and it's also one of my 3 Christian names, 3 rather than 2 plus a confirmation name, so that makes 4. Catholics, when I was growing up gave their children as many saints or biblical names as possible. I think I often complained to my parents about my third name not being my first name, because I didn't like my first then, but I'm ok with it now, in the sense that I don't hate it. I'd have chosen the female version of my first son's name if he'd been a girl, which ends in dra rather than der, he goes by the diminutive, widely used for both sexes.

I know which name you mean, Terribull and I chose that for my youngest, suitable for a boy or girl.
For some reason MIL was rude about it which put me off but I wish I'd stuck to my guns, although I do like the name we eventually settled for.

My dad was a in a jazz band and wanted me and my sister to be called "jazz" names - Georgia and Carolina! My mum was horrified and instead chose two boring 1950s names. We always say we'd have much preferred Dad's choice!

Crossstitchfan

Casdon

petra

I’m just grateful that my father didn't get his way with naming me. He wanted Ethel 😱

My poor neighbour was Euphemia - with apologies if anybody here is called that, it must be one of the most dreadful names ever.

Oh, I don’t know! My husband’s grandmother was called Tryphena!!

Oh dear. I hadn’t heard of that before, I just looked it up, and apparently it means delicate in Greek - it’s just not a delicate sounding name in English, is it?

I wouldn’t change my first name but would love to change my second name to that of a flower like, Lily or Rose.

Persephone a beautiful name, but just reminds me of listening to one of my children reading it out for the first time, pronouncing it Percy phone, logical, I couldn't help laughing though

Sometimes it’s someone with the name and their personality that attracts you to the name. When I was at college I liked Sherrie. Unusual then without being strange.

Lately I love the name Saoirse I just wonder if girls with that name who don't live in Ireland will have a lifetime of being mispronounced (Seer sha) I believe, and having to spell it out continuously.

I’m very grateful for my name, I wouldn’t want to change it.
Names I wanted for my daughters, but vetoed by my husband (much to their relief)

Clover
Lydia
Jonquil
Piper

I've met a number of older Scottish ladies named after their Dad a with feminised version of his name. Donaldina, Andrewina, Jamesina, Thomasina. Often abbreviated to Ina,, rhymes with eye- na.

Worst of all was my next door neighbour,

poor Archiebelle.

Sarah would be the name I’d choose. It was what my mum wanted to call me as it was both my grandmother’s and a nice great aunt name but my dad said no. Instead I’ve got a name that dates me and has variants so I always have to spell it out. I suppose I don’t actually hate it but I don’t like it.

The irony is, when my dad registered my birth, having got his own way with my first name, he then gave the registrar the wrong spelling of my second name! I’ve always spelt it the way my mum wanted it to be and so far it’s never been an issue wrt to security that it doesn’t match my birth certificate but that day could still come.

The one I'm actually known by !

First name on my birth cert is the name of singer Mum heard on the radio. As soon as my birth had been registered she took against the chosen name and I've never been called it or known as it.

Except on my passport, medical records, professional certificates, degrees, bank accounts, and every govt department :-(

As my name is short, ugly and very common (among my generation) I always wished I had a beautiful name. I still get mad when people spell my name the other way.
New parents should be given rules - Don’t choose the most popular name of the year, nor something unheard of.
Don’t spell it a peculiar way.
Find out what it means.
Don’t use a name nobody can pronounce or spell (that’s all Irish names)

Persephone.

Grandmatie, I also have a French name, as do my siblings. My older sister hated her name Martine growing up, since it was very uncommon, but now that we are more multicultural than in the 60's and 70's, she is fine with it. All three girls have French names starting with M, so you can narrow mine down.

I've always been fine with my name and never really had a replacement in mind, but I chose Theresa as my confirmation name. Going to Catholic school, we had a real mixture of Irish, Italian, French, and Dutch background students. I did think the name Amanda was quite exotic!

I hated my name. I was called Caroline which was very fancy for the 50s, I would much rather have been Carol which was more acceptable at school. Still my second name was Joan, which I thought was even worse. My mother had been christened Joan because she was born when St Joan was being canonised. I rather fancied Lindsey as a name, but my school friends would probably have thought it was weird.

When I was growing up I read a book called Catrin in Wales and loved that name. Also Rhiannon and Anghared. Catrin would probably have been easier to spell than the others.

Grandma70s

Katherine, with a K, is one of my names, too. I like it better with a C.

Both my grandchildren (16 and 13) have three first names (if you see what I mean). I think it was the fashion when they were born, and still is for many.

I like it better with a K! A DD’s middle name is Katharine.

I always wanted a name that sounded like a boy. Peta, Toni or Stevie were my pretend names sometimes

I used to quite like my name but it has gone out of fashion so it’s relatively easy to guess my age. I’d love to be a Catherine or Madeleine. But my real favourite is Rose. Maybe because I love gardening.