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

*Isabels

Jane was one of the most popular girls' names when I was at school - we even learnt to read with Peter and Jane (Ladybird reading scheme). Some years ago, l taught an eleven year old Jane, the first girl called Jane l had come across for decades. In a sea of Sophies, Graces1, Isavels and Olivias - all names that were popular at the time - it was really rather refreshing.

My DDs middle name is Jane. From ‘Jane Eyre’

REKA

Persephone.

I have DGD called Persephone..

My Granny was Jane but called Jenny. I got the Jane as a middle name really common.

LOUISA1523

I like my name....its a classic timeless name...there's one in every generation...but you would be the only one with the name in your class....its never spelled wrong.....I never shorten it ( although you can) ...one of my GDs has my name as their middle name which is lovely

Ps...its not Louisa!

I like my name....its a classic timeless name...there's one in every generation...but you would be the only one with the name in your class....its never spelled wrong.....I never shorten it ( although you can) ...one of my GDs has my name as their middle name which is lovely

I was named after a character in a book my DM was reading.

But I also share a name with my DGM my dad's mum who DM couldn't stand! But it's the Scottish tradition the naming pattern. I was the second girl.

When I was a child, my three best friends were called Christine, so I always felt the odd one out. Plus, they all had middle names and I didn’t!

My parents chose my name as they thought it was unlikely to be shortened by friends. Of course, it was my parents who shortened it and my friends never have! 😆

I went through a phase of wanting to be called Judy - can’t remember why! After the comic perhaps?

*Andrewina

Naming girl babies with adapted boys' names is an old custom in Scotland happily dying out.
I'm thinking of a poor woman I once knew whose name was Anrewina Thomasina, Ina for short.

On the other hand some Clan names once popular for boys are now given to girls;
Leslie, Lindsay, Mackenzie, Gordon, Jamie etc

My parents were very conscious of the meanings of names. This proved useful to me at my university interview (for English). I was asked if I knew the meanings of my names, which, thanks to my parents, I did.

Musicgirl

Babs03

I have always liked Elaine.

This is my first name and I have always liked it. If I were not an Elaine I think I would like to be Rosalind/Rosamund, Catriona or Bethan.

I was nearly called Catriona, but my parents weren’t sure how to pronounce it - CatriONA or CatREEona? I’d have liked being Catriona, either pronunciation.

I was named Norma, after my father, who was Norman. My mother told me that the other name they were considering was Michaela, after Michaela Denis, the wildlife film maker. I had been adopted, and later discovered the name given to me by my biological mother, on my original birth certificate was Rosemary. Rosemary Cloony was a popular singer at the time, and had a number one in the charts on the day I was born. I wonder if that is where my name came from. I'm quite happy with Norma.

I went to visit a friend in hospital. She didn’t tell me which ward she was in so I went to the reception desk. She is known by the name Carol but her given name is Daphne. It would have been useful to know that! She has quite a common surname so I was there ages.

The name not the character!

My name is common in Germany and France (my mother was German) but considered old-fashioned here. Another gransnetter shares it I think as it forms her username and she posts often!
I like it because it’s uncommon now but is commonly abbreviated to the name of a character in Friends which I don’t care for.

My name too can be unisex Which I hated at primary school, plus I had to spell it. It is more popular now but it tends to be spelt incorrectly But I am used to spelling it out by now

The first two are quite bad enough, but Cinderella, WithKnobsOnIt??
I assume you were tongue in cheek?

Cleopatra

Aphrodite

Cinderella

Davina
Sophie
Louisa
Jennifer
Pamela

Babs03

I have always liked Elaine.

This is my first name and I have always liked it. If I were not an Elaine I think I would like to be Rosalind/Rosamund, Catriona or Bethan.

I've never really disliked my first name but if I had to choose another it would be Clarissa- I just love that name but have never met one in real life!

I disliked my first name for a long time, mainly because people mispronounce it, now I just politely correct them or ignore it. I think I’d like to be called Helena but, there again, people would probably mispronounce that as Helena which I don’t like! 😂 Oops, sorry if anyone here is called that. 🫢

My sister & I had very ordinary names and when we were young in the 60s, we used to say to one another " let's pretend we're ladies" and we'd become Marion & Carol! I certainly wouldn't choose either now. Although we didn't use if for DD, I've always liked the name Dulcie. My DM had a cousin called it & I love how it sounds

Bazza

I also loathe my given name, this month I would choose Anna but I change it on a regular basis. Our granddaughter was to be called Maud 😱 but fortunately it rhymed with her surname. I love the one she ended up with. Naming a child is a nightmare! Will it date? How will other people perceive that child/person? Will it be abbreviated? Then you have to look at initials. I have an Irish friend who spent the first two years of her life being called Baby. She is now called Marion, but was eventually christened Eileen.

My daughter’s first name begins with ‘R’, and her second began with ‘A’.
When she started dating, I was terrified she’d marry someone whose surname began with ‘T’!
(Thankfully, she didn’t!)