For most of us, the name we have is the one we were given. Sometimes, we like our name, sometimes we don’t. You might grow into it, and you might not. Do you like yours?
Share why if you wish.
Asking — and answering — life's interesting questions
For most of us, the name we have is the one we were given. Sometimes, we like our name, sometimes we don’t. You might grow into it, and you might not. Do you like yours?
Share why if you wish.
I like my name quite a bit most of the time.
I like the name “Michael” a lot; and there are a number of people who informally refer to me as “Michael Dahl,” as in not a simple “Michael.” “How you doing, Michael Dahl.” What does Michael Dahl think of this?” “Hey, Michael Dahl! Good morning.” Sometimes when my spouse talks to or about me, when she doesn’t say “Sweetie,” she says “Michael Dahl.” Funny, huh?
I agree: the first and last name together flow off of the tongue a bit better. Someone once told me that the three syllables work better than two. Okay.
Now, I don’t like my name shortened. I’ll be as bold to say, I hate the sound and look of “Mike” when associated with me. (Other Mikes out there can have it there way; it’s just my personal preference when attached to me.) I think the letter “k” in the middle of my name looks weird. Honestly! (I know. My name’s not weird; I am. But I get to choose my name, right!?)
Lastly, there’s the nickname “Mikey.” Hate it! Don’t call me it. There are only two people who could/can call me this. First, Great Grandma Nehring could call me “Mikey.” She was a Great Grandma; she could do what she wanted. Second, my Auntie Taffy (Aunt Cathy) can call me “Mikey” when it’s attached to my birthday. When I turned 3-years old, I apparently said, “Hi! I’m Mikey Dahl for free [three] like a good boy.” Auntie Taffy resurrects this statement around my birthday most years. While I am 49-years old, I still allow “Mikey” for her only.
I like my name now. It’s unusual, though it’s an old name, and I like that not many people have heard it.
But, I hated it as a kid. I was mercilessly teased in elementary and middle school because of my name (among other things), causing me to be very introverted. By high school I had only made 1 friend. It is why I gave my kids popular names (Michael, Joseph and Samuel).
I’m kind of the opposite of Michael—I universally use my nickname. My parents still call me Benjamin, but in elementary school that was too hard for other kids to pronounce, so I got hit with Benjy and Benny. One kid called me Ben, and I liked it. So when I switched schools in 4th grade, I took the opportunity to choose my own nickname. (Incidentally, there was a Cecily in my class.)
Another Ben came into my class in 5th grade, so I became Ben W. to his Ben B., and we were the two with the name all the way through high school graduation. The same thing happened in law school with Ben C.
Now what I always get is “that’s my son’s name”—Benjamin jumped into the top 10 boys’ names in the ‘90s.
I don’t know if other people feel this way, but it’s hard for me to separate my name from “me.” Just the same way I can’t think of my body and “me” as two different things. “Dave” is a pretty common name, but it’s also not unusual in some way that would lead to teasing. Although, I did learn from a website that tracks these sorts of things that my name is gradually aging out of the U.S. population. I have had a couple of nicknames over the years based on pop culture references: “Super Dave” and “Famous Dave,” which was actually shortened to “Famous.” But, those were short-lived and died out. If anyone wanted to revive calling me “Famous,” I would not object. 😉