How does your name affect your personality?

[Lady_X]

i think it does...somehow in some weird way but i don't feel at all similar to other erins i've met

 

[Forever_Jung]

My name is Jeremy, and it's perfect for me.

 

[Coriolis]

I have always hated my given name, and have no middle name to fall back on. My name is trivial, silly sounding, the opposite of anything I have any interest in being. I was named after an aunt I never knew, but the family connection is the only good thing about it. Someone on another forum told me that people like being addressed by name - it makes them feel like you are connecting with them. Not me. Use it to get my attention, then I don't want to hear it for the rest of the conversation.

 

[Odi et Amo]

My name is Patrick and I have never liked it.
#OhInvertedWorld #4Problems ##PetronOnIce

 

[prplchknz]

I think it's bullshit, my name is Elizabeth but everyone's called me Libby since I was 2, so maybe it does. But i've known other Libby's (yes they exist) and most of them were really bitchy and queen beeish. And I can be bitch but I've never been a queen bee

 

[011235813]

I like my name a lot. I like the way it sounds, I like what it means, it's relatively unusual but not weirdly uncommon, and my namesake is a strong but gracious character in a novel. A good model to live up to.

The only bad thing is how everyone misspells/mispronounces it, but even that can be a source of amusement.

 

[Aleria]

I like my real name, but I don't think it affects my personality. The only thing I dislike is that it's really common in my country, and it becomes a problem when you have like 5-7 classmates/ co-workers with the same name as you...

 

[Freesia]

My name has made me that much shier. It's so uncommon/hard to pronounce that I dread meeting people because I know that soon I'll have to suffer through the ritual of mispronunciation and correction. On the one hand I appreciate it and the thought that my parents put into it, but on the other hand I hate it because it calls unwanted attention to me.

 

[WALMART]

My name is Jon Law, and people look to me for AUTHORITY.

So, ego?

 

[greenfairy]

People commonly mispronounce both my names, even after spelling it for them. I've considered telling people at Starbucks my middle name, but I always forget. Yeah people tell me I should value my name, but I don't want to be angry with people for not understanding it, so I just have the mindset of whatever you call me is fine because I am not my name. Not only that Eileen is usually changed to a different name when it's mispronounced, like Arlene or Irene or Ellen or even Emily, so if I'm my name I become a different person rather than a misunderstood person. So I guess all this makes me feel kind of invisible and that if people are encountered with my real self they won't like it.

That said, I really like the meanings of my first name. It's the Gaelic version of Helen, which means "light", and I've also seen it mean "life" or "giver of life".

And people start singing "Come on Eileen" to me, which makes me feel kind of special. And like I exist.

 

[violet_crown]

There's power in words. Perhaps more than we care to remember. I recall when I was still living in the dorms at college my RA decided to post the meaning of the names of each of her residence on their front door, and I was struck by how--without necessarily knowing those meanings--how well each well one suited their owner.

My name is from the Greek for "defender of mankind". How to protect those closest to me, how to be strong and how to serve and provide for those weaker than myself have always been the existential concerns of my life. I was named for rulers and generals, and I have always striven to live up to that.

I wonder whether when meaning is uncovered, it provides a certain slant to what we already know. Or if there's power in the act of naming in and of itself. I've heard it said that we process emotion in our native language. It makes me wonder if someone somewhere in China is feeling something I've never experienced for the simple fact that person is of a culture that felt that particular sentiment was compelling enough to be codified in some way that mine has not. And if so, does the lack of codification mean that I'm incapable of experiencing that sentiment, or is it simply one that occurs in a blind spot? Mislabled and therefore missed altogether.

So it goes with names. If my name honored life itself as my sister's does, then would I be more vivacious? Or would my vivaciousness simply be more outstanding? Having become a name I don't know myself otherwise, and frankly (and this may be more to the point) such that I am don't necessarily care.

 

[Firebird 8118]

My name could not have been a more appropriate match for my personality, those who know me well say. Sneha.

I used to hate the name I was given at birth, though. I remember now how we were once taught at Chinmaya Mission that sneha means 'conditional love', and that it's the lower kind of love. Since that day, I had felt bad about being called something that had such a negative connotation to it.

But now I've come to appreciate that name. It feels nice now when someone I care about calls me by my given name, because 1) it makes me feel a little more connected to my culture, and 2) no matter what 'form' of love it signifies, it still means 'love'.

 

[Alea_iacta_est]

There's power in words. Perhaps more than we care to remember. I recall when I was still living in the dorms at college my RA decided to post the meaning of the names of each of her residence on their front door, and I was struck by how--without necessarily knowing those meanings--how well each well one suited their owner.

My name is from the Greek for "defender of mankind". How to protect those closest to me, how to be strong and how to serve and provide for those weaker than myself have always been the existential concerns of my life. I was named for rulers and generals, and I have always striven to live up to that.

I wonder whether when meaning is uncovered, it provides a certain slant to what we already know. Or if there's power in the act of naming in and of itself. I've heard it said that we process emotion in our native language. It makes me wonder if someone somewhere in China is feeling something I've never experienced for the simple fact that person is of a culture that felt that particular sentiment was compelling enough to be codified in some way that mine has not. And if so, does the lack of codification mean that I'm incapable of experiencing that sentiment, or is it simply one that occurs in a blind spot? Mislabled and therefore missed altogether.

So it goes with names. If my name honored life itself as my sister's does, then would I be more vivacious? Or would my vivaciousness simply be more outstanding? Having become a name I don't know myself otherwise, and frankly (and this may be more to the point) such that I am don't necessarily care.

Hello, name-sharer.

Interesting how our name is interpreted as conqueror, vanquisher, and defender at the same time, and I find that to be highly representative of those who bear it as well.

 

[LadyLazarus]

I feel like my name may have played a hand in why I was/sort of still am painfully shy, being that it's weird and therefore was the subject of many a ridicule. I remember being very ashamed of it as a kid, it kind of made me a target for bullying, now I'm fine with it for the most part, although I do go by my nickname most often nowadays; Mei, which is the end part of my name.It made me want to hide, and become very timid during my younger years. Inside I wasn't as unassertive as I came off at first glance, but I acted that way because the embarrassment was almost unbearable and incredibly crippling.My full name is a misspelled/ variation of the Japanese word for "dream", which I've always thought was stupid and hippy-dippy .I'm honestly not even remotely significantly Japanese enough(I'm like 1/100th or something) to have a Japanese name in my opinion.The only thing I like about my name now is that it's extremely uncommon, I may be the only person in the country(dare I say world?)with my name, which I love.

 

[93JC]

Hm. I have a rather 'ordinary' name. It was given to me for no other reason than that my mother liked the sound if it. It's common and unremarkable. I share it with a great many other people. I don't really give it much thought. I'm happy my name is simple enough that it doesn't get butchered by other anglophones.

 

[violet_crown]

Interesting how our name is interpreted as conqueror, vanquisher, and defender at the same time, and I find that to be highly representative of those who bear it as well.

What can I say? Heavy is the head that wears the Alex.

 

[SD45T-2]

 

[á´…eparted]

My name in some ways makes me feel a little pretentious. When I was young, combined with my mothers "you're super special!" barrage at me, it didn't help with it. My real name is Pieter (I don't really mind sharing it too much). Every time I have to say for someone to write down I have to say "but it's spelled different". I get people that say "pie-eater", "Pee-ater", and many different variations. It's pronounced exactly the same as Peter. It's just the dutch spelling of the name (since I am 1/4th dutch ancestry). Combined with my middle name, and last name (both of which are about as German as you can get), my name stands out a good chunk. I do like that my name is unique though, but not in an overt way.

 

[Such Irony]

Hm. I have a rather 'ordinary' name. It was given to me for no other reason than that my mother liked the sound if it. It's common and unremarkable. I share it with a great many other people. I don't really give it much thought. I'm happy my name is simple enough that it doesn't get butchered by other anglophones.

Same here.

The only thing I don't like about my name is that it's too common. Someone calls my name at work, in the store, on the street, etc. and I think they are calling for me but really it's for someone else. Happens all the time.

 

[IZthe411]

I really always loved my name. I did have a stretch in my younger days when I wanted a name more aligned with my surroundings, but I got over that. My first name isn't all that unique, but it's uncommon in my community, and it catches people by surprise sometimes when the match my name and face. It makes for good conversation starter.