Do you like your name?

1. What is your first name? Sandra. If you go by a nickname most of the time, what is that nickname? Sandy, Sam, Witch

2. Where do you live? Ontario, Canada, born in Quebec

3. How old are you? 1959

4. In one sentence, sum up how you feel about your name. Meh.

5. What are the "pros" to having your name? What makes you like it? It's easy to pronounce

6. What are the "cons" to having your name? What makes you dislike it? It's boring. Plus, people call me Susan anyway.

1. What is your first name? Alina (Pronounced Uhleenuh) If you go by a nickname most of the time, what is that nickname? Ali ( Sounds like Ally)

2. Where do you live? (Your country is fine, though your region/state/province would be even better.) If you were born somewhere else, where? USA

3. How old are you? 27 What year were you born? 1979

4. In one sentence, sum up how you feel about your name. (Ideas: "I'd rank my name a 6 out of 10." "I like my name, but I wouldn't have chosen it myself." "It's awful, so I only go by my middle name." "It's fab, and I can't imagine not having it.") I love my name.

5. What are the "pros" to having your name? What makes you like it? I just found out there was an Alina tribe in Afganastan hundreds of years ago, so that's cool.

6. What are the "cons" to having your name? What makes you dislike it? It's hard for some people to pronounce and remember.

1. What is your first name? Jenny If you go by a nickname most of the time, what is that nickname? Jen

2. Where do you live? Oklahoma

3. How old are you? What year were you born? 53, 1953

4. In one sentence, sum up how you feel about your name. I hated my name when I was a kid, but I've grown into it and love it.

5. What are the "pros" to having your name? What makes you like it? It's got family history.

6. What are the "cons" to having your name? What makes you dislike it? Everyone thinks it's short for 'Jennifer' or 'Genvieve' or 'Guenevere'.

1. What is your first name? If you go by a nickname most of the time, what is that nickname? First name: Colleen. Nickname: Annie.

(Yes, my middle name is Anne. My dad wanted the initials CAM and my mom wanted 'Annie'. That was their compromise.)

It's a little weirder than that, actually; I go by Annie informally or with people I know well and Colleen at work or when I have to sign something.

2. Where do you live? (Your country is fine, though your region/state/province would be even better.) If you were born somewhere else, where?
USA/Midwest for region of origin. In Texas now.

3. How old are you? What year were you born?
I'm 28.

4. In one sentence, sum up how you feel about your name. (Ideas: "I'd rank my name a 6 out of 10." "I like my name, but I wouldn't have chosen it myself." "It's awful, so I only go by my middle name." "It's fab, and I can't imagine not having it.")
I like it; it suits me.

5. What are the "pros" to having your name? What makes you like it?
Both names are relatively uncommon. (I get weirded out being around people with the same name. ) Both suit my personality, or different aspects of it.

6. What are the "cons" to having your name? What makes you dislike it?Please answer based on how you currently feel -- though, if your opinion on your name has changed over time, I'd love to hear about that as well. Also, any other information that you'd like to provide (occupation, interests, the names of your kids, etc.) would be great.
The first name/middle name thing confuses people. I don't know how I'd change that, though, because I like the initials and how it flows together. So I just confuse people. It makes a long signature. I use initials (C.A. M________ or CAM if I can get away with it), but haven't mastered the incoherent scribble most people use .

Charles. Terry 51 California for now might ramble on. Army brat born fifty miles north of NYC.

Four generations of Charles but none of us used it.

Terry is an old family name. It's better then Charles but people think its short for Terrence and 'T' seems to be a hard letter for people to distinguish so its always Jerry, Larry & Gary.

1. What is your first name? Peggy If you go by a nickname most of the time, what is that nickname? Occasionally Peg.

1. What is your first name? If you go by a nickname most of the time, what is that nickname? Nichola. Most people call me Nicky (without asking).

2. Where do you live? (Your country is fine, though your region/state/province would be even better.) If you were born somewhere else, where? Where I was born - Dundee, Tayside, Scotland

3. How old are you? What year were you born? I was born in 1976 so that makes me 30, but my 31st is coming up at the start of May.

4. In one sentence, sum up how you feel about your name. (Ideas: "I'd rank my name a 6 out of 10." "I like my name, but I wouldn't have chosen it myself." "It's awful, so I only go by my middle name." "It's fab, and I can't imagine not having it.") I think my name sounds a bit common; it was unusual when I was first born, but there are more and more Nickys out there now, plus the fact it's Nicholas without an S on the end reminds me that I 'should have' been a boy.

5. What are the "pros" to having your name? What makes you like it? I mentioned that it feels common now, but I suppose there are no 'bad' nicknames you can get out of it. It's a 'fade into the background' name.

6. What are the "cons" to having your name? What makes you dislike it? Please answer based on how you currently feel -- though, if your opinion on your name has changed over time, I'd love to hear about that as well. Also, any other information that you'd like to provide (occupation, interests, the names of your kids, etc.) would be great. At first I kind of liked my name but over the years I've met and got to know so many other Nicolas (never with the same spelling as me, with the H) that it seems a bit common now. Also, people tend to shorten it to Nicky without asking, which I don't like, as it's a forced intimacy. Personally, I think Nichola is my name, so that's what you should call me. Or 'Nick'. It's a more masculine sounding nickname than the girly 'Nicky', and I am not overtly girly. Plus, Nick reminds me of 'Auld Nick'.
Just to add this on, but the story of how I got my name is a bit weird. The night before she went into labour my mother dreamed of having a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy called Nicholas, a name she had never thought of before. She always said if I'd been a boy she'd planned to called me Robert, after her favourite brother. But out I popped (sun-roof, not car door); a dark haired, dark-eyed girl. A disappointment from the first. So she lopped off the S and called me Nichola. My entire life has been spent saying things like, "There's an H in it." - "N-i-c-o-l-a-h?" - "No." *sigh*

1. What is your first name? Belinda. If you go by a nickname most of the time, what is that nickname? Dino.(Don't ask.) But only by close friends.

2. Where do you live? USA(Your country is fine, though your region/state/province would be even better.) If you were born somewhere else, where? Sweden

3. How old are you? What year were you born?1956

4. In one sentence, sum up how you feel about your name. (Ideas: "I'd rank my name a 6 out of 10." "I like my name, but I wouldn't have chosen it myself." "It's awful, so I only go by my middle name." "It's fab, and I can't imagine not having it.")I used to hate my name, it was unusual. Later I learned what it meant, and thought "cool, now I can accept it".

5. What are the "pros" to having your name? What makes you like it?It is still fairly unusual, and people tend to remember it.


6. What are the "cons" to having your name? What makes you dislike it?People always get it wrong and I am being called all sorts of names.

1. What is your first name?

Stacey

2. Where do you live?

Virginia, USA

3. How old are you? What year were you born?

38, 1968

4. In one sentence, sum up how you feel about your name.

Anyone lose a cheerleader in here?

5. What are the "pros" to having your name? What makes you like it?

Not a huge fan of my name, I was called Tracey most of my childhood or wondered why I wasn't a boy.

6. What are the "cons" to having your name? What makes you dislike it?

I'm a constant disappointment to my name. "Stacey" conjures up the image of smarmy blonde cheerleaders with perky, er, smiles. I'm a short, curvy redhead with a wicked sense of humor and have never been in a human pyramid.

1. What is your first name? If you go by a nickname most of the time, what is that nickname?
My first name is Georgia, but I've always been called by my middle name, Beth. My father's mother lived with me & my parents until her death, and I was named for her, so having two Georgias in the house would have been a little confusing. I also picked up the nickname Maddy about eleven years ago.(I adopted one of my character's names as a chatroom handle and it stuck, then got picked up in the "real" world when everyone at work needed to differentiate me from the "other" Beth in the same area.)

2. Where do you live? (Your country is fine, though your region/state/province would be even better.) If you were born somewhere else, where? I live in SE NY, but my entire family is from Arkansas.

3. How old are you? What year were you born?
1968 - gonna be the big 39 soon.

4. In one sentence, sum up how you feel about your name.
I've come to like it over the years.

5. What are the "pros" to having your name? What makes you like it?
I've come to like the full version for the same reason I used to hate it - it sounds like it's straight out of Dogpatch, Arkansas.

6. What are the "cons" to having your name? What makes you dislike it?
I never really felt like "Beth" fit me, although people always tell me it's pretty. It also gets butchered a LOT, especially over the phone. I get called Bess, Bessie, Betty, Becky, even Liz/Lizzy because everyone assumes it's short for Elizabeth. (Ironically, it's not Elizabeth because my mother despises the nickname "Liz.")

And yeah, if someone yells "Maddy!" I'll turn around now, too.

Do you need photos of the people you interview? I'd be happy to send one if it's necessary.

1. What is your first name? If you go by a nickname most of the time, what is that nickname?

My first name is Pamela, middle name is Jo, hence my user ID. Most people call me Pam. My siblings call me Pammy, which I hate.

2. Where do you live? (Your country is fine, though your region/state/province would be even better.) If you were born somewhere else, where?


I live in Colorado and was born in North Dakota.

3. How old are you? What year were you born?

36, 1970

4. In one sentence, sum up how you feel about your name. (Ideas: "I'd rank my name a 6 out of 10." "I like my name, but I wouldn't have chosen it myself." "It's awful, so I only go by my middle name." "It's fab, and I can't imagine not having it.")
I like that no one names their kid Pamela anymore.

5. What are the "pros" to having your name? What makes you like it?
Well, me and Pamela Anderson have a lot in common, and ever since Borat, there have been many men from Khazikstan who want to make sexy time with me.

6. What are the "cons" to having your name? What makes you dislike it?
It rhymes with ham, it's a nonstick aerosol spray, and I still get called Paula all the time.

1. What is your first name? If you go by a nickname most of the time, what is that nickname? Marlys.

2. Where do you live? (Your country is fine, though your region/state/province would be even better.) If you were born somewhere else, where? Live: Midwest. Born: Upstate New York.

3. How old are you? What year were you born? 43. 1963.

4. In one sentence, sum up how you feel about your name. (Ideas: "I'd rank my name a 6 out of 10." "I like my name, but I wouldn't have chosen it myself." "It's awful, so I only go by my middle name." "It's fab, and I can't imagine not having it.") Love it.

5. What are the "pros" to having your name? What makes you like it? I like that it's unusual. I think it's pretty. The Lynda Barry cartoon doesn't hurt.

6. What are the "cons" to having your name? What makes you dislike it? People who see it don't know how to pronounce it. People who hear it don't know how to spell it. Since my middle name has similar problems, it's just as well that my books are published under "MJ."

1. What is your first name? If you go by a nickname most of the time, what is that nickname?

The name is Kieran. I have around 30+ nicknames (I aint kidding. Don't believe me? Visit my MySpace...there's a little drop down with all of my names), but all my mates call me Kiester.


2. Where do you live?

South Yorkshire, England

3. How old are you? What year were you born?

1990, so that would make me......16!

4. In one sentence, sum up how you feel about your name.

It is truly awesome . I like my name because it's a quite rare name around my area, and I only know one other guy who is called it (my father) and it has an awesome meaning:
Little Dark One.
OOOOOhhhh!

I'm also technically Kieran the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] as well


5. What are the "pros" to having your name? What makes you like it?

It's unique. Very unique, and has a really cool evil meaning to it, and it's also something to link me back to my heratige .

6. What are the "cons" to having your name? What makes you dislike it?

There is no cons to my name. I love my name, and my name loves me .

Melisande said:

1. What is your first name? Belinda. ...what is that nickname? Dino.(Don't ask.) But only by close friends.

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That's so strange, since my first name is Dino, yet no one has ever called me Belinda. I've been called just about everything else, though.

Nickname: Dean

Born and Live: Florida

Age: Mid-forties

Hated the name as a kid, and it didn't help growing up in the era of The Flintstones...I don't care about my name one way or the other now.

Pros: I've met only three Dinos in my life, fleetingly, so I don't ever get confused with anyone else. (I was in a bar once with my brother, and we met two other drunk knuckleheads and started talking. When I introduced myself, one of the guys said, "Hey! That's my name, too." He introduced his brother, Marco, and they were stunned to learn that my brother's name is Marco also, and that each of us who shared the same name was born during the same month and year. This was cause for much celebration, and we ordered several more rounds...)

Cons: Who wants to be named Dino?

Silver King said:

Cons: Who wants to be named Dino?

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I think Dean Martin's son was Dino. When I was little, I remember a group of "older boys" (thirteen yrs. old) who were sons of celebrities and they formed a rock group. My sister had the poster on her wall. They were "Dino, Desi, and Billy." Dino was Dean Martin's son, Desi was Desi Arnaz' son, and who the heck was Billy, I have no idea. But you see, you share the name of a celebrity's son! (Even though I think he's dead.)

I always look on the bright side of things. It's my calm, sunny personality.

1. What is your first name? If you go by a nickname most of the time, what is that nickname?

Kevin

2. Where do you live? (Your country is fine, though your region/state/province would be even better.) If you were born somewhere else, where?

Ontario, Canada

3. How old are you? What year were you born?

40, 1966

4. In one sentence, sum up how you feel about your name. (Ideas: "I'd rank my name a 6 out of 10." "I like my name, but I wouldn't have chosen it myself." "It's awful, so I only go by my middle name." "It's fab, and I can't imagine not having it.")

I absolutely cannot stand my name.

5. What are the "pros" to having your name? What makes you like it?

Not everybody has it.

6. What are the "cons" to having your name? What makes you dislike it?

I just really don't like the way it sounds. It's a real staccato name.

1. What is your first name? If you go by a nickname most of the time, what is that nickname? Kieran, everyone here shortens everything so the natural product is 'Kie'

2. Where do you live? Port Talbot, South Wales

3. How old are you? What year were you born? 25, 1981

4. In one sentence, sum up how you feel about your name.
Hate it.

5. What are the "pros" to having your name? What makes you like it?
When I was growing up in England-not Wales-there weren't any other kids with the same name, which made me feel kind of special.

6. What are the "cons" to having your name? What makes you dislike it?
Everyone under 15 is called Kieran nowadays. I hear mums calling their kids and I instantly turn to see who might be calling me. I don't like the way it sounds when I say it myself.

Does that help any?

Kie

1. What is your first name? Ana

2. Where do you live? UK -inbetween London and Surrey

3. How old are you? 24/1982

4. In one sentence, sum up how you feel about your name. Reveals an essence of myself as well as is the essence of my physical character

5. What are the "pros" to having your name? Simple

6. What are the "cons" to having your name? Nothing

stormie said:

I think Dean Martin's son was Dino.

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So was his dad, who I was named after. I nearly mentioned it in the earlier post, but I got distracted by the bar story.

The younger Dino Martin flew a jet fighter in the Air National Guard. He died in a plane crash several years before his father passed away.

1. What is your first name? If you go by a nickname most of the time, what is that nickname?

Katherine--I was Katie growing up, I go by Katherine at work, I'm Kat to many of my friends, and my family and some of my friends call me Kate

2. Where do you live? (Your country is fine, though your region/state/province would be even better.) If you were born somewhere else, where?

U.S., currently living in western PA but I want to go back to East Tennessee as soon as I can afford it--I grew up there and lived there most of my life until I moved last year. Born in Atlanta.

3. How old are you? What year were you born?

born 1969

4. In one sentence, sum up how you feel about your name. (Ideas: "I'd rank my name a 6 out of 10." "I like my name, but I wouldn't have chosen it myself." "It's awful, so I only go by my middle name." "It's fab, and I can't imagine not having it.")

I love my name, and I also love my middle name Elizabeth.

5. What are the "pros" to having your name? What makes you like it?

I like all the nicknames it has. I like that it's a "classic" name as well--it won't ever go out of style or make me seem dated.

6. What are the "cons" to having your name? What makes you dislike it?

Everyone wants to call me Kathy, which is not a name I like.

1. What is your first name? If you go by a nickname most of the time, what is that nickname?

Janet, no nickname.

2. Where do you live?

Midwest; lived in Illinois all my life.

3. How old are you? What year were you born?

44 - 1963

4. In one sentence, sum up how you feel about your name.

It's okay, but I wouldn't have picked it myself.

5. What are the "pros" to having your name? What makes you like it?

As a schoolkid, I didn't have to suffer with being the umpteenth "Pam" or "Debbie" in the class - being relatively unique has its benefits.

6. What are the "cons" to having your name? What makes you dislike it?

On the other hand, since it was not a common name (never was, and I don't think it ever will be), I always kind felt like "odd man out." Also, all my siblings had names which could end in "-ie/-y" like Rich/Richie, Ken/Kenny, etc., but my name doesn't lend itself to such a diminuitive. Speaking as an adult, however, I suppose that's a good thing.