Nice name... or is it?
 

Ever hear this in the course of your day?

Last week, I went to pick up food for Severus, & I was talking to one of the guys in the shop. He asked my name, & I told him what it was.

"That's a nice name", he replied. Which got me to thinking.

(Oh crap, what's she got going in her head now?) :rolleyes:

Is it simply a matter of politeness (when you say something like, "Nice name")? What if you came across a truly hideous name? How would you react then?

Wondering where these odd thoughts come from,
LC

someone told me they liked me because of the way my name was spelled yesterday....

I think he would have told you it was a nice whatever regardless of the topic of the conversation.

Hi everyone ;) I'm married now!

if someone said 'bruno' i wouldn't say 'nice name'

YOU HAVE A BRAND NEW NAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I won't comment on someone's name - I've had enough comments on mine to last a lifetime.

"What's your name?"
"Sapphire."
"How's that?"
"Sapphire."
"Really?
"Yes."
"Like the gemstone?"
"Yes."
"That's your name?
"Yes." -exasperated sigh-
"Wow."
-silence-
"Why did your parents name you that?"
"Because they were wannabe hippies."
"For real?"
"Supposedly."
"Wow."
-silence-
"How do you spell it?"
"The same way you spell the gemstone."
"Really? No odd spellings or little flourishes to make it more interesting?"
"Don't you think it's interesting enough as it is? After all, you've been talking to me about it for almost 5 minutes now. Can you imagine how much longer we'd be at this if it was spelled differently?"
"Oh, yeah, I guess I see what you mean."


Or another one - when someone sees my name in writing -

"How do you pronounce that?"
"Same as the gemstone."
"Huh?" -as I notice they are wearing sapphires in a ring-
"You know, Sapphire, 'sa-fire', just like the gems you're wearing on your finger."
"For real? What on earth made your parents name you that?"
(comment: questions like this almost ALWAYS come from someone named "Star" or "Horatio" or "Daisy" or "Rupert" or assorted other names you would not generally pick out of a baby name book.)

Last but not least - when I apply for a job and turn in my cv or application -
"Ma'am, we need you to use your real name here. Nicknames are not permitted."
"That is my real name."
"No ma'am, you don't understand, we need your legal name. "
-heavy sigh- "That IS my legal name."
"Seriously?"
"Yes."

And they almost always dismiss me as being some sort of flake. People don't take you seriously when they think you've got a weird name.

Oddly enough, despite all of this, sapphires are my favorite gemstone. However, I almost always refrain from wearing them - it's just too cutsey for words for someone named Sapphire to be adorned in sapphires. The ones I own tend to be very discreet stones that make up a small part of an overall setting. Which kind of stinks because they're always mixed with diamonds and I'm not particularly fond of diamonds.

My nick-name is Fyr or 'phire, depending on who is writing it - pronounced "fire." That gets confusing for people as well.

"Do you have a nickname?"
"Yes. Everyone calls me Fyr."
"Huh?"
"Fyr. As in, 'the house is on fire,' but I spell it f-y-r."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because my parents were freaks, my sibs couldn't pronounce 'sapphire' when we were kids and my mother just could not bear to write 'f-i-r-e' on anything and have anyone think she meant her daughter, so she spelled it 'f-y-r' instead."
"Wow."
"Yeah. Wow."

I like my name, though. I don't much like all the strange looks and comments, but I do like the name. And it fits me. I "look" like a Fyr/'phire/Sapphire. On discussion forums and stuff, people usually end up calling me Sapphy. I think that's because so many people on the internet use "fyr" as a phonetic spelling of "fire" as part of screen names and forum identities. I end up as Sapphy, which keeps confusuion to a minimum.

Wow, that turned out to be quite the manifesto about my name. LOL

people quite often comment on how much they like my name, despite it being the most common name ever. charlotte. every thrird person in the world seems to be called charlotte. and it bothers me when people tell it's lovely as some sort of appalling chat up line. no effort has gone into that one

My sister's boy friend had his middle name legaly changed to "danger"

He is a bit of an 'out there' kind of guy. But now whever ever he says he is going to do something kinda crazy (skeleton luge lessons for instance) and someone says "gee, isen't that kinda dangerous?" He can reply with "Danger is my middle name"

No, I'm not making this up.

I think its a cool name. Of course this is coming from a man wanting to name his son Tanner or Strider. I guess it was a good thing to have that poll to verify my wife's choices were good ones.

I knew an obnoxious out-of-work actor who actually changed his name legally to "Somebody Famous."

My name is an appallingly Texan-style hypenate (Joan-Carrol). I'm named after my mother's only sister (to whom she's not speaking), and a favorite Texan uncle who was lobotomized against his will in the 1950's for living in a tent on the outskirts of town and refusing to hold down a job.

Oddly enough, this strange name was too close to another more established actress's name in the Screen Actor's Guild, and she objected so much that SAG made me change it. I had a contest in the office and they came up with "Brynn."
Someone told me once that they would automatically date anyone sight unseen with the name of "Brynn." This, of course, was before Brynn Hartman murdered her famous husband Phil from Saturday Night Live.

When I was a kid I hated my name, Celia. Everybody was Debbie or Kathy or Diane, Linda, Mary Ann, Mary Beth, Susan....

Now that I'm older, I like it. A lot. But it took some getting used to, and I still wonder sometimes when people comment, "That's an uncommon name," if it's just politeness shorthand for "weird".

Oh, well. Too late now, and I like it, so that's fine. heh.

My name was memorialized by the Beach Boys back in the early 60's when I was a young sprout - yes, Barbara Ann. I have an older, very obnoxious cousin, who would sing the song everytime the families got together. It was scary the first time because I was into Captain Kangaroo at the time not early Beach Boys. After I knew who they were, I was flattered by the attention I got from this cousin. But now in my 40's I CAN'T STAND IT!!!
Also, out of a high school graduating class of over 500 kids, I was the only Barbara in my class.

haha i love this guy :)

"Of course this is coming from a man wanting to name his son Tanner or Strider."

Don't pick baby names while insane with pregnancy hormones. If the Troll Princess had been a boy she may well have been Sholto.

I had a patient once whose name was Cephus. It's Hebrew for "rock". His last name was Melon. It was a joke in his parents' part. Which may or may not translate well to the internet, depending on what you call canteloupe.

I don't get any comments about my name. My first and last names are so common that I've ended up as "LJ One" or "LJ Two" at more than one workplace.

"And they almost always dismiss me as being some sort of flake. People don't take you seriously when they think you've got a weird name."

Sage advice for all parents to be.

"I end up as Sapphy, which keeps confusuion to a minimum."

Make mumma a coffee sweetie, darling!

yer breakin my heart
yer shakin my confidence daily