Names you might have chosen

Magrithea - why couldn't you use Veronica at confirmation?
Just wondering.
I thought Veronica was the woman who gave Jesus her veil to wipe his face when carrying the cross?

We gave our DD my name which was probably a mistake as she shortened it as soon as she started school.
I chose three names for DS but DH told me to forget one of them and he switched the other two round so that DS has a very common first name which he too shortened.
Had I had another child I would have given them an unusual name that was not in the family already. My father loved everything Norwegian and had suggested I called DD Solveig but I thought she might get questioned about her origins.

One GD has her GGM's name and the other is named after an island.

The name Jonquil has been mentioned. I remember the writer of Mrs Dale’s Diary, my mother’s favourite radio serial, was called Jonquil Antony. It’s one of many flower names - and yet you never hear of a Daffodil! I did once know a Dahlia, though.

Primrose, Violet, Rose, Lily, Iris, Jasmine, Poppy, Daisy, Heather, Holly, Ivy have all been quite common girls names over the years and a Poppy, Daisy, Jasmins and Iris are currently quite popular.

I had an uncle and aunt whose boy and girl were given their parents’ names. I think that’s awful, so egotistical and unimaginative.

watermeadow

I had an uncle and aunt whose boy and girl were given their parents’ names. I think that’s awful, so egotistical and unimaginative.

I think it was traditional in some areas and cultures, although usually they were named for their grandparents.

The first son named after his paternal grandfather
The second son after his maternal grandfather
The first daughter after maternal grandmother
The second daughter after paternal grandmother.

That's perhaps why it gets confusing tracing family history - there are so many generations of James's, Johns and Jonathans in my family tree, for instance.

Thinking of flower names, my mother was at school with a little girl whose first name was Easter, her surname Primrose.

Aldom

Thinking of flower names, my mother was at school with a little girl whose first name was Easter, her surname Primrose.

🙂

I had a friend who lived nearby when I was a child, her first name was Marie, which her family pronounced Marry, and her surname was Gold (may have been Gould, I don't know). 🌼

I quite wanted to call my younger daughter Alice. But realised it would make her surname sound like Speckett if said fast.

My great grandfather managed a brick pit in Essex and my grandmother told me that one of the brick makers had the surname Waters and called his three daughters: Lavender, Virginia and Mineral, generally known as Minnie.

Poor kids.

I had to choose carefully with one of the most common of surnames,nothi g too exotic,or flowery the surnamme would render it very plain.
I chose strong traditional names that went with the surname.
My maiden name had the same sound as my first name,it sounded like I was twanging guitar when asked my name,I was quite happy to ditch my maiden name for a plain simple,not unable to prounounce or spell name.

watermeadow My paternal grandparents gave their eldest children their names, but as they then had another 9 they had plenty of opportunity to exercise their imagination.

My DH had the same name as his father which he hated, so we definitely avoided that!

I have just realised that the OP's question was "would you choose different names for your offspring today "

My answer: No, I wouldn't. Am happy with their names, but two of them curse us for giving them their second name as the one they are known by. It makes filling in forms very awkward.

E.g. We christened them John Edward Smith, but wanted to use Edward and always have. Because of the single syllable surname, we thought it scanned better. So on forms and official documents the name is John, but they identify with the Edward. (That's neither of their names of course, as they have a German surname - and I would never have chosen Edward!)

We have the same name running down thefemale line. I am known by the full name and DD has always been known by a dimmunitive, which she loves, and has respelt, but she does complain about having to remember to put her full name when dealing with officil forms.

My answer: No, I wouldn't. Am happy with their names, but two of them curse us for giving them their second name as the one they are known by. It makes filling in forms very awkward
DH has that problem too. He has never understood why his mother did that.
It's even more difficult now he's older with hospital appointments etc. He's given in and answers to both now, although he dislikes his first name intensely. I prefer it!

Mr absent and I had great difficulty agreeing on a name for our only child. If the child had been a boy, he would have ended up as the equivalent of Baby Absent, probably for the rest of his life! After a lot of disagreement, we settled on Grace for a daughter. My mother was shocked and said, "That's an old woman's name", as if old women had never been babies. However, said baby had other ideas as she grew up and eventually legally changed her name to something I think is really rather boring. Well, you can't always get things right!