Why did your parents name you the name you have?

[Kitty 34]

Being the first born I was named after my Mom, whom was named after her mom, whom was named after her mom.

Eta......I'm sure I have some grammar issues with that sentence!!

Also eta........my first name is really Elizabeth. (Kitty is a nickname my Grandpa gave me when I was 2)

 

[disney4us2002]

I don't know anyone named after mom's. I always thought the male names were handed down.

Anyway, my dad was "Carl", so I got stuck with "Carla". I've always hated it and still do. I considered switching to my middle name in college but by then, I figured, I was too used to my name and wouldn't answer to another name. My dh has rarely used my name, preferring to call me babe or honey.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Because they had to name me within something like 24 or 48 hours or the "state" would do so. I was born in Germany. They only had boy's names picked out, though. The quickest girl's name they could agree on was the one I got. Sadly, they were unaware that there was a popular song using that name back in the USA at the time, and by the time I started school, we found that there were usually 3 or 4 other girls with the same name in my classes.

 

[Bilberry]

I don't think a whole lot of thought went into my name. I remember asking why I was given my name and the reply was, we liked how it sounded. It's a good common one, so no complaints. My sister on the other hand has an elaborate story to go with how it came about. It has a pretty sound to it, and is rare.

 

[aristocatz]

My mom said she had a friend with my name in grade school & she always thought it was a pretty name.

 

[sonnyjane]

I don't know anyone named after mom's. I always thought the male names were handed down.

My grandma is Teresa so my mom was named after her. She goes by Terri. I don't think it's common but guess it does happen!

As for my name, I was born before sonograms were regular. They told my mom I was going to be a boy based on where I was positioned and the strength of my heartbeat, so my mom had only picked out a boy's name (Ryan). When I came out a girl, she was unprepared (and not just in the name department hahah!). In the moment, she named me after her favorite female student at the time.

 

[ashley0139]

My parents just liked it, no reason for it. I hate it. It was the second most common name my birth year, and puts me very clearly in a certain generation. There were always multiple Ashleys in my class. I also have a very common middle and last name.

 

[DebbieB]

I always assumed Debbie Reynolds made Debbie popular when I was born (1960), sure are enough of us. My middle name is my mom's middle name.

My oldest brother is named after my dad (John) and my youngest brother was named after Ronald Reagan (my dad's favorite actor).

 

[Canooknic]

My mom wanted to call my oldest brother Nicholas but when he was born apparently he didn't look like one, my dad named my next brother and my mom still wanted a Nicholas so when I arrived she just gave up and made do with calling me Nicola instead!

 

[wenrob]

"Windy" by the Association was popular around the time I was born. My mother claims it was for that. My dad says he just liked the name Wendy.

Naming after the mother or grandmother while not as common as after a father/grandfather is a common thing in my area. DH wanted to name youngest DD after me (we named her twin brother after my Dad and DH) but I nixed that. Part of her first name is my middle name instead. I have two nieces who's first names are hyphenated one after her maternal grandmother and mother, the other the second part after her fraternal grandmother.

 

[PollyannaMom]

My mom just heard my name in a movie and liked it.

 

[monorailsilver]

I was named after a daughter of someone my dad worked with, he liked the name. FYI I was born 6 & 9 years after my sisters so I am sure I was an oops!

My middle name just like my moms, sisters,nieces and my own girls is all the same and named after my grandmother.

 

[kmb584]

There's zero reason to it. I was supposed to be named Ashley but when I was born, my parents immediately decided that I didn't look like an Ashley. So, I spent the next 7 days without a name, haha. It was only on the day that we were going home that my mom blurted out a name and my dad agreed to it.

 

[mrsheppo]

I was named after a cousin who I never knew.

 

[MrsDuck]

My parents simply liked the name and couldn't agree on another.

I used to hate my name but I'm growing to like it's uniqueness more.

 

[SirDuff]

Like a PP, my parents thought I'd be a boy and only had boy names picked up. They ended up naming me after the city in which I was conceived Actually, a pretty normal name (not top 100 or anything, but not rare).

My middle name is a "passed down" name - every first born daughter gets some variant of it as a middle name.

 

[design_mom]

I have been told that my dad really wanted to name me Christine and my mom really wanted to name me Kristin. They couldn't agree, so they decided to chuck both names and start again. I ended up being named Kimberly, 'after' the neighbor's teenage daughter. (I'm not really named 'after' her, but they both liked her and her name, so they came to an agreement.)

 

[gemini2727]

I was supposed to be Elizabeth, but my aunt was also pregnant, due right after, and told my mom she was thinking of that name for a girl. My mother chose a different name, and of course, my cousin turned out to be a boy, so there is no Elizabeth in our family

 

[Kitty 34]

"Windy" by the Association was popular around the time I was born. My mother claims it was for that. My dad says he just liked the name Wendy.

Saw the group Association in '68. Loved the songs Windy and Cherish.

 

[Uncranky Donald]

Both my mother and father had different names picked out for me, but as the date grew closer my mom had heard a name somewhere random that she thought sounded very pretty & different. She went with it last minute (which is so out of her character)and Im so glad she did cuz I love my name. But growing up lets just say I was that kid who could never find a keychain at a gift shop