Would you change your name?

[terrya]

Do you like your name? Have you thought of changing it? And what would your name be if you did change it?

I never used to like my first name, Terry. It wasn't like other guys names...David or Mike or Steve. But now I do like my first name. It's different and it suits me.

[phillybri]

1. I'm too lazy...

I'd hate to have to learn to sign it, say it, etc...I just can't be bothered...

[arwalden]

2. Mark, Rick, or Steve... The ONLY Names Suitable For A Gay Man

according to Clairee Belcher.

[terrya]

3. And every gay man I've met is Michael. It's never Mike.

Always.

[elfwitch]

5. I loved that line!

You, as always, are BRILLIANT!

[arwalden]

7. ;-)

[Wickerman]

9. What about Bruce?

I am thinking of the Ween song - Mr Richard Smoker

....
Mister richard smoker, you're a velvet coker
Bruce and Geoff will pick you up at ten
Goin' out, dancin' in the city
Friday night, gotta look pretty
Tonight we'll tango in the street
....

Maybe Claire doesn't listen to Ween?

[XNASA]

20. What about Danny?

Half of the Gay Men I know are named Danny. Not sure why exactly..

Guess it just turned out that way.

[Mr. Blonde]

35. What about

Lance?

As from the Rodney Carrington song Gay Factory Worker, "Come on boys lets take a chance we can all change our names to Lance."

[sundog]

41. hey! my name is steve...

:evilgrin:

[dolo amber]

52. Isn't Brian in there too?

I seem to remember Brian being one of the mandatory names...:shrug:

[arwalden]

4. "From now on, I want you all to call me 'Loretta'. "

"It's my right as a man."

"Don't oppress me! I want to have babies. It's every man's right to have babies if he wants them."

[elfwitch]

6. You don't have a womb

Where is the baby going to gestate? A box?!?

[terrya]

12. I always associate the name Loretta with blondes.

[arwalden]

19. Really? I Think Of Loretta Lynn, Loretta Young, Loretta Sanchez...

and blondes don't immediately come to mind. Which blonde Loretta are you thinking of?

[terrya]

22. Loretta Swit was the one that came to mind.

I should have remembered Loretta Lynn, what with her new CD and all.

[arwalden]

27. I should have remembered Loretta Swit ...

what with MASH repeats and all. :hi:

[terrya]

32. Loretta Sanchez is a congresswoman from California, right?

She's the one who replaced ultra hateful right wing, homophobic Robert Dornan. I SHOULD have remembered her as well. :-)

:hi:

[SiouxJ]

8. I'm seriously considering it

as I have a very common name and am running into problems because of it. I just haven't figured out what to change it to. I kinda like my Russian grandmother's name - Eva, and it would be a nice tribute to her. It also would be a way I could do it without offending my parents. I haven't looked into how to go about it but I might soon. I think I'd keep my last name though, out of respect for my dad (I'm an only child now, since my brother died when we were teens).

[terrya]

10. Eva is a nice name.

Maybe change your first name to Eva and leave your last name. That is a nice tribute. :-)

[arwalden]

14. There Were Many Famous And Glamorous Eva's...

Eva Gardner
Eva Gabor
Eva Peron

[terrya]

15. True. And I think it's a pretty name.

[SiouxJ]

17. It is isn't it?

I never thought about it much when she was alive but I did after she died. It would be a nice way to preserve her memory too.

[SiouxJ]

16. Yeah - good point!

I like it more and more :-) . :hi:

[GOPisEvil]

25. But...you'd have to change your DU name...

:hi:

[XNASA]

29. GOPisn'tEva

Ba-dump!!!

[SiouxJ]

30. EvaIsSiouxJ

;-)

[GOPisEvil]

31. Hahaha!!!

:thumbsup:

[dawg]

26. Just guessing here ...

But i kinda like the name Sue (and I really like the name Susan).

[SiouxJ]

34. That's the thing,

I've always liked my name. I like being a Susan but it has become a major hassle! I've been mixed up at doctor's offices, hospitals and I've had my mail mixed up with someone else who keeps a po box at the same post office that I do, who even has the same middle initial!! I've received her checks by mistake too (good thing I'm an honest soul). They were made out to my exact name but I had never heard of the company they came from (they were refund checks).

[dawg]

38. Still, I'd keep the name ...

Susan is a pretty name. It's feminine, and it reminds me of a very nice lady I know.

Just marry somebody with a weird last name and you'll be fine! :)

[SiouxJ]

39. Well, if I do get married

I'd keep my own name; whatever that ends up being. But thanks.

[VelmaD]

11. I've grown more fond of my name over the years...

so I'm quite happy with Barbara now.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

44. LOL! Surrealism worthy of the master.

[elfwitch]

13. I have several times...

When I turned 18 I changed my last name from the one I was born with the my step-father's name.
When I got married, I changed my last name again.
When I became Jewish I got a Hebrew name.

Name changing is a no big. It is just a label used to get your attention. I figure, like a cat, I have three names.

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.

First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey -
All of them sensible everyday names.

There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter -
But all of them sensible everyday names.

But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?

Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum -
Names that never belong to more than one cat.

But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover -
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.

When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.
- T.S. Eliot

[SiouxJ]

21. So what is the first step?

How do you go about doing it? I'd appreciate any advice you might have (do's and don'ts etc.) .

[elfwitch]

23. There are two steps...

One find a lawyer to fill out the paperwork.
Two go with the lawyer to see a judge.

If you can convince the judge that your name change is needed or worthy, you files the paperwork with the county clerk's office and they give you an addendum to go along with your birth certificate.

Then you just have to get all your official ID changed. SS# DL# and so forth.

Mine only cost me the price of the paperwork. But the lawyer who filled it out was a friend.

[SiouxJ]

28. Thanks!

I have a friend who is a lawyer so maybe I'll ask him to do it.

[OKNancy]

18. This week maybe.....

but not usually.

[XNASA]

24. Only because my first and last names are so similar....

I'm one of those guys who has a name like William Williams, or Peter Peters, or Samuel Samuels, or Edward Edwards.

So I feel as if I've been cheated out of a name. I like my name, and my surname, I only wish they weren't so nearly the same.

I could go by my Middle name, but I don't like it.

Perhaps an Italian sounding name......Gian-Carlo!!! That's it!!!

[geniph]

33. No, and I've been married twice

never changed my name either time. It's my NAME. That's who I AM. It would cause me some kind of deep-seated existential crisis. It's too basic a part of my self-identification.

[Misunderestimator]

36. I changed my name, just the last name... no marriage, just a change. n/t

[arwalden]

40. Which Reminds Me...

You never run into many folks with the the last names of famously notorious people like "Hitler" or "Oswald".

Coincidence? Or are these folks changing their name once it's been forever associated with a particular notorious person?

I've always felt a bit of sympathy for folks who had awkward spellings of their last names... or last names that looked like it should be pronounced OTHER than how the family actually says it. Fuchs. Kuntz.

-- Allen

Of course I'm no referring to YOU... but what you said reminded me of this.

[Misunderestimator]

46. Who ARE you....? And how did you know that my last name was Hitler?

I mean, Really?!? :evilgrin: :bounce::bounce::bounce:

Then there's always those cruel parents who take a relatively harmless last name and then give their children awful first names... take the Hogg family of Houston for instance who named their girls Ima and Ura.

[Book Lover]

47. My last name is

the word "German" which has caused more grief that you;d think, seeing as how WWII ended a little while ago. I also get a lot of: "Oh, so are you German?" which is totally understandable, except that the answer is not clear-cut, so I end up in a long conversation with people that we don't necessarily need to have.

[arwalden]

50. "Isn't that right, Dr. Scott? --- Or should I say... Dr. VON Scott?"

That's true, BookLover! Such obvious surname prefixes were dropped, and the Schneiders became the Taylors... the Schmidts became the Smiths.

I'm sure there are many many other examples of how Germanic names were Americanized... I just can't think of any.

-- Allen

I guess you could always change your name to Deutsch. Bet that would confuse them, eh? :-)

[KamaAina]

37. Possibly the middle one

nothing against it, actually, but some people here do adopt a Hawaiian middle name that has a particular meaning to them.

No idea what it might be, though, so for now, I'll stick with "Francis".

[Bertha Venation]

42. Yes. I plan to change my last name

and wish I could change my first.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

43. I've been considering becoming Oscar Mild. What do you think?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

45. as a child i wanted to: it was a very common name in india

then i move here and the problem disappeared and now i like my name

[SarahB]

48. nope

Always liked my name.

[SOteric]

49. I've gotten a lot of positive feedback over the years for my name.

I don't see any reason to change it unless I need to go into hiding or something.

[GOPisEvil]

51. You do have a beautiful name!

:hi:

[dolo amber]

53. Oh yeah...

There's nothing really wrong with my name itself, 'cept it's dead boring...:boring:

The problem is, for some unknown reason whenever I'm asked for my name and I say "Diane", I inevitably get "Diana?"..."No, Diane"..."Is that with an 'A'?"..."No....DIANE"...

"Could you spell that?"

:nuke:

How freakin' hard is DIANE?!? :grr:

[Screaming Lord Byron]

54. Diane.....The most awful Husker Du lyrics ever.

Hey little girl, do you need a ride?
Well, I've got room in my wagon why don't you hop inside
We could cruise down Robert Street all night long
But I think I'll just rape you, and kill you instead

Diane, Diane, Diane

I heard there's a party down at Lake Cove
It would be so much easier if I drove
We could check it out, we could go and see
Oh won't you come and take a ride with me

We could lay in the weeds for a little while
I'll put your clothes in a nice, neat little pile
You're the cutest girl I've ever seen in my life
It's all over now, and with my knife

Jesus. Did they get a psychotic fourteen year-old to write that?

[dolo amber]

56. Gah!

No kidding! :puke:

Then there's "Jack and Diane(a)"...And some god forsaken British one hit wonder band from the early 90s also had some wretched Diane(a) song...thankfully I can't remember who...:)

[Screaming Lord Byron]

57. I have no idea. Your name gets a raw deal, rock and roll-wise.

[dolo amber]

58. Not as bad as yours, sheesh!

Why, there's that one song by...no, that's not it...Wait, what about that one that goes...hmmm, I don't think that's right either...

Gimme a minute, I'll come up with one...:think:


:D

[Screaming Lord Byron]

59. It's probably by the Cocteau Twins or Sigur Ros, right?

:D

[Lavender Brown]

55. I get that too.

People insist on calling me Christine instead of Christina. Is that extra syllable just too difficult for people to say?

[Champ]

60. Just my last name

[skypilot]

61. I've ALWAYS hated my name.

To this day I'm always feel a little removed from it when I write it.

Scott.

It just looks wrong--for me, I mean. I am not a Scott. If I ever change my name--and I think that one day I will--I'd change it to David. I love that name. The other possibility is Chris because several people have told me that I look more like a Chris than a Scott.

[DS1]

62. Way too many syllables, I really don't like that

I'd prefer a simple first name like Joe over my current one.

[Skittles]

63. no, I think Susan is a very pretty name

FYI I have a brother named Terry.

[CJCRANE]

64. I changed my last name, then changed it back

I always have to spell my last name, so I changed it to one that was easy to spell. Trouble is, my new surname was a christian name, so some people thought that was my first name.

Also, even though my new name sounded good, it just didn't feel like it was me, so I changed it back. I do some writing and artworks so I use that name as a pseudonym instead now, it's sort of my alter ego.

(By the way my DU name is because I misheard a character's name on West Wing, and CJ are also my granddad's initials).