For whatever reason I feel that Kevin is more of a kids’ name. I went to elementary school with one Kevin and there were a few of them in my high school, and it just feels like a younger person’s name to me. In point of fact I see its popularity was in decline by that time and there should be a lot of Kevins in their 40s and even 50s today.
OP, you could always try going by your middle name if the first name isn’t doing it for you. I’ve heard it can be tricky to get people to go along with that, but you might want to think about it.
The Supreme Court justice thing is fun and has its uses, but let’s be honest about the fact that it’s entirely contextual. A name that’s popular for kids today is going to be a grandparents’ name in 50 or 60 years. (And these days at least, vice versa.) The popularity of Tyler as a first name rose sharply in the '70s and really exploded in the '90s, which means there are some Tylers in business now, and in a couple of decades there will be a lot of them and nobody will think it’s anything unusual.
Of course. We have a lot of people whose usernames contain their real names. You should always be careful about giving out information that can identify you, but a first name alone is probably not going to do it.
There was a Daily Show where they showed a clip of Obama (I think) admonishing Senator Cantor from Virginia - Stewart commented that Obama having to end his sentence with “Eric” robbed it of its rhetorical heft. “These are grave times, Eric” - (I am sure that isn’t the actual quote) and then he used names like Kevin and Craig to show how they fit in the same category…
…as for Cody - well, I can see how it carries requirements - it can be hard pulling off a name like that. I can see some motorcycle-riding badass making the name Cody work (“Who was that guy? That was Cody McBadass”). Do you ride a hog? Can you shoot stuff? Open bottles with your teeth or eye socket or something?
All I am sayin’ is: maybe you haven’t gotten in touch with your inner Cody yet
My family calls me by a nickname (no idea why this started) that I don’t generally allow anyone else to use. A couple years ago, my nephew asked me why I don’t introduce myself or go by that name.
I said, “Well, would you take any girl named [my nickname] seriously? Would you think she has a brain in her head if she told you that was her name?”
“No.”
“That’s why.”
“Ah.”
I have a few friends that I’ve been friends with for a looooong time. Some of them will use that nickname. My BFF of 25ish years calls me by my nickname. I’m okay with this, because we’ve established long ago that I’m a smart, capable adult worthy of respect. They aren’t going to assume I’m some kind of ditzy, giggly little girl because they know I’m not that person. (My nick totally does not fit my personality.) I don’t have to worry about my close friends taking me seriously or treating me like a dumb little girl, so I will let them use my nickname, taking it as a term of affection or endearment. I will tell new friends they have to earn the privilege. If they try it out and I don’t rip their throat out, that’s how they know they’ve earned the privilege.
Right, even these days I think Cody makes a lot of people think of Buffalo Bill. I can see where it might be incongruous if the OP is not the outlaw wild west type.
There’s a highly rated hockey player coming out of western Canada this year, his name is Cody Eakin. He was drafted in the third round in 2009 by the Washington Capitals, although I suspect he will be assigned to the Hershey Bears (Caps farm club) for seasoning.
What is remarkable about him is the trade that happened this past January. Essentially he was traded for eight players, five actual players and three draft picks. The most any one player has ever been traded for.
Just thought I’d mention him since his name is Cody. As a Caps fan I’m hoping he’s the real deal as advertised.
Cody is a pretty popular name these days - maybe not quite Jason of the 80s or Jacob of the 90s, but I would imagine that the US will be well-populated with Codys in just a few more years. It might not be such a big deal.
But seriously, just change your name. It’s not that big a deal. I did it. I didn’t like my name (Ellen) and thought it sounded old-fashioned and odd and it was just not ME. So I changed it when I started high school, to a completely different name (Sara). It took about a week for people to take me seriously, and a couple of months for my close friends and family to make the switch.
I have known two people who went through the following progression: Jimmie, Jim, James. Going from Jimmie to Jim wasn’t too bad, but boy have I had a problem with James.
I thought my name was childish and managed to convince most people (not my family, though) to call me Suzanne rather than Suzi. (Long story, my mother spelled it Susie, my father spelled it Suzy, I preferred my father’s version until I started learning cursive and then the combination of the z and y descenders really hung me up. I thought changing it to an i looked very sophisticated. Then I realized it looked kind of stupid, but it also seemed equally stupid to change the spelling of my nickname again. Especially after I’d brought my mother around to spelling it Suzi.)
In point of fact, on the internet I usually sign it as Suz just because I’m lazy, and IRL a lot of people call me Suze.
I had a roommate who dated a guy whose real name was Coy. He changed it to Cody. Good call. One letter makes such a difference.
Yeah, name popularity is cyclical. I’m in my late 40’s and as I age, Kathy will become an “old lady” name. <sigh.>
I had a childhood friend named “Willy.” One day before he started high school he decided that he was “Bill” from that day forward. I could *never *call him by that name. Bill was his father, dammit!
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