# What did your parents almost name you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 19, 2001, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528 "2001-09-19T03:52:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Alatariel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Alatariel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alatariel)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/81 "2001-09-21T00:08:37Z")
Elektra. My father was an electrical engineer, and my mom had heard of the name, and reaaaaaaaaaaaaly liked it. Luckily, he put his foot down- but I ended up with Daphne as my middle name anyhow. Feh. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/82 "2001-09-21T00:09:50Z")
mum was thinking ponteleimon (boy) paraskevia (girl). in the frenzy of birth she went with the name of dad’s twin. wrong sibling mum. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/83 "2001-09-21T00:12:13Z")
My mother pushed strongly for Shoshana (a perfectly normal Hebrew name). My father hated “Shoshi” (a popular nickname for Shoshana), and couldn’t be persuaded that perhaps I could be called Shana or Shani or Shoshana instead. If I’d been a boy, I would have been David Jacob (my brother’s name) after my grandfather. All the Gilas that my parents had known were nice people, so Gila was settled upon. My first name’s boring, though. My middle name’s much more fun. When I was born, my parents didn’t have to name me after anybody (Ashkenazi Jews only name after the dead, and there weren’t any dead female relatives that hadn’t had anybody named after them yet). They chose Gila, but after choosing and before actually naming, my father’s aunt (a Holocaust survivor) approached him and said that there was this favorite sister who died in the war along with all of her children, and wouldn’t it be nice… My father, not wanting to insult her, asked what the sister’s name had been. Belcheh, he was told. (My father says he had visions of kids in a playground yelling “Hey! Burpo!”) After doing some research, he found that Belcheh was a Polishized version of Bayla, a perfectly normal (if slightly old fashioned) Yiddish name, and that’s my middle name in Hebrew. My father didn’t like Bellah, the English cognate, so my full middle name in English is B. My parents explain that it’s for all of the forms in life, since neither of them ever had a middle initial. ---
**Author:** ![Planet\_Stu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7feea3/32.png) [@Planet\_Stu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Planet_Stu)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/84 "2001-09-21T14:06:38Z")
I nearly had Marix as my middle name. Has anyone ever heard that before or what the hell it means. ---
**Author:** ![Curdog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@Curdog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Curdog)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/85 "2001-09-21T19:46:26Z")
I was almost Elmer. Although I wear overalls regularly, I don’t really think I am an ELMER!?!?!? ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/86 "2001-09-21T22:14:58Z")
My parents seriously considered naming me Sequoia. Luckily, they remembered they weren’t hippies before it was too late. ---
**Author:** ![LindyHopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@LindyHopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LindyHopper)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2001, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/87 "2001-09-21T22:48:28Z")
Well, see, my mom wanted to call me Ted or Teddy, but she didn’t want to name me Edward, because of Ted Kennedy. :rolleyes: So I was nearly…Theodore. :_shudder_: Oh, and if I was a girl, I was going to be Hillary. Bet she wouldn’t have even considered that name nowadays…😉 ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/88 "2001-09-22T02:00:21Z")
My father wanted to go with Hans Dietrich or Dietrich Hans (both family names), but my mother convinced him that this might be just a little too German and perhaps not a good idea for a baby’s name in the spring of 1942. His second choice was Ralph, but Mother flat balked at that one. Thank God, none of the ancestors were named Adolph. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/89 "2001-09-22T02:10:18Z")
Well, since I was the girl that mom wanted, I got the name she had always wanted to give a girl. Nothing strange. My older brothers are named after relatives. Oldest brother is Dad’s (and my paternal grandfather’s) first name, and one of dad’s uncles as the middle name. Second brother has the same first name as another of dad’s uncles, and dad’s stepfather’s name as his middle name. Little brother, having 3 older sibs, got the name that we all voted on. Dad came home from the hospital with a list of potential names. If Dad had his way, little brother would have been Clyde Enver. Instead, he’s got a good name. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/90 "2001-09-22T02:18:41Z")
My parents were going to name me Randi until a little boy named Randy moved down the street. They also thought about naming me Valerie because my birthday is on Valentine’s Day, but then decided it was too hokey. Ironically, when I was only a few months old a little girl named Diane moved right next door. ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/91 "2001-09-22T02:21:50Z")
If I were a boy, I was going to be Keiran. Which is well and good and a nice name, but probably would’ve gotten me beat up in the playground. My brother was a girl, my mom was convinced. So he was going to be Erin Elizabeth. Considering our last name also starts with E, he’d be Triple E (Eastern Equine Encephalitis). Ick. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/92 "2001-09-22T02:28:34Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by pepperlandgirl \* \*\* > [@](#): > > I got that covered. I was going to tack a James on as a middle name. That way if the kid doesn’t like Ashley, he can go by James or A.J. (NEVER JIM!) \*\* [hijack]Um, just a suggestion. My name is Kay Mark. I have never used Kay on anything but an official document. However, most things in the US are set up first name middle initial, and getting more so. Based on my experience, I would highly suggest you consider James as the first name, then your child can always ask people to use Ashley. It’s a lot easier this way, trust me. [/end hijack] ---
**Author:** ![moi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@moi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moi)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2001, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/93 "2001-09-22T15:02:31Z")
Chevy and all those GWTW names ain’t got nothin’ on me. Dad wanted to name me “Darth.” . . . . . . Yes, my last names sounds very similar to “Vader.” As it is, I landed the name of the witch from “Dark Shadows” (yes, this was a conscious decision…)–a _tres_ French name to go with my German last name. [sub]I can’t believe I told you guys this.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![AM\_PM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@AM\_PM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AM_PM)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/94 "2001-09-23T05:38:36Z")
Herbert was the family name (a grandparent’s family name) they had picked out, but then a relative was born just before me and named Herbert for the same grandparent, so they thought it would be too much if we were named alike. ---
**Author:** ![stormy652](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@stormy652](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stormy652)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/95 "2001-09-23T19:30:32Z")
My dad wanted to name me Stormy because of weather conditions on the day I was born. When he told that to the nurse, she freaked out and started yelling at him. My parents decided to name me Gannon instead. Gannon Blair Frain, can you guess my ancestry? ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/96 "2001-09-23T21:04:45Z")
I would have been Alex or Joel if I’d been male. Alternative female names included Elise and (I think) Marcella. ---
**Author:** ![DiveGirlAZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecc23a/32.png) [@DiveGirlAZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiveGirlAZ)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2001, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/97 "2001-09-23T21:39:50Z")
The absolute worst name I have ever heard _almost_ get tagged on a kid is…Mordred. Yep, Mordred…as in the evil product of incest between King Arthur & his sister in all those legends. That came from my ol’ college roommate. Maybe there are some hormones that get imbalanced when you’re as big as a house? She also was thinking of Diego Harlequin and Pandemus Something-or-other. And if her baby was going to be a girl, it was going to be Esmerelda. The baby, a boy, ended up Jareth Harley. I think some people just try too damn hard to be different! ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2001, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/98 "2001-09-24T03:50:42Z")
Stormy Frain? That’s so sad. Congrats on a narrow escape 😉 I had a great uncle named John Eclipse. I think that’s actually a pretty cool middle name! My grandmother wasn’t given a say in my mother’s name. My grandfather declared that their daughter would be named Jeanette Frances, and that was that. To put her own mark on the name, my grandmother altered the spelling to JeaNNette, thereby cursing my mother to a lifetime of gazing wistfully at personalised products. What amuses me is that my grandmother’s name is Jean. My grandfather was obviously naming their daughter after her, but she didn’t get that! Ever!! The Frances came from his mother (it was her middle name), and my mother hates it, but is eternally grateful that she didn’t get his mother’s first name - Gertrude! Oh, and while I would have been Michael if I’d been a boy, my brother came along three years later and was named Rodney. They’d gone off Michael by then. They “knew” he would be a boy, and didn’t consider any other names for him. They were lucky that they were right. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2001, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/99 "2001-09-24T04:16:13Z")
Mark. If this conversation ever comes up with others (and it has rarely) they almost always say, “Ahh. You \*look like \*a Mark.” 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2001, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528/100 "2001-09-24T06:02:06Z")
My parents decided well ahead of time that if I was a boy they would name me Daryl, and if I was a girl I’d be named Amy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-your-parents-almost-name-you/82528.md?page=6)