# What would your name have been if you were born the opposite gender? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 11, 2004, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941 "2004-01-11T05:24:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/1 "2004-01-11T05:24:11Z")
A doper and I were discussing this today. Had I been born a girl I would have been Marie. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/2 "2004-01-11T05:26:50Z")
Alice. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/3 "2004-01-11T05:29:21Z")
William Rio ---
**Author:** ![hyperjes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df705f/32.png) [@hyperjes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hyperjes)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/4 "2004-01-11T05:35:09Z")
Christopher ---
**Author:** ![SnoopyFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SnoopyFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnoopyFan)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/5 "2004-01-11T05:36:54Z")
Mom liked Benjamin, dad liked Jack. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/6 "2004-01-11T05:47:56Z")
Wendy. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/7 "2004-01-11T06:02:26Z")
Stephen. ---
**Author:** ![Shemem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Shemem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shemem)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/8 "2004-01-11T06:25:51Z")
Aaron Michael ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/9 "2004-01-11T06:34:52Z")
Jonathan. ---
**Author:** ![Jessity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jessity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jessity)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/10 "2004-01-11T06:37:02Z")
I guess Joshua, as that was my brother after me. Mom picked it, dad probably would’ve gone with a horrible name. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Macphisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@Ms\_Macphisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Macphisto)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/11 "2004-01-11T06:44:16Z")
Colin, which is my younger brother’s name. ---
**Author:** ![UnwrittenNocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6de8d8/32.png) [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/12 "2004-01-11T06:54:13Z")
Stacey ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/13 "2004-01-11T06:55:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pepperlandgirl \* > \*\*William Rio \*\* Whoa, really? I wanted to name my daughter Rio (first name) but my wife shot that idea down before it ever reached the table. Yeah, after the Duran Duran song. Maybe it was a dumb idea but I thought that name rocked. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/14 "2004-01-11T07:05:04Z")
Michelle Ellis ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/15 "2004-01-11T07:14:27Z")
Michael John. My younger sister would have been Michael John, since I wasn’t, but since she wasn’t male either, Mom held out for a boy. Then she had a son, and was overruled on the name by a domineering husband’s family tradition. Her fourth child was a son, and Mom finally got her Michael John. We have all called him “Gooch” since the day he was born. ---
**Author:** ![Intent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5e9695/32.png) [@Intent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intent)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/16 "2004-01-11T07:23:32Z")
Eric ---
**Author:** ![TitoBenito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2acd7d/32.png) [@TitoBenito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TitoBenito)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/17 "2004-01-11T07:27:57Z")
Emily ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/18 "2004-01-11T07:32:15Z")
Dylan, after Bob Dylan. Luckily I was born before that awful trend of giving boy’s names to girls. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/19 "2004-01-11T07:41:30Z")
William. It’s my dad’s middle name. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941/20 "2004-01-11T07:52:33Z")
I know this! And it’s a good one. Apparently my mom went into labor while she was watching “Arsenic and Old Lace” late one night on public TV. She was going to name me Mortimer after the Cary Grant character. Instead I was named Betsy after my dad’s first girlfriend “Betsy Tootsiberry” (or so they claim) WTF?!?! How is that superior to “mortimer,” even for a GIRL?! And what sort of mother agrees to THAT?! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-name-have-been-if-you-were-born-the-opposite-gender/223941.md?page=2)