I could ask you the same thing :dubious: I honestly thought I was the only one, or at least one of very few, who did this only because I came up against the same problems getting to people to understand.
OK so my next question is, how many Julia Anns are there? There’s a gajillion Julie Anns out there, but I haven’t come across too many Julia Anns.
I always thought Julie was a blonde cheerleader name and Julia was someone’s maiden aunt. I never fit either of them exactly.
Mom calls me Verne now. Jules Verne, get it? He was a writer, I like to read…well, it made sense to Mom. 
raises hand
Yep. I didn’t know there were any other middle names for Julie or Julia.
I am a walking cliche!
It is!
But I have an excuse. You see, I live in Appalachia, and here the pronunciation of “Julia” will actually make your spine contort itself until you resemble a giant pretzel.
JOALya, where the “joal” rhymes with “goal.”
Now, JOALie is bad. It’s really bad. But it’s nothing compared to JOALya.
I told my husband that the only thing tempting about moving to Kentucky (where he’s from) is that people pronounce my name JYOOleh there. Anything not to be a Joalya.
James.
I don’t like Jim or worse, Jimbo. Jaime to my mates in Australia.
How about outlandish names you wish you could adopt?
For me it would be “Wolverine” --legally…that would be cool. Who else has a legally cool name like that??? 
This is the other thing, how hard is it to pronounce “Julia”? I don’t think I’d buck against it so hard if people actually said “Joo-lee-uh” but nooo, it’s either JOALya, or JOOLya or the worst, JOO-ya.
I only let a select few people call me Jules. My mother likes to call me Ju-Ju, which drives me up a wall, but is awfully sweet at the same time. And it beats some of her other, Thai nicknames for me (Big-Eyes and Monkey-Butt). Actually, I guess I don’t mind those either 
Leah checking in here.
I was going to be “Sarah,” but a lady named “Leah” moved in across the street six weeks before I was born, and my mom changed her mind. I don’t think my dad has ever really let that go. :rolleyes: In fact, he always suggests “Sarah” as a name for a girl whenever we’re discussing future children. Sorry, dad! Not my job to soothe your ego, or right some perceived wrong on your part.
Arlyn Lee. “Arlyn” came from the Tolkein; it was originally “Arwen” but my mom changed it a little. “Lee” because it’s law that every Southern girl have the middle name “Lee” or “Ann”. When I hit middle school, I got tired of being the weirdo with the weird name and started using Lee exclusively…
Or “sue.” That’s the Factotrix’s middle name. But she two daughters, one middle-named “Lee” and the other “Ann.”
Well, I’m Southern, but my middle name is Michelle. It was my mother’s dastardly plan to name my brother Michael, then call us…(shudder)…
Mike and Mickey!
My dad didn’t stick around long, but I’m eternally grateful that he hung in there long enough to put a stop to that idea.
(That being Sara laughing at God.)
Well, Sarah (then Sarai) was like 99 years old at the time when God and/or his angels dropped by and paid Abraham (then Abram) a visit. Abram, being a gracious middle eastern host, wined and dined the three “strangers”, at which point one of the strangers stands up and announces that in this time next year, Abram and Sarai would have a baby.
Sarai, overhearing this conversation, snickers. The couple are way, way past fertility treatments (and I’m sure there were those in the ancient world), so how could such a thing be possible?
Of course, the joke ended up being on her. ;j
There’s a soldier named Optimus Prime.
Emily.
In 1979, nobody was naming their girls Emily. My mom was just ahead of the trend, I guess.
To all you Sara without the H, I have the oposite problem. I remember telling one of the people I went to school with that there was an H in my name. So she stuck it between the S and the first A. Shara. Clearly that makes sense. Funny, I always wanted my name to be Samantha, and have every intention to name my first daughter thus. Then again, I want to give a child the middle name Boudica, so maybe I shouldn’t be allowed to name children.
May as well join in, and share the story behind my name (although I am sure most of you will skip straight over the story, and I can’t say I blame you, I am no writer and can accept no responsibility for the lameness of the telling).
I am Zachary, (although I go by Zac) which is quite an uncommon name, at least in the UK. It was an especially uncommon name when I was presented with it in 1982.
My name was a joke.
When my mother was with child, one of the most common questins that both my parents were asked was ‘What will you calll the baby?’ (as I assume most parents to be are asked). My parents had absolutely no idea, but my father decided that he would wind people up by saying, in a very serious sounding voice, that were his firstborn to be a male, they would name it Zacharius Ebeneezer. This would invariably be met with shock, surprise, and pity for the poor unfortunate who would be ‘blessed’ with this rather odd moniker. Weeks turned into months, the leaves dropped from the trees, and then came the day when I chose to make my appearance into the world (5 days late, well i wasn’t stupid enough to be born on the 25th of December, was I? That would have made it too easy for relatives to try to get away with only one present, and we couldn’t have that now, could we?). The proud father was handed the squirming pink creature which was his son, and he uttered the words ‘Hello Zac lad’
I had been named.
Named with a name chosen as the result of a joke.
Fortunately they toned down the Zacharius to Zachary, and dropped the Ebeneezer, but I was still given my name as the result of a joke.
It wasn’t even a good joke 
Me too. And my last name is used by two different Dopers in their usernames. It’s kind of freaky whenever I see them post.
Michelle
I was supposed to be the firstborn son, named for my paternal grandfather. That didn’t quite work out.
For years, I went by Mickie, but my first love didn’t like nicknames, so I went back to my given name for him. Then he dumped me, but I stuck with the name. It suits me in my old age.
Misty
No offense, Fairy Chat Mom, I just don’t feel like a Mickey!
Don’t forget “Jo”!