# Why do (little) girls like to write their name over and over and over and. . . **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 21, 2004, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357 "2004-05-21T14:19:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/21 "2004-05-21T22:42:29Z")
Maybe this thread should be paired with the one posted a year or more ago that asked why playing little girls always screech when they run around. (I had never realized that until I read the thread and now notice it all the time!) ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/22 "2004-05-21T23:42:24Z")
I did that… mainly because I wanted to have nice penmanship (well and write like all the cool girls) and it worked! I have some really neat printing and even when in a rush I can handwrite pretty legibly, though I print more than I do writing. In fact I’d love to take a calligraphy class… Has anyone else deliberately changed their signature? I’ve done it a few times, so there is a couple of distinctive aspects to it. One I’ll admit came about because I was trying to copy Mom’s signature (not for anything nefarious, she’d sign anything I put in front of her… but mainly because I could) only it’s different enough that it’s not like hers. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/23 "2004-05-22T01:09:04Z")
I don’t remember myself or any girl friends doing that. My BROTHER did it constantly though, because he was in all seriousness “practicing his autograph.” He didn’t know what he was going to do when he grew up, but he was absolutely going to be THE BEST at it, so everyone would be clamoring for it. In fact, eventually he started signing everything: Pat - THE BEST. It was hilarious! He claims not to remember this, the putz. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/24 "2004-05-22T01:49:15Z")
> [@Flutterby](#): > > Has anyone else deliberately changed their signature? Has anyone NOT deliberately changed their signature? Kids don’t _have_ signatures; they just spell their name out in Palmer-style cursive, usually. After a while you realize the careful little loops in capital letters aren’t really meant for grownups. (I still have my original Social Security card, signed when I was 11 or so. The signature is so cute…) ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/25 "2004-05-22T01:54:27Z")
I remember when I was a kid being really pissed off that I had to sign my name legibley. My dad didn’t, and none of the adults I knew had to. It seemed horrible unfair that my teachers got mad when they couldn’t read mine, and made me redo. It seemed so grown up and confident to write it crappy. I always swore that when I grew up I would have a squiggly and incomprehenible signature, and go back to shove it in their faces. You will all be happy to know I stuck to my guns. I have possibly the worst signature on earth. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/26 "2004-05-22T02:15:12Z")
I don’t know that I ever signed my name over and over, but I’ve noticed recently that while I’m on the phone at work, and I’m spelling my name for someone, I simultaneously sign it on a piece of scrap paper. Happy ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/27 "2004-05-22T02:28:24Z")
Unlike **masonite** , I still take pleasure in being able to create those “careful little loops.” I would love to be able to write in Spencerian script if I had the discipline and the talent. When my husband and I married, I warned him that I was only after his last initial. (Michael Sull, who is probably the most gifted of the Spencerian scripters, did my marriage certificate. Many young girls do work hard on their handwriting – or at least we did in the mid-20th Century. It was part of being “feminine.” :rolleyes: Now I enjoy seeing a girl who is unafraid to express her individuality with a jazzier style. But I still get the feeling that it is often deliberate and practiced. Please…no hearts used to dot your _i’s_… ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/28 "2004-05-22T02:44:43Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Unlike **masonite** , I still take pleasure in being able to create those “careful little loops.” I would love to be able to write in Spencerian script if I had the discipline and the talent. Sorry if I came across snide, **Zoe**. I am **able** to create the careful little loops, but upon reaching adulthood they seemed to me quite girly. Which brings us right back to the OP, I suppose. I don’t know what Spencerian script is; can you link us to an example? I love calligraphy but could never produce it. My signature now is a mere scribble. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/29 "2004-05-22T03:00:43Z")
Still do. Its a doodle. I draw cubes and sailboats too. Badly. ---
**Author:** ![FaerieBeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FaerieBeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FaerieBeth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/30 "2004-05-22T03:07:38Z")
> [@Happy Lendervedder](#): > > I don’t know that I ever signed my name over and over, but I’ve noticed recently that while I’m on the phone at work, and I’m spelling my name for someone, I simultaneously sign it on a piece of scrap paper. > > Happy I do this, too, and also with any phone number I’m giving over the phone. Weird. FB ---
**Author:** ![Magickly\_Delicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magickly\_Delicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magickly_Delicious)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/31 "2004-05-22T03:29:57Z")
I did this, but only a little and only really young. I never liked how the first capital letter in my name looks and would try to change it. I always thought it had something to do with the fact that girls tend to have better fine motor skills than boys at the age they’re all introduced to cursive (in the U.S.), so penmanship becomes really important to some girls. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/32 "2004-05-22T03:52:32Z")
I remember writing my name over and over as a kid, mostly to make it look good when I wrote it quickly. I was impressed at how some adults could scribble a name in a split second and have it look so awesome and rock-star-like. Now, at the ripe old age of 23, when I’m checking if a pen still works well, I’ll scribble a bit, then write my name. It just comes out easily… instead of finding a word to write, use my name. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/33 "2004-05-22T04:33:01Z")
> [@FaerieBeth](#): > > I do this, too, and also with any phone number I’m giving over the phone. Weird. > > FB Oh yeah, phone numbers too! ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/34 "2004-05-22T05:21:33Z")
> [@Flutterby](#): > > Has anyone else deliberately changed their signature? Yes. I used to sign with a few illegible squiggles, but upon entering Cegep, I read somewhere that it was a good idea to sign your full name. So I started doing that… and eventually it devolved into a somewhat longer string of illegible squiggles. I joke that it’s so that if I sign something damning, I can disavow it later. ---
**Author:** ![emekthian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecae2f/32.png) [@emekthian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emekthian)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/35 "2004-05-22T05:49:59Z")
I occasionally write nonsense words in cursive, usually out of boredom. One sheet of biology notes has the word “ardazi” written about 50 times in neat cursive with all the little looops. I also drew a 2D model of a hypercube (bio is _very_ boring). ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/36 "2004-05-23T02:26:29Z")
> [@Flutterby](#): > > Has anyone else deliberately changed their signature? My last name is 9 letters (and one space) long. When I first got married, I just signed my name the way I had signed my previous name, just with a different last name. This in itself was barely a signature, simply my name written out in cursive. After, oh, the third check, I decided to revamp it. Now it’s basically my first and middle initial, the first two letters of my last name and then a squiggle with a dot in the right spot. It’s a true sig in that it looks the same every time, and it saves me a lot of hassle when signing. Oh, and it actually spells out word that suits me perfectly. Anyway, as to the OP, I do this, mainly when talking on the phone. It’s just a form of doodling for me; it alternates between my name, arrows (really, I have reams of paper just covered in idly doodled arrows) and bits of phrases from the conversation I’m having. This is inspiring me to start another thread… ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/37 "2004-05-23T03:09:59Z")
**Bruce** this is a most excellent question. I can’t tell you why I did it when I was a girl, but I would still do it today if I had to face a class of unmentionable boredom. ---
**Author:** ![SpiderClan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@SpiderClan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpiderClan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/38 "2004-05-23T07:45:55Z")
This thread reminded me of _The Catcher in the Rye_, Holden’s kid sister: > [@](#): > > This what old Phoebe had on it: > > PHOEBE WEATHERFIELD CAUFIELD > 4B-I > > That killed me. Her middle name is Josephine, for God’s sake, not Weatherfield. She doesn’t like it, though. Every time I see her she’s got a new middle name for herself… > > _Phoebe Weatherfield Caufield > Phoebe Weatherfield Caufield > Phoebe Weatherfield Caufield > Phoebe W. Caufield > Phoebe Weatherfield Caufield, Esq._ Maybe it’s an ownership thing with kids. They don’t really own much, but they do not have a name that’s their own. So maybe it’s a way of trying to establish independence or something. I’m male and I never wrote my name repeatedly. But I do know lots of girls who used to write what their names would be if they married the boy they had a crush on, using his last name. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/39 "2004-05-23T10:02:04Z")
> [@kelly5078](#): > > I think he considers it a nom de guerre, while my daughter considers hers the nom de dieu. I just looked these up on Babel Fish and they translate as “name of war” and “name of god” respectively. Surely something has been lost in translation. Can you 'splain? 🙂 Thanks. **Bruce\_Daddy** , please forgive the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![Vision\_of\_Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Vision\_of\_Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vision_of_Love)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357/40 "2004-05-23T10:56:26Z")
I’m 20 and I still do that. I do it because I like how my signature looks. Speaking of writing your name or number down while you say it over the phone, what I do is an extension of that. If I’m on the phone chatting and I’m holding a notebook and pen, I end up writing select words and short from the conversation. I wouldn’t say random because I don’t write down words like “the.” It was more extreme when I was a teenager. I could fill up a full sheet of paper in half an hour. Half the time I wasn’t even really aware of what I was writing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-little-girls-like-to-write-their-name-over-and-over-and-over-and/246357.md?page=3)