what would it be? :dubious:
For myself, I wouldn’t have mind been given the name Troy. It’s rather beautiful in its own way and is not that common. 
Since you’re asking for opinions here, I’ll move this to the Land of IMHO.
I’m not crazy about my first name; it would be a better fit on a blond cheerleader type, which I am most definitely not. My middle name is even worse; however, I use my middle initial just to help mitigate the squishiness of my first name.
If I had my druthers, I’d have a name with both a full formal version and a diminutive, like Margaret/Meg or Frances/Fran. Preferably without one of the feminine ending sounds ("-ee," “-a,” “-eena”).
I feel like I have no personal connection to my given first name and don’t particularly care for it although I don’t particularly dislike it either. It’s pleasant enough, if pretty common in one of those six-jillion variant spellings sort of ways (only two correct spellings though 
). Very “classic” and now that I think about it I suppose I should consider myself lucky that I didn’t end up a Britney or Tiffany or something.
Although I generally go by one of two nicknames, I do use my given name for business stuff and professional appointments. I’ve never considered changing it, mostly because I’ve never heard a name that struck me as personally compelling, if that makes sense. If anything, I’d really like to go by the Italian or Russian variant of my given name, but I’d be so extremely self-conscious about announcing a name change and asking everyone to call me something different that I think I’d be too embarrassed to do so.
I don’t like my first name, which is Rebecca. Especially when I still had my maiden name, which starts with a hard C- it just didn’t go well together, too many 'ca’s. I don’t like it with my current last name, either, though- it’s too long and cumbersome. They called me Becki as a child, but now I hate that.
I don’t have any particular names I’d rather have, but there’s lots of names I wouldn’t want, like Ethel or Harriet.
You could always acquire a nickname. Would “Toots” work?
I’ve always had a desire to be named Christopher, and lobbied heavily for my youngest brother to be named that. When I got old enough to actually change it, I was used to and content with Frank. In fact, lately I’ve been thinking about starting to go with my full name, Francis.
PS: I knew a Troy growing up, and now I always associate the name with molester mustaches.*
*The Troy in question was not a molester of any kind and was in fact a decent guy, so far as I’m aware. Just had an ooky 'stache.
I know a woman named Troy.
One of my sisters went by Becca as a child, and preferred Becky later. Go figure.
“Toots” That’s funny!
My name was going to be David, right up to the day I was born. However, that year, the popular thing was Davy Crockett, and people would always be coming up to my mom and asking “How’s little Day-vee?” So when she filled out the birth certificate information, I acquired a new name. I went through a period of hating it when I was about 9, but I’ve got used to it and wouldn’t change it now. I still like David, though, and I could probably have handled being a Dave.
I don’t feel attached to my first name, Amanda. it’s very common for women my age and especially among women a few years younger (my parents were just ahead of the rush). On the other hand, I really like my last name–it’s unusual but not hard to pronounce and I find the sound of it aesthetically pleasing. I kept it when I got married for no better reason than that I liked it. As a teacher, I get called by my last name more than my first, and even former students just drop the “Ms.”, they don’t ever call me by my first name, as do, oddly enough, most of my male collegues. A few years ago the students started dropping the first vowel, leaving a name that starts with Shm, an odd sound. (now you have a hobbit name!–they think they are geniouses) I get called that a LOT at school, and that is how I am referred to. I don’t love the name, but I love that I have a distinct nickname, so it evens out.
One study I would love to do (sorry for the slight thread deflection) is do something where people look at pictures of strangers and then assign them names (either from a random list adjusted for ethnicity, with the real name in there somewhere) or by free choice, and see how often they actually choose the real name. I know it is likely confirmation bias of a sort but most of the people I know seem to fit their names somehow, tho I’ve run across a few who don’t “look” anything like what their name suggests. My real name is David, but my parents almost chose Michael (which did become my middle name)-I can’t imagine calling myself the latter, but whatdoIknow?
I really like my first name, Cheridan as well as it’s (correctly spelt :P) counterpart, Sheridan.
I like the way it looks on paper, and I think it suits me.
I hated my firstname for ten years. In its full form it’s four words, it’s quite unusual, there’s several songs using it (one that was originally in English I think but for which I’ve heard versions in Spanish, French, German and Chinese; a couple in Spanish), and it prompts some jokes that are absolute groaners even the first time you hear them.
Then we went on vacation to the one town in Spain where calling your first daughter anything but that name would have been considered kind of shocking. The cook at the hotel didn’t share my name, but that’s because she was the second sister. Her elder sister and their two daughters (both my age) shared the name, as did their aunt (again, their mother was an nth-sister). About one quarter of the town seemed to share the name. And I kind of became reconciliated with it. But I still think that a single-word name, preferably without any songs or poetry attached to it, would have been nice. It would make my paperwork abroad a lot easier, that’s for sure!
No. I like my name. It’s “me”. Common enough that people know how to pronounce it, not so common that I’m often confused with other people who have the same first name. I could wish for a name that didn’t have more than one common spelling, but no name is perfect.
I don’t love my name (Carol) but don’t hate it either. If I was going to change it, I’d go with Caroline… when people call me Caroline now (and they often do) it weirds me out because it is not my name, but if I was a Caroline I’d be ok with people nicknaming me Carol. Also, it would put an end to the Carole spelling that plagues me at work, unless I’m giving people too much credit and they actually would write “Caroleline”.
My middle name I’d change in a heartbeat. It’s Leanne (ugh). I’d go with my parents’ original choice, Anne. Yes, I’ve posted this countless times, but in case you missed it before… my parents chose Leanne when they realised that Anne would give me the initials CAT. Apparently CLT is preferable.
I don’t know what I’d choose if I was going for an entirely original name instead of just “fixing” the “mistakes” my parents made. I’ll think about it.
I don’t know…I don’t really like or dislike my name. I don’t think it “fits me” particularly well, but I’m used to it, after almost 29 years of wearing it. I do wish it weren’t so close to a trendy name for babies today. I am SO tired of being called Kayla. I’ve been having an email exchange with someone else lately, and every single email the other person has sent has been addressed to Kayla. Despite the fact that my name is in the header, and I’m pretty sure I always spell my name correctly when I sign off. How oblivious are people, really?
(Bulgarians using Latin letters, always spell it wrong, but that’s because it doesn’t transliterate from Cyrillic very well. I’m not bothered by that.)
Кайла
Many people have commented I should have been a Sam
My first name, Jean-Marc, would have been perfectly mundane in my father’s home country, but growing up in suburban Boston, nobody could figure it out (“Jean? How come you got a girl’s name?”). Then while I was in college, everyone around me could pronounce it on sight, which was huge eye-opener for me. Now that I’m in Japan, nobody can really pronounce the first half (though most recognize it as French), so I use the last half for everything except official documents.
So there have definitely been times when I wish I had a different name, but now I’m cool with it. I don’t use it much in its original form, but that doesn’t seem to matter.
Of course, I then had to go and name my son Jean-Luc. At least the ethnicity of his is immediately recognizable to anyone, plus anybody who’s seen Star Trek in the last two decades knows how to pronounce it.