# Your Given Name **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 22, 2002, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366 "2002-05-22T20:43:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/101 "2002-05-23T21:07:21Z")
Kristen Rebecca Anderson (insert last name here). ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/102 "2002-05-23T21:16:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Freyr \* > \*\*Peter Stephen Thomas, III > > I’m named for my father, etc, etc. Grandfather Peter was an emmigre from Greece tho we don’t know the exact date (sometime in the early 20th cent).\*\* I could probably get that for you. ---
**Author:** ![Moxmaiden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@Moxmaiden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moxmaiden)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/103 "2002-05-23T21:23:55Z")
Melissa Renae (Moore) Merritt I dropped the maiden name when I got married. I never really hated it, even though I got teased about it _alot_ when I was a kid. [aside] I did like not having to “change” my initials when I got married. I liked being M-n-M, well ok not with an N for a middle initial, but thats what some of my friends in school used to call me. 🙂 [/aside] ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/104 "2002-05-23T23:02:03Z")
William Joseph, at your service. My father is Joseph Augustine, III, and there was up to a a Joseph Francis III on my mother’s side, plus various other “Uncle Joe’s” scattered about. I was **not** going to be called Joseph as my first name. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/105 "2002-05-24T01:15:39Z")
Elizabeth, but I go by Betsey. Never been called Elizabeth or Liz or Beth. Both my maiden and married last names are too unusual to post, sorry. Some of you are pretty brave. ---
**Author:** ![hardygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@hardygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hardygrrl)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/106 "2002-05-24T01:24:21Z")
Tanya (pronounced Tahn-ya, not Tan-ya) Renee ---
**Author:** ![Tsubaki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Tsubaki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tsubaki)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/107 "2002-05-24T01:58:23Z")
Deanne Marie. I’m always stunned at how many people can’t pronounce my name, but they can pronounce Leanne. Its DEE-ANN, people! My maiden name is the same as a famous Creek depicted on an American TV show. My married name is the same as a big zoo in Tokyo. Remember, Google is your friend 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/108 "2002-05-24T05:01:55Z")
Katheryn Lois Saunders (nee Barber) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/109 "2002-05-24T05:22:46Z")
Three boring Anglo-Saxon names: Clifford Dale Hamm I’ve always been called Dale, so I’m a lot slower to respond to Clifford. ---
**Author:** ![Cosmopolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Cosmopolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmopolitan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/110 "2002-05-24T06:41:12Z")
Kristin Elizabeth Tenletterlong-Italianlastname. I hated my first name as a first & second grader - I attended a small private school where I was the only Kristin/Kristen/etc. I was mainstreamed in third grade; in my grade were two "Kristen"s & a “Kristyn”. Which leads me to a pet peeve; it’s “Kristin”. Not Kristen, Christen, Kirsten, Kristine, Kiersten, Kristina, etc. How hard is that? I mean, I realize that “Kristin E. \_\_\_\_” can look like “Kristine”, but only if you try. Same thing happens with my last name, albeit mostly with telemarketers. It’s a long but straightforward name. No silent letters, etc. - pronounced exactly how it’s spelled. So what’s the problem? I wasn’t given a middle name - my parents figured my name to be quite long enough without it. When the time came, I chose “Elizabeth” as my confirmation name, & have since taken it as a middle name. So now my name is twenty-six letters long, instead of seventeen. Duh. Incidentally, I have the same last name as a famous former athlete…Just a hint. ---
**Author:** ![Cosmopolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Cosmopolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cosmopolitan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/111 "2002-05-24T06:48:56Z")
BTW, when I think “Christopher Robinson”, I think The Black Crowes 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/112 "2002-05-24T06:59:44Z")
Larry Gott My first name is really Larry, not Lawrence or Laurence. I have a middle name, but nobody ever used that except my mother, and then only when I was in deep doo doo (sorry, this ain’t the Pit and Anglo-Saxon stuff is out). My last name is German for “God,” which is ironic because I’m not a believer (and not especially godly either). Guess I don’t believe in me, which would explain a lot. I once thought I was descended from one of the Hessian mercenaries who came here to fight for the British in the American Revolution and then just stayed on. Turns out it’s nothing that romantic. The earliest forebear I’ve traced so far was born in the colony of Maryland in 1720. Beyond that I know nothing about him. It’s late, and I’m rambling again. ---
**Author:** ![Jessity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jessity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jessity)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/113 "2002-05-24T07:13:14Z")
Jessica Rae ---
**Author:** ![Estilicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Estilicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estilicon)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/114 "2002-05-24T12:31:15Z")
Well thanks Francesca. I don’t like my name, it is too long. An uninteresting fact: everyone un mt family has the same middle name: Jose (males) or josefina (females) the custom was started bu a great grand mother. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/115 "2002-05-24T12:57:54Z")
What a cool thread! Reading it has been like watching and listening to people coming up to the microphone, introducing themselves. I don’t have too many worries about ID revelation on the Net, either. Ice Wolf’s full name: Elisabeth (known as Lisa) Jane Truttman. My Mum named me Lisa while I was still in the womb (she was that certain I’d be a girl, in th’ days before ultrasound-type stuff). Once born, I was given “Elisabeth” after a Belgian queen of the early 20th century (Mum was a history buff, like me), and “Jane” after Charlotte Bronte’s _Jane Eyre_. “Truttman” has origins in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, but it is a gift name. If my Mum had married my true father (Mum was a widow when she met him), my surname would have been Bruce. I like my first names, both long and short versions. But very few in NZ can pronounce the “Truttman” correctly. I’ve learned not to wince anymore. English-speakers almost always fail at the attempt, yet those from the Indian sub-continent say it beautifully (like the guy who shoved in the needle today when I gave blood). ---
**Author:** ![EchoKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@EchoKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EchoKitty)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/116 "2002-05-24T13:13:32Z")
Well, I’ll tell you my middle name, which my own HUSBAND doesn’t even know. Edith Both grandmothers first names were Edith. I never had a chance… My husband has five sisters, and none of these people go by their real names: Terry = Sharon Willy = Jerry Beanie = Sherri Red = Carrie Mugs = Merri Nanny = Gerri (pronounced Gary) How’s that for peculiar? ---
**Author:** ![scott\_evil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@scott\_evil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scott_evil)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/117 "2002-05-24T16:26:38Z")
::sigh:: I’ll bite… Peter-James Frederick [last name] Even though everyone calls me just Peter, my legal first name is hyphenated, as you can see. The reason for this is that my mother is French Canadian, and hyphenated names are really common among francophones. My name in French would be Pierre-Jacques. Frederick was my paternal grandfather’s first name. - s.e. ---
**Author:** ![Anemone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@Anemone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anemone)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/118 "2002-05-24T16:34:07Z")
Samantha Hiroko Azuse. I get akward looks at parties. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Anemone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@Anemone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anemone)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/119 "2002-05-24T16:39:59Z")
awkward. (heh) ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366/120 "2002-05-24T17:12:53Z")
Well, as I’m the only person ever with my name (and really, how many people can say THAT?)…I ain’t gonna spill it all. Patrick O’Bryan is my first and middle, and I hafta say is the most Irish in this thread outside of Meaghan Patricia Siobhan O’Malley, which could ONLY be more Irish if it were green. Part of my last name is discernible from a recent andygirl mpsims thread, and the rest is … well, ask anyone I’ve ever emailed. My full last name is in there:) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-given-name/110366.md?page=7)