What's in a name?

A really interesing meme from my friend emily sears:

1) What name would you give yourself had you been allowed to choose? In absolute honesty, I’ve always loved my name, both the long form, Alexandra, and the short, Alex. Alexandra sounds like elegance, and the meaning (“defender of man or mankind“) is great, too. I love Alex because it’s usable at any age, unlike more “girly” nicknames like “Suzie” or something.

2) Was there another name you wished to be called as a child? For a very brief time at the age of six I wanted to be called “Crystal”. I liked the image than conjured.

3) What was the cool kid's name in elementary school? Hmm…my memory of elementary school is a bit hazy. I did like my friend Mitra’s name. She was a “cool” kid, with a cool name.

4) What was the uncool kid's name? Stephanie, maybe?

5) What was the name of your favorite childhood book character? I enjoyed Laura Ingalls Wilder, among others.

6) What is a name you really can't stand? Do you know why? I really dislike giving names like Ashley or Leslie to boys. I don’t really like those names anyway, and they seem ill fitting on boys especially.

7) What is a name that sounds wealthy to you? Thomas for a boy; Beatrice, maybe, for a girl. Something old-sounding, but an imposing-old, not benign-old, like Mabel.

8) What is a name that sounds intelligent to you? Margaret.

9) What is a name that sounds like it belongs to a physically beautiful person? Felicity.

10) What is a name that sounds like an unattractive person to you? Bubba.

11) Do you prefer names that have obvious gender connotations, or more ambiguous ones, or neither? Depends, I guess. In general I don’t go for ambiguous names, but then again I have an ambiguous nickname that I love.

12) Do you prefer classic Anglo-centric names such as John, Charles, Elizabeth, and Katherine, or more contemporary ones such as Zane, Riley, Kylie, and Braden? Both, really. I definitely would not use “overused” names like Megan and John. But sometimes names that are in style just sound stupid.

13) Do you consider the original meaning of the name to be an important element for consideration by parents? Yes, but not the primary consideration. If I was to choose a child’s name, I would think of how it sounds first, then look up the meaning. If the meaning was something horrible, I might reconsider the name. Meaning is an important component of a name, though, and I think in this culture it often gets overlooked.

14) Do you think that the people you know "fit" the names they were given? Do you fit yours? I hope I fit mine. I guess I don’t know if other fit theirs, since my personification of a name is undoubtedly influenced by the people I’ve known who have that name.

15) What are your favorite names for males and females and why do you think you like them? Dudes: Gregory, Micah, Noah, Adair and Alder. Gregory has always been a favorite of mine, even pre-House. ;-) It’s sturdy while still being elegant, and normal enough so my poor unborn son wouldn’t get picked on. The rest I enjoy because they’re somewhat unusual (Micah and Noah less so nowadays) and remind me of…gentleman, if that makes sense.

Ladies: I really like the name Rae, but as that’s my middle name, I think it would be a weird thing to name a daughter of mine. I do enjoy older, nature-themed names like Flora, Robin, Hazel and Violet. I think they’re beautiful names with a lovely image. Erin is a name that I like that’s a bit more normal!

I would love (if my husband dug the idea) to give my future kids more “ethnic” middle names, as a nod to our heritage. It would be really special to pass on the name Assunta to one of my daughters, and maybe a German name to a son or daughter. I think it’s important to preserve those names that link us to our ancestors. Lots of Americans have lost that part of their heritage.