Names I could have been...

[sistermagpie]

Happy birthday idlerat!!

This popped into my head on the way home the other day...does anybody else know what name they would have been called if they were the opposite sex, and if you do,

Do you think about it?

I asked my roommate--she would have been called Eric. She also knew her alternate girl name, Yvonne. Apparently she and her sisters were all potential Eric/Yvonnes, but all were girls and none looked like an Yvonne (also Mom couldn't decide on the correct pronunciation). Personally, I think one of her sisters could have been an Yvonne, on her and the other one it would be purely quirky.

But it was more interesting looking at her and imagining her alternate boy self, Eric. (Her father was also partial to Thor, and I've got to say she dodged a bullet there. Ethnic heritage aside...whoa. That's a lot to live up to.) The weird thing is, I can kind of see it--the Eric, that is, not the Thor. Now I can look at her and somehow imagine this boy version called Eric.

The one alternate girl name my mother once mentioned for me was Miranda, Mandy (not Randy) for short. I can't really see it--my roommate said (and I agree) she could see more as Amanda than Miranda. I was friends with a Miranda growing up. We called her neither Mandy nor Randy, but Mirn (sometimes Mirnie). So when I think of my name being Miranda, it's more like an odd thing, rather than a name I could have had.

If I was a boy I would have been Mark. I asked my mother this probably when I was a kid and it always stayed in my head. Mark somehow holds out all these tantalizing possibilities, you know? Maybe I still would have been friends with my roommate and we'd have been Eric and Mark. (Although maybe not, as we first met in college and Mark and Eric wouldn't have gone to Smith...)

Mark. It's not a name that really means anything to me beyond this. I had one in my class growing up about which I have no strong feelings. He played the saxophone. On the one hand the idea that this would have been my name had the chromosomes worked out just a little bit differently is a big deal. On the other hand...it's not. It's not my name, it's got no connection to me. But it does!

Anybody else ever ask your parents this question? I know adela711 had a name change soon after she was born. My father still calls my cousin Matthew because "he was supposed to be called that" even though the man's been Jeffrey for over 30 years. At the same time, I know why he does it. Because while he looks like a Jeff he could be a Matthew, you know? It does fit him. So as much as I want to just laugh at my father for doing this, there's this ghostly Matthew in my head too--and I wasn't even around when his name was being planned. I heard it once and thought, yes, that works.

So Brother Magpie would have been Mark. What would he have been like? Any one else ever think about this? Especially slashers? Is it more of a girl thing to ask this question and wonder about it, or do guys tend to know about this too?

Comments

[musesfool.livejournal.com]

I would have been an Anthony, after my Uncle Anthony who died shortly before I was born. My parents didn't like any of them feminized versions of the name, or I might have been Antonia or Antoinette instead of Victoria.

My sister married a guy named Anthony, and it's also her son's name, so I'm kinda thankful, 'cause that's an awful lot of people with the same name in one family. *g*

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I really like Victoria, so that's nice you got that one.:-) I know what you mean about those family names where you end up with so many different people. I think my name is common in my family with different relatives having it (though not in my generation) and the male name that seemed to pop up alot was Edward. I also had two cousins named Chris who were around the same age, and one of them now has a son Christian.

[gramarye1971]

I was going to ask my parents that question once, but the line of questioning became derailed when I found out where and how I'd been conceived. Let's just say that I was conceived on the trip they took to celebrate their eighth anniversary...and it wasn't in a bed. O_o;;

I haven't been overly keen to return to that topic lately.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Um. I can see your point. Thanks mom and dad!

[idlerat.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Magpie!

I was named after Jane Austen, and I was told that, if a boy, I'd have been named Wolfgang, after the other family hero. But they were joking. I think.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Hope you're having a good day!

Wolfgang. Hmmm. That could be difficult. I do like Amadeus as a name, if it wasn't so associated with the movie. (I knew a guy named Amadeo in grad school.)

[manynames.livejournal.com]

My mum never even considered I'd be anything other than a girl but my sister - Rachel - would have been David. I can't see that at all, though I can imagine what she'd have been like if she'd been male.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

That's really interesting-that you can imagine what she'd be like as male. Probably some people you can do that with more than others.

I always wondered if I were a guy if I'd be more successful with women than I am with men.

[laurelwood.livejournal.com]

I love my girl name (Laurel) but I would NOT have been satisfied with my boy name, which would have been Chad. My sister would have fared slightly better with Kenneth. My own children don't have much to say either way about their would-be boy names, Evan and Nathan. I don't even like the name Evan anymore, so I guess it's lucky I got a girl!

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Ooh. Chad. Yeah, that's an unfortunate name. It always sounds like you should be in a fraternity or working on Wall Street.

Your potential sons have fine names, though. Nathan and Evan sound especially nice together.

[teratologist.livejournal.com]

I would have been Eric. Which would have made things awkward with the two boys I later dated with variations of that name. Of course, my having been born male would also have made that awkward, given that neither of them are bisexual to my knowledge.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

LOL! Funny how those things work...

[ptyx.livejournal.com]

I love my RL name, and I also love the one my mother and my grandmother would have chosen if I were a boy. I think I share their tastes in names! I would have been Alexandre if I were a boy.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I must agree. Very good taste in names there. I love Alexandre. I like all variations of that name, really, especially for boys. (That is, I like Alexander better than Alexandra, though they're both fine.) One of my cousins has a daughter Alex (Alexandria, I think is her full name)

[ex-ella-bane358.livejournal.com]

If I had been a boy, I would have been a Tim. I think about it sometimes, and while it's not the biggest reason I enjoy being a girl, I'm relieved to have been born one and escaped being called Timmy. :)

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. I suspect it's very hard not to be Timmy when you're called Tim. The whole "trying to drop the 'y' part of my name" is probably something a lot of guys go through. I had a good friend in high school I just could not stop thinking of as Danny since I'd first met him as a kid. His guy friends all called him Dan. His family always called him Daniel. To this day I always have to make an effort to say Dan or Daniel--maybe it's his boyish face.

[mahoni.livejournal.com]

I would have been Bradley as a boy. They nearly named me Stephanie, but my older sister, who has a long name, had a hard time learning to spell her full name, so they decided to be kind and give me a name with far fewer letters. I found out about all of this when I was a kid, and was glad I hadn't ended up with either name, because at the time, the only Bradley I knew was weird and smelly, and all of the Stephanies I'd met were snotty brats. I have since met a Brad I liked; and I've met a Stephanie who, while still snotty, is nice enough. Neither name does much for me, still. Those first negative associations still cling.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

My roommate's middle name is Stephanie. She says she liked the name and was completely shocked when her parents told her it was actually hers.

I'm not very fond of either of those names, myself. Bradley just conjures up a potentially weird (in a bad way) boy. Stephanie is definitely a good name if you're snotty, I think.

[accioslash.livejournal.com]

I actually believe my boy name (Paul) would have been more appropriate than the name I actually have. Forty-two years later I still have to stop for a second when someone calls me by name. Something like, 'oh yeah, they're talking to me'. I never had any gender identity issues, but my brothers are Stephen and Michael and I got this over-used 50's name that no one ever uses anymore. Gah.

But then, I named my daughter Katherine (Katie) because it wasn't very common, and suddenly it's everywhere. And because we have such a common last name she is the fifth student at her college with the same first and last names. Two even have the same middle name.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I like the name Paul. It's very soft-sounding...not soft like fluffy but like a bell with a deep sort of mournful ring.:-) Tom is another nicely soft sound, I think. I had a book when I was little where this witch turns a frog into a prince and he's very upset. She tries to get him excited about being a prince by giving him a name and he doesn't like any of them. He says "Tom" sounds like something falling on the grass at night. I always thought he was right and I liked that (my father and brother are both Toms, though I've never called my brother that).

I used to not like the name Michael as a kid but I've grown to really like it--and Stephen. I know several Katherines--I think Katie is my favorite shortened version of that name, though.

[lilith-morgana.livejournal.com]

I'm endlessly grateful that my dad didn't have the last word in the naming discussion when I was born. He wanted me to be a Rose-Mary or rather the Swedish Rose-Marie. When pronounced in Swedish this name a) sounds god-awful and b) is shortened to Rosa which is what you usually name cows over here and regardless of cool people like Rosa Luxemburg sharing this name I think it would have been crap in the playground, you know. My mother agreed and they took the middle road and named me Åsa Marie. I've never really liked my name, it has fascinating Norse origins but isn't very pretty. And it's a typical case of a name that was popular in the 50-70's but then went out of fashion.

The boy me would have been Anders or Johan, names I can see myself having but not really warming to. In conclusion I think it's safe to say that I would be slightly more pretentious than my parents if I ever had children. My sister claims that she fears the day a daughter of mine is born and named Christabel Freya Gertrude or some such combination. :)

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Hee! I think that's part of the good thing about being a writer. You get to indulge your love for pretentious names (even on non-Mary Sue characters).

I used to really not like my name. I think the first thing that made me come to terms with it was a character in a book having it. The Little Women connection saved it. (My chemistry teacher in high school always called me by the wrong name, and all we could both figure is he kept associating me with the wrong sister in the book.)

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

I was almost Tamara, and if I had been a boy I would have been Tamar. But my parents heard another name shortly before I was born, and they liked that one better.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Tamar's pretty cool--I've heard that as a girl's name too.

[ackonrad.livejournal.com]

My parents knew from the beginning that I was going to be a girl (don't ask me why and how they knew), so there was no male name picked for me. In my sister's case, it was the opposite - they expected a boy, and had prepared only the name Miroslav. When my sister was born a girl, they just took the female version of Miroslav and so she became Miroslava. ;)

Well, you know everything about my name change, so I won't bother you with the same story again. I just wanted to add that after that nurse told my parents they had to pick a name from the list for me, my mother wanted to call me Aglika. *shudders* I'm not very fond of my real name, but I'm glad that my father won that battle - my real name is definitely better than Aglika.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Aglika. That sounds like a mouthful, I admit. I like Miroslav, though.:-)

[mizbean.livejournal.com]

I almost was named Heidi because my parents were living in Germany at the time. At the last minute, a German native convinced them that Heidi is really not that beloved of a name in Germany and they picked a something sane (Stephani). Thank you!

I have no idea what they would have named me if I were a boy. I'm afraid to ask.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Hee! I knew a couple of Heidi's growing up. Is it short for anything in Germany? I remember seeing a movie of Heidi where somebody said something like, "Of course we will call her Alelheid" or something that sounded like that.

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

Depends on which parent got final say.

If Dad had his way (an outside possibility) I'd have been named Kevin. Kind of trailer-trash, and I don't know how I would have avoided ending up as a bartender, but it would have at least been a tolerable name, as names go.

If Ma had her way, which was likely, I'd have been lumbered with the gawdawful names of Harold Dale. Both names have tenuous family associations, but that doesn't mean that they work, or work together.

But then she had her way and named me Joyce Lynn. Which I've never liked, and does not really fit me particularly well. Or at least I hope not. "Lynn" is only as common as dirt, but "Joyce" is a total looser of a name. Joscelyn might have been nice. But she didn't name me Jocelyn.

Although if you check out the names on "Baby's got a Bad, Bad Name" I think I should be grateful.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I have an uncle named Kevin, and had a crush on a Kevin in kindergarten, so that name beats Harold for me. Actually, the female president of my class in college was also called Kevin, so you could have gotten it even being a girl.

That is rather funny that you were Joyce Lynne but your mother didn't think of just going with Jocelyn.

I think I've seen that site you speak of--oh, what scary names. Those poor kids.

[go-back-chief.livejournal.com]

I know it took a while for my parents to decide, and they had many different opinions. My mother's cousin chimed in to, suggesting a bunch of Spanish names which my mum laughed at, and even though I think they are pretty, I have to admit that they would have sounded ridiculous to my Norwegian surname, and also together with my sister's typical Norwegian name. The name I almost got, was Emma. My best friend thinks I'm lucky to have gotten the name I've got because she doesn't think I'm "an Emma", but I sort of disagree. It's not my name, but I don't think it would have been too far off. In fact, I've given the name to a character based on my child-self, and I think it's the best one I could have chosen for her.

My mum says that I might have been "Ola", "Olof" or "Erik" if I'd been a boy. Probably both Erik and Olof, she said. And if that had been the case, I have no doubt, I'd have selected Erik, myself, because Olof was NOT a popular name for my generation, while Erik was pretty common, and not remarcably ugly, either (which I think Ola is). I think Erik might have suited me, the way Emma does. It's not me, the way my real name is, but it is something I could have been, not too far out of the blue.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Emma is one of those names I suspect I could be too. It's the same type name as my real one. I think my roommate's father's family is from the same background as you-I could see his family having an Olaf. (I think there's a Sven in the family, which is just relentlessly Swedish to my ears!)

Eric/Erik seems to be a very popular almost-boy name around here!

[slinkhard.livejournal.com]

I would have been Ross, iirc.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

You realize this just cracks me up because I know you watch Friends and have Ross issues. I have a feeling it will take a long time before that name can be disassociated with it. Though now I'm remember an episode where Joey is asking Ross what Ross is short for. You might have been a cool Ross, though.

[parallactic.livejournal.com]

My uncle named me, and gave me a name that's as common as mud. I don't think my name fits me particularly well, but I'll answer to it, nevertheless. I don't know what my uncle would have named me if I'd been born the opposite sex. Probably something equally common.

I think have some gender identity issues, because sometimes I can feel the ghost of the person I could have been looking through my eyes. I'll still accept being treated as my gender, anyway.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Gender is definitely more fluid than people like to think it is. You may still have a lot of that almost-boy in you.

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

See, my mum never even considered boys' names, because she was ABSOLUTELY SURE she would have a daughter. Apparently, she was shopping for girls' toys when she was still single. I imagine my alternate!boyself would have felt pretty akward, and possibly overly feminine.

I had a name change after I was born too-for a week, I was a Christina. I can't imagine any significant difference in my life if I stuck with that, except perhaps being spared the annoyance of the Uni teacher who kept calling me 'So-FI-YAH'.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Heh--your genes maybe just said, "Look, we'll just go with girl and save this kid a lot of therapy bills!"

It's funny, I think of Christina and Sophia as being such different names, but really they aren't all that different.

[hearts-n-roses.livejournal.com]

I would've been Anthony. I was actually supposed to be Claire and I somehow ended up as Paula. Not sure why.

My oldest daughter was supposed to be Stephanie or Ryan but ended up as Jenna, and my youngest was supposed to be Julia or Justin, and ended up as Stacey. Go figure.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Hee-I know with my roommate her mother said when they were born they just didn't look like the name she'd picked out. That makes sense to me. I remember a friend of mine in high school was supposed to be Sarah and then when her father saw her the first time he said, "Hello, little Sarah!" and her mother just said, "Her name is Kate."

[zeroambi.livejournal.com]

I would have been Stefan my sister Michael. How boring. I think Irene and Monika is much better.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Those are a lot more interesting, I must say.

[jaebi-lit.livejournal.com]

My parents chose my name after they knew what chromosomes I'd have, so I don't think they considered a boy name.

On the other hand, I spent the beginning of the summer thinking of a list of alternate names and ended up with Francis, which is nicely androgynous. I think I could be a Francis while passing.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

That's cool--I like the name Francis a lot, actually, so I definitely approve of going by that name.

[ex-ajhalluk585.livejournal.com]

I've always thought I might have been an Andrew, as I was born on St Andrew's Day, and the family really weren't prepared for a boy. On the other hand, they might have held off Andrew as it was my cousin's first name even though he was always known in the family by his second name (which he rejected, reverting to Andrew as soon as he left home to go to University). Which is where the A in my pen name comes from.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

That's interesting to know, that that's where the A comes from. Andrew strikes me as the name of an interesting boy...though that in itself is interesting as the first Andrew I really knew I *detested*. I guess I got over it, since I was only six or so.

[franticgoddess.livejournal.com]

I am a random person, but I like reading about names, so here is my little bit of mine:

My name is Kaitlin. That is the only name my parents ever wanted for a girl. We joke that I am named for Dylan Thomas's wife because that is where Mom first 1.) noticed the name 2.) saw that spelling (which she went with because she thinks the K looks good with the R of my last name, and she doesn't like letters that go below the name so no Caitlyn for me.)

If I ended up being a boy, I would either be Dana or Renee (not sure on that last spelling), which most people are shocked to learn are common male names also (though not so much in the U.S. but I've noticed it more in other countries). Another possibility was Jan (another name that most people seem to think is only female, but not so), who was my great uncle on my mom's side. He was my grandmother's favorite brother, and one of mom's favorite uncles. Apparently he was very sweet and gentle and liked kids. The name Jan also has ties to my dad's side (we *think*) so that was another reason.

Interesting also, is my middle name. I have two, but one of them all the kids in the family have (Dowd- our mothers's maiden name). My other one is Steven, which is my dad's name and if I turned up as a boy it would have been some variation of Maria which is my mom's name.

That was long.

Just to make it longer, a funny story. When I was about 6 my aunt was pregnant with my cousin, Christopher, and his sister Annie (who I was and am very close to) wanted to name him Gomez after watching the Addams Family :D

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Kaitlin-interesting. Isn't Dylan Thomas sort of unique name-wise as well? I seem to remember reading somewhere that he's the one who started the use of that pronounciation.

Dana and Rene(e?)--also cool. I have heard both of those used for men but you're right, nowadays they're both usually girl names. I like the name Jan for a guy too--it's a form of John, isn't it? I figure most people associate it with Jan Brady or figure it's short for Janet or Janice.

I love that you have your Dad's name as your middle name!

There are not enough Gomez's in the world!

[jollityfarm.livejournal.com]

I think that I would have been Jack, which I don't mind too much. Male-me could have been a Jack. I now have a half-brother called Jack, though, so I don't think I'd take that name if I were to change it.

My mother was convinced my elder brother was going to be a girl, and he would have been Rebecca. While that's not a bad name, there were quite enough girls called Rebecca of his age at school. He was, however, the only Noel :)

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Jack and Noel--there's a pair for you. They sound like they should be starring in readers for children. There's Jack who's just always a good guy, and then Noel is a little off-beat with his name.