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

[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.

[mizbean.livejournal.com]

I have no idea if it's short for something. The impression I got from my mom was that some Germans find the name a little insulting. I don't know if a German wrote the original book, but I think has to do with the Shirley Temple movie.

[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.

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

Adelheid (not sure of the spelling).

[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.

[ackonrad.livejournal.com]

Nope, Heidi is not a short form for anything. Adelheid exists, too, but Heidi exists as a separate name as well.

[slinkhard.livejournal.com]

I would have been Ross, iirc.

[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.

[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]

I had a feeling--I guess the point was that the woman in the movie shared the disdain for the name and changed it to something more like it.

[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.

[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]

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!

[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.

[zeroambi.livejournal.com]

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

[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.

[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]

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.

[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."

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Those are a lot more interesting, I must say.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

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

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

No "e" on the end of Lynn, but yeah, with just a little bit of thought she'd have had a keeper. Might not have really fitted me any better, but I'd have prefered it.

One of my cousins was named Valerie Jean. I was so jealous.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Valerie Jean is pretty good. My cousin's new daughter is Ruby Jane.:-)

Now that I look at Joyce Lynne with the 'e' it looks really strange. Joyce Lynn is much better.