I always hated my name so I changed it… even my parents say it wrong
Do you hate your name so much that you would change it if you could?
Well, that’s the next step for a woman who hates her nickname so much that she’d like to get rid of it altogether.
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Her reasoning? No one seems to be able to pronounce it correctly, even though it’s not that difficult.
Brittany Marie Fitzgerald shared her dilemma on the podcast Baby Name Envy, hosted by self-proclaimed baby name expert and celebrity naming consultant SJ Strum and her sister Naomi.
“Everyone calls me Britney instead of Brittany,” she wrote dejectedly, asking the sisters for advice.
“And I’m someone who really cares about grammar and pronunciation.
“I also find my middle name too boring.
“However, both my grandmothers were named Mary, so my parents chose Marie because it sounded better than Mary.
“I don’t know how to discuss this with my family.
“I don’t want to offend my parents and it’s not their fault.
“I’d like to have a nice name, but that’s just not my style.
“I don’t feel any connection to my name because of this mispronunciation.”
Brittany even exposed her own parents and grandparents for not correctly pronouncing the name they chose for her.
She made it clear that she doesn’t want to be called Britney, because that’s not her name.
“I don’t really like ‘Brit’ either, unless it’s a nickname from my close friends,” she continued.
“It sounds too abrupt and short.
Are Unique Baby Names Worth It?
You may think that a unique name will make you stand out, but is it really?
Josie Griffiths, deputy editor of Fabulous, talks about the problems she had with her name as a child.
As a child, I wanted nothing more than a personalized keychain with my name on it.
But it wasn’t. The closest I could get were Rosie, Joseph (not so nice for such a little girl) and Joanne.
Josie is short for Josephine, a French first name, and I’ve been in my twenties without ever meeting anyone with the same first name.
When I try to introduce myself to people I get called all sorts of random names like Tracey and Stacey and it can be quite annoying.
Although I’ve met a few Josies in the past year (there are a few around my age), it’s still a much rarer name than most of my friends’ names.
Overall I don’t mind it, at least it’s not crude or spelled weird.
And that means I can get away with ‘doing a Cheryl’ and just calling myself Josie.
I’m getting married this year and some friends are shocked that I’m changing my last name. It’s not considered cool or feminist these days. I explain to them that I’m not that attached to Griffiths because I always just say ‘Hi, I’m Josie’ when I call a friend.
I like being unique and I will definitely try to achieve this when naming my own children.
You have to watch out for the crude names, so after nine years as a lifestyle journalist I will definitely avoid them.
“I don’t feel any connection to Brittany and I can’t call anyone that.”
Brittany is toying with the idea of choosing a unisex name for herself, or even a name with a “darker meaning,” such as one with mythological or ancient roots.
Naming expert SJ sympathized with Brittany, who wanted “a little more identity” behind her name.
She advised her to choose a craft name, which is a secondary religious name often used by practitioners of Wicca and other forms of neopagan witchcraft.
Some of SJ’s suggestions that fit Brittany’s “vibe” were Dayonis, Aradia, and Caradoc, all craft names for famous witches.
