My cousin and I both changed the spellings of our names at the same time. I kept with mine, but she went back. Since it may be a phase, I’d let her experiment and if something sticks, then permanently change it later. Just a thought.

Good luck!

It’s such relief to read those stories and it is encouraging to know that not only me who (now) ‘regretted’ giving my daughter’s uncommon name. At that time, we could not find a suitable name for her and everything sounds too popular and many people have those names or someone we knew already had those names. In the end we settled to name her Jesslyn. We always like this name, we called her Lyn at home. Until now, she is at school, as it is not a common name, people keep asking for the spelling and the pronunciation is never right. Everyone calls her Jess’len’ instead of Jess’lin’ (which we always think it is).

Only last week, she asked me who gave her the name. She said she wished her name was Emma or Lily as they are easy to say. She said her friends always say her name incorrectly (it breaks my heart).

To make it worse, we have an older son, called Jason, and sometimes both names sounded similar. Somehow, we did not realise it when we chose the name.

It may sound crazy, but I am thinking of changing her name, somehow, to make it easier for her. I know it is not easy, and what would be the consequences to her most importantly. Her middle name is Sophie and I would not mind her being called this, I love this name too.

Would love to hear your honest opinion.

For years I have worked with children and they have always called me “Miss Kimberly” without a problem. Just recently I was working with a 2 year-old that was having a hard time saying my name so I told her to call me “Miss Kimmie” (which I do not mind at all). When she tried to say my name again it came out “Miss Mimi”. My heart was filled with such joy. She now calls me Mimi all the time and the other kids are catching on to it. I plan to adopt this nickname. It will certainly fit me as I enter my forties and hopefully grow old gracefully.

Would I ever let my son and daughter change their names? Yes I would, but not until they are adults. Like Janelle I would definitely have a conversation with them about the significance of their name. Then I would gently suggest that they at least use their original name as a middle name. This way they have it in case they change their mind again later. I completely understand what it’s like to be called by a name you do not like and I understand the unhappiness it can cause. I want my kids to be happy and confident individuals. I will always be there to help them achieve that.

Best wishes to all of you.

As far as my own children go – I feel their names are so fitting for their personalities. Even how we came upon their names is so reflective of their personalities. It’s amazing synchronicity and I would not want them to change their names. Their names and personalities are now infused with meaning and intention and I would hope that if they ever approached me with disdain about their names, I could describe to them the significance and beauty behind it.

Of course, my parents called my by my middle name and I changed my middle name to my first name and they got to pick (er.. suggest) my new middle name. I was graduating high school, so they had to approve the paperwork, but I don’t think they’d have any problems with it. Unless I tried to name myself “Dirt” or something. My family called me by a nick-name based off my middle name anyways, and they still call me that, except it makes sense why they call me it now (to others)!

I gave all of my kids very generic names, but I really tried to give them as many options as I could for alternatives. 1) Lauren Ashley; 2) Andrew James; 3) Jacob Tyler. After we named our youngest, I had second thoughts about ‘Jacob’. He looks more like a Lukas to me still. lol Oh well. Two out of three ain’t too bad, right?

My .02 cents.