When we’re painting we talk about all sorts of weird things that we probably wouldn’t otherwise get around to. And while painting the bedroom we got to the topic of “names that our parents almost gave us.” Get this. My mom wanted to name me Gina. We would have been John & Gina. That made us titter. Not sure if it’s a had to be there thing though. Either way, John’s dad’s choice of names takes the cake. He wanted to name John… wait for it… Lars.
Lars Petersik.
How funny is that? If I had seen tall dirty blond John at work and asked a coworker “oh who’s that?” and heard them respond with ” that’s Lars Petersik, he’s an account manager.” Let’s just say I would have been all “niiiiice to meeeeeeet you Laaaaars” with that over-enunciated-because-I’m-not-sure-you’re-great-at-deciphering-super-speedy-NY-talkers connotation. The same long drawn out delivery I use with my only-speaks-Italian grandmother. It would have been hysterical. John probably never would have let me live it down. Or asked me to marry him a year-ish later.
But that’s not all. Apparently John’s dad also wanted to name John “Vector.” Because he liked math. How I was able to continue painting with tears of laughter streaming down my face is beyond me. So it got us wondering what you guys were almost named. Come on… someone out there can beat Vector and Lars, right?
Nichole@40daysof says
My mom wanted to name me Andrea. As it is, she spelled my name weird. :)
Jessica M. says
My parents were going to name me Jeffrey since they thought I was going to be a boy. It’s not a bad name but I’d always think of Geoffrey the giraffe from Toys ‘r us & hated it!
They also thought about naming my older sister Gina Louise (we’re Italian too) so I totally understand where that one comes from ;D
What a fun post!
kashya says
my dad wanted to name me Hermenagilda I think its from beowulf, thank god my mom won out
jennifer f says
completely unrelated question to this topic, but what are your views on a down comforter with duvet cover versus a regular comforter/blanket? I always thought duvets were the way to go because you had more flexibility with choices, and they are warm and you can easily change them up with different duvets. But I just read an article on yahoo.com that said the new thing is regular comforters and no more down. I have 3 down comforters but we are thinking of switching to a king for our master…which would require new bedding. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jennifer,
We have always loved having a duvet cover with a comforter/duvet/insert inside. We don’t really know why we prefer it other than we can wash them separately (just the outside if we’d like) and we seem to find ones that we love at West Elm on clearance.
xo,
s
Hilary @ My So-Called Home says
I’m not sure what my name would’ve been but my little sister Marisa, had she been a boy, was going to be Drake Austin. We still harp on my mom to this day about her soap-opera themed name and are very grateful my sister was a sister and not a brother.
Jaime says
I’m a girl just so you know with my name spelling and all. My mom wanted to name me Gina as well, but obviously was vetoed by dear daddy. I was name after the bionic woman- I believe her real name was Jaime. But here’s the kicker- if I would have been a boy (Dad was a huge tv guy) they would have named me “Star Buck” and called me Bucky- from Star Ship Galactica. Bleh. So, I win. :)
Nikky says
My would-be name isn’t so bad really… I was going to be Kassi. Instead, my mom made friends with a woman who owned a horse named Nicholas (my mom is a horse FANATIC, she had them growing up). So, I became Nichole. After the horse.
Amanda says
My father wanted to name me Cassiopeia! But not after the constellation. Oh no. After the “socialator” (aka space prostitute) in the original Battlestar Galactica.
Amber W. says
My dad wanted to name me Autumn and my mom wanted Summer. They couldn’t decide between seasons so I was to be Katie Marie. Well, I was born with dark red hair so my grandma decided I should be named Amber. Which I’m fine with, it is a good normal name. And few people ever make the connection to my hair.
My dad has always made be promise I would name my first daughter Autumn. Which I would be happy to do except my married last name is Winter. Autumn Winter. How cruel would I be?
We find out this month if our first is a boy or girl. I’m just waiting to see if my dad brings it up if we are expecting a girl.
Brynn says
My name, Brynn, was pretty unusual when I was growing up – to the point where I got a lot of first day of school roll calls looking for “Bryan” and then when I’d raise my tiny little girl arm, the teacher was usually awfully confused. I’d typically go into the “It’s Brynn, not Bryan. It rhymes with Lynn” which was a quick remedy. So, imagine my shock when I first met my mother-in-law and she swore that if my husband had been a girl, she wanted to use the name Brynn. True story! My name is way more common now, but seemingly no one else in the world shared my name back then. I have always thought this was the strangest coincidence.
Jaime says
Oh and one other thing. I’m expecting baby #4- I have 3 boys already and my Dad is now tell me that if I have another boy, I should name him Obadiah I and call him Obi-one. I’m really painting my dad to be this big dork, but he’s cool and it’s all in good fun… now. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jaime,
I knew a girl in college whose middle name was Ditu (like D2) and her brother’s name was Obi. I kid you not.
xo,
s
Sarah says
My parents almost named me Kendall…weird thing is, if my brother-in-law was not named Ken, I would definitely consider naming my daughter Kendall.(he’s a weird full of himself type of guy and I’m sure we’d constantly hear how she was named after him even though that definitely would not be the case)
[email protected] says
So funny! I actually think John could have pulled off Lars. But I like “Sherry” for you much more than Gina.
My mom wanted to name me “Christian” after a priest named Father Christian. It ended up being my middle name instead.
I’m not too crazy about my name as it seems most people give it to their dog or cat! I’ve met more pets named “Molly” than people. :-)
Susan says
Had my husband been a girl, his parents wanted to name him Freda Juanita!
Leslie says
My dad wanted to name me Nicolette, but luckily for me (bad luck for her), he got to name my older sister. So it was my mom’s turn, and I love my name. I can only imagine what it would have been like to have classmates call me Nicorette because THAT would be hilarious *eye roll*
Ashley says
My mom told me once when I asked about names they didn’t pick that she wanted my middle name to be Leigh. And her top first name choices were Sarah (I know) and Love (I KNOW!) I narrowly escaped two doozies right there. As it is, I’m named after my great-uncle. My middle name is Marie – like all female children of the eighties. Mom says they settled on my name and they thought they were being really original because they didn’t know anyone with girls with either of my names… And then the newspaper headline the day I was born was about President Reagan’s new granddaughter, Ashley Marie. (I feel it should be noted that I was named before the paper came out)
Michael says
My mom had the names Rachel picked out for a girl and Eric for a boy. Then she met a gross kid down the street named Eric and nixed that. She then went on a Todd kick, but my dad wasn’t having it, and they settled on Michael (also my dad’s name, although our middle names are different.)
I used to get so mad when I was little for being named Michael. In my second grade class alone, there were three Michaels, all with the same last name initial. I was always mad I had to write out my entire last name on every assignment.
Now that I’m older and consider the alternatives, writing out my name was a small price to pay :)
greenbean says
Conan. As in Conan the Barbarian. Dad was a big fan. It would have taken me 30 years for this name to be cool because of our good buddy Conan O’Brien, although I’m not even sure he makes the name cool.
emily says
I think I may take the cake on this one. Even better than yours : )
My mom had originally wanted to name me Esther. (thank GOD my grandmother talked some sense into her!) And if that isn’t bad enough, my husband’s mother wanted to name him Elvis, to which her husband vetoed. We were 80’s kids…understandable if you’re in the 50’s, but the 80s! Come on : )
Can you imagine? Esther and Elvis? Oye!
ellis says
Kudos on your very elegant response to those two questioning your blogging direction a ways back. Personally, I’ve lately realized that I’m actually SAD on the weekends (yes, the WEEKENDS) because I don’t have a Petersik update- so from this reader, you are absolutely doing something right. Follow your gut! Or, as my esteemed friend (and perhaps Clara’s too) Dr. Seuss would say, “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”
Candice says
I don’t believe there were any other names being discussed to name me and my twin sister other than Alice and Candice. I think I (Candice) was named after a nurse at the hospital. My brother Timothy (Tim) was going to be Roxanne if he was a girl. He wasn’t a girl (duh) and then my mother had a girl after Tim and she named her Anne, not Roxanne. Go figure.
Candice says
Oops, I am getting old because I forgot my twin sister and I (Alice and Candice) were nearly named Lucy and Mary after our grandmothers.
talenamarie says
My wonderful German mother wanted to name me Micha, like Micha Barton. However, since my mother named my older brother, my father named me after the heroic goddess from the Gor novel series. I hated my name so much when I was little since it was so different but now I love it :) My youngest brother was going to be named Katherina Ariel{after our mat. great grandmother} but turned out to be a boy, so Karl it was{after our mat. great grandfather}.
nikki says
before i was born my parents called me “gus” whenever they were referring to me. every so often, a relative of the previous generation would break that out. however, when i went with my dad to register my first car at the dmv, the license plates the state gave me read “GUS 634”! vanity plates for free!
Val says
If I had been a boy, my name would have been Walter. Walter Wynn. Blech. My Dad was also really pushing for Hattie…who in this century names a child Hattie?? My father, ladies and gentlemen.
kristen anderl says
duh, now I can see the BRIO sign behind your heads, plain as day…darn dark monitors :)
love all the funny names people might have had!
Lora says
My parents gave all of their children 4 letter names. I think this was supposed to make it easier or something. Anyway, if I were a boy I would be named Otis. I probably could have rocked it :)
Catharine says
Although the parents really had no control over these names, I have a friend Shannon who married into the name Shannon, so she is now Shannon Shannon. I also have a co-worker who’s last name is Flores and his wife’s name is Flor. Flor Flores [flower flowers in Spanish] I love it! Also, I friend of mine in college wouldn’t date a girl in our class named Kelly because his last name was Green so in his mind they had no future haha Kelly Green :)
Julia says
My maiden name is White and if I had been a boy my dad wanted to name me Forrest. Forrest White. That would have been bad enough and it would have been a million times worse when Forrest Gump came out! Thank God my 2 brothers didn’t end up with that name, either. They are Patrick and Shane.
Jenny says
If I was a boy my dad wanted to name me after both of my grandfathers which would’ve made me “Donald Dock C******” I’m sure that would’ve given any ammunition to playground jokes…
Jackie says
I had neighbors growing up who had five children. Their names were Faith, Hope, Charity, Maynard, and Leela.
I was almost Sara (pronounced Sawrah) and my sister was almost Candy.
Aimee says
Sara(h) was a front-runner for me; I’m happy to be an ‘Aimee,’ as Sarah’s never been a favorite name of mine. If I were a boy? GARTH. I would never have lived that down in high school. (I was a teen during the Wayne & Garth years on SNL.)
Angela Smith says
I was “supposed” to be a boy, according to my dad. He went by the name of Ernest William (not his real name, but that’s another story) so I was going to be Ernest William, Jr. Imagine his surprise and probably disappointment when JR. turned out to be a girl. So, he wanted to name me Ernestina Wilhelimina. No joke. Thankfully mom put her foot down and called me Angela Dawn. PHEW! (Incidentally, I had nightmares about my name really being Ernestina Wilhelmina and the kids at school teasing me and calling me Ernie Willie)
Melissa says
Reading through just a few of these comments makes me thinks that if Dads were in charge of the naming of children the world would be a much more interesting place.
I’ve heard a few times that Sonia came up when I was to be born. Glad I didn’t end up with that name.
I think they vetoed a few of each other’s choices and then both liked my current name… which is fine by me.
Laura @ the shorehouse says
I was almost Rebecca. Which has nothing on Lars Vector. :-)
Jennifer Stuart says
My parents may have been the least creative baby-namers ever. They named us Jennifer Logan, Kathryn Elizabeth, and John Matthew. Logan was after my grandpa (John Logan) and growing up I hated knowing that I was named after a BOY. Now I love the name and want to use it for one of my kids (boy or girl). As for all the Johns, it’s a family name on my dad’s side but none of them actually go by John.
The only unused names I know about are John Christopher if I was a boy and Mary Rebecca if my brother was a girl, which they thought he was until he popped out! I’ve also heard my mom always wanted boy/girl twins named Jennifer and Geoffrey.
Rebecca @ Smiths in Progress says
1. No offense to your parents (mine had some bad ones picked out, too), but “Vector” would have been awful!! What if you had ended up being terrible at geometry??!
2. I do NOT think this kind of post is filler. I like knowing that you will usually post twice a day, no matter what the topic. Mixing personal stuff with DIY is great. This post was actually especially timely for me, because we are in the middle of trying to name our son due in May. I recently had to “release” the name Will/William, which I really like, because I realized that if our kid was “Will Smith” everyone would always make Fresh Prince references! It seems like everyone’s comments prove that naming a child is tricky business!
Emily says
My maiden name is Mason. My dad, if I was a boy, wanted to name me Jason Grayson Mason. Sad. Thank goodness I am a girl!
Elena says
My dDad wanted to name me LA-RA (Lara). I spell it that way because that was the way mother pronounced it. She hated it clearly. Or Lillian Ivory after his mother. My mother said no to both, but gave me the middle name of Ivy as a take on my grandmother’s middle name. He seemed okay with that. But she always said she had to fight for my brother Steven. My dad was/is a HUGE jazz buff. His choice for my brother: Miles Davis Cardwell. My mom decided on Steven Duane. Pretty close right? :o)
joell says
My maiden name was Salter. My mom wanted to name me Pepper. No joke. Pepper Salter. SOO glad that didn’t happen!
Kim@superchyc says
My name is Kim, not Kimberly, just Kim (not as in “Just Jack” from WIll&Grace, but like as in Just Kim, not Kimberly and if you keep calling me Kimberly I may step on your big toe)…but I digress
I love my name, its simple, to the point and something about a K just seems unique to me.
But what makes Kim even greater………is that it saved me from the fate of being called Ariel…yes, Ariel, like the little mermaid (which is my all time favorite Disney movie but I’m just not an Ariel)..
Even better, by being born a girl, I was saved from the fate of being named Christopher Jude (my mother loves the Beatles – Hey Jude)…
Thank god for little things!! : )
Love your blog!!
Ty Lee says
I’m Korean, my father is American. I was almost given a Korean name, “Oksun-Yi”. LOL, my friends could all call me “Ox” for short. Thank goodness my father gave me a normalish American name instead, since this is where I ended up!
My sister’s name is Patricia, but she was almost named Audrey. My sister is actually kind of bitter that she ended up with a “grandma name” and would have preferred Audrey!
Jessica Dixon says
Well mine wasnt too bad…my mom wanted to name me Kimberly Dawn…but changed her mind once she “met me” etc…Now on the other hand my brothers was pretty bad….My dad wanted to name him Elwyn Glenn after his father, my mom said no way…so he ended up being named Jason Koern (still not the best but middle beats the first name being funny)
Lacey says
@Andrea I was named Lacey. I have had many compliments on it being unique outside of where I live. HOWEVER, I am unfortunate that I live in a town with the same name as my own. (Including a fairly similar birth last name that matches the town’s full name). Oh well. What’s life if you can’t laugh over it?
Katie G says
My dad wanted to name me Coco. LOL! My mom thankfully talked him into Catherine. :)
Maura says
Maurie…yes, like Povich. Luckily, I had a second cousin who was born early and her mom snatched that lovely one up. Explanation: Something about a German Great, Great Grandma Marie who came to America…Since my older sister already had the middle name Marie…My mom was left with Maura.
Ashley says
My fiance’s name was almost … and I mean basically was … Von!!!! Thank GOD they changed it to “Brent” last minute. Seriously.
Whitney says
My Dad wanted to name me Yolanda. I am a super-white half Norweigian/half Welsh girl. My mother immediately rescinded his naming rights :-)
Ashley says
My father wanted to name me Ralph Chester if I was a boy, and call me “RC” in honor of his favorite soft drink. Luckily, I was a girl and they named me Ashley. It was not a popular girl’s name back then (the early 70s) and as a kid I always wished there was another Ashley in my class so that I could be Ashley E.
Brittany says
My parents were going to name me Wolfgang if I was a boy. Wolfgang. WOLFGANG!! Crazy-ness!