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?
Gina says
From one Gina to a “could-have-been” other, I think you could totally could have pulled off the name.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love it. Maybe we’ll write a secret book and use Gina and Lars as our pen names.
xo,
s
Danielle says
I stayed unnamed in the hospital for THREE days when I was born, because my parents were arguing over what to name me (still!) My mom wanted to name me Leanna (ugh) and my Dad wanted to name me…
Morticia.
As in, Morticia Aadams. “We can call her “Tish,” he supposedly said.
Finally, my uncle John came in to visit the newborn-me and brought his new girlfriend, Danielle.
So, that’s how I got my name… and I’m REALLY happy my name isn’t Morticia.
Jamey says
I was almost going to be James before my mom realized I was a girl and just took off the “s’ and named me Jamey…her original girl name was Sarah however. Glad she chose the former.
Chrissie says
My parents each wanted to name me after each other’s mothers, so mum wanted to call me Katherine after dad’s mum, while dad wanted to call me Anna after mum’s mum – confusing right? In the end they gave me a completely different name, with Anna as a middle name.
That in itself isn’t all that amusing, but I’m now working in a team of three where the other two peoples’ names begin with A. I was joking that I should start going by my middle name so we can be Andy, Angie and Annie. We could be The A Team! How cool is that? (ok, not very, but I like lame things like that!)
Lisa says
My dad wanted to name me “Antigone”. He was a big fan of Greek mythology. His second choice? “Natasha”. He was also a big fan of Tolstoy. Thank goodness my mom had the last word and named me after an obscure American actress by the name of Lisa Kirk. (Thanks, Mom!)
Rose says
I just ran across this post. Hilarious! I just had to comment on my friend’s dad and the name he wanted for her. I promise this is a true story…He wanted to name her RUBELLA until everyone apparently laughed at him and convinced him that it was a disease! Imagine that! She ended up with the name of Renee. Thank goodness… (:
Valerie says
I can totally picture Gina… you’d be fast talking with some major 80’s bangs… and smacking gum as you chew it.
I was almost a Victor (if I were to be a boy)… I’m glad I was born female. :)
Linda says
My poor daughter was to either be saddled with the name Bea or Zue as our last name is Keeney. It takes a second or two to get it. But, instead, she got nice family names: Katherine Spencer (father’s mother and mother’s grandmother). Lucky her parents have a little (very little) restraint.
Love your site. Always find something interesting to tell the family at the end of the day.
sarah b says
Vector…which would lead to…”pocket protector” ??
Yikes! I was almost Rachel but ended up Sarah. Very tame. But I once worked with a woman named “Adorable and Delightful” – no lie. She went by Adora or Dorrie. Not surprisingly.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, very creative nicknames she came up with!
xo,
s
Carly says
I am commenting on this post a year later because I just saw it, but I think I have everyone beat. I was born in the late seventies and my parents were sci-fi/fantasy fans so if I had been a boy, I could have been…. wait for it… Skywalker.
As it turns out, and thank goodness, I was a girl and instead kinda sorta named Carly because my dad thought Carly Simon’s album cover was hot. Thanks, Dad, could have lived without knowing that ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, my dad “knew a hot girl named Sherry” so that’s why he agreed with my mom on the name. Haha.
xo
s
Julie @ There and Back Again says
I don’t know even you even see comments on old posts anymore, but I read this after you linked back to it in your “Dealing with Negativity” post and was cracking up at the thought of Gina and Lars.
I couldn’t help adding a year-late comment because I totally identify: my dad wanted to name me Keebler, and name my brother Yamgandi. NO JOKE – he was dead serious. His reasoning? My parents went the now-unusual route of waiting to find out the sex of both their children until we were actually born, so he thought those names could work for boy or girls so they could be picked ahead of time. The only way my mom convinced him otherwise was to suggest naming us after his own parents and grandparents. Dodged that bullet.
YoungHouseLove says
LOL – wow. I think we prefer Julie… :)
-John
Catherine says
This post is super old, but since you moderate your comments you might see this. If I were a boy my mom would have named me Theodore Redman. (My paternal grandfather was Theodore and my Native American maternal grandfather’s middle name was Redman.) Just thought you might enjoy that laugh. Have a great weekend!
YoungHouseLove says
I love it! My grandpa was named Theodore!
xo,
s
Lauren says
My dad wanted to name me “Christina Ferrari.” I guess it would have been fine if I had ended up a stripper. Thankfully my mom talked him out out that one.
Stacey says
I know this is an old post but I couldn’t resist. My name could have been; wait for it. . .
BLODWYN!
I kid you not!
Kasey M. says
My parents were expecting a boy and my name was going to be Corey, but SURPRISE! Girl instead. So while my mother was exhausted and I was off being cleaned up somewhere my grandmother nagged my mother that I needed a name, pronto.
In her delirium (and anger because why wouldn’t anyone just let her rest already) my mother said, “We’re naming her April May!”
My last name is March – I’m fairly certain I’d have gotten married the day I turned 18 with the name April May March!
Dani says
I really wish my mother had named me what she wanted to: Dominique Mercedez (pronounced Mercedes) … however, there was a villan on a soap opera named Dominique so my granny had a fit lol.
Also, quite recently a friend and I were talking about it and he said it sounded like a stripper’s stage name :( … but i still really like it ^_^
Emily says
I was almost Adrian Deirdre. I think my Dad was a Rocky fan “Adriaaaaaaaannnnnn!”. But then someone named their dog Deirdre so Emily it was!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
Karen says
My parents who divorced 3 years after I was born could only agree on 1 name for me. Luckily I wasn’t a boy or I’d probably still be “Hey You”. My cousin has the best story I know of. They were expecting a boy and planning on naming him Mikey, so when out popped a little girl they decided to keep the name! Her legal name is Laura Michelle, but nobody calls her that!
I’m curious to see how many comments you get on old posts after todays blogiversary recap! Congrats on 5 great years!
Kellie says
Ha, thanks for linking back to this post! It’s hilarious reading all the comments!
Our daughter is Evelyn Mae. Thanks GOD we had a girl. I was so tired of fighting my husband about the horrible boy names he had his heart set on. He really wanted the name Roman Magnus. Heck no. It sounds like a condom. Or firecracker.
His second choice? Bocephus. What the what?! I told him we could name a dog Bocephus someday.
Nina says
Great post and comments :-)
My mum was originally going to call me Galadriel.
I really dodged a bullet there, there is no way I’d have survived school with a name like that. My first outing at 18 would have been to deed poll.
Haley says
If I was a boy, I would have been Daniel and my mother now wishes she had named me Jamie Cara after her uncle, James Carr. I’m glad she went with Haley Marie.
My brothers are Adam Thomas and Daniel, and she said she was going to name Adam Daniel, but she wanted to name him after our father and she wanted to name Thomas Daniel but she named him Thomas after her father and then she finally got to Daniel which is her favorite name.
And my sisters are Rhian (pronounced Re-Ian) which is Welsh, my Wales born grandmother named her and Anna-Catherine Elizabeth. My mother now wishes she had named her just Anna. My mother wishes she had named Rhian Shiloh. (Gah)
I wouldn’t change my childrens’ name for the world. Mark Adam (after his father and my father) Jonathan David (favorite name and his uncle), Edward Eric (favorite name and father’s middle name) and Abigail Marie (favorite name and after my middle name and my mother’s middle name) I <3 them :D
Kim P. says
Fun post! This was from before I was a YHL junkie :) My dad wanted to name me Kasha- which makes me think of a sneeze and too similar to cereal. My grandfather was really into King Arthur books when my mom was pregnant, and he was pushing for Morgana. Yuck. While Kimberly is a common name, I am sure glad I didn’t get either of the other two.
Ellen says
I would have been bernardette….. (fathers name was bernard, which i would have been if I had been a boy) but they ended up with Ellen, (mom was a long time as the world turns, addit!) not sure which one I dis like more!
Fifi says
Damn.. I’m late to this bandwagon!!
My name is Sophie If I was a boy my mum wanted to call me Robin Gabriel Hunt. It cracks my husband up!
So lucky I’m a girl!!
Rachael says
I wound up as Rachael Marie Stone. My mother wanted to name me Tess, but my grandmother forbade her because she thought I’d be teased as “Testosterone.”
Worse, if I had been a boy, my father wanted to name me Ezra Jedidiah Stone…because he thought it was a mountain man name.
Seriously.
Wendy says
My maiden name is Wigh which is pronounced “Why”. My dad was dying to name me Wanda. Wanda Wigh.
Erin says
I like Lars!
The runner up for me was Daisy….