Princess of Power
February 29, 2008 | Filed under: Humdrum
“Why, can you imagine what would happen if we named all the twos Henry or George or Robert or John or lots of other things? You’d have to say Robert plus John equals four, and if the four’s name were Albert, things would be hopeless.” ~The Phantom Tollbooth
I get asked about my name more frequently than anything else. Which is funny because my name is neither interesting nor unique. I really have no feelings towards it. I’ll answer to it of course but I’m not passionate about it nor do I think it’s the greatest name in the world and everyone should name their child Heather. My parents on the other hand feel deeply vested to the name which they should since they chose it. When my father - who wanted a girl after two sons - tells the story, he does so with this giant grin on his face as if he cannot believe his own genius. A cousin of mine had a friend named Heather. He heard the name and thought it was “so pretty”. At the time my mother - who wanted absolutely no children whatsoever. I mean EVER in life - liked the name Megan. Her second runner up and I am loathe to write this, in fact I am cringing and dying a little inside as I type this out…she wanted to name me Callie. I won’t tell you the middle name because it’s terrible. Callie is a perfectly fine name but I do not look like a Callie nor do I look like a Megan. Regardless, my father thought he was being all special and my God, he was brilliant while my mother could have cared less because she was still warming up to the idea of having an actual baby.
My father ended up giving me the most popular name ever in life and I have spent most of my adolescence going by Heather B. because it turns out that my father and several million other people liked the name Heather. I am addressing this here because on the internets, I get asked whether or not I made up the name Heather B. and uh, no. If I was going to make up a name I’d pick something a little more interesting than Heather. Come to think of it, If I had my druthers I’d go by She-Ra and call it a day.
MsPrufrock says:
Interestingly, at least to me, when I was growing up I was called Heather regularly by a variety of people despite that not being my name. If someone got my name wrong, or they were trying to remember it, Heather was always what came to mind. I guess I look like a Heather, whatever that may mean.
Dagny says:
You know what’s even worse than having to use your last initial, something I learned in kindergarten? Having to use your middle initial because there is another girl at the school with the same first and last name as you. I started this practice in seventh grade and just haven’t stopped.
She Likes Purple says:
As a Jennifer, I completely and utterly feel you. My father loved the name and thought it was so “sweet” and “pretty” (my mom wanted me to be Sarah) and I have to ask him every time I see him, “Did you think it was sweet and pretty when you heard EVERY PERSON YOU ENCOUNTERED using it?” My middle name is Noel, so I know they could be original, they just chose to counter their brief originality with the most popular name of 1982 (the year I was born).
Steph T says:
My sister’s name is Laurie and there were 4 other Lauries in her class (various spellings, of course), so she was Laurie T. Now, 29 years later…my dad still calls her Laurie T. even though she is married and is now Laurie H.
Beckie says:
I am Rebecca and my sister is Jessica. B.O.R.I.N.G.
At work everyone calls me Jasmine (I assure you I am not a stripper!) apparently that fits me better (olive skin, black hair). What always freaks me out though, is people who do not know me, nor my sister, yet call me Jessica. What do you think would happen if we were all allowed to pick a new name when we get our drivers license for the first time???
Liz says:
I was born around Christmas and my mother originally wanted to name my Joy Noel.
Yaaaaaaay, DAD!
slynnro says:
People, just be glad you’re name isn’t Stara. Unique names? Are a huge huge burden. Do you get asked if you’re a stripper by people you don’t know? I do! Super fun!
I’m just a ray of sunshine today, aren’t I! Bet you can’t wait to see me next Saturday and deal with this in person.
Momo Fali says:
I’m glad my Mom won that argument. My Dad wanted to name me Rhonda, which is a perfectly fine name. But, his name is Ron. Ew.
anne says:
My name was Susan for a day, which was on the second day changed to Anne. I am very thankful for this because if I’d been Sue? My first name would have rhymed with my last and I would have sounded like a noodle dish on a Chinese menu.
I am very particular about the ‘e’ on Anne - it’s just better that way. No offense to e-less Anne’s, of course.
Kristabella says:
I’m Kristin, which is a common name, but the more common spelling is Kristen. And you can’t get any more common than Johnson for a last name.
That’s why I just drink so much. To stand out.
Abi Jones says:
When I was 14 and making the transition from middle school to high school I decided that I was going to stop being ‘Abby’ and start being ‘Abi’. I was tired of there being a bunch of other Abbys around and having the last name of Jones didn’t help much with individuality either.
P.S. I had a Crystal Castle.
deirdre says:
Here’s a conversation I have probably twice a month:
“Hi. I’m Deirdre.”
“What?”
“Deirdre. DEER-dree.”
“Dee-dra?”
“DEER-dree.”
“Do you have a nickname?”
“DEER-dree is my nickname. My name’s acutally pronounced dee-AIR-dree.”
“Can I call you Dee?”
“Um, no. DEER-dree is fine.”
“That’s such an unusual name! French?”
“Galic.”
“Oh. What’s it mean?”
“Um, death and sorrow.”
Loralee says:
Dude. Do I even HAVE to say how painful weird names can be?
First? Forget EVER getting a cool license plate or keychain with your name on it.
It also makes blogging damn difficult. Unless I went by a totally anon pseudonym, which I’m just not disciplined enough to do, people can easily find my blog. There are not many “Loralee’s” that live in Utah. Or the world, actually. In fact, I think most of them have emailed me. hee.
And? People say and spell my name wrong all the time. It was worse when The Gilmore Girls came out. Everyone says “Lorelei”.
It’s just a big pain in the heiny. Which would be a big reason why my children are named Matthew, Christopher and James.
Belinda says:
As far as I’m concerned, you ARE She-Ra! I hardly ever meet another Belinda, and when I was pregnant with my daughter I wanted to give her a unique name, too. I spent months researching name popularity over the previous 100 years. That’s right–100 YEARS. “Isabel” and “Isabella” had last been blips on the name popularity radar in this country in something like 1908. We went back and forth over the form, finally settling on “Isabella” largely because we were already calling her “Bella” in utero.
Well, I think you know the rest of this story. By the time she was 6 months old, there were Isabellas EVERYWHERE. I still love the name, though, and the meaning it holds for me. Isabella means “Gift to God,” and I did dedicate the raising of this child to God–she’s a miracle. Just a miracle. Her middle name is Faith. It has a nice, full-circle feel to it, and I hope she appreciates it as she grows up with it.
tiddleywink says:
My parents, unsure if I would be a boy or a girl when I came out, were arguing about boys’ names (Jasper or Nicholas, both would have been fine by me but my mom was agreeing to Jasper OVER HER DEAD BODY), but managed to agree on Gillian for a girl. However… we pronounce it with a hard G, like the character of Gillian Holroyd (played by Kim Novak, thankyouverymuch, not too shabby there) in Bell, Book, & Candle. So not only did I grow up with a constant barrage of “Gilligan,” but also a steady stream of people telling me that I pronounce it wrong. And continuing to call me “Jillian.” Bunch of gerk-offs.
Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah says:
I am Sarah because Rebecca sounded ridiculous with my Maiden name. It took my parents 5 days to name me. They were fighting because my Mom wanted me to be Jane and my Dad wanted me to be Adrian.
And they were both sure I was going to be a boy and they had been referring to me as Peter.
My middle name is Heather.
metalia says:
So, you know all of my names. The only explanation I can think of is that my parents used to be hippies, and they MUST have been high when picking my names.
On one hand, I’ve never had a personalized license plate keychain. On the other hand, in a way, it’s nice to have a unique name.
BaltimoreGal says:
I am Ann (No e- so suck on it, you English Annes) and the name means grace (ha!). My middle name is Regina (which means queen and, believe me, can rhyme very badly if mispronounced). So with that name I was born to be a strong presence, yes?
My mom, a smart cookie, named me after my dad’s sister Ann Marie and his Irish mother Regina (aka Jean), gaining me eternal favor in my grandmother’s eyes. Not that I didn’t have it- being her favorite child’s daughter- but still. My grandmother deserved it, though- she couldn’t have been sweeter to my mom through the years (and she was not always sweet).
And as it turns out, I am the spitting image of my grandmother (sometimes in attitude as well). Seriously, I have brought more than one person to tears talking about it.
Chicky Chicky Baby says:
Wait until it’s your turn to name a child.
We’re trying to come up with names for Baby #2 and I’ve come to the conclusion that she’s going to get stuck with Baby #2 on her birth certificate.
Whatever we name her, it will be easy to spell. Unlike my name. No one has EVER spelled it correctly on the first try.
jodi says:
My sisters name is Heather b/c my parents needed an “h’ and my dad wanted Heidi. My mom won that one.
kerri anne says:
My dad chose Kerri after he hated the name Melody, which is what my mom wanted to call me. He chose the spelling too, which I actually really love, and I have yet to meet another K-e-r-r-i Kerri, although Andy from The Goonies real name is Kerri Green, and well, that makes me happy.
My middle name, Anne, is a family name, and belonged to grandmother’s and great grandmother’s down the line. I also had an aunt named Anne. Everyone says I look like her.
Oh, and I too was purportedly a boy at one point, and I was going to be named Jason.
Angela says:
I’m sorry, but your dad just sounds so dang adorable! My dad also chose my name, and like you, I’m not passionate about it either way, but I can’t imagine being named Selena or Kaitlin, the two runners up my mom had chosen!
Melina says:
My parents changed my name about five times before I was seven. I made the final decision and put my foot down, even changing the spelling at the very end of things. By the time, teachers and friends alike were scared as to what they should be calling me. It turned out alright but it was a little harrowing when I would see them both peering at me and saying, “She doesn’t look like a _______ anymore, we should try___________”. The worst part? Each time they changed it legally, so I always have to include all my “aliases” whenever filling out certain forms.
Camels & Chocolate says:
Kristin was pretty popular the year(ish) we were born, as well. One year, in fact, on my third-grade, church league basketball team, there were SIX Kristins of the TEN on the team. Well, actually three were Kristin and three were Kristen. And can I just say I loathe when people spell my name with an ‘e’ - I don’t respond, in fact. Perhaps it’s because I like the symmetry of Kristin with an ‘i’ and how the second and second to last letters are both the same. Yes, I am a freak.
Also, on the topic of names, my cousin, who is six months pregnant, was just calling me to complain about naming their daughter. Her husband insisted they make a decision like NOW, so they settled on McKayla, which he loves and she is just like so-so. She’s like, “I feel a bit robbed, like I haven’t gotten to see what all is out there,” and I’m like, “then, dude, don’t name your daughter something you don’t love. It’s not like you’re naming a pet!”
Camels & Chocolate says:
Also, I was almost named Jessica, and I’ve always loathed that name simply because it was the name of this girl I hated in high school, and also the name of SVV’s ex and, ugh. (Sorry to any Jessicas who read this blog, but I’m just not a Jess!)
Rhi says:
I’m named after THAT Fleetwood Mac song, so I’m pretty sure my parents had just finished smoking a bowl when they decided on my name.
When I was a little girl, I desperately wanted to be named “Roxanne” so that I could go by “Roxy”
I was a very strange little girl.
Laurie says:
Hey Steph T., I’ve never had another Laurie in my class!
And no, huddled masses, it’s not LORi, it’s LAURie, rhymes with “sorry”. ; ) My ex-boyfriend dated a Lori immediately before me and his friends referred to us as “Bad Lori” and “Good Laurie”. I’m still friends with them.
My dad was in Vietnam when my mom was pregnant. She just remembers liking the name Laurie, and it was 1970 when it was popular. I told people in school that it was after Laurie, Susan Dey’s character on The Partridge Family, which may actually be true. The priest who baptized me said “Laurence,” as Laurie is no legit saint’s name.
I’m ambivalent about it, really. I believe we grow into our names, but I’d like something a little less inherently “nick-namey”, just because…it’s hard to give me a nickname!
My middle name is Anne, after my mom, and I ag ree with the Anne above that those of us with “e”s on the end have it goin’ on!
Laurie says:
Oh, also, my dad wanted to name me Millicent or Veronica. My mom prevailed. I think that’s probably for the best.
Zandria says:
Now THAT would be funny! Changing your name legally, signing all your blog posts and answering to your new name — as She-Ra. Awesome!
(My little sister was almost named Jerusha. She still cringes to this day if it’s ever brought up! I was almost named Rachel, which isn’t nearly as bad.)
amanda says:
I graduated with 7 other girls named Amanda. The sad part is that there were only 100 people in my class. I was always Amanda-Brandon (as if it was one giant word). Because it was Brandon was my maiden name, and it accidently became a distinction between myself and all of the other amanda’s.
Suebob says:
Do you think ppl freak out because maybe they think the name Heather isn’t black enough to their ears? That book “Freakonomics” goes into racial patterns and names…some of the exMrS’s best pals named their kids the two whitest names of all, Emma and Jack. It’s weird what can be inferred/implied by names. My name marks me as someone between 43-65. You don’t hear of little girls being named “Sue” or “Cindy” or “Donna” anymore. We are all middle-aged women.
Yup. That’s exactly what I get. Whenever I speak to someone on the phone and then meet them in person they look kind of shocked because I am not all that white. It’s either assumed that I am white or I am told - TO MY FACE - that my name is white. Hello? What kind of people say that to someone they have just met?!? So yeah, my name is ‘different’ to my race but since I am from one of the whitest places in the country, the name isn’t that shocking but the person who belongs to the name is. But whatever. I’m used to it.
Blythe says:
I’m named after my mother’s birthplace (Blythe, CA). I feel so fortunate that she wasn’t born in, say, Weed, CA.
Erica says:
I was She-Ra for Halloween once. That rocked.
As for names, back when I worked in a call centre I took a call from a woman who answered my request for her name: “First name Snow. Last name White”.
Allie says:
I was going to make some witty observation but I was stopped in my tracks by the comment above mine by Blythe. Ha! I’m also glad for you that you were not born in Weed. Or Sacramento ’cause uh… how would you shorten that?
Bone says:
I always thought the B was because you thought it sounded like a cool 80’s rap name. You know, like Heavy D, Mike D, or Eazy E.
But now that I think about it, you were like four then, so probably not so much.
Melissa Rhinolegs says:
Suebob — I completely agree that names can be generational markers (and markers of race and class, of course). The Melissas, Jessicas, and Jennifers of my generation (born late 70s) are just tomorrow’s Cindys, Donnas, and Sues.
Kiraa says:
I feel like people with the name Heather or Ashley or whatnot are so damn lucky. I have an up-and-coming name and spend 95% of my life just trying to get people to spell it correctly and then pronounce it correctly. Who knew two syllables could be so difficult? I’d take Heather any day.
Aimee Greeblemonkey says:
She-Ra does have a certain ring to it.
I always hated the spelling of my name (French of Amy, odd for a full-blown German like my mom)… but I eventually came to like it. Once teachers stopped spelling it wrong on my elementary school locker, that is.
Angella says:
I LOVED She-Ra. I, um, even had the castle.
But the BEST PART? One of her sidekicks was Angella. WITH TWO L’S!!
See? We were meant to be BlogHer roomies, She-Ra.
gorillabuns says:
You can’t be She-Ra; it was my nickname it high school. sorry….I might have to fight your for it.
I was supposed to be Shane after the movie, Shane - “Shane come back….” wait, you wouldn’t know it. Instead, I popped out a girl. lucky mom.
my middle name came from a Roy Orbison song, “Leia.” I personally liked to go around with Princess Leia buns on my head in the 70’s. because I was cool like that.
Gooseberried says:
I like the name Heather too, but I’m one of those people that is unfond of common names. So despite my liking of Heather, I wouldn’t assign that name to my child just for that reason. Not that I’m on my way to having kids or anything…
Sarcomical says:
i was almost Marty.
yes. that’s what i said.
Michele says:
I didn’t have a name for 8 days. I was born on Pearl Harbor Day, so naturally my great-grandmother wanted to name me Pearl. My 19-year-old mother wanted to name me Cinnamon. Where they got “Michele” out of all that, I have no idea, but I am SOOOO grateful! Even if it was the most popular name of 1970 and I graduated with at least 10 other Michelles/
Random Friday, Ver. 41 » Keep Up With Me says:
[...] Heather wrote a post recently about what she was “almost named.” She concluded that even though [...]