Friday, February 19, 2010

Can I Change My Name?

Like Melanie J, I am having an identity crisis.  It's true.  Ok, hers involves her blog and mine involves my name.  Still.

Amber.

So original.  So plain.  I know like thousands of Ambers.  Frankly, I'm ticked off at my parents.  Why couldn't they have named me something cool?  Something like Ambrosia? How many people do you know named Ambrosia?  None?  That's right.  Sure there is that band named Ambrosia, but I would much rather be named after a band than a beer.

If I really want to make my mark on the blogging world and become famous and all that jazz, I'm pretty sure a change of name is needed.

I know, I know I talked about going to Amber because I'm a survivor of depression, but seriously people.  You know you liked Ambrosia so much more.  Doesn't that name sound like a clever person?  An exotic person?  Let me tell you all about the differences between Amber and Ambrosia.

Amber

-doesn't like crafts

-hates seafood

-thinks all animals (except for fish) are disgusting to keep as pets

-tries to be funny

Ambrosia

-loves crafts!

-cooks fabulous meals (a la The Kitchen Witch)

-has a couple dogs for the Queen to play with (but no cats, sorry)

-is witty, wise, and wonderful!! (3 w's people!!)

Amber is like the plain bagel without cream cheese while Ambrosia is the really awesome bagel with lots of cream cheese.  (I think cream cheese is the best part of the bagel.)

Sigh.

I guess I need to accept my name and move on.  I can at least warn all the future parents out there.

To All Future Parents:

Please be considerate when naming your child.  They may grow up to resent the name, and you, and legally change their name to something cooler.  Like Chad Javon Johnson changing his name to Chad Ocho Cinco.  Just keep that in mind.

Signed,

Someone who wishes her name was Ambrosia and not Amber.

At least my name has a really cool 311 song attached to it.







Please tell me that you struggle with your name too.  It would make me feel better.

45 comments:

  1. Amber is witty, wise, and wonderful. I picked out the name Amber for my first child, but I had a boy so I didn't get to use it!

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  2. Take heart. Your name could be Kelly. Also, cream cheese is totally the best part of a bagel.

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  3. I think the person who owns the name either does it justice or makes it small. When I hear the name, I think of the person it represents.

    And you're doing "Amber" just fine.

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  4. Hey, it could be Alleyahidhag or something crazy!

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  5. When I was little, everyone called me by my middle name, which is Michelle, because my mother and grandmother (and more women going a few generations back) are also named Luisa.

    I liked my name. But there were at least 5 Michelles in every class no matter where I went to school (we moved a lot); the Beatles made my name very popular in my generation.

    We moved the summer between my sophomore and junior years of high school. I decided that at my new school, I would go by "Luisa." And I have ever since. Only my sisters and mother still call me "Michelle."

    I think Amber is a lovely name. I love amber jewelry, and those "amber waves of grain": what could be better?

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  6. Ok, you got me. But you've got to admit that Ambrosia is pretty cool. I guess I can forgive my parents. : )

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  7. HA!!! Glad you understand! : ) Kelly was my second choice. I think it ranks higher than Amber.

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  8. I guess that's true. Oh but Steph, think of the possibilities with Ambrosia? : )

    Yes, I need to own up to my name and do it justice. Hopefully people will forget that it describes a beer.

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  9. Good point, Kristina!! It could also be Abcd (pronounced absidee). At least I could spell my name phonetically!

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  10. ew, I've always disliked my name (Margot, silent T). My mom hoped to give a farmer's daughter a little class and sophistication but all I got was aggravation and a huge amount of teasing as a kid. I would have died for a beautiful COMMON name like Amber.

    Love,
    The Girl Formerly Known As Maggot

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  11. Well, you got me there. I didn't think about the nicknames Ambrosia could bring. Maybe you'll have to help me with that one.

    Shoot! They called you Maggot? Horrible, evil, children! I always liked the name Margot. As a kid, though, I would have called you Margot (pronounced like got). I am a very phonetic pronunciator. (I know it's not a word, but it makes sense. Right?)

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  12. You're being a baby! Trust me having a different name when you grow is no fun. I'm going to call you bambie from now on! Haha big sister!!!!!

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  13. Oh, so sweet of you!! I guess I will just have to call you....I won't say.

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  14. You are too funny. But I do understand the identity crisis aspect of a name when you don't at all feel like the name you are being called. Hmm, best just to accept and move on? What else to do? Change it? I suppose you could but so many people will still know you as Amber. No way to escape it, my friend.

    Be the Ambrosia you want to be and the people you meet will then associate the name Amber not with the plain characteristics you have described, but with the ones you aspire to be.

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  15. Have you ever met a Linda who's younger than 50? Actually, I'm one of the young Lindas! Most Lindas were in the first wave of babyboomers and are 60 or so!

    So even though I've written on my blog before about how my mother named me Jane and how that was supposed to be horrific, it's been my middle name (as Jayne) forever and I kind of wish it was my first. Classic, sturdy, pretty (when spelled!). Good name for a writer. Good byline.


    And I DO like Amber a lot, and better than Ambrosia, personally. Because Ambrosia is a little more hippie sounding. Also the food ambrosia makes me nuts it's so delicious that it's hard for me to use the word without wanting to go eat a bowl of it!

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  16. I actually LOVE the name Amber! I only know one other Amber and she is gorgeous, sweet, and someone everyone wants to be around. To me Ambrosia is too much of a statement name. Too much to live up to if your name is so fancy. Just my two cents!

    My husband's cousin changed her name when she graduated college. Went from Elizabeth to Schuyler. Through the family for a loop that's for sure! But it's possible!

    Names are so interesting. We put so much time and energy into choosing our kids' names. I do hope they like them when they're older!

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  17. Haha, awesome. Kind of reminds me of when Anne of Green Gables wanted to be called Cordillia. (sp?)
    Well, I hate seafood and don't care for pets at all. Maybe I should have been named Amber!
    But I'll let you in on a secret. My first name Sarah, my middle name is Serene. At college I was rooming with my two best friends Sarah, and Sara. So they started calling me Serene to keep up apart and it just kind of stuck.

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  18. Being an Amber has never bothered me. But I have never been surrounded by a ton of other Ambers. However in elementary there was another Amber and her last initial was the same as mine so we always had to write our full names on are work.

    I refer to myself as Amber Lynae a lot in writing. But I only introduce myself as Amber.

    So hello Amber I am Amber, I think you and I should make our name rock the socks off this world. Because when you take a couple of great Amber's like us no one is going to think this name is anything but ... spectacular.

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  19. Oh and I do hate Seafood. so you got that right about our name.

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  20. I am only slightly offended that you don't think I am a hippie. OK. Maybe I'm not. : )

    I love the name Linda!! That is my mother-in-law's name and she is terrific! And, she is younger than 50. How about that?

    I think that you guys have convinced me to keep the name Amber. I am starting to see its merits already.

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  21. Why Becca, you must surely be talking about me! *wink*

    Yes, Ambrosia is a statement name. I am not much of a statement girl (unless you count spit-up stains and snot on my shirts as a statement).

    Elizabeth to Schuyler? How do you pronounce that exactly?

    You would laugh if you knew my kid's real names. They are very traditional. I like them so I guess I should like my traditional name too!

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  22. I promise not to tell anyone!! (Insert evil laugh.)

    I think that Anne and I would have gotten along fabulously. She is as quirky as I am. (Is that too whimsical to associate your personality with a book personality?)

    Perhaps Serene and Amber are similar in their make-ups, given that we both hate sea food and could careless about domestic animals.

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  23. Being an Amber never bothered me until I moved around a lot of Ambers. I should look at it as an opportunity to make a name for myself, shouldn't I? Or, as you put it, make the name something spectacular! Which I'm already doing, by the way. And so are you.

    P.S. So glad you don't like seafood.

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  24. Yeah...there's a reason why my old email address had a kymburlee in it and why that's my username on most sites. Kim is BORING.

    But I like your name. I wish my name was Amber because I think Amber is cool and I'd love to have an excuse to start a collection. =D

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  25. Okay, you could have a very different name like mine. Trust me, it sucks when you have to give your name over the phone to people who don't know you, or when placing an order. Yep, I always get, "Margret?", and I repeat myself 4 times before I finally just give in and say you're right it's Margret. Ugghhh. And then there's always the Marvett? You mean like Corvette? Please! And even worse, when I was in school and had braces my orthodontist told me that he would remember my name by the color mauve, like Mauvette. Again, uggghhh! Be glad you're an Amber. No confusion there.
    Isn't it funny how we always seem to want the opposite of what we have. Crazy!

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  26. I never knew that Amber was a common name.

    I love it, actually -- but then again, we love common names around these parts. (I actually prefer Amber over Ambrosia, if that helps. :) )

    And it doesn't get more onlinely repetitive than Michelle. ;) I swear there are a billion Michelles in blogland.

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  27. I only know two Ambers - you and an 18 year old who is one of my friend's daughter. She is a hell-raiser so your name is not all as plain as you think.

    What about my name? First off, my father wanted a boy. Then, it was "I want people to call my kids by their names, not a nickname." I am forever correcting people who call me Nicole or who spell my name Nikki or Nicky. And, probably worse than all that, I know more dogs named Nicki than people. :)

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  28. I like the name Amber! Really!

    When I was little I hated my name because there was another kid named "Dana" in my kindergarten class...a fat boy who ate paste. I was outraged that a fat, paste-eating BOY had my name!

    I came home and told my mom to change my name to Sarah.

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  29. I don't know. Amber can still be sexy. Not many strippers named Kelly. ;) Also, I have a little award for you on my blog.

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  30. There will be an awards waiting for you on my blog in the am!

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  31. Hi. My name is Jennifer. I was born in 1972, around the same time as Love Story and The World According to Garp. So. I have never ever been the only Jen/Jennie/Jennifer in my peer group. In fact, in college I was on the crew team. There are nine people in a boat. In my boat, one year, five of us were named Jennifer.
    So, I hear ya. Maybe in a different way and under different circumstances, but I hear ya.

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  32. I have always loved my name. Not a lot of people have it, but it is still common enough that it isn't too out there.

    So of course I accidentally named 2- maybe 3- of my boys the top used name the year they were born (oops!) and gave one of my daughters a name no one seems able to pronounce (Sorry, Kirsti!)

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  33. I used to get so embarrassed when we'd sing that song in school. I was sure everyone was looking at me.

    Amber is a very beautiful color. I think I need to remember that.

    Thank you for stopping by! I really enjoy your blog!

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  34. Try Catherine. "Her name is Catherine" my mother would always say when people tried to call me Cathy. Hated it for years. Then, when my nickname went from Catherine Bathroom to "Ugly" (true story), I figured there's always something worse that can happen.
    I actually really like my name now. Found out later my mom named me after two queens. I still don't like the fact that Catherine has nine letters in it. So...I've shortened it to Cat. But don't tell. I'm really supposed to be just "The Wild Mind". :D

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  35. I think your name fits you perfectly. It is the name of a best-selling author, something you are aspiring to be!

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  36. Ummm..yeah that would be very frustrating. When I first saw your name I thought it was very unique. Now that I am more acquainted with you, I think it fits you--and your photography talent--quite nicely.

    Random story--when we were checking into the hospital when I was in labor with my second, the receptionist asked my last name. I said "Turner" to which she snidely asked "Turd?" Ooo I wanted to smack that lady so hard! It didn't help that I was going through some INTENSE contractions.

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  37. And, yet, I have always love Michelle. My dearest friend's name is Michelle. They decided to name their second daughter after her. How neat is that?

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  38. I swear, you have the best Elementary school stories!

    And, asking her to change your name to Sarah? Priceless.

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  39. Yeah, I didn't become a hell-raiser until I became a mom. Go figure. : )

    I will admit, I thought your name was short for something. Now that I know you, I think Nicki is perfect. I guess we all grow into our names, don't we?

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  40. 5? FIVE?!?! Wow!

    Perhaps the greater message behind this post is how I am striving to be greater than mediocre. Yet, after reading all these delightful comments (including yours), I have come to realize that mediocrity does not lie in my name, but in what I do.

    And you Jen? I couldn't think of a more fitting name for one of my favorite bloggers. : )

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  41. My friend named her baby Charlotte. Whenever I see her daughter I think of you, and how much I love that name!

    I, too, unknowingly named my children very popular names. Like #1 names. Dang. Yet, they just fit them so well.

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  42. I actually love my name -- it just is anything but unique. :)

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  43. Funny post, Amber! I think we've all gone through a phase at one point or another, wondering if the grass would be greener with a different name.

    There weren't a lot of other Eva's in my small town. But then in college, there was another Eva living on the same floor in my dorm. And I did not like her. I thought she brought shame to the name!

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  44. Oh, Amber - I meant to share this with you. Do you ever read Penelope Trunk's career blog? Awhile back, I came across an old post of hers about the multiple names she has had in life. It's pretty crazy, actually. Penelope Trunk isn't her real name at all! A funny read.
    http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/03/05/my-name-...

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  45. Amber is prettier than Cari. No one could or does spell my name correctly and no pencils or cool key chains with names. I was robbed!! I always wanted to be Stephanie. I'm old...it was a cool name in the olden days.

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