posted
possibilities include, Al, Alan, Allan, Allen, or something starting with A, L, or E. Thoughts?
Posts: 3354 | Registered: May 2005
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I have no great love for the guy who I'm named after, he's dead now, and I was named after him for a not-so-wonderful reason.
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I thought about it years ago right after I found my birth parents and heard from my birthmom the story of my early life before adoption. She named me after her boyfriend who was not my father. He was a not-so-nice type, paranoid schizophrenic addict. He nearly killed me once.
Lately I find out that vedic astrology (laugh it up folks) sets certain ideal sounds for the beginning of your name. People in India often choose baby names based on this. The best sounds for my name are A, L, or E. Charles Michael is my current first two names. I'm thinking about just changing Charles.
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But if it is already a given that you are changing it, I like the names Alvin and Elwin (both are the same name, actually).
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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Charles I of England was apparently a major league scumbag. Among the signers of his death warrant when he was finally defeated were Edward Whalley and Edmund Ludlow. So Edward might be nicely symbolic.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I think you should find a name you like and live with it for a while. Refer to yourself by that name. Do that for a year.
Then, if it's still something you want to do, change it legally. A judge might let you change it with the reason you've given here, but I doubt it. If you have the added point that you've been living with your new name for quite a while, that most people refer to you by that new name now, and so forth, he/she might be more amenable to granting your request.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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Uh - I don't think judges usually rule against this sort of thing, jeniwren. I mean, you pay the money, apply in court, it is stamped with approval, and that is pretty much it. I've never known a judge to say "why do you want to change your name"? (unless steven is a minor or something and needs permission).
quote:Charles I of England was apparently a major league scumbag. Among the signers of his death warrant when he was finally defeated were Edward Whalley and Edmund Ludlow. So Edward might be nicely symbolic.
People who sign death warrants ro behead people aren't so much better than the people they do away with. I know you were being lighthearted but my "unfairness" warning light lit up, so I had to say something.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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FG, when we went to court to have my son's name changed, the judge asked every person there why they were changing their name. Maybe our experience was unusual.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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jeniwren -- I wonder if it is different in different regions/states? I helped an extended family member get their name changed -- didn't even have to appear in front of the judge -- the lawyer just draws up the paper, gets them approved by the judge, and that was all. So, as far as I know, no reason or explanation had to be given.
FG
kq -- why not Aaron? One of my best friends is named Aaron, and he is 35.
(personally, I like Steven as well -- but he wants something that matches his criteria)
Posts: 9538 | Registered: Aug 2003
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I just don't think Aaron is a name that ages well. I might consider Aaron if he was in his early 20's; at least there'd be a big clump of Aarons aging together. But I wouldn't recommend it as a brand-new name to someone who's 30. I'm not saying you can't come to terms with it if you've had it your whole life, and even come to enjoy it; just that I wouldn't change my name to it were I him.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I grew up with dysfunctional, abusive parents and changing my name ( both first and last) was a great healing thing for me. I had it changed in Seattle court, paid my money, appeared before the judge for maybe 5 minutes. He did the people assambly line, asked us all if we were changing our names in order to commit fraud, we swore under oath we weren't, and he stamped our papers. That was about 12 years ago, don't know if things have changed. I had been using my "new" first name for at least 5 years before the legal change, and everyone in the state I live in knew my by that.
Posts: 2711 | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: Huh. I always thought it meant king.
Nope. Another cognate is the English churl. I believe that Germanic names meaning "king" generally have ric or rich in them.
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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Whatever you do, don't name yourself Al. Allan, Allen, etc are fine, but Al is just...not sometime a person should choose to name themselves. I don't know, I just have a negative gut-reaction to that name. Perhaps because it reminds me of "Married With Children".
I also like Steven. Or starLisa's Estevan (Esteban?) suggestion.
I like Edward, too, but not for the executed-Charles-the-First reason. Posts: 952 | Registered: Jun 2005
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If you're doing this to give yourself an auspicious name in Vedic astrology, why not ask a Vedic astrologer? Maybe they could work up a name for you that is especially auspicious within their system or something.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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To me, Al is just a shortened version of Allan, Alvin, Alfred, Albert, etc.. It's not a "real" name.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Nell Gwyn: Whatever you do, don't name yourself Al. Allan, Allen, etc are fine, but Al is just...not sometime a person should choose to name themselves. I don't know, I just have a negative gut-reaction to that name. Perhaps because it reminds me of "Married With Children".
I can call you Betty if you call me Al.
quote:Originally posted by Nell Gwyn: I also like Steven. Or starLisa's Estevan (Esteban?) suggestion.
The way I figure it, "Steven" must mean something to him, or he wouldn't be using it as his name on Hatrack, right? And Estevan/Esteban is a variant of Steven, so it's the best of both world.
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Wasn't Charles I the one who liked to kill a deer and then have the carcass cut open so he could wrap it around his legs and feel the heat of its recently departed life seep away? I'm not saying he deserved to be beheaded for that one thing. It was just sort of a thumbnail my history prof gave for crazy and not admirable.
Posts: 2010 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Yeah...you kind of have to grow into a name like Bob. Although most of us have an "inner Bob," it's a rare person who could suddenly BE a Bob after so many years as something else.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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I legally changed my name in British Columbia about, um, 7 years ago, perhaps 8, and the process there was filling out a form, paying some money, advertising the name change in two local newspapers, and voila! Name change complete. No judge, no appearances anywhere, no criteria for living with new name for any length of time - all done by mail.
However, I picked out my new name and sat on it for a few years. I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to regret it. I don't.
I kept my first name, ditched my middle and last, and for me, it was also a life-changing and liberating experiencing. It was for shedding the past and distancing myself from the life my parents gave me and giving myself a new life. It worked.
Now, as for the picking new names bit . . . at a small family gathering (favorite aunt and uncle and two cousins), I announced to the relatives what I was thinking. I was expecting huge shock, but instead, my aunt's response was, "Have you thought about . . ." and she started spitting out suggestions. The rest followed suit. They were far more supportive than I expected. Also very nice.
Steven, have you thought about going through any one of the hundreds of online baby name sites with the criteria you have in mind? Keep a list of your favorite ones, and strike off the ones you don't like so much. Give yourself time to go through the process.
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