Would you change your name?
By LilyLoretta
@LilyBeBack (1994)
United Kingdom
March 25, 2018 5:24pm CST
When I was at primary school, about six or seven years old, we had a supply teacher one day and she set us a task that she marked at the end of the lesson.
We had to put our name at the top of our paper, and my best friend wrote down all these middle names that she claimed were her real names. To this day I still don't know if she was telling the truth, but in the moment I wanted to be the same so I made up some middle names and wrote them down at the top of my work.
When it came to the end of the day, the supply teacher saw my many names and said "I think someone's been telling fibs here. Nobody has this many names." She then RIPPED MY WORK UP in front of everyone and moved on to the next student. Bearing in mind I was always as close to perfect as a student could be - that is in terms of the effort in put in, especially at that young age - I was mortified by this treatment. Looking back, that woman shouldn't have been a teacher if she couldn't handle children using their imaginations in such harmless ways.
That's the closest I've ever come to thinking of different names for myself, and my real name (Louise) is the only one I truly identify with, and I don't have any middle names. I once worked with a woman who had changed her full name to escape the notice of a violent ex partner, thankfully that worked for her!
Have you ever changed your name, or wished that you could?
7 people like this
9 responses
@Morleyhunt (21744)
• Canada
25 Mar 18
the name I use on Mylot is as creative as I get.
2 people like this
@LilyBeBack (1994)
• United Kingdom
25 Mar 18
I chose my mylot name using an online name generator :')
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21744)
• Canada
26 Mar 18
@LilyBeBack I chose mine looking at my bookshelf. Parts of two names.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (92370)
• United States
26 Mar 18
What a bear of a teacher! I never wanted to really change my name, but I did start writing my middle name on my papers in first grade. Since my mom went by her middle name (Leanne), I wanted to try out mine (Myree:pronounced Marie).I
Of course, my sister always said when she got of age she was going to change hers from Mindy to Adrienne. Sanity reigned as she got older.
2 people like this
@LilyBeBack (1994)
• United Kingdom
26 Mar 18
I love the spelling of Myree! My mam's name is Joanne and when I was little she spent a short time writing it Jo-Anne, but that didn't last long
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (37349)
• Toccoa, Georgia
1 Apr 18
As a kid, I thought about it, but now, I do like my name and would never change it.
1 person likes this
@LilyBeBack (1994)
• United Kingdom
2 Apr 18
I also considered it occasionally when I was little but I can't imagine having a different name from the one I've got 
1 person likes this
I love my name@LilyBeBack (1994)
• United Kingdom
26 Mar 18
Good! I love my name as well 
Is Kavita your real name? It's very nice
Is Kavita your real name? It's very nice 1 person likes this
@LilyBeBack (1994)
• United Kingdom
26 Mar 18
@kavinitu Lovely! That's a brilliant name meaning
1 person likes this
@kavinitu (5535)
• India
26 Mar 18
@LilyBeBack Thank you so much. Yes, Kavita is my real name. Kavita means "Poem".
1 person likes this
@mohit459 (12565)
• Haldwani, India
26 Mar 18
@LilyBeBack anyways it's your baby?.
1 person likes this
@Essjayd (1567)
•
26 Mar 18
Never wanted to change mine although
I have added my mum's maiden name
as a 2nd middle name!
Lol my friend at high school had 5 middle
names. She said her parents wanted to name
her after an aunt who had passed away but
ended up adding the rest of the aunts so
nobody got offended! She hated any forms
that required middle names to be filled in!
2 people like this
@LilyBeBack (1994)
• United Kingdom
26 Mar 18
That's great! I did something similar with my son and gave him my dad's surname as a middle name
I'm glad I didn't have to give him five middle names
I'm glad I didn't have to give him five middle names 1 person likes this
@Srbageldog (7716)
• United States
26 Mar 18
That teacher really shouldn't have been working with children. How horrifying to have your work ripped up, especially at that young age! I'm sorry that happened to you. I remember when I was in middle school, I used to write my name as "Stacy McCartney" on my schoolwork...fortunately my teachers humored me. They were aware of my Beatles obsession.
I have always wanted to change my last name (which I suppose I will end up doing if I ever get married.) I didn't like the last name "Baggett." It was fodder for bullies (there are many mean words that rhyme with "Baggett,") and I have never been close to my dad's family. Anytime a Baggett makes the news, it's for committing some crime. So, I've always hated having that name. I would rather have my mom's maiden name or her mother's maiden name. I have considered legally changing it, but it will be a hassle.
When I was little, I wanted my name to be Anastasia. It sounded much more dignified than just the shortened version that I got stuck with. I also used to pretend my name was Sherrie, Samantha, and Starlight Crystal.
As a writer, I have used all of my childhood "pretend names" as pseudonyms at one point in time or another. Well, all of them except Starlight Crystal.
1 person likes this
@LilyBeBack (1994)
• United Kingdom
26 Mar 18
The Beatles part is so funny 
I completely understand not wanting your dad's surname, I don't know my biological father so I grew up with my mam's surname and then added my step dad's surname when he adopted me legally So now he's my dad and we've all got the same surname.
Starlight Crystal is the best one!
I completely understand not wanting your dad's surname, I don't know my biological father so I grew up with my mam's surname and then added my step dad's surname when he adopted me legally So now he's my dad and we've all got the same surname.
Starlight Crystal is the best one! 1 person likes this
@LilyBeBack (1994)
• United Kingdom
25 Mar 18
Did something similar happen to you? I was really lucky at my primary school to have almost exclusively nice teachers - occasionally we got one like this, it was horrible but rare. My secondary school was a different story, but still I grew up in an age where teachers had to have a certain level of respect for their students otherwise they could never expect to get genuine respect in return.
My friends and I called each other by our surnames at primary school and the teachers hated it
EDIT I've just realised what you meant about deja vu
EDIT I've just realised what you meant about deja vu 2 people like this
