Daily Prompt: Say Your Name

Posted on by

I was named after a hippie chick called Alley Cat. Slick chick, cool cat, teenage runaway. She slipped out of sight long ago, but will never be forgotten. I don’t answer to the nickname Alley, but use half a dozen other diminutives. Quick change artist: just like my namesake. That’s all you need to know.

From the Daily Prompt: Write about your first name: Are you named after someone or something? Are there any stories or associations attached to it? If you had the choice, would you rename yourself?

11 thoughts on “Daily Prompt: Say Your Name”

  2. There are lots of “Judys” around – and they are all my age. Every one of them. It seems no one names their girl child “Judy” or “Judith” anymore, although she was an admirable woman in Biblical times. However, I suspect Judy Garland had a lot to do with my name. I am so used to being “Judy” I can hardly imagine another name but I think Nicole or Rosalie would do just fine too.

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • Hmmm. That is true, I think. My mom is named Kay (which is not short for Katherine), which you don’t hear very frequently any more. By the time I was born in the 1970s, it was relegated to a middle name. Now, it is not popular at all. When I was in elementary school, I would have traded my more unusual name for something common like Julie or Megan. Fortunately, I got over that fast. My name naturally lends itself to a host of diminutives, so I change identities, so to speak, every time I use a different one. Whilst the spelling of my first name is much more common these days, the pronunciation is not. I am destined to never have people pronounce my name correctly. I also often use my middle name, as I do here.

      Like

      Reply ↓

  3. Pingback: A Handsome Name | The Jittery Goat

  4. I can remember scolding my mother fiercely for not naming me Theresa when I found out there was such a name. To think I could have been called “Terry”. My middle name is not fashionable anymore either. Sigh. Guess I will just have to live with it. The diminutive used around here is “Muffin”. Stop gagging on your tea.

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • Aw, that is cute! I did something similar, when I lamented to my mom that it was not fair she didn’t name me Rose. For some reason, I thought that was a lovely, lovely name. Not to mention easy to pronounce, unlike my name.

      I do not have a fashionable middle name either, but I adore it. I was named after my great-grandmother, lots of silent movie stars were named Mae, and I think it is wonderful.

      Now that I think of it, I have heard of people being called Muffin without knowing what it was a nickname for. Now I am really intrigued….

      Like

      Reply ↓

  5. Pingback: I Am Ramisa | Ramisa the Authoress

  6. Pingback: Memoirs: What’s in a name? A Crepe! | Bastet and Sekhmet

  7. I like how my name immediately captures the heart somehow (doesn’t matter what nationality or background). People think it’s really pretty alot. Like the relationship to myself, I don’t see what people see. My name is an announcement. It announces the third child who is a girl (Tah yin know how it is pronounced). It’s a name my dad was close to, because his sister also has this name. I rename myself all the time, and after my first few works are bought or made (one or two) I’d like to write/direct under an alias. I’m just not sure my dad was heart connected to any of it. It seems set in motion for the spectacle of it, as was having the third child. Sorry. I know this isn’t that cute.

    Like

    Reply ↓

  8. Pingback: Identity crisis?! | Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me

Leave a comment