Names have been around for a long, long time. Ever since Adam and Eve, though it seems a bit unnecessary considering there was only two people alive at the time. Unless Adam was talking to himself, it was pretty obvious who he was directing his words to. Anyway, humans have multiplied since then, and stuck with it: labeling every human being that pops out of their mom. And while it seems odd that people should be tagged this way, I guess it is helpful. If we didn't, it'd take a lot longer to pass the salt or get the right person on the phone. Hi it's me, Can I talk to the person who I spoke to last week? He's got a deep voice and breaths really loud.
So we get stamped Tom, Dick or Harriet; Abdul, Abby or Arnold, and go on our way. But in actuality, names get under our skin. They casually circumvent our intellect and hit us square in the feelings department. For example, we meet one stunning Laura when we're ten and that names carries a certain endearment for life. Or, we meet one cat piss smelling, snot-eater in our 3rd grade, and BLAM the name Morgan will always make us gag. But beyond that even names with no specific relation to past people still resonate for us. Our ears swallow the sound -- the consonants and rhythm -- and our hearts return with a verdict: thumbs up or down.
I've always liked the sound of Kyle, Jamie and Maya, but cringed at the sound of Glen, Evan and Tina. In middle school, I became friends with a Robert and Farrah solely because I liked the sound of their names. I usually give Susans a second chance but am pretty tough on team Sharon.
In my dating life, this same thing continued. I'd give extra credence to women I met whose names I fel" and conversely shied away from names I didn't want to sonically... hug. Sorry Gloria, I don't see a future for us. But Hellooo, Tara.
Is it logical? Is our internal voice trying to tell us something important? My mind says absolutely not, yet my gut has ears and likes what it likes.
How about you, GuySpeaklets? Am I alone on this one?
Do you tend to date names you already like? Any names kryptonite to your ears?
And what does your name feel like to you? Are you at one with your own label?
this is so true, i have had the hots for a guy at work since i met him, and i gotta say, he is hot, but i also like his name and i have wondered if i would like him so much if his name was steve or carl or peter...i reckon most people like, love or loath thier name, but i have always been neutral about mine...if there are any guys reading, what do you think about tracy?
Lol!
Great post. There's something with the phonics involved and how they roll around in your mouth.
I think names ending in 'ina' seem romantic, unless of course, you're a guy.
The other half is probably semantics, and no one's going to be calling their baby boy 'Adolf' any time to soon.
There's a lighthearted book on it called "Why shouldn't I call my son Clint?"
'Clint' being merger of two words no one wants to be called.
You'd probably enjoy it for a laugh.
Names I want to play with: Quincey, Ollie, and Pipa.
Names I want to hug: Michi, Elaine, and Andy.
Names I want to name my dog: Bella, Troy, Roman, Hugh.
Yeesh, the name Cody, for me. Or any other guy name that my dad could be friends with. It kinda sets me back when some dude spits out a very generic name like Alex, John, or again...*shivers* Cody. It's harder to shout out in a crowded room, because a couple more Alex's and John's will pop up out of nowhere. But, hell, that's my problem. I'm sure other gals have their preferences.
A bunch of my gal pals and myself have a certain letter we won't date (it's silly I know). It's like we get attracted to a certain letter and then very turned off. One friend won't date "J"s. To me, "D"s = disappointment. Any other ladies have a letter they won't date?
I won't date J's either. Had a few too many bad experiences with that letter, its a turn off. I do love the name Jakwe though, it was a bad experience, but...yum... Here's to bad experiences *raises glass*
The name Beth freaks me out a bit...funny since my names Elizabeth, but I just can't stand when people nickname me Beth..and I don't really give people named Beth a chance...at all...But when it comes to guys I really don't mind as long as they don't have the same name as my dad or brother...that would be a little freaky!
For me, I will not date anyone with the same name as someone in my family. I have had only one occassion where I dated two different people with the same name (actually back to back ~ very strange and confusing at first). Also, if there is a person that I associate negative feelings towards, that name will forever turn me off and will make me cringe everytime I hear it! Also, when naming my child, I did not want to name him a common name or one that I had heard recently or one that was the same as anyone I had ever known.
Haha, that can make things awfully confusing.
My brothers name is Mathew, but I have dated a Matt, making sure that I only ever called him Matt!
My father's name is John, and I draw the line there! Too Freudian.
In response to Rhea's post, common names can make things interesting.
I've dated three Michaels. So my good friend is Michael, #1 was Mike, #2 Mickey, #3 was Mick. No more Michaels pleas!!! But Michi is still huggable.
My sister in law and sister both have the same name!! It is a bit confusing at times. Her second name is actually MY name also. My brother, his father in law, two cousins and four uncles ALL have the same first name. The uncles all from the same side of my family - all married in, so its not like some kind of family tradition, although the name is pretty common! It is quite random though that all of my fathers sisters married a man with the same name!!!!!!
I love love love the name Alex (Alexander), and I don't know why. Just hearing it makes me hot. Also really like the name Harry (and man, I think that's a Harry Potter influence that I just can't get over). However, nearly every guy I've dated has had, shall we say, an untraditional name. Hasn't worked out that well, to be honest. As for girls, I absoultely used to love the name Elizabeth until very recently. It was to be the name of my daughter (when I had one), but nooow I just associate it with this girl I really, I mean REALLY, despise. Oh, the wonders of the names...
Even though I love my name (roxane)... it is annoying when everyone you meet sings that police song and asks you "not to put on the red" like OR asks you if you're a whore. Which I am in no way like... but argh whatever.
For me, I hate ridiculous fruit orientated names, like cherry, apple, etc or stuff that are objets candy, or just stupid names (I'm sorry to offend) like chair or river. Sorry... but any name is fine, just why call your kid pancake or bluebell or cherry blossom?
Guys dig my name a lot - - - X Y R A!
Being from an older generation, I think my name is old-fashioned (Karen), but I do like the fact that it means genuine, for that is what I strive to be in life. I love to find out what names mean and see if they fit the person who has it. You'd be surprised at how well some people are named. Take Amit for example. In Hinduism, it means boundless and in Hebrew it means friend.
Only Literature and Theatre majors can pronounce my name. I am only recently okay with that. It's hard being "unique"; my daughter has a "normal" first name and a quirky middle name. My partner has a strange name, but he's the anomaly.
I went with traditionally named men, for the most part. Andy, Mike, Jay, Ray... Then there were the traditional but uncommon Sal and Vlad. I think with me the sound has to be masculine. Jack, Jake, butch stuff.... Don't tell my sweetie with the soft syllables :)
I'm a teacher, so I tend to stay away from guys who have names of students who have misbehaved in my classes. That leaves out Devon, Beau, Aaron, Nick, Jim, Jonathan and Edwin (and most variations on some of those names).
I tend to like guys with "normal" names--I'm much more attracted to guys named Dan, Scott, Shawn/Sean, Tom, and Ryan than I would be to a Dakota or other such trendy name.
One of my roommates from freshman year (her name's Amanda) used to date a lot of Andrews. So they'd always be Andy and Mandy. Coincidence? I think not! Haha. Actually, it very well could be. I never asked her.
I HATE the name Lewis, ironicly that is the guy's name I am head over heels for XP luckly he has a nick name I like better ^_^
My first name's Pauline, which is a pretty common name in France. Rather old fashion when I was born (I'm 25), it's now trendy and in my country, you find a lot of little girls now named Pauline. I'm living in Canada though now and I've been told it was a name for grand mothers or old people. So I'm a bit worried about my sex appeal....I've never had a problem with guys' first names...really, I don't care if they're called mike or john. I like calling guys by their full name though. If a guy's name is Michael, I will call him Michael, not Mike. If he's named Allister, I'll call him Allister, not Alli. I've always liked doing that. Is that strange? Maybe. Oh well.
Names come in an out of fashion. For example, if you meet somebody named Lisa, you can guess she's in her 50s. Names also speak to the social class and geographic origin of the person's parents. George is likely the name of an old coot from a New England family, whereas Barack is likely of Muslim origin.
I definitely agree that certain names can be ruined for me based on a person I once knew or knew of with that name. For example, my neighbor's dog is named Katie, and I loved that name until one of my guy friends was cheated on by a girl named Katie. I still have to refer to the dog as "Doggie" instead of "Katie" :P
Usually, guys I have dated all had names with similar soundings : Adrian, Nathan, Etienne, Benjamin ... Only the guy I'm currently dating sounds slightly different : Bertrand... And my name is not sexy either : Bénédicte .. (Yeah I know, in English countries, it is supposed to be a guy name, but in France, you can't be more girly! or almost lol).
Generally, when I hear a first name, if I like it, I would think of it more as a first name for my maybe future child(ren) than as of a person I could date.. :)
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