My name is Mina Jessie. I was named after my 2 grandmother's (both had passed before I was born). To this day it is always mispronounced and during my 7th grade my teacher called me Myra the whole year. Since I have grown up and learned more about my grandmothers I have more or less embraced the names because of the women I was named for must have been very strong to live during times when women had to be very strong. Mina was born in Minnesota and widowed with a 5 & 7 year old. Jessie died in childbirth in NW Pennsylvania.

I always went by my middle name of Alfreda (long e sound) and in school I hated being teased about it. Remember Captain Kangaroo with Alfred the Airsick Eagle? Fred Flintstone? Red Skelton's Freddie the Freeloader? In the third grade I came home from school crying. An older cousin was there visiting. He caringly put me on his lap, gently put his arm around me, wiped my tears away, then told me that if I'd stop getting upset they'd stop making fun of my name. That dirty dog lied. The only thing that happened was that I quit minding it. Even my nieces and nephews to this day call me Aunt Fred.

My name is Christina Elizabeth after both my GMs... but will never answer to Tina! I hated that nickname from the first time I heard it. Generally I'm called Chris. Growing up my sister and I shared the same nickname of Loosh (for our last name of Lucier). Nowadays I jokingly call her LooshChange because she's always worked in a bank and she calls me LooshThreads because of all the threads she find clinging to my clothes.

My first name is Sally. It was already old fashioned when I was born. I was named after an aunt. It seemed that all famous Sally's were negative, like Dirty Sally, Mustang Sally etc. I was always known as Nan or Sally Ann at home so as not to confuse me with my aunt. I was called Sally at school. I now use my nick-name Nan for on-line and quilting.

My name is Alexis Ann. I never thought much of my name, never got tease for it either - but mostly because I was homeschooled I think. Everyone's always called me Lexie (a variety of spellings) or Lex. One or two have called me Alex or Alexandria (which I didn't like).

My dad took to calling me Lulu sometimes when my little sister was young and couldn't say my name - she'd call me Lulu and it kinda stuck for my dad. It makes me feel special when he calls me that, I don't know why!

And finally, my maiden name is 'Boellner' which was ALWAYS pronounced wrong. It's actually pronounced 'bell-ner' as the o is silent. I constantly had to correct people who thought it was 'bowlner.' :P

But when I got married that all changed. Hunter is a nice, easily pronouncable last name.

Although Alexis Hunter kinda sounds like a teacher's name to me. :P

'Alexis Hunter' kinda sounds like the heroine in a romance novel, to me!

I always liked my name, Danielle, after my father Daniel. My mom's first name is MaryLee, dad is Daniel Lee, so we all have the middle name "Lee". I named my son Caleb Daniel, to follow that mini-tradition. Then I named my daughter Malia which is hawiian for Mary for my mom. Then Trinity just came along, LOL! Caleb says if he ever has a daughter he's going to name her Danielle. He's 11, so I'm sure he will change his mind by then!!

My first name is Danielle, middle is Corin (K-or-in).
My Grandfather (dads dad) always called my "Dingy".
My brother has always called me "Ditsy"(which I am not my sister holds that title)

Everyone else has always called me Danni. UNTIL I met my husband then suddenly EVERYONE except my family started calling me Danielle. Even friends that had ALWAYS called me Danni.

My youngest sons name is Liam, I get asked ALL the time if it is short for William. I didn't even think about the name William before giving him his name.

When I was born, my dad told my mother he didn't care what she named me, but he wanted to call me Joy. So, she picked Gloria Joyce. All my life, my whole family has called me Joy. When I started to school, they wouldn't let me use Joy as they said it was a nickname, so I went by Joyce. But of course all school, employment, and health records are under Gloria Joyce so I've been called Gloria a lot too.

I am really glad though that my mother didn't have her first pick......Debra Ann! Her sister had a baby three months before I was born and named HER Debra Ann. Thank goodness! All through elementary and high school there were at least 4 girls in my grade alone named Debra, and we had to delineate them as Debra Ann, Debra Lynn, Debra Sue, and Debbie. Plus there were other Debras in other grades. I was so glad not to be named Debra Ann.

When I was a child I didn't like the fact that my name means "foreign, stranger". Then my mother told me that a woman we knew had changed her name from Barbara to Caroline and I was insulted that she no longer wanted the name Barbara. Now my oldest friends and family call me Barbara and my newer acquaintances call me Barb. I grew up thinking it was an unusual name, but widened my world and discovered it's quite common :)