Question #3 of Mama Kat's writing prompt: How did you parents choose your name? What does it mean? What would you change your name to if you could?
Way back when I was born (circa 1978) there were no fancy ultrasounds to tell mom & pop which side of the boy/girl pool to bet on. Nope. So you might think, given my first name (Ryan for those of you who aren't paying attention) that my folks were indeed hoping for a boy. That is not the case. They had no boy names picked out. They only liked Ryan for a girl. Actually, at the time, Ashley was a boys name, as well. It was before the 80's Ashley bomb. So they liked boys names for girls. Eh.
Except not quite. The original name they picked out for me was.... Christy Bliss. Super girlie, I know. Weirdos. So how did I go from cutesy feminine to what-where-who-is-this-guy? Somebody apparently told them Christy Bliss sounded like a stripper name. Boo.
I really like the name Bliss. It means happy. As for my name, I don't know what the heck it means, other than boy.
If I could change my name...? Okay, so I kind of did. By 4th grade, I was so tired of confusing teachers with my boy name, I made everyone start calling me by my middle - Ashley. As an adult, I like Ryan better, but it was tough being a prissy princess girl with a macho name! And my parents threatened to disown me if I ever changed it back again.
16 comments:
I still like to refer to you as RAS. It's less confusing. Wow, and with the "Scott" on the end? You were such a little manly man.
My name came from an obituary of a 4 yr old that drowned. No kidding. Seriously. I go by a variation as an adult. Which makes my folks NUTS.
I know both boys and girls with the name Ryan, but I see what you mean being a prissy pink fluff and bows girl myself.
I have been saddled with the same problema. I go by my middle name (not Melissa), and was actually named after one of my Dad's uncles. See, my name swings both ways, too!
I always liked your name.It sounds tough and girly. And my sister has a friend named Bliss.
Christy Bliss, huh? I like it. Much better than my potential Freddie Dougie!
So ... you like Ryan better but you still mainly go by Ashley?
Nonetheless, I agree with Cate; I will always think of you as RAS. :)
I like your name, and the fact that you are a girly-girl is even more awesome.
I am so glad my mom changed her mind, cause her first thought was Madonna Lynn. So Brandee Michele is way better. But my dad wanted to name me Brandee Josephine, after his dad. So he called me BrandeeJo when I was little. Then he dropped the Brandee and just started calling me Jo. To this day I answer to Jo.
Ah-ha! I often wonder how people get their names if they're not "traditional". I like your name and now I'm glad that we've got the back story on it. =)
I love Ryan for a girl! As a matter of fact, my favorite "girl" name right now is "Grace Ryan".
My husband's middle name is Ashley, and I said if we ever name a boy after him, we'd call him Ashley.
Im backwards, lol.
How cool is that?! I'm glad you went back to Ryan, as it's much more unique in my book. But, I can see where all the fuss could have been kicked up when in grade school (stupid social norms then, nothing matters when you're an adult!). I think it's beautiful.
And I got so excited, I almost did this post myself after reading yours. And then, I caught myself. Crap. Stupid anonymous blog. :)
I think you have an awesomely cool name, although having a stripper name is much more memorable :D
I like your name. It is easy to remember and unique in a GOOD way.
I love your name! I love androgynous names. My husband and I both have boy/girl names and so we have elected to name our baby a boy/girl name so no matter what we have we know the name already ;)
Interesting. I didn't know Ashley was a boys name. I heard of Ashton or Ashlyn. I think it is cool that your first is Ryan. I love the original name of Christy Bliss...hey, maybe I will find out it's a girl--we'll have to put it on our list! LOL!
"Ryan" is gaelic, and it means "little king" or "prince" - And I've tried to shake the tag and can't.
We have a boy Ryan because back in 1981 we imagined it would be a girls name. Times change I guess, but boys have so few good names to choose from, I wish people would just leave them for the boys. There's plenty of great girl names.
My situation growing up was very similar. My name is Elaine Adrian (male spelling) and my parents used the middle name. I did change to Elaine in High School, but like you, I didn't think it quite fit me, so I went back to Adrian and I quite like it now, except I get mistaken for a man in E-mails sometimes.
It's confusing as heck now that I'm on Facebook because as a married woman, I have a different first and last name than I did in school. I have to totally explain who I am to my old High School friends when I send them friend requests.
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