But one person is so unhappy with her moniker that she turned to social media to sound out whether she should get herself a new one. For she believes her name is so unusual it is often treated as a joke.
The woman, from New England, in America, says her name isn’t very common in her area – but is often used to describe weird characters in movies and TV shows. She said: “My first name is Tammi, and it doesn’t suit me at all.
“I hate the ‘i’ on the end. I feel like Tammy/Tammi usually pops up as a joke like Ron Swanson’s exes and Melissa McCarthy’s movie. I’ve disliked it for years but it never felt like the right time to change it.
“I’ve also gone through phases where I kept it out of stubbornness because I didn’t want to seem ashamed of having a working class name (cutesy alternative spelling).” But she now is thinking enough is enough and is considering having a whole new name, reports The Mirror.
She said: “I’ve never really settled into it, and I’m ready to just cast it off the next time that I change jobs.” Posting on Reddit she added: “I’ve been thinking of taking Christine, which is my middle name and my mother’s name. But the drawback is this would give me exactly the same name as my mother.”
She got a mixed response to her post with most agreeing there was nothing wrong with disliking her given name. Some even urged her to try out a range of different ones until she comes across one that “suits her”.
One poster said: “If you don’t love your name you should change it. Life is way too short to go through it with a name that you hate. I’ll be honest, I don’t love Tammy, especially not with an ‘i’.”
“Are there any names that you are drawn to that feel more like you? There are a lot of people around here who are looking to change their names for one reason or another.”
Another user added: “Is your mother in the same social/professional circles as you? If not, it wouldn’t matter much that you have the same name. The people I work with, and most of my friends who I met in college or later, don’t know my parents’ names.”
A third user said: “I started going by my middle name when I was in my early 20s, which was easy because I was living away from home and making a fresh start. Getting people who knew me by my first name on board with it has been harder, but I have also made it harder for myself by not standing up for myself about what I want to be called.
“Unfortunately, people do seem to find it strange when you change what you are called, and some will want to challenge or resist it, though I honestly can’t understand why. My advice though is to choose what you want to be called, what feels right to you, and be open and firm about it being what you want!”
One more user added: “I’m changing my name at 25. It’s been a lifelong dream and has taken me a couple of years to settle but I’m so excited. A name should be something you like, it’s a big part of your identity! I looked through a lot of baby name books and census lists.”
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