What Could Have Been…
When we’re painting we talk about all sorts of weird things that we probably wouldn’t otherwise get around to. And while painting the bedroom we got to the topic of “names that our parents almost gave us.” Get this. My mom wanted to name me Gina. We would have been John & Gina. That made us titter. Not sure if it’s a had to be there thing though. Either way, John’s dad’s choice of names takes the cake. He wanted to name John… wait for it… Lars.
Lars Petersik.
How funny is that? If I had seen tall dirty blond John at work and asked a coworker “oh who’s that?” and heard them respond with ” that’s Lars Petersik, he’s an account manager.” Let’s just say I would have been all “niiiiice to meeeeeeet you Laaaaars” with that over-enunciated-because-I’m-not-sure-you’re-great-at-deciphering-super-speedy-NY-talkers connotation. The same long drawn out delivery I use with my only-speaks-Italian grandmother. It would have been hysterical. John probably never would have let me live it down. Or asked me to marry him a year-ish later.
But that’s not all. Apparently John’s dad also wanted to name John “Vector.” Because he liked math. How I was able to continue painting with tears of laughter streaming down my face is beyond me. So it got us wondering what you guys were almost named. Come on… someone out there can beat Vector and Lars, right?
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From one Gina to a “could-have-been” other, I think you could totally could have pulled off the name.
Haha, I love it. Maybe we’ll write a secret book and use Gina and Lars as our pen names.
xo,
s
I stayed unnamed in the hospital for THREE days when I was born, because my parents were arguing over what to name me (still!) My mom wanted to name me Leanna (ugh) and my Dad wanted to name me…
Morticia.
As in, Morticia Aadams. “We can call her “Tish,” he supposedly said.
Finally, my uncle John came in to visit the newborn-me and brought his new girlfriend, Danielle.
So, that’s how I got my name… and I’m REALLY happy my name isn’t Morticia.
I was almost going to be James before my mom realized I was a girl and just took off the “s’ and named me Jamey…her original girl name was Sarah however. Glad she chose the former.
My parents each wanted to name me after each other’s mothers, so mum wanted to call me Katherine after dad’s mum, while dad wanted to call me Anna after mum’s mum – confusing right? In the end they gave me a completely different name, with Anna as a middle name.
That in itself isn’t all that amusing, but I’m now working in a team of three where the other two peoples’ names begin with A. I was joking that I should start going by my middle name so we can be Andy, Angie and Annie. We could be The A Team! How cool is that? (ok, not very, but I like lame things like that!)
My dad wanted to name me “Antigone”. He was a big fan of Greek mythology. His second choice? “Natasha”. He was also a big fan of Tolstoy. Thank goodness my mom had the last word and named me after an obscure American actress by the name of Lisa Kirk. (Thanks, Mom!)
I just ran across this post. Hilarious! I just had to comment on my friend’s dad and the name he wanted for her. I promise this is a true story…He wanted to name her RUBELLA until everyone apparently laughed at him and convinced him that it was a disease! Imagine that! She ended up with the name of Renee. Thank goodness… (:
I can totally picture Gina… you’d be fast talking with some major 80′s bangs… and smacking gum as you chew it.
I was almost a Victor (if I were to be a boy)… I’m glad I was born female. :)
My poor daughter was to either be saddled with the name Bea or Zue as our last name is Keeney. It takes a second or two to get it. But, instead, she got nice family names: Katherine Spencer (father’s mother and mother’s grandmother). Lucky her parents have a little (very little) restraint.
Love your site. Always find something interesting to tell the family at the end of the day.
Vector…which would lead to…”pocket protector” ??
Yikes! I was almost Rachel but ended up Sarah. Very tame. But I once worked with a woman named “Adorable and Delightful” – no lie. She went by Adora or Dorrie. Not surprisingly.
Haha, very creative nicknames she came up with!
xo,
s
I am commenting on this post a year later because I just saw it, but I think I have everyone beat. I was born in the late seventies and my parents were sci-fi/fantasy fans so if I had been a boy, I could have been…. wait for it… Skywalker.
As it turns out, and thank goodness, I was a girl and instead kinda sorta named Carly because my dad thought Carly Simon’s album cover was hot. Thanks, Dad, could have lived without knowing that ;)
Haha, my dad “knew a hot girl named Sherry” so that’s why he agreed with my mom on the name. Haha.
xo
s
I don’t know even you even see comments on old posts anymore, but I read this after you linked back to it in your “Dealing with Negativity” post and was cracking up at the thought of Gina and Lars.
I couldn’t help adding a year-late comment because I totally identify: my dad wanted to name me Keebler, and name my brother Yamgandi. NO JOKE – he was dead serious. His reasoning? My parents went the now-unusual route of waiting to find out the sex of both their children until we were actually born, so he thought those names could work for boy or girls so they could be picked ahead of time. The only way my mom convinced him otherwise was to suggest naming us after his own parents and grandparents. Dodged that bullet.
LOL – wow. I think we prefer Julie… :)
-John
This post is super old, but since you moderate your comments you might see this. If I were a boy my mom would have named me Theodore Redman. (My paternal grandfather was Theodore and my Native American maternal grandfather’s middle name was Redman.) Just thought you might enjoy that laugh. Have a great weekend!
I love it! My grandpa was named Theodore!
xo,
s
My dad wanted to name me “Christina Ferrari.” I guess it would have been fine if I had ended up a stripper. Thankfully my mom talked him out out that one.