I hate my name. I said it. I don’t feel bad about saying it, either. I just don’t identify with it at all. It’s masculine, biblical, and far too common. I’m obviously not very masculine (I just bought a rainbow petticoat lol). I’m not religious at all. And I’m a total weirdo in all the best ways. Why was I named Jonathan?
There was a bit of a disagreement over what my name should have been. My mom wanted to name me Nathan. My dad wanted to name me Jonathan. Guess who won that battle? It’s crazy, too, because my dad never makes the final decisions. My mom is a take-charge kind of woman, which is awesome. My dad must have been super persistent. For the record, I like Nathan a lot better than Jonathan. 😉
Now, John is probably the most common male name ever. Everyone shortens Jonathan to John as well. In school, without fail, there were always two other Johns in class with me. It really drove me crazy. The teacher would call out John and I never had any idea who she was talking to. Of course the teacher never distinguished it with a last name either. It’s like I was expected to be a mind reader or something. I wish I had psychic abilities, but sadly I do not. So, I would walk up to the teacher’s desk and they would look up and say they meant the other John. Great. That confusion could have been avoided so many times. It never was though because public school teachers are pretty much all idiots. But, that’s for another post! Yeah, we will definitely be coming back to that topic at a later time.
I guess I picked my artist name (Asylum Attendant) out of necessity. I feel like a name should describe who you are to a certain extent. Mine is just so wrong for me. I’m much too odd to have such a popular name. Jonathan is not a shit name and I think it fits some people. I just can’t stand it. I understand that people will call me by my real name. I’ve accepted that. I’m not going to legally change my name or anything. Not worth the hassle. Online I am Asylum Attendant. I attach that name to anything creative that I do. It describes me so well. The name found me! I love it.
My middle name is Craig…even worse. haha Let’s just not even go there. I do enjoy my last name though, which I won’t say here for obvious reasons. So that’s a positive! I guess it’s normal to hate your name. I know a lot of people do. We should just be able to pick our own names and switch them throughout our lives if we choose to. Parents have good intentions, but they can get it so wrong.
So, do you like your name? If not, what do you wish your name was?
Asylum Attendant 
Hmm, I always find it interesting to find out what people’s real names are. I quite like my own name (suits me rather well) but I’m sad that you don’t really like yours that much.
Don’t be sad! I guess I got the name I did for a reason. I could be named something a lot worse. lol I know plenty of people who wish they had more normal names. We always want what we can’t have.
Hi there. I started reading through your blog after you commented on mine. I am always curious about who actually reads the stuff I write. Anyway, for the longest time I hated my name and I wanted to know who in the world would do such a thing to me. In elementary school, without fail every year when we had to fill out forms where the teacher knew who we were, my mom would get called to the school because 1. I refused to spell my name properly and 2. I was making up crap because *on one* is born in Anchorage Alaska. Yes, most public school teachers are morons. It always annoyed me that people would assume my name was something it wasn’t like Georgianna. At some point I got the nickname Georgie from the inconsiderate toolbags that were most of my step-fathers family and would continue to call me that despite me saying “That’s not my name and I don’t like it.” I am still not a fan of having what many consider a “southern” name but the spelling was given to me by my German father. It’s still weird though.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I think we hate our names most as children and then we just accept them as we age. I actually like your name. I think it’s unique. 🙂 Names are such funny things.
Yup I am a overcomer