Would You Change Your First Name After 38 Years?

I love my family and my grand pa most for keeping such a good name. actually a sort of family meeting was arranged and then many names were proposed, but my grandpa selected one name out all. And I love my name, so whatever happens i will not change it in future. My name is my identity and i am happy with it.

I like the name Brian. But since you do not care for it, you might ask people to address you by your middle name. The one you do like. I know a lot of people who are called by their middle name because their first name is the same as their parent. I knew one gentleman for over 5 years before I realized he had a first name. I always called him by the name he had given me which turned out to be his middle name.

Hey wolfie34 or should I say Brian? LOL

I didn't like my name much when I was at school. I hated being called Melanie by my parents and so they called me Melly because I liked that but then I was called Smelly Melly from time to time if people thought they would get away with they would call me it, very few did!! LOL I am not bothered these days and usually go by the name of Mel. My middle name is Ann which is french for donkey - and you thought you had it bad!! So what was your middle name, you didn't say!! LOL X

I don't think it would be strange to change your name at 38 but you would probably find that people still called you by the name they are used to. I did legally change my first name. I was born "Sandra", which I hated, particularly as some people called me Sahndra. To me, it sounds posh and stuck up and didn't suit me at all. As soon as I turned 18, the legal age to change a name without parental consent, I officially changed it to Sandy. My parents and some other relatives still call me Sandra and it rubs me up the wrong way every time they say it. According to my father "it is the name you were born with and the name you'll always have". I reminded him that I was born with his surname too and haven't had that for years but that fell on deaf ears. Personally, I don't think there is anything wrong with the name Brian, though I do like Shane. It was the name I wanted for my first son until my MIL said one of her other sons had a son called Shane. When I saw my baby, I knew he was a Matthew. The MIL said there was already a grandson with that name too but, I stuck with it. Matthew was given his father's first name as his middle name and he hates it. He has been using a different middle name for years and, since he is now 18, is going about changing it legally. I totally understand his reasons so, I am happy for him to change it.

I think Brian fits you much better than Shane. I would not change my name because its an allright normal name. Carol Christine. If i had a name like Gertrude (not saying that is bad just not one I like) I might change it.My oldest son Danny had a different daddy than his brothers but he was raised by his brothers daddy and always used the same last name. So, Now that he is an adult he wants to change his last name to the same as ours. I told him that it his choice.

I have never legally changed my name. I have only changed my names for pen names or whathaveyou. However, I do know someone who changed his entire name. He changed his first name, gave himself a middle name and added a bit to double-barrel his last name. I understood his reasons for changing his first name, they were similar to yours, i.e. he was teased for having what was really and old fashioned name (although he changed it to another old fashioned name and his original name is coming back a bit now!). Anyway, he would have been about 20 when he did that so a little younger than you. I don't see too much wrong with being called Brian or Shane actually except that they are both getting a bit "boybandy". I think Shane is perhaps a younger name. I think if you really hate your name or if it's troubling you or, as in the case of my friend, you feel that your name is a negative link to the past and you might want to change it to start anew then go for it. The only thing, as you say, is the cost involved. And, of course, telling anyone you want to know that you've changed it and people getting used to it, especially parents and other family.

You can call yourself anything and not have to do anything legal to change it. Just use your middle namer instead of your first name and let all your family, friends and acquaintances know that you are now using the name ...xxxxx.

I don't like my first name and would rather use my middle name but I have a weird family. I told them I preferred the short form of my name about 3 years ago (I'm now 56) and the only person who remembers to do this is my 96 year old Dad.

I like both of those names. I would not change my name after all those years. It is really a great name actualy. If I had a name that was just horrid then I might think about it....now you have me thinking of names that I would change. lol