She started it.

[susandennis]

letmesaythis asks Suppose you had to give up your name, all of it, and choose a brand new name. What would your new name be and why?

And I'm going with Glory Davidson.

I've always wanted a first name that could be called across a room without a half dozen heads turning around to see if the 'Susan' being paged was them. And now the name is making a bit of a rebirth. Plus there are all the variations. We have 10 people in this department here at work. 1 Susan, 1 Suzanne, 1 Susanna and 1 Suzan. Ridiculous.

Glory would be fine.

Davidson just sounds like it can stand on it's own. It kind of rolls off the tongue nicely and says 'whatever'.

When I was growing up, my name was Susan Schubert. Schubert was just more than most anyone could handle - especially in the South. They couldn't spell it and they couldn't pronounce it. So, when I finally did get married, I grabbed that last name like it was the fucking brass ring. Dennis. Now, there's a nice, easy name.

I had not had the name long enough to discover it's major flaws when I got divorced. I gave changing it a passing thought but changing it the first time was such a hassle. And I couldn't think I a good name to change to and I sure wasn't going back to Schubert. So I just dropped any middle initial and ran with it. (Back in the olden days, all you had to do - in North Carolina anyway - was use the name of your choice for 1 year and provide business proof - like an electric bill - in that name and presto/bingo - it was your legal name.)

Not so good a move, as it turned out. Susan Dennis, while it may look fairly straightforward, is a minefield of issues as far as names go.

"Hi, I'm Susan Dennis."
"Sandy! How very nice to meet you."

"How do you pronounce that? Denise?"
"How do you spell that?"
"No, I mean the Susan part?"

Glory Davidson. And I did check. The domain names of glorydavidson .com/.org/.net - all available.

Like I told letmesaythis, you can call me Glory. Bet you wouldn't have guessed that would be the name I'd pick, now wouldya?

Comments

[jimcarson.livejournal.com]

I'm in the "acceptance" stage that people will continuously try to pronounce my name as "Carlson" or spell it with a "K" And what MS Word spell checker suggests as an alternative to my initials (sniff...)

I thought "Max Power" (from the Simpsons) had a catchy sound to it. Its domain isn't available, though...

[susandennis]

You have a Susan Dennis name... It looks so simple but oh, those Karlson potholes!

And I'm afraid that Max Power would have the same... Max Powder.

[jimcarson.livejournal.com]

Or Maxx Powers, Mack Pauer, ...

But it would sound cool.

[letmesaythis.livejournal.com]

After reading your comment I had to go to Word and check the suggestions for my last name and my initials. For my initials it suggested, among others, "jims".

[art-thirst.livejournal.com]

You had me laughing on this one. :-)

[pheon.livejournal.com]

Glory Davidson should work OK. As a Davidson myself, it is common enough that people generally recognize and can spell it. The only question you get is whether it is 'Davidson' or 'Davison', so be sure you ennunciate that second 'd'.

Using it with 'Glory' should work OK, too. Beware of having a first name that can be turned into a last name. I couldn't tell you how many times I have been addressed as 'David Anderson' instead of 'Andrew Davidson.'

[susandennis]

Oh I forgot you were a Davidson.. Anecdotal evidence! Excellent.

And the two first name thing... I was married to Dennis Robert or Robert Dennis...

[pheon.livejournal.com]

I thought about suggesting 'Hallelujah' as your new last name, but then realized it would be harder to spell than Schubert. :-)

[susandennis]

And, see, I was going with Glory Bee! But I knew that was asking for trouble.

[letmesaythis.livejournal.com]

Glory? Nope, never would have guessed it but I like it too.

I was once a Schwenk then changed my last name to my father's last name (long story). Since I went through so much hassle and cash to do that I decided to keep it when I got married shortly after that. No more name hassles for me either!

[artisanal_xara]

You underestimate people's power to screw up a name. Glory could easily become Gloria. And is that spelled with an 'ie' an 'i' or a 'y'?

I was in your boat when I got married. Mason. How hard can that be? But is it Mason or Manson? Is it spelled Masson or Maison? What about Masin?

[susandennis]

You are right. I think maybe I'm just better off where I am. If they can screw up Mason... geeesh

[minimac.livejournal.com]

...and I hate it when people automatically shorten it to "Sue". It's always amazed my how people get Denise confused with Dennis...happens all the time...has no one heard of Dennis the Menace, for crying out loud?! I identify with you, sister! ;)

[susandennis]

Oh yeah, when someone calls me Sue, it makes my spine cringe. I do the Dennis the Menace thing, too! And I am shocked by the number of people who do a 'duh!'

[theryn.livejournal.com]

My gut instinct for a new name is Chelsea Elizabeth Schmidt from Theryn Lyn Spomer. I've always liked the name Chelsea and I have always wanted a name that can be nick-named down to the first syllable. I love the name Elizabeth but don't care for any of the nicknames so I don't want that as a first name. I didn't change my last name when I married in part because it was a part of my cultural heritage. Schmidt would keep that German-ness but be a name people have heard of and have a fighting chance of pronouncing.

[susandennis]

Oh I like your pick and your reasons!

[katbyte.livejournal.com]

I am a Kathryn Suzanne, so we have that in common. Amazing how hard people make the simplest things. My mother was a Kathryn, went by Kay, I was a Kathy. I bet there are more Kathys than Susans. There are lots of ways to spell Kathryn, so we won't go there.

My sister is Robin Andrea, I like that, I will take it from her when she is old and feeble.

Key was my maiden name. Key, who could screw that up? Kee, Kei? are you chinese?

[greggorythomas.livejournal.com]

I've always liked the name Fletcher Caldwell, or Jackson is also a decent name.

[susandennis]

Oh yeah, Jackson is a winner!! I could be Glory Jackson if the Davidson thing doesn't work out. Fletcher Caldwell is a great name - but it's too easy to misspell... I do like it, tho

[greggorythomas.livejournal.com]

well being a guy that when asked for my last name, I just spell it. Caldwell is simple.

[machupicchu.livejournal.com]

.
.
I wouldn't change my name at all. For some reason, I like it a lot -- even though I insist on going by Matthew, always have, and I cringe whenever anyone calls me Matt (although for some reason being called "Matty" wouldn't necessarily bother me, perhaps because of the connotations of androgyny).

But all these comments about mispronouncing names made me think of my last name: McQuilkin. Anyone with half a brain should be able to pronounce a name that is spelled phonetically, and mine is. Still, all my life I have gotten a staggering number of variations:

McQuiklin
McQuinlin
McQuillin
McQuirkin
McQuilikin
McQuinn
McQuilken
McQuackin (yes, even got that one)

And the grand prize all-time winner was on an envelope I once got in the mail when I was a teenager:

McEQUEMILKIN
.
.

[vasilatos]

I find having a name that sounds complicated when it really isn't
(vasilatos has FOUR SYLLABLES) automatically leads to spelling it
out ("v as in victor, a s i l as in lois i t as in tom o s as in sam")
which ends up with "oh, pronounced just the way it's spelled!" Yup.
va-see-LAH-tos.

The folks who mess up "Max", well, I can only hope they stay out of
the gene pool.