What's in a name?
Every girl has a "List." It's the detailed description that has been compiled since pre-teen years, and defines exactly what we are looking for in a mate. Usually at the top is the easy part, the physical attributes such as height, weight, eyes, smile, and whether or not body art is acceptable on the person we want to spend the rest of our life with.
(Personally, a tattoo here or there is fine with me — but I draw the line at full-body coverage. I include piercings in this category as well. Ears are fine, but anywhere else, no thanks. I don't think I could ever look at a guy with nipple rings as a potential husband.)
But as the list grows, it gets a little bit more personal. Lessons learned from previous relationships about what you will and will not put up with finds its way in there, habits of other people that if you had to live with forever might lead to a never-ending meeting between your head the wall and other preferences that your friends might find crazy, but make perfect sense to you.
I've never really written down my list, but it's there in my brain, and this weekend, there was a new addition.
I had gone up to Atlanta to visit one of my best friends, and former roommate, from college. And in the midst of catching up, she told me about a guy she had met that graduated from the same school we did. He was cute, according to her, and funny and had all the makings of being quality date material.
That is, until, he told her his name. And while I'm not sure it appropriate to put it on here, let's just say it is a not-so-nice way of saying "Lesbian." I wish, for the sake of that poor boy, that I was joking.
Right after she told me, I immediately decided, and made a mental note, that I could never date someone with a bad name. My friend's boy now ranks at the top of the list, but I began considering a few others. I don't think I would have a lot of fun with a Harold, and although a good friend of the family is named Ralph, it just reminds me of the aftermath of a long night of drinking.
To me, Dirk will never be anything more than a porn name thanks to Boogie Nights, Fabian garners automatic laughter and don't get me started on Randy. (A friend of mine actually dated a guy named Randy, and although he was awful in other respects, I couldn't help asking her if his name bothered her even in the least. I mean, come on!)
To be honest, the list goes on, but I am interested in hearing from you. What do you think? Does a bad name get in the way? And, if so, what "bad name" is your deal-breaker?
(Personally, a tattoo here or there is fine with me — but I draw the line at full-body coverage. I include piercings in this category as well. Ears are fine, but anywhere else, no thanks. I don't think I could ever look at a guy with nipple rings as a potential husband.)
But as the list grows, it gets a little bit more personal. Lessons learned from previous relationships about what you will and will not put up with finds its way in there, habits of other people that if you had to live with forever might lead to a never-ending meeting between your head the wall and other preferences that your friends might find crazy, but make perfect sense to you.
I've never really written down my list, but it's there in my brain, and this weekend, there was a new addition.
I had gone up to Atlanta to visit one of my best friends, and former roommate, from college. And in the midst of catching up, she told me about a guy she had met that graduated from the same school we did. He was cute, according to her, and funny and had all the makings of being quality date material.
That is, until, he told her his name. And while I'm not sure it appropriate to put it on here, let's just say it is a not-so-nice way of saying "Lesbian." I wish, for the sake of that poor boy, that I was joking.
Right after she told me, I immediately decided, and made a mental note, that I could never date someone with a bad name. My friend's boy now ranks at the top of the list, but I began considering a few others. I don't think I would have a lot of fun with a Harold, and although a good friend of the family is named Ralph, it just reminds me of the aftermath of a long night of drinking.
To me, Dirk will never be anything more than a porn name thanks to Boogie Nights, Fabian garners automatic laughter and don't get me started on Randy. (A friend of mine actually dated a guy named Randy, and although he was awful in other respects, I couldn't help asking her if his name bothered her even in the least. I mean, come on!)
To be honest, the list goes on, but I am interested in hearing from you. What do you think? Does a bad name get in the way? And, if so, what "bad name" is your deal-breaker?
posted by Anonymous at 12:29 PM
15 Comments:
I have to say that a name can really make or break a date with a guy. Being in my mid-twenties its really hard for me to take a guy seriously who still goes by a college nickname such as, Ace, Tank, or any letter followed by -Dog. I also have a difficult time with the baby names, Timmy, Scottie, Mikey, Robbie, Bobby, or the real killer, Chucky. Somewhere along the line something went amiss if you are a twenty-something guy still going by your mama's kiddie name for you. Grow up or you'll never get a date.
I completely agree. I think I would run in the other direction as fast as I could if some guy was like, "Just call me M-Dog." No thank you!
Hey, if other people used the Bad Name principle on me, I would never date! One of my aunts married a guy by the last name of Short. She decided against hyphenating and dropped her maiden name completely.
Maggie brings up a good point, or at least calls attention to the importance of a last name as well. It's what my friends and I refer to as "trading up." If you yourself are the owner of a last name that one can't pronounce and is never spelled right, than a guy with a great last name is particularly appealing! : )
How about names ruined forever by crappy boyfriends? Or dating a guy with the same name as your dad or brothers? Now that's weird.
Speaking of "trading up," one of my friends has a theory that if you marry a guy whose last name is higher up than yours alphabetically, then you're getting an "upgrade." For example, Anderson is an upgrade from Smith.
If you're last name already starts with an "A" then you're pretty much doomed for a downgrade, but it's not that bad. My friend says then you're just guaranteeing an upgrade for your children.
Oh my gosh, there is one name now that I could absolutely never date. It got to a point, when I was in college, that every crappy guy I dated had the same name. One night my friend and I were at a bar, and we were chatting it up with some guys. As soon as the one I was talking to said his name, which was the dreaded one, my girl pulled me away as fast as she could. It's a shame how a bad person can ruin a perfectly good name!
This isn't serious, is it?
Uh-oh. Looks like anonymous person #2 has a bad name and has been rejected because of it! No offense is meant, but yes, names can be a huge decision in the dateable or not dateable question!
It's actually very shallow but entertaining (a little).
We are glad to entertain you! Even a little bit is great!! :)
I took you advice and dumped the best boyfriend I ever because everyone called him Danny. Now I am alone. What do I do now?
Tell him you two can get back together...but only if he agrees to go by Dan! : )
I wanted to apologize for my earlier post here which was wisely deleted.
I was just being random and dumb, however it IS true that I had a friend that dated that perticular female, and according to him the reason I stated was the reason he broke up with her....however it was wrong for me to post such things in a public forum.
You're right. It was incredibly inappropriate, and for future reference, any personal attacks on anyone that go that far will be deleted.
We don't need that sort of negative energy on here.
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