Tuesday 25 February 2014

I Can't Date You Because of Your Name

When trying to find an ecard to add to this post, I came across this.
Unrelated, but still funny.
And true.
The other day, someone was telling me about a couple they know. They mentioned they thought it was strange that both people in the relationship have the same name.

Wait, what?

"The guy's name is Jesse and the girl's name is Jessie. With an I."

This got me thinking about my own unisex name. If you've ever read the bottom of my 'About' section then you already know that I hate the fact that in response to me introducing myself as "Alex" I often get told, "That's a boys name." For arguments sake, let me reiterate: Alex is a unisex name. It is short for either Alexander or Alexandra. One is the male version of the name. The other is the female version of the name. Understand? Great. Moving on.

Since I already have too many apprehensions with my name as it is, I don't think it would be possible for me to ever date someone who has the same name as me (this is all in the hypothetical off chance that Andrew and I don't live happily ever after, of course).

I realise that this is all kinds of unfair. A persons name does not define them. But, yelling out my own name seems kind of strange (take that however you want).

Could you date someone if their name was the same as yours? Or have I just gone crazy?

Linking up for Totally Posted Tuesday

30 comments:

  1. Definitely not. I get embarrassed if Sam and I inadvertently match clothing wise. (I refuse to leave until someone changes. Dive move, I'm aware) So I could never handle matching names....too coupley.....But if a man was named Amanda I'd be too busy laughing to consider dating him. x

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    1. I totally do that as well! One of us is changing our shirt before we go out in public.

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  2. since my name is Helene hell no. but even if i had a more common name my answer would still be the same.

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  3. My full name is Brianne and I once dated a guy named Brian. It was weird and we didn't last more than 3 months.
    I also couldn't date anyone who had the same last name as my first name. What I mean: a friend of mine from high school was named Kelly. She dated a guy named Justin Kelley. They got married. No lie, her name is now Kelly Kelley. I totally would have kept my maiden name...

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  4. This is interesting!! We have friends (married) named Joanne and Aaron, but she usually goes by Jo and then area always joking about "who's the guy?" haha. Part of our current baby-naming dilemma is that Brian wants to avoid unisex names (not 100% sure why - I think they are totally fine and many are really beautiful!) but it would be kind of strange to have the same name! I've never thought about it - I guess my closest alternative would be Heath and I've never met a Heath! (although I would've dated Heath Ledger given the chance ;))

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  5. I would never date a man named Emily. And I would only date a girl named Emily if she was as awesome as the name leads one to believe ;) But seriously, I'm with you. I think it would be extremely weird.

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  6. It would definitely be interesting to have the same name, but I can't imagine that would ever keep me from not being with someone-- however, both my husband & I have names that probably would never be used by the opposite sex so I've never had to worry about that! I just came across your blog through the linkup and was going to comment on your about me page to say that I love unisex names!

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  7. Yeah...definitely not. Especially since Emily should never be a boy's name. Hahaha. But my dad's name is Kelly and he once dated a girl Kelly. Kellie? I have no idea. But that thought just freaks me out. It's weird.

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  8. so my landlord's dog's name is Chance and it happens to be my ex's name and it makes me laugh anytime i hear her call her dog.

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  9. I am Christine and I actually dated a guy named Chris but married Bidou instead! But imagine I knew a lady that named her 2 daughters... listen to this... one Jennifer and the one Jenni! Now that is weird!

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  10. Fortunately for me, there aren't any guys named Annie so I'm safe on that front :). I don't think I'd stay away from a guy whose name was the same-ish as mine, though.. If our names were Alex, Courtney (ahem "Court" for him), Sam, etc., I'd probably think it'd look cute on our wedding stationary haha :P!

    However, this made me think of the possibility of ever dating a guy who's named after a relative--i.e., a HUGE NO-NO for me. My cousin's husband, for instance, has the same name as our uncle, which is kinda odd. I wonder if anyone out there married a guy who shared their brother's name! Eek :/.

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  11. sometimes, i wish i dated a guy named Kit because people call me Kat and then we would be KitKat hahahaha!

    -kathy | Vodka and Soda

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  12. I can't date anyone name Mel. Because of my name. I just can't. I also can't date anyone with the name of any of my exes cause I feel like it's bad luck. It's juvenile but I can't help it.

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  13. Not that it counts, but my boyfriend's name when I was 7 years old was Jordan. We thought it'd be cool to get married and have the same name. HA. I wouldn't pass up a date if I was single and interested in a Jordan because of their name but it'd be super strange! My best friend's ex boyfriend's name is Jordan, though, and that was really weird! My boss' dog's name is my ex's name which I think is fitting. :)

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  14. I don't think I could date a male Loren. I worked with one and people had to always make sure to say either girl Lauren or boy Loren. It was kind of obnoxious haha.

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  15. Hahah! I totally know a girl named alex who has been dating a guy named alex for over two years. :) I totally don't get exactly how it works...especially since they both call each other alex! I think I would have to come up with a nickname for him that's different or something. For the first month that I dated my (now) fiancee, my mom apparently thought he shared the same name as my brother. Now THAT would be weird. Don't think I could do it... :P
    xox
    giedre

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  16. I've never met any male Jessicas, but I've thought about this. I don't think I could do it. A lot of people call me Jess and my best friend's brother's name is Jess so when we're together we never which one of us someone is talking to. I have a huge crush on him, but that's one of the things that's always stopped me short with him.

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  17. I'm sure you'd get over it if you really liked the guy. But it would be so so weird. I always wonder about people that marry someone with their first name as their last name. I went to school with a Brad Haley. I always wondered how weird it would have been if I married him.. I'd be Mrs. Haley Haley. Terrible. Haha
    I guess if you married an Alex you would be Mr. and Mrs. Alex ___________. (Which would work because your name would be included.. haha.) Side note: I kind of hate how my name gets ditched in that. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Junkala. Like, what the hell? I already gave up my maiden name. MY NAME. I GAVE it up.. to marry someone. NOW I don't even get included in the title!? B.S. my friend. Total B.S. !!

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  18. My husband's name is Mackenzie. He goes by Mac. His parents claim they wanted a "gender neutral" name whenever they were picking out names. I have a hard time believing Mackenzie was the best gender neutral option.

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  19. I couldn't date someone with my name! I would be a little weirded out to meet a man "Miranda." I don't think mine could ever pass as a unisex name.

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  21. No! I couldn't date my name, by brother's name, my dad's name, or a bad ex's name! It's been a deal-breaker in the past and a really bad reason to not date someone!

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  22. I could definitely date someone with the same name as me... IF I was a lesbian. :P

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  23. There are so many unisex names now...it gets confusing sometimes for me with my patients....my best friend's name is Alexia and she just got married to an Alex....it's pretty close and they were poking fun at it at the rehearsal dinner. I don't think it would be as much of a deal breaker as some of the previous "winners" from the past dating pool.

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  24. I don't think there are too many male "Elizabeth"'s out there, but I get that you wouldn't want to date an Alex. Have you ever seen The Importance of Being Earnest? It's all about this guy who pretends his name is Earnest, even though it is really Jack. Anyway, his fiance thinks his name really is Earnest, and it is the only name she could ever think of marrying. I won't give the ending away, but it is quite entertaining.

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  25. I don't know if there would be a male Rachel, but I did once have a roommate named Randy. He briefly dated (okay, maybe just hooked up with) a woman named Randy. He said it was mostly for the novelty of being able to moan your own name during sex. Haha!

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  26. I can't date a Jesse, it's pretty much the masculine version of my name. I also can't date someone with the same name as any of my family members, extended or not. My best friend dated someone with the same name as her brother... she told me it was awkward at times.

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  27. No I don't think I would want to date someone with the same name. We have a few clients at have the same name that are married it is weird. Also weird is the ones that rhyme like Mary and Larry. haha

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  28. I've never thought about that!! I honestly don't know if I could or not. It definitely would be strange and would take some time to get used to.

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  29. hahaha, good question...i don't think i could. or, i would have to call them something different or vice versa. people who tell you that your name is a male name are dumb. it's totally unisex. i know way more girls with the name alex, actually.
    the other day piper got "boy" and then when my friend corrected them, they said "oh, well, piper could be a boy's name too!" my friend said "well, she's wearing tights and a skirt!" hahaha
    i love your name!

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