Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Julia Banim

'I hate my name and want to change it – I'm embarrassed to say it and hate the spelling'

A woman says she's now considering changing her "embarrassing" name altogether, as it's got to the stage where she feels too ashamed to say it out loud at work when dealing with customers. The woman, whose name is Rylee, doesn't consider her name particularly "weird", and thinks of it as quite "normal, basic [with a] slightly unique spelling."

Rylee has sadly come to "hate" her name, however, although she's not quite sure why. Her dislike of it is now so strong that she's thinking about opting for a new nickname that she feels more comfortable with, or simply changing her name completely once and for all or instead.

She wishes she had another name, and doesn't fully understand why she hates her own so much (Stock Photo) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Taking to Reddit, Rylee wrote in a forum post: "'I'm not entirely sure why I don't like it. Is it normal to hate your own name? I'm so embarrassed to say it, and it feels awful when I say it, too. Wish I had another name like Crystal or even Katie.

"Greeting customers at my job sucks. My boss wants me to say 'hello welcome to [place name]! My name is Rylee, what can I get for you?'. Whenever she's not around I skip the name part. I just hate saying it so much. It's so embarrassing and makes me feel stupid."

She went on to explain that she thinks her difficult relationship with her parents could be partly to blame, adding that she's "definitely not keeping my last name when married".

Reaching out to fellow Reddit users for advice, Rylee continued: "Do I just hate myself? Do I just wanna avoid this part of me as much as possible? Is it normal to feel this way over a name? I'm not sure. I've never met someone who felt the same way!"

One person advised: "If you don't like it, you don't like it. Parents may be a bit offended, but if it makes you bristle every time someone uses it, change it.

"It's all about how you approach it, be nice, but be firm, even inject a bit of humour, offer a prize to the best suggestion from family and friends, even if you have already chosen one. It just gets them involved.

"My folks told me the names they considered for me, a couple were way better, you never know some of their other choices may resonate."

Another commented: "It seems that you just don't wanna be associated with your family as a whole."

Do you have a name-related story to share? Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.