Would it be odd to go by a different name?

Question

My mom almost named me Andi, and she said I could go by that if I wanted, because I like it. But would that just be weird? How would I explain that to people? Do people go by names solely because they like it? Or does it usually always have a relatively normal reason?

Answer 1

I have the same problem. I don't like my name and I don't think it suits me, but I love the name my mom almost gave me and want to go by that instead. It is a little weird I think, and will take people time to get used to. There isn't much of a way to explain it, and chances are your family and friends will continue to call you by your current name. The best way to do it is to gradually start using it and introducing yourself to new people by Andi as time goes by. Either that or you could wait until you go to college and then go by a new name since most of the people you will be around have never met you. You'll have a chance to reinvent yourself, even if it's just a new name. Good luck.

Answer 2

It usually has a reason, but if you want, and anyone asks you why u want to be called andi, say your middle name is andrea and u like to go by andi cuz u dont like your name.

Answer 3

I don't think it's weird at all and a bit more common than you might think.  Without really thinking much about it, I can think of 4 people I know who go by names that aren't even close to their real names.  My sister-in-law was born Leigh Ann but goes by Jami.  There were a group of her friends that all gave themselves "boy" names when they were in school and for some reason hers stuck.  I never knew her as anything but Jami and was surprised when my brother married her and I found out her real name was Leigh Ann.  When she got married, she changed her name legally to Jami.  A family at our church has a little daughter named Victoria, but she goes by Daimy.  I have no idea why, though.  My neighbor is named Anne, which is what I know her as, but all her family calls her DeeDee.  My friend's husband goes by Mickey and he won't freely tell anyone what his real name is, but my friend says it has nothing to do with Mickey.  If you like Andi, I'd say call yourself that and others will, too.  No need to explain anything to anyone, but people who have known you for a long time will likely still call you by the name they've always known you as.  I have an uncle who I always knew as Roy when I was a child, which is his middle name.  A few years back, he began going by his given name, Basil.  It took a long time to not call him Uncle Roy.  My sister-in-law's family all still call her Leigh even though her legal name is now Jami.

Answer 4

Either way is normal.

I dont think that itd be odd at all. I changed the spelling of my name to BAYLIE because i didnt like the other 'normal' way. So yeah, go for it!! Andi is darlin'!

Answer 5

I firmly believe that people should be called what they WANT to be called.

At different points in history, it was very common for lots of people to share the same name.  It's why many names in long use - Katherine, Mary, Margaret, Anne - have tons and tons of nicknames.  So you could be Kitty or Kate, Kathy or Trinny - and still have the same name.  My mother's family - like many Italian families - followed a family naming tradition that meant that cousins often shared the exact same name.  Some of those Anthonys became known by nicknames - like Flash.  (He was a fast runner back in the day.)

Look at the obituaries and you'll find plenty of women listed as Mary "Kick" Casey or Mary "Slim" Smith.

Now odds are that you'll find it difficult to change your name quickly.  I legally changed mine in my late 20s.  (I actually adopted a name related to my nickname as my legal middle name and kept my detested first name.)  Most of my nearest and dearest have made the switch, but it took years - and not everyone has played along.

It can be very disorienting to change your name - even when you're sure and certain it's the right course of action.

Still, if you think it's the right course of action, there's nothing stopping you.  You'll just have to be politely insistent about it - and remember that it's a job of work to pull off.