What first name were you nearly given?

Ooo fun thread - my name is one of your potentials! If my dad had got his way I would have been Niamh, and it is in fact my middle name! My mum wanted to call me Grace or Eve (she was quite religious!) but my dad vetoed those. If I had been a boy I would have been Seamus ? Thankfully I was a girl.

My parents didn't have another girls name picked but if I was a boy I was going to be james.

Strangely I've got a younger brother but he isn't called james!

I was nearly Rachel. My mum wanted that but my dad fancied the midwife so i was named after her!!

My mum got her own back by naming my brother after an ex! H and I have discussed names and there will be no tactical naming for us!!

My name is the only name my Mum chose (she never let my Dad have a say. If she did, me and my siblings would all be named after motorbikes. My younger half bro didn't escape - Harley).

She never picked out a boys name, as she never wanted boys (and got her way, she had 4 girls)

I was going to be Rebecca. I was named Charlotte in the end!

Gah! (BT) but we are really unsure of some of our baby name choices and I feel the pressure to get it right! First time was easy

If I was a boy I was going to be James (my brother is called that). If he was a girl he would have been Sarah.

I don't think they had any other names picked out for me, but if I was a boy I would have been James.

Roseability I think Alexander goes well with your surname!

I was almost Margaret (family significance and my Dad was rooting for it) or Leigh (the name my mum wanted) but they went for something very unusual in the end as they couldn't agree.

My mum wanted to name me Zoe but she had an ex with a foreign name something like Zohan so my dad forbade it. She responded by vetoing his first choice for me - Guinevere.

I would have been Matthew

Although I'm not a huge fan of my name, it was the best of a very bad bunch. My dad wanted to call me Chloe which isn't bad, but he thought it was pronounced Chiloh (like Shiloh) or my mum wanted Cible (I'm not even sure how to spell that). I was going to be Trevor if I was a boy, I'm still not sure if my parents thought they were having a child from the 1940's - I'm in my mid twenties so not exactly fashionable names at the time. Their other alternative was to name me after where I was conceived, they were way ahead of the Beckhams.

I was going to be Abigail, I think my Mum wanted it but her mum vetoed it, that became my middle name. If i was a boy i was going to be called Andrew.

I was supposed to be Simon James but shockingly I was the wrong gender.

I was Poppy for a couple of days! - wish I'd still been called that, but expect it wouldn't have been so great as it wasn't as fashionable as it is now! Think it would suit me but soo doesn't go with my crazy surname (reason it was binned!)

My Dad wanted to call me Kate. My Mum had Lucy earmarked for me until Granddad made a joke of "Lucy Lastic" (Loose Elastic) which rather put her off. No idea where they got Emma from - other than the fact that I was born in the 80s and "Emma Louise" was a very popular choice at the time. If I'd been a boy, I would have been Thomas/Tom after Mum's Dad.

As an aside, H's mum wanted to call him Leigh (with that spelling after her home town). I'm really pleased his dad managed to change her mind.

This is exactly the same for me, although we have different first names from the potential list.

Irish mother picks English name, English father picks Irish name. Go figure.

How many different wierd pronunciations of Niamh have you had? First graduation, I was called up as Emma Ny-am....

My dad was a freakshow and had his heart set on "Sarah Sunshine" but when I was born they had chosen "heather," but when my mom saw me she said there was no way I was a heather, and she had been given a Clifford the big red dog book, so she picked my name from there.

I was always going to be Cara, but Dad wanted Louise as my middle name. Mum was a teacher at the time and had a naughty Louise in her class, so vetoed it. Ended up as a middle name Lynne instead, but changed it to one word Cara-Lyn in my early 20s.

Had I been a boy, I would have been James David.

Ashley (boy or girl) or Chelsea. Ashley would have been fun seeing how that is Boyos name.

Boringly my mum & dad agreed on Amanda from the beginning, i'd have been Brian if I was a boy.
Our son is Matthew & we were between that, Josh, Caleb or Corey (after corey taylor if i'm honest haha) in the end we thought Matthew was a nice sensible name, and he looked like a Matthew so went with that.
My dogs called Molly though and I wish it was my name haha!

Interesting! both of my parents are/were Irish, but I've never lived there. People at my graduation got the pronunciation spot on thankfully. However at school it was always pronounced nymph. Therefore in Junior school I got the nickname Pixie (fine, whatever); however in senior school my nickname was nympho - not good!!!!

My parents thought I was a boy and were going to call me David. I don't know where Sarah came from I think they just liked it. My mum had the last decision on the first name and my dad had final decision on middle name.

Lucy or Simon but my dad chose by seeing what sound best when shouted from the bath and went with Gemma, maybe they expected me to be trouble and needed a name that shouts well down the street

I had similar, my parents were going to call me Krishna if I was a boy. I have a younger brother, who isn't called Krishna. I kid you not, they named him with a 'J' name, as they knew the next year would be J on the car numberplates and they wanted to get his name on a personalised plate!! (They didn't get it, they missed out.)

My mum also really liked Lalita for a girl, which is an actual Indian name, but they decided not to as it's too similar to Lolita.

So they gave me a Muslim name, despite my dad being Hindu!

Alternative names were Rachel or Amy, they went with Catherine. If I had been a boy I would have been Steven or Adrian.

I was nearly called Bobcat... also nearly given 11 first names; all the West Brom team in the 90s in the year they were at Wembley for promotion (think it was the 92 team?). Pretty obvious my Dad was unmedicated at the time haha Mom got her way and I ended up being Madison Leigh. If I'd been a boy, I would've been Callum Alexander. Madison is everywhere now, but back when I was born, it was unheard of (still is where I live; everyone comments on how unusual it is)

Great topic!

I was supposed to be Sophie Leanne but apparently my dad didn't like Sophie. Although my dad still denies that! So I had Leanne as my first name. I don't mind it, it's harmless! I'd have been Gavin if I was a boy so I'm pleased I'm a girl! X

Chloe or Danielle, no idea what I'd have been if I were a boy.

I would have been Robert had I been a boy. No idea for a girls name but my dad gave me my middle name when I was born - this led to me having the name of an old school rock star for the first 28 years of my life.

Same here! They were going to call me David as they thought I was a boy (?!) but ended up calling my younger brother Joe (Joseph).

My dad wanted to call me Heather and my mum wanted Alison. As I now know a few horrible heathers I'm glad they went with my mums choice!

My 'dad' wanted Naomi. My Mum wanted Hannah and had wanted to call her first daughter Hannah since she met an English sheepdog called Hannah when she was 11 ? No offence to any Naomi's but I'm so glad I'm Hannah!

If I was a boy it was agreed I would be Thomas.