Name

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What does your name mean to you?

For me my name is simply a way for others to make reference to me. I just as easily go by Pad, Padium, and my given name. I might even respond to a username I once trolled with on one site. I also would respond to a few other names I have used for characters I have played. For me, I don't identify myself as my name, and it seems unimportant to me what people call me, as long as it isn't offensive, and I can respond to it. I could just as easily tell you "my name is Padium, but call me Pad" as I could say "My name is ..."... I don't think of myself with my name, so I will often not tell people my name when I meet them unless they ask. It just seems so unimportant to me. I am my collective consciousness, as long as I know you are talking to me, does it matter whether or not you know my name?

How many others are like this? and what do you feel about your name and who you are?

100% me.
My name is just a label that I feel no real connection to. Guess I'm just annomyous by nature.

Now that you mention it, I do feel the way you do.
I'm not sure what I think of that, whether it's good or bad.
I need to think. Maybe someone here knows something about it.

I have an uncommon name that most people get wrong, so I'm used to answering to almost anything. Fortunately I have a good enough memory to remember which name each person calls me (assuming I can recognize them through the face blindness ) so it's pretty easy. I don't care what anyone calls me.

Now that you mention it, I do care about the pronunciation.
My first name is a common name but spelled funny (crazy parents).
It annoys me so much that I use the common spelling (legally incorrect).

On the other hand, I like having a last name that's hard to pronounce.
When a telemarketer calls, I know right away.
I just say, "Close enough, what's up?" without correcting it, and let 'em squirm.

I get "Meryl" all the time
or "Myrtle"

I say no, MERLE, and they say "like MURLE" and I say no, like MER-MAID, MER-LE.
and they say," oh, I see, thanks Meryl!"

Merle

Here, slap me. I've always assumed it was "Murl", rhymes with curl. Mer-le is very pretty

Now I'm confused.
Merle.
One syllable or two?

I've always wondered about my name. Everytime I say it out loud it just doesn't sound right, and I have trouble pronouncing it simply because I never really have to say my name. hehe

This really isn't what you were talking about, but it does have to do with my name.....

I hate having to tell people my name because I don't think they need to know & I don't think it's any of their business. They always mispronounce it, anyway. I just don't like giving away any kind of information about myself. I feel like it's intrusive of other people to even ask.

My name is just a corruption of the herb we call 'ginseng'

My name means "somehow having to do with olives"...which I don't mind, because I like olives. I do feel stubbornly against telling people my name though, and if anyone ever asks :"What's your name?", I struggle with telling them, especially if I don't see the reason for them knowing.

Mine suggests English lineage, but that's hardly unique on this part of the world.

Same for me. I prefer being called by my nickname.

Thinking out loud here.
So really, "Who are you?" is many questions at once.

It's a simple, practical, "What may I call you," for identification purposes. Assuming you use the same name in all your travels, knowing your name allows me to talk about you when you're gone, for purposes that can be beneficial to you, harmful to you or just practical. It's usually simple and innocent.

"What does your name mean" gets more complicated. What did your mother mean? What did society mean when the name was given to your ancestor? What did you mean when you chose your user name for WP, or any other situation where you chose a name for yourself?

"Who are you?" I can't answer that in a sound bite. And I don't really want to tell you. If you knew, you would probably feel obligated to hate me and harm me.

Can we settle for "Hey -- You"?

Did I miss any essential elements?

I don't know whether I believe any of what I just wrote. Just food for thought.
If you don't like it, please don't kill me.

My mom was the one who gave me my first name, so it means alot to me!