General Chat

There are several ways of spelling Christel - Crystal, Chrystal. One of my ex neighbours - German - was called Crytal. Sylvia xxx

Despite all the nicknames at school I've always loved my name and would never shorten it. It used to be a very unusual name (born in 1947) I hear it more and more these days, but never with my spelling. Not such a brilliant middle name though, the name itself I like very much....Clare, but it's soooooo close to Clear!!! Christel :)

Debbie, No Problem! I think it was my fault for not putting across what I meant very well. I certainly didn't mean to offend anyone with or who knows a Rachael.

My granddaughter is Linda, which I like too. Sylvia xxx

I think Roger is quite a nice name - it is my only brother's name. My brother was named "Roger" because my mother's maiden name was ROGERS. Sylvia xxx

I'm not keen on Andrew. I always thought it seemed quite dull, even though it's preferable to Roger (my middle name), in my opinion. So, Andy it is.

Joanne, I've heard of "plain Jane", but never "plain Joan". It's all in the mind my dear, but if you're happy with Joanne then stick to it. Sylvia xxx

I always hated my name of Joan. It sumed up a plain boring type of person and an unhappy childhood, so I added ne on the end. Made me feel better. Apologises to any Joan's out there, I'm sure you are very nice, it's just personal. Jo.

Hi there, I have never asked my children what they think of their names - do I dare? Why not? Sylvia xxx

i don't mind my name----as long as i don't get called it in full! "Christine"--------i prefer "Chris", if i get "Christine"---i think: oh god! what have i done!! sounds so unfriendly i think! "Chris"is much more friendly! everyone calls me Chris.

Rachel I am sorry for the things I said, I didnt really mean them. When I first read what you had to say I felt a bit offended as my sisters name is Rachael with the A, and I live in Rachael Close which is spooky. But I can understand when people have the original names like yours from the bible, and then someone comes along and changes it around. Please forgive me. Debbie

Roxanne. My neice is called Roxanne and I think it is such a pretty name. It does get shortened to Rox quite a lot though. Her sister is Candice but gets called Candy. Mandy in Somerset. My sister's name is Mandy Jane. They seem to get put together quite a lot. My other sister and sister-in-law are both Karen Lesley. These also come up quite often together. Mel

Don't particularly like mine, although it seems quite a common name on GR! However, my Dad wanted to call me Basil if I'd been a boy, so guess I should be grateful (no offence to any Basils, lol!)

Hi Debbie in Hants, I guess what I mean is that anyone who has a name that can be spelled in more than one way probably gets annoyed from time to time when someone spells theirs the alternative way. Mine comes from the spelling in the bible, although I'm not saying there's anything wrong with spelling it Rachael! As for all the Sharon's yes it is a pretty name but thanks to the connotations that have become attatched to it, my friend Sharon always wanted to call herself Francesca? My sister's name is also Sharon which I didn't even know for years because she's always been known as Sallie! <<<oh look another spelling varient LOL.

Mel in Coventry - that's exactly why I'm called Mandy! I was going to be Amanda Jane, but my grandma insisted that my dad chose a name for me too, and then my mum thought it would be just as well to call me Mandy. So I'm Mandy Denise. I think I would have preferred Amanda but no big deal! I really, really hate it being shortened to Mand though. My birth name was Suzanne, which I quite like, but I didn't have a middle name then. My poor husband goes by the name Marston. It doesn't get shortened to anything and I suppose I've got used to it now, but I can't imagine what possessed his parents to call him that. Our son is called Jordan James, which we chose because we just liked it very much. And having just asked him, it seems he likes it too! It doesn't get shortened either.

It would have been easier for you to spell if they had called you Jacky - like Jacqueline Kennedy!! Sylvia xxx

Are you kidding Sylvia - it took me until the age of 8 to learn how to spell it!! The alternative was Beverley as I understand it, and I still think I drew the short straw! Jacqueline (god help me)

I have two but wish I only had one. Leave all the extra names to royalty! Sylvia xxx

I really quite like my name as long as no-one calls me Chrissie. Sylvia, you asked about the most forenames. My nephew has seven names all together and when he was getting married his poor wife had a terrible time trying to remember them all! Christine

I like mine but get a huge variety of spellings! The name is not common in England, but lots of us in welsh Wales!