Good morning! TGIF!!! 
I had no clue what to write about this morning, but my bowl of oats helped me pick the topic: names! 
For those of you who don’t know already, my full name is ‘Christina,’ but I go by ‘Tina’ (or one of my nicknames). My parents really had no intention on using my full name, and called me ‘Tina’ from the very beginning. My family is Catholic, so I think they wanted to make sure I had a “proper” Christian name.
To read more about why my oat bowl says ‘Christine‘ instead of ‘Christina,’ here’s the story.
In general, I like my name. I haven’t met too many Tina’s, so it’s nice being one of the few in my life. However, the thing that bugs me about my name is that in movies and television shows, the Tina character is always the floozy, chatty, ditzy girl! What’s up with that?! And then there’s creepy Talky Tina and Tina the llama. Jeez. My name gets abused! Tina Fey and Tina Turner are pretty cool though! 
In the mix today:
- 1/2 cup (dry) oats
- 1 cup water
- 1 sliced banana
- 2 enormous scoops of Barney Butter
31 Days of Summer
A summer tidbit from Meghan:
- Enjoy the longer days and host an evening cocktail hour for friends or just you and your roomate/partner/neighbors. Trader Joe’s “Vinho Verde” plus chopped peaches and strawberries served over ice is an inexpensive and easy white sangria. Enjoy in your yard, on your porch or deck, or just inside with all of the windows open and some summery music, like Jimmy Buffet, playing.
Question of the Day
Do you like your name? Do you think it “suits” you? Would you ever change your name? If so, to what?
{ 118 comments… read them below or add one }
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I like my name. When I was younger I hated it because I never met another Pam but now I like how there aren’t to many Pam’s. I also really like Pamela. So I guess I owe a big Thanks to my parents!
thats the same kinda thing with my name. My full name is Katelyn, but my parents call me Katey!
What a fun topic-names! Well my name is really different. I have never met anyone else with the name Michal before. When I was little I hated it because people would always think I was a boy and call me michael. However now Im used to it and I like it because its really different. Lately I have been thinking about going by kelly but im not sure.
Oh, I totally wanted to change my name when I was younger. I wanted to be a Rachel or Jennifer or Jessica like the other girls I knew – or Alex for some reason, too
But I LOVE my name now and am so happy to have it. I don’t know many Brandi’s and most of them that I do meet spell it with a “y” instead of “i”
I like your name (nickname too!) a lot! My name is Michelle, and I’ve always liked it! I feel that I was blessed with a great name! Thanks Mom!
I think Tina is a great name–so is Christina! I love my name because it’s unique–like me
my name is christina too! tons of nicknames for it… only person that calls me christina is my mother (or people that don’t know me). i went by chris, which morphed into chrissy (i always think of three’s company!) – and now, at 26, a lot of people just call me by my last name!
My brother actually picked my name, it was either going to be Jessica, Mary, or Gina. I think he picked the best one
It’s not very common, from where I’m from at least. I remember though when I was little how I could never find anything with my name on it because it wasn’t popular enough. I got over that quickly. I have always loved my name, and I think it suits me very well.
My full name is Yasmeen (go by Yasi) and I used to HATE it growing up. I tried to have friends call me May when I was in elementary school (my initials are YAM and I made it backwards to do MAY), but it didn’t go over so well. It took me a while to really appreciate my name and now I love it and wouldn’t change it for the world. I don’t even want to change my last name when/if I get married!!
the only place i’ve ever found anyone with the same full name as me, spelled the same, is facebook.
and half the people with it are boys. awesome.
as much as i hated never having anything (like an oatmeal bowl!) with my name printed on it, it was nice to not be one of 3 Katies or 2 Jennifers or something in school.
I LOVE my name!
Especially because it rhymed with my birthday date “2-0-8″ 
I love my name and wouldn’t change it for the world! I was named after the song “Suzanne” by Leonard Cohen (my father’s favorite version).
I used to reallllly hate my name…so many syllables, so different from everyone else’s, but most of all, no one could remember it or pronounce it!
now, i absolutely love it BC it is so unique. ppl are getting better at pronouncing it, and i try to make ‘em remember it
its def not a common one, and for that i feel one of a kind.
My name is Rebecca, but I have NEVER gone by that! (Probably because I have a cousin who is a month younger than me that is named Rebecca, too, but she does go by that). Up until 6th grade, I was Becky and then I decided to spell it Becci to be different. It has stuck, and since Becci isn’t my “legal” name, I didn’t have to fill out the paperwork to get it changed!
My full name is Kimberly, and I hate it…lol. I have hated since I think I could talk. Thankfully the only people who use my full name are my parents. I go by Kim at work and all my friends call me Kimmie, however I am starting to get into a perdicament, I am getting older (27) and Kimmie is not sounding all that sophisticated.
Great topic! My first name is Briana, and my middle name is Rose. Growing up, my father always called me “Rose” and my mom always called me “Briana.” When they got divorced – I lived with my Dad and thus grew up being called Rose.
My mom’s side of the family are the only people that call me Briana. It’s really strange now!
I grew up hating my name, no one said it right! Everyone always says “Care-uh” when it’s “Car-ah”. It drove me crazy when I was a kid and it still happens now, but I don’t care as much anymore. I also get called “Tara”, “Laura”, and for some reason “Rachel”
I had one professor in college who would always call me Rachel and every time I corrected him, he said that “You look like a Rachel”. Wtf?
My full name is Danielle, and my family and closest friends have always called me Dani, but I’m just now working my way toward wanting everyone to call me Dani. The name thing I’m struggling with is my soon to be husband’s last name. I’m not in love with it, but told him I’d take it. Although he keeps saying I can do anything I want, I think he really wants me to take his name. Long story short, his last name really goes much better with Dani than Danielle, so I guess I’ll just need to train people to call me Dani.
Ahh I could go on forever and ever on this, haha. While I totally LOVE my name, it hasn’t always been easy. It’s pronounced Ryan like the guys’ name but my parents thought they’d add an “e” on the end… like in french E makes things feminine, not that we’re french AT ALL – mostly Irish! Nobody says it correctly at first. I get called Ry-Anne or Ry-Annie or Renee a lot, meh. Plus, my grandmother loved giving us grandkids things with our names on them, but mine always had a little “e” sharpied onto whatever item it was. Sweet!
OH! and Tina the llama is awesome! My dad has a weird thing for llamas so I gave him a little stuffed one for xmas one year and he named it Tina. Haha. Fortunately, I don’t think of llamas when I hear your name.
I hated the spelling of my name when I was younger because I could never find anything personalized but by the time I was a teenager I realized it was cool. I became known as Nikole with a “k”. Plus people always make comments on how they love the spelling so now I feel it makes me unique.
I love my name! I didn’t run into too many Meghans growing up, especially those who spelled it my way. It’s so funny Megan up there said everyone puts an “h” in her name because NO ONE puts it in mine!
I am very used to having my name misspelled.
I LOVE my name! It’s a combination of my grandmother’s names – Kay + Helen = Kalen
I love my name. My first name, Alma, is after my maternal grandmother. We look alike and I’m told we act alike in our meanness. Well, some call it meanness, we call it fun! ha! My middle name, Denise, what I go by professionally, is just who I am. Personally, my nickname is Dee. THAT is also who I am. I guess I have a name for each of me? Would that be considered multiple personalities? J/k. We are one and the same… I think.
When I was young I absolutely wanted to change my name, which is Jessica. Now though, I have come to identify with it – it is part of me & I wouldn’t change it for anything.
My Mom wanted to name me Jesse (after Jesse James) but my Grandma pitched a fit because that was not “proper” for a girl. So my name is Jessica, but my family calls me Jesse.
I like my name! I remember in kindergarten though, I thought I was the ONLY Katie in the entire world…I found out in the line for the girls restroom that that wasn’t true! I was devestated LOL
I do like my name, but hate that my mom spelled it uniquely! No one ever spells Mellissa right, darn 2 L’s! When I got my first passport even the U.S. Gov’t spelled it wrong
Tina,
Looks like we have something in common…. my name is also Christina and many people call me Tina. The thing is, though, I prefer being called by my proper name of christina! but i guess once they start calling you Tina from the beginning- its hard to make people stop! Like you, I have several nicknames- T (does anyone call you this?), tina, Chris, Ponz (based on my last name), TPonz, and the inevitable CHRISTINE that every docotor, pharmacist, hair stylist, etc loves to call me…why is that? can you not see the “A” on the end? haha does this happen to you too? but i do enjoy my name- i have not met many Christinas/Tinas so I do like being unique. i just wish people would call me christina more often! I do enjoy the nickname “T” though- lots and lots of people call me that.
im too used to my name to ever change it :p
my dad calls me neise always, or pumpkin haha
I definitely had to comment on this one, as “Menden” is a name you don’t hear too often! My middle name is Mendenhall, a family name, so I go by a nickname of my middle name. Confusing, right?! I’ve always been called Menden…I HATED it when I was a kid…I thought it was so weird compared to the cute names like Katie and Sarah and Missy and Christie! Now I love it…it’s just something that’s a little unique about me
But it makes for a lifetime of explaining, spelling, respelling, and having people assume I’m going to be a man before they meet me, for some reason (??)
I’m a regular reader, but this is my 1st time commenting. I have actually really grown to love my name: Rachel. My parents did choose it from the Bible, so I love that there is deeper meaning behind it. I know there are lots of Rachels out there, but I still think my name is somewhat unique…not sure why?
Anyway, I enjoy your blog and you’ve really made me want to visit Boston! I went to school in NY, but never made it there. Hopefully I will soon.
I like my name now – growing up, I wanted to change it to my middle name – Lynne. I was named after one of my mom’s childhood friends – she was the only Heather she had ever know and though the name was very unique. Little did my mom know, the year I was born, Heather was one of the most popular baby names.
I hated the name Kelly as I was growing up. There are too many things that rhyme with it, and kids are just darned cruel! I now prefer to be called Kel, and don’t find too many of us in my circle.
Love those oats! I tried them recently and can’t wait for a bowl tomorrow morning before a 35 mile bike ride!
My name – Sandhiya – means ‘Dusk’ in sanskrit/Indian language. It kind of suited me.. because of my complexion and also the fact that I was born @ dusk..around 6.00pm. But growing up I have always wondered why would anyone want to name their daughter dawn/dusk?? But not anymore..
I love my name. Amanda is derived from Latin, and means “loveable”. I hardly ever meet other Amandas, so I like that!
It’s taken me a long time to finally appreciate my name. In elementary school, I hated it because back then it wasn’t popular for a girl to be named Jordan and teachers would look surprised when they called attendance and I was the one that said “here”. But, now I feel like no other name would really suit me and my personality. I wouldn’t change it for anything!
I actually really like my name (Kristen) even though I’ve had three very close friends throughout my life with the same name and a lot of other people I meet my age have my name. Since there was always another Kristen, however, everyone started to call me by my last name, Link. People even introduce me without thinking as Link. It’s always a great conversation starter.
My parents did contemplate naming me Christine (and Christina and Kirsten) before choosing Kristen. They also decided to name my brother Christopher – not sure what they were thinking there
My parents named me Carlene with no intention of ever calling me that. Apparently my influential grandparents had the same religious name philosophy. I’ve always gone by Carly, which I think is fairly unique and suits me quite well. I also love that it’s in honor of my grandfather, Carl E. Great thread conversation!
Great tip of the day! Sangria reminds me of my time in Spain. I love my name! Yasmin is so unique and beautiful. I’ve always liked it even when Aladdin came out and everyone wanted to call me Jasmine b/c they thought I looked like her. I wouldn’t change it at all, except I don’t like when people want to tack an e on the end of it. Um, I think I know how to spell my own name, thanks!
I love my name and think it suits me. I was always the only Rachel, too, until I met my husband – it’s his sister’s name too! Now there are two of us and it gets a little confusing at family dinners.
I didn’t know you were a Christina – I have a friend Christina who goes by Stina.
I used to hate my name (Cynthia). The only people I knew with my name were old ladies and when I was a kid I wanted a cool name like all my friends named Melissa or Jennifer. I even tried to be cool by spelling the family nickname (Cindy) as Cyndi.
Now as an adult I love my name. I know its unique and that I don’t have to go by Cynthia C. And I like the fact that my dad picked it because of the heritage behind it and how it sounded in German since we lived in Germany for a long time.
LOL I’m also Catholic and have a proper name (Therese as in SAINT Therese the Little Flower) and a nickname (Tracy). All 6 of the kids in my family have 2 names!
I love your blog Tina! Read it all the time and am always very inspired!! This is my first time leaving a comment so here it goes! My name is Hallie- like Halle Berry, which is I say a lot so people pronounce it correctly
Anyways, Hallie is a pretty uncommon name so it has been interesting that throughout my life, my best friends names ryhme with me! My best friend growing up is Ali K., my college roomate was Callie R., my best friend I met in college is Ali H., and the first friend I met when I moved to Florida is Callie C. Sometimes when we are together and introdue ourselves to a new group, people think it is a joke!! So I love my name because it has helped make connections with amazing friends through every major event in my life….so far 
Love the story of your name
I go back and forth on mine. I guess Ruth just sounds like an old name… but at least not that many people have it
My name is Raya and I Loooove my name! It’s very unique and in all my 27 years I’ve never met someone with my name. I’ve heard of other “Raya’s” but usually it’s spelled “Rhea” or something like that. I even have my name tattooed on me.
I like my name alot! I was named after Melanie in Gone with the Wind which is one of my favorite movies!! I like it too because it’s still not a very popular name. Sort of unique sometimes
Have a great weekend! I need to start putting nut butters in my oatmeal
My name is actually Amy Beth but I’ve gone by Beth my whole life. My mom liked the flow of Amy Beth better than Beth Amy but the name Beth more! It’s a huuuuge pain but I guess it’s one of those things that makes me me! :O)
I feel you on the name abuse thing! There’s a Babrbie doll named Stacy, and the cheerleaders or ditzy girls in movies always have my name. Theirs are usually spelled in some crazy way though, like Staci or Stacie. No one gets the spelling of my name right on the first try! It was even spelled wrong on my birth certificate!
I like my name…I’m named after my grandfather who was Harold, Hal for short. When I was younger I didn’t like my name because it was too different and no one could pronounce it (no, it’s not Hayley or Holly, it rhymes with Sally) but now it’s a little more common. I have no idea what I’d change my name too…but my last name, that’s a different story (you listening, BF??)
I would have loved my sister’s middle name, Collette. I was named after my aunt, and she was great, so I shouldn’t complain.
My name is Olga and I don’t like it! I wouldn’t change it because my parents gave it to me for a reason but when I meet people they go “Your name is Olga? I didn’t think that Olgas looked like you…” What are Olgas supposed to look like? ahahah
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