While we can't choose our names from birth we always have an option to change them later in life - and that's exactly what one woman is considering after spending her entire childhood being laughed at.
She explained how her mum named her Ethereal, an adjective to describe something "extremely delicate and light in a way that seems not to be of this world". She said: "I asked my parents why they named me an adjective and my mum said she loves the meaning and pronunciation. Growing up teachers would always giggle when they heard it and it made me feel self conscious so I went by Ethy for the most part."
Ethereal recalled how her name once cropped up as a 'word of the day' at her middle school, leaving her mortified as everyone came to understand its meaning.
"It was one of our vocab words and everyone laughed," she added. "Ethereal is just too much. I’m too introverted for that name.
"Everyone in my personal and professional life calls me Ethy, and I’ve been considering changing it to that legally."
After sharing her dislike for her name on Reddit, most users urged her to go through with a name change, claiming she'd be happier for it in the long run.
One user said: "That’s an interesting name, although I'm sorry for your experience. It's a good reminder for me to rein it in a little when looking at unique names for future kids. I do really like Ethy as a nickname, though."
Another user added: "This reminds me a lot of my friends daughter's name, Gethsemane. She goes by Grace.
"Ethereal and Gethsemane are both very beautiful names but definitely elicit a giggly response."
A third user said: "It's your name and if you don't like it, then you have every right to change it.
"It's important to be confident in yourself and if Ethereal is holding you back from that, then I'd say it's the right decision. Do what's best for you."
One more user added: "Oh, yikes. I always warn people here away from adjective names in particular because my maiden name was an unflattering adjective and pretty much everyone made one of maybe three jokes about it and thought they were uniquely clever.
"But at least I could easily get rid of it when I got married (even if my ex-husband tried to force me to take it back when we divorced). I can get how your mum would love the meaning, but that's too much to put on a kid."
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