posted by Ashalah on Features, Life

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I had a post written all out. All about how I was feeling empowered and strong about this whole situation. I have many moments, hours even, where I feel this way. That I know how much more I deserve. How I will find love. I even feel borderline happy. And then I’ll find myself walking down the aisles of target wanting to scream out WHY? What did I do to deserve this? I’m going to be single forever. I’m not feeling terribly strong right now so instead, I’m distracting myself with Ten on Tuesday from Roots & Rings. Feel free to participate in the comments!

1. How did your parents decide on your name?

So this one’s a difficult one since I don’t actually know why I was named Ashley. I was originally going to be named Meagan Elizabeth. My mother wrote it over and over and over again until, at about 8 months, my mother grew so sick of it that she changed it to Ashley. I think some president had a daughter or granddaughter with the name? At the time it was not a popular girls name and was still pretty much considered a boys name. (Ashley a boy’s name? Just watch Gone With the Wind for reference.)

2. Do your initials (First, Middle, Last) spell out anything fun/funny?

My ititials are AER. Not very much fun there.

3. Did you take your middle name from childhood or did you take your maiden name as your middle name? (If unmarried, what do you plan to do?)

I have no idea. I always have assumed I’d take my maiden name when I got married but that also depends on if I actually change my last name. I kind of like it. Now that I’m really thinking about it, I think I would keep my middle name, even if I changed my last name upon marriage. I am not the biggest fan of Elizabeth but it works well with my first name.

4. Are you or will you name your children thematically (ie. same first letter, all of same origin…)

Oh hell no. Although the names I have in my head for girls all seem to be French…

5. Did you decide on baby names as a little girl? Did you stick to them or change your mind?

I didn’t start thinking of baby names until I was older. Not that I would remember if I actually did have baby names. I have definitely changed my mind a lot over the years. Which is funny because I don’t even know if I *want* children.

6. Does your family have any names that have been passed down through generations?

Nope. We don’t do that in my family. I am the first one who was named after someone: my middle name is my Grandmother’s. (She went by Betty)

7. Do you look at the meaning of the name or just the name itself?

Just the name itself. If it’s pretty and I like the sound of it, I’ll typically gravitate towards it. If it has a nice meaning then that’s an added bonus!

8. Do you name pets with human names (Sally, Henry) or with pet names (Fluffy, Mr. Bo Bo)?

Pets with human names. My cat is named Zoe, my cat before that was Isabella. My parents cats are Daisy, Roger, Cosmo, Gus Gus, and Lily. Dogs: Kirby and Casey, Shelby before that. But that doesn’t mean that their nicknames aren’t goofy. I’ve been known to use nicknames like Fluffinator or Kitvicious.

9. Are there any names that you have an affinity or dislike for based on a childhood experience/someone you once knew?

Oh yes. I don’t like certain names (like Brian. I dated too many of those with bad endings)  and more recently, I really don’t like being called Ash. (and this is a very new development.)

10. What are some of your favorite names? Why?

I go through phases of liking different names. For a while it was Chloe but then my friend named his chihuahua that and I just can’t see past it. I’ve also liked Jacqueline and Samarra. Currently, I love the name Simone because it sounds elegant, classy and sexy and the name Olivia. As far as boys names go, I don’t actually have any that I like. I loved Aidan for a while but then, so did everyone else so I gave that up.

Tags: Ten on Tuesdays