t hugging my full name and whispering "there, there, I like old-fashioned things"

Don't blame you. Hence my suggestions for my daughter - Eleanor, Julia, Emma.

I know three Stephanies myself. But one is a pencil-pushing hump(thank you Andy Sipowicz) I have little occasion to talk about. One is a Buffista. And one is my oldest pre-Buffista adult friend.

You may think of me as a Teppy. It's shorter than Buffista Stephanie.

t edit I also hated spelling out S-T-E-P-H-A-N-I-E as a kid, although it's not heinously long, especially with my one-syllable German surname. But I shortened it to Steph as soon as my teachers would let me use it on papers I turned in.

It's shorter than Buffista Stephanie.

There are actually two Buffista Stephanies, and I differentiate easily: I have a Steph (Vortex, my adopted daughter) and I have a Teppy.

One of each, both bebes.

oh...that's right. And I do think of you as Tep, Tep. But sometimes I have to explain "Oh, Teppy sent me a card." or something. And Hec is Hec, and the Lizard's the Lizard, until I get the puzzled expressions from Not Online People.

My full name is 9 syllables, 21 letters. My middle name is Regina, and the US seems to be the only English-speaking country that pronounces it re-GEE-na, which is how I pronounce it. My last name is unpronouncable to anyone who doesn't speak German and unspellable on hearing it. It also contains a Z and a G, both of which my lisp mangles to some weird sound that I can't even begin to figure out how to type. So, even when I spell out my last name, it usually ends up with a T and a P.

I'm pretty much against changing my name when I get married, but if they guy I marry has a last name that's unusual, meaningful, and something I can pronounce perfectly, I might consider it. I probably wouldn't do it, but I might consider it. Also, there's no way I'm going to give any child I have a name with sounds that are frequently difficult with speech problems. (Until we were about 10, one of my friends said my name as Hiwwawy. Which I guess was OK from him, but would have been hell if his own name had that many Ls and Rs.)

Along with unfortunate name combinations, let us not forget initials. Mr. & Mrs. Smith, please do not name your darling daughter Anna Sue.

I do know a couple whose last initial is T. They named their sons Adam Christopher, Alan Charles, and Andrew Carter. Yes indeedy, boys and girls, ACT 1, ACT 2 and ACT 3. More of an in joke for family friends, since it won't be a point in their adult lives, not being formal successive appendages, i.e., I, II, III, etc.

I mispronounced DH's name when I first introduced him to my parents. Never again, though.

When I got married I went from the name of Schram--ugly-sounding, no interesting meaning, and one I ALWAYS had to spell, to "Miller." After the divorce? I kept Miller.

I took husbands' surnames both times, because I liked them.

If I ever do write stuff under a pseudonym, though, I'll pick a surname that stands out and is shelved right at eye level. Something that starts with "D" is a good safe bet...