A woman has slammed her parents for allowing her to be named after a luxury clothing brand so she sounds 'expensive'. She explained how her name has caused her no end of problems throughout her life - from bullying in the classroom to not being taken seriously by adults.
Taking to Reddit, she said: "My sister named me and my mother and father were dumb enough to listen to her. My family likes my name and so do some people at school but I literally hate my name. I sometimes got picked on for my name as well."
The woman is named Armani after the Italian luxury fashion house founded by Giorgio Armani - but claims it doesn't suit her personality in the slightest.
She added: "I don't fit it. I don't like how it's spelt or how I say it. I don't really want to say my name [because of] how embarrassing and tacky it is."
She went on to explain how her family now all call her by a nickname - but her classmates continue to use her real name.
"I really want to change my name when I'm older and spoke to my mother and sister about this and they got upset and said that my name is fine," she said.
"I don't really speak about it to them anymore as I don't want to make them upset."
She is unable to go by her middle names - Catherine and Anne - because they belong to her grandmothers and she claims she doesn't suit them either.
The woman added: "If I did want to change my name I have no idea what to.
"My personality is quite shy and quiet at first but then I'm loud when people really get to know me.
While most users urged her to change her name, others started brainstorming possible options.
One user said: "I think I'm a bit older than you, but I am in a similar situation. I don't like my name at all; it's trendy and just doesn't suit me.
"As someone who can empathise, I'd say just change it. It's your name, and your life.
"If you want to make things easier for family and friends - and you are in no way obliged to, you could pick a name that is similar or starts with the same letter as your current name.
"But it's also ok if you want to go with something completely different."
Another user added: "You can still change your name even if they don’t approve. You don't need their permission or anything.
"My mum's cousin changed her name from Lisa, which she always hated, to Tristan when she turned 18.
"My mum said a lot of the family, including my mum, were resistant at first, but Tristan persisted and people have pretty much forgotten she ever was called anything else."
A third user said: "You have every right to change it if you dislike it. It is yours after all.
"If you're not old enough to do it yet you could still decide what you want and start using it to introduce yourself. This gives you time to try out different things until you find one that feels more you."
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