What's in a name?

In 1974,my mother was pregnant. I was almost 12 years old. It was fun for me because I got to help pick out clothes and other items for "the baby." There was no ultra sound to reveal the sex of "the baby" so we had to patiently wait.

The hardest part was picking out a name. Mom came up with Brian Mark if it turned out to be a boy. I didn't care about a boy's name. Nana and I decided this baby was going to be a girl so the name we chose was extremely important.

I have always hated my name. How many times do I have to hear,

"Oh,are you the red,red,robin that goes bob,bob,bobbin' along?" How can you answer that? "Yes,that's me.How did you know?"

One dirty old man came into my work when I was 25 and when he read my name tag he asked,"So,Robin,do you have a red breast?"
What a perv! How could he not be ashamed of himself?

I have also heard,"Oh,so you're the Robin in the song,robin,robin,walking to Missouri. Can't afford to fly." Apparently that's some obscure bird song but several people have said it so it must be out there.

Then of course there's always,"Are you the Robin in Batman and Robin?" "Yes,of course I am. DUH!"

It's maddening. Robin is such a crappy name. (Sorry to anyone named Robin who loves the name. I wish I did!) When I lived in Israel and was introduced to someone new,they always asked,"Isn't Robin a boy's name?"

So,naming my sister was very important to me. I wanted her to have a beautiful name that she would always be proud of and love.
I came up with the name Heather. For me,Heather brings thoughts of lavender and joy to my mind. I wanted that for my sister.

Nana found the name Kara in my dance recital program. She liked it.
I wasn't so sure about that. Then we decided on the middle name Beth. I just loved Bethie from Little Women. I was ok with that. Hmmmm....Kara Beth. It wasn't Heather,but it sounded pretty and had a nice ring to it.

Thirty years later,Kara is very much Kara and not Heather. I still love the name Heather but it would not have suited Kara at all.
Names are funny,aren't they? Do we grow into the name that we are given or are we destined to have a certain name?

What do you think?