A boy called Primrose

Tia Maria Lancaster, Maidstone, Kent
"Good job your mum didn't like Guinness" is the usual comment I get when people see my name.

Rupert Bearne, Market Drayton
My unusual name Rupert Bear(ne) has brought me nothing but joy. Once seen never forgotten. Once caused me a bit of bother with a policeman who thought I was making it up.

"I do wish parents would think carefully before they dish out more outlandish things on their unfortunate children"
Zelda Lawrence-Curran
Help, my name's Lolita
Lammasfair Rossman, Manchester
At school I used to get annoyed when people made fun of my name. My parents (both sadly deceased) gave me the name because they met at the Lammas Fair in Ballycastle in Ireland. Now I think Lammasfair is a wonderful name because people always ask me about it and I can tell them the story of how my Mum and Dad met and fell in love.

Vanella Mead, Southampton
My name is Vanella and I love it. The name comes from the Latin for the wading bird Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus). I get a long way in life with this name as it opens doors and makes people remember who I am.

Lovedeep Vaid, London
I hated my name and was taunted about it when I was younger (I'm male by the way). I suppose I still have issues with it as I prefer my nickname "LV".

Jamie Starbuck, Plymouth
At various times, according to people I meet, I am the owner of a coffee shop chain, a character in Moby Dick, an ace pilot on the TV show Battlestar Galactica or a footballer for Nottingham Forest.

Zelda Lawrence-Curran, Lechlade
I'd love to have a "normal" name having become extremely bored by the standard response of "Oh, that's unusual" whenever I give my name. The other alternatives are "is it short for Grizelda" (it's not) or "Oh, that's like the game" - both of which are equally tedious. I do wish parents would think carefully before they dish out more outlandish things on their unfortunate children.

Cain Hegarty, Exeter
I don't think my fairly devout Roman Catholic Irish grandparents were best pleased to have their first grandchild called Cain. Apparently I was also a fairly unpleasant and angry baby, who screamed all the time and my parents were worried it might have been asking for trouble for a while. But my brother has survived to adulthood, and I think they have stopped worrying.

John A Fraser, Stirling, Scotland
I don't have an unusual name. However an uncle and my maternal grandfather, as well as the first-born male for several generations before, were christened Primrose. They were called Prim for short. Exactly where Primrose originated from and why it was thought to be a suitable Christian name for a boy is still a mystery. Thankfully the name ceased to be used in my generation. Talk about a boy named Sue.

Nicoli Unt, Wimborne, Dorset
My surname has caused me a never-ending world of fun. I was bullied to such an extent I contemplated suicide. However, I am now in a much better frame of mind and have fully embraced my surname.

Gay Richardson, West Anstey
I have great problems with my name - for some 20 years since it became the accepted name for a male homosexual I can't introduce myself as "Hello I'm Gay" without a smirk. I often have serious problems with sending or receiving e-mails as they are blocked by a spam filter which obviously has decided that I am writing something undesirable.