When I was old enough to change my name, I changed it to Mr. T so that the first word out of someone's mouth was 'Mister,' a sign of respect.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
When I first got out of drama school, my original manager tried to get me to change my name because people were having trouble spelling it and saying it.
I changed my name at 14 because no one outside of my family could pronounce my first name correctly.
I never wanted to give up my given name. I'm proud of it, but the only problem was that no one remembered it. It was just a little too awkward, and they mispronounced it so frequently.
There was never any point in my life when I wasn't called Mr. Donen. I'm told my first words were, 'Call me Mr. Donen.' But I suspect that's apocryphal. My mother, Mrs. Donen, tended to exaggerate.
All the women that are first born daughters in my family are named Mary, but we've all been given nicknames. I don't know how or why that started, but I'm nicknamed after my great-grandmother, who was Mamie. No one ever calls me Mary, except only if my husband is very serious about something.
I couldn't say my own name when I was 12.
I don't even correct people when they mispronounce my name now.
I was named Margaret Yvonne. 'Margaret' because my mother was very fond of one of the derivatives of the name. She was fascinated at the time by the movie star Baby Peggy, and I suppose she wanted a Baby Peggy of her own.
My childhood name that my father gave me, my mother, my grandmother, grandfather, family and friends all call me T.I.P.
When I eventually met Mr. Right I had no idea that his first name was Always.