What's In A Name?

You all know me as Rose...

But what you don't know is that I have a secret....

That's not my "REAL" name....

When I was born, my mother was only 17. My father was not welcome in the delivery room (can you guess why?) and so as I was born into the world, my mother was left alone to choose a name for me. She gave me the name Michelle. I was to be called Michelle Marie Nardiello (my mother's maiden last name).
This lasted for probably less than 12 hours, when my father came to visit, and said he hated that name. (An ex girlfriend perhaps?) They decided to name me Rose instead. Which is a good thing, because I don't think Michelle And The City has quite the same ring to it.

On that day, I became Rose Marie Nardiello. I kept my mother's maiden name, until my parents were married in 1986, when I was 3 1/2 years old. I then took my father's last name, Mitchell.

I have had the discussion with Andrew (Rose And The City's Official Boyfriend) about how I at certain points considered changing my name back to Nardiello after a falling out with my father in my late teen years, but never did. Why? Because as upset as I was at the time, to me, giving up his name would still be too harsh. Why is a name so important? It's more than just a word, it's an identity. As much as people don't want to admit it, it's part of what makes us who we are. Would I have become the same person if I was named Michelle? What about if I was named Agatha Gertrude?

Personally I go back and forth. I like my first name sometimes, because it's somewhat unique. Other times I hate it, because it's not so unique...with octogenarians.

Andrew has also expressed his desire to change his last name to another family name, but chose not to so he wouldn't offend his father. A former coworker of mine after a divorce wanted to change her last name to something new to symbolize her new beginning and new life rather than go back to her maiden name, only to find her mother was deeply upset by this, and therefore did not.

In a society where women often choose to keep their maiden name, some men adopt the women's last name, or hyphenate in marriage, or any number of other combinations...what is the big deal about names?

Does our name REALLY make up that much about who we are? Would a rose by any other name write as awesome of a blog?

What do you think? Would you change your last name for any reason, marriage or otherwise? Would you consider changing your first name? If you are not married, do your children have your last name, or their fathers? How did you reach your decision on this? Do your kids have unique names? Or are they passed down family names? Would you consider naming your kid something totally unique and maybe even bizarre? What are your thoughts as to how names play a role in shaping your identity?
I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this! Please leave your opinions in the comments below! I look forward to reading them!