Hate my pledge name
 

I understand you make the name, the name doesn't make you. But my big bro made it pretty damn hard by naming me "pooh". double meaning intended. I hate when people call me this name because first thought is of excrement, not the stupid bear. This name zapped out a lot of my motivation because if I cross, I will have it forever, and be called this damned name in every greek setting. To me pooh means poop, and I can never get over that. What should I do?

Act like an adult and tell people to call you by your given name, and not some nickname that a guy you barely know has given you. Stand up for yourself. If you don't like that idea, you can be known as Pooh or you can quit. You have choices.

Pledge name doesn't have to equal brother name. When I pledged one of my pledge brothers was nicknamed Green Giant cause of how tall he was. Another was named Grills cause he has braces. Another was Blue, simply because he was 22. Yet when we all got initiated, our big brothers told us what they were calling us for brothers, and we were all excited.

A pledge name is based on first impressions. Sometimes it sticks (like my pledge brother Hebrew Hammer) and sometimes it doesn't (like pledge brother Magikarp). You'll be a brother so you can decide for yourself.

And honestly, pooh isn't even that bad of a name. Mine was Skittles, I owned up to it and still have it as my brother name. Its stuff like that which makes pledging kinda fun.

My prophyte's name is also Skittles :)

This is absolutely true. If you're a cool person, no one will think about the origin or negative connotation. And I went to school with Piglet, Guppy, Lunkhead, and Booger, so I think Pooh is probably pretty tame. :)

Truth.

I also went to school with Booger.. and Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup!

And an Eeyore. If we find a Tigger and a Christopher Robin, we could start our own show!

Our housing chair's boyfriend was Freak Show. My boyfriend, now husband of 17 years was Fluffy.

Wait, is giving pledges stupid names not hazing? I would have assumed it is, under today's rules.

For the group I was a pledge of, the pledge receiving the nickname had to like it and only their big could officially give them one. Thus when "Nipple Blades" did not want to be called that and her big said no, we all had to stop calling her that.

FWIW, I thought of Pooh Bear before poop.

One of the Brothers from my class has two nicknames: Hand Dancer & Manboy. One of my Brothers is also known as Sack Master. My roommates were Crisco, Happy Ending, and Grizz. C'mon.

It's not like you'll walk into a job interview one day and they'll say "Oh! You're poop, right?"

None of those names means excrement. I would have preferred any of those names, even booger. Pooh means poop to most people doesn't matter what kind of person I am. I am going to be called shit for the rest of my life. MAYBE if he called me winnie-the-pooh, pooh bear, or even THE pooh it would have been fine, but he called me "pooh". You guys don't understand how annoying it is to be called this IRL, because people don't see the spelling, or the "h", they only hear poo. A name is important because it's going to be with me forever. The rest of my pledge class got pretty decent names, mine is the only one that is shit.

You're right. This is the end of the world as you know it.

Honestly, I think it's all in how you carry it off.

The rest of your life? Forever? Really? Trust me, no one really cares. I heard a lot of pledge names over the years, hanging around the frat dudes, but I couldn't tell you what most of them were. The more you complain about it, the more everyone will call you that out of spite. You need to suck it up or quit. Only two options. Sounds like you may not be able to survive life, let alone a fraternity.

This. You're making a huge deal out of something that isn't as big a deal as you seem to think. Just take it as a sign that you're destined to be Grand Poohbah.

And as for me, when I hear "Pooh," I don't think of excrement. That's poop. I think of the bear, or of Pooh-Bah, Lord High Everything Else of Titipu.

Protip: If you don't answer to something, people will stop calling you that.