Where My Blog Name Came From

2.09.2014


Linking this post up with Kiki!

The story of where my blog name came from is actually not that interesting, but I'm going to Jedi mind trick you into forgetting I just told you that.

Four years ago, I started this blog, but it was under a different name: Breathing in the Wind. It's surprisingly hard to come up with a name for a blog, and I spent at least ten minutes brainstorming ideas.

That was a joke. Actually I spent twenty minutes on it.

The reasons I felt like Breathing in the Wind was a good fit were threefold:

1) I had recently moved to Oklahoma, which is windy.
2) I am alive, thus I breathe.
3) I often go outside and therefore breathe into the wind in order to stay alive (see #2).

Then, in fall 2012, I had to choose a team name for the annual Reese Fantasy Football League. After approximately 3.8 seconds of thought, I typed in The Lady Okie as my team name because the majority of the other teams were run by my guy cousins who live in Illinois, and I wanted to distinguish both myself as a female and also an Oklahoma dweller.

MIND EXPLOSION.

I bought the domain for theladyokieblog a week later. It was perfect! It was short and required no explanation, which were my two main goals. Since that time, I've come to realize just how truly brilliant my blog name is. It's not only a name for a blog but a name for ME. I unknowingly branded myself as THE Lady Okie. Soon I will be like those famous people who change their name, and no one remembers what their original name even was!

I'm talking to you, Vanilla Ice, aka Robert Matthew Van Winkle.

If my 400 followers in 4 years is any indication, I'm going to be famous real soon. Watch out.


Have you changed or would you ever change your blog name?
Does your blog name have a story?
Beka @ Sunshine to the Square Inch said...

I love your blog name! That is a fun story and I'm glad it randomly popped into your head =)

Amber Marie said...

Love it. It's original and it doesn't sound like it's trying to hard…you know how some names sound like that?

Madison @ Wetherills Say I Do said...

How awesome! It's funny how we can sometimes almost overthink things and miss ideas that are just perfectly us! It's always interesting learning how people come up with their blog names! I've thought of changing mine but to be honest, it seems like too much work. I love my blog name, I just don't like that people can never pronounce our last name.

Niken said...

haha. should i start call you The Lady Okie from now on? love this story. name is a tricky game isn't it. i changed my blog name twice and the one i used now i think is the most fitting. i don't think i will change it again in the future, but hey, who knows?

Allison said...

My favorite part is how regal it sounds when I refer to you (and I do...usually when filling Riley in on one of your recent posts...) as The Lady Okie. You know, like Lord and Lady Okie, haha. It's quite nice, right?

Aleshea said...

HA! That was cute. I love hearin' how people get their blog names.

Breenah A said...

Mine is By Breenah because everything on the blog is BY me. The end.
Although, Breenah has a slightly longer origin story. The first kind of group I was with online (shoutout to AMA on LJ) already had a Sabrina. They already had a Brina. So I figured I'd be Breenah, which is just Brina spelled differently. I'm not super in love with the spelling anymore, but it's what the internet knows me as so it's staying. For now.

Megan said...

I love it! It is simple and easy to remember. :) I told the story behind my blog name as part of a link-up last year:

http://megancstroup.blogspot.com/2013/02/say-my-name-semi-charmed-kind-of-life.html

Tiffany Anne said...

My blog is called Written In Blue. There really isn't much of a story behind it. I just thought it suited me. I will admit that I spent well over 20 minutes brainstorming name ideas. I actually spent a few days thinking on it, to be honest.

Bailie @ The Hemborg Wife said...

I like your blog name tons and it always makes me think of Annie Oakley for some reason and so in my mind!

Anonymous said...

Great name and great story!

For my blog, Change is My Only Constant was chosen, because when I started it, there was a whole lot of change going on in my life. I left my ex-husband and was getting a divorce, I had a major change in careers, and I was finding myself. It's been rather fitting so far!

~Katy

Rachel said...

haha, I love your description of the progression of how you got your blog name! I don't think I'll ever change my blog name...primarily because I hate doing the whole domain name redirect computer-ish stuff.

Jeneric Generation said...

Even your "boring" stories (I didn't hear that from you...) manage to be highly amusing. I loved this! I can't wait until the day I get to say "I knew her when..." I'll be so proud.

Claudz said...

I love the name, and it's definitely more memorable than your initial idea!

Robyn B said...

your stories are never boring!! i love your blog name so much & it really is ingenius!! my blog name came from a quote so i'm pretty lame lol

Robyn B said...

i always think of Annie Oakley too!!!!

Allie @ Everyday Adventures said...

Ha! That's awesome. :)

PAM said...

You make me laugh so hard ALL the time. Love how you make a simple post brighten my day! Great name BTW

Unknown said...

Oh man, I love this origin story! It fits perfectly with everything that is you and your lovely blog. My blog name came about in one of those floundering moments in early 2005. I had a thing for narwhals and the name makes absolute no sense but had a sense of camaraderie with the Club attached to the front. And then I was just too lazy to change it as my blog evolved--sad but true :)

Anonymous said...

Love the name and story ... great stuff (found you from T-Rex)!

My blog I did when Blogger launched (in 1999) was called 'Cognitive Dissonance' and was an outlet since I was writing for other places. But when I wanted to focus more on a personal blog last year, it didn't make sense, so I created a new one - and since I was a veteran runner who'd never run a race, it was a change of course for me - this 'Running Around the Bend'.

Kerry @ Till Then Smile Often said...

Love the story! I love my blog name and don't think I will ever change it. It was how I used to sign off my letters when writing to soldiers over seas. It started out as Stay Safe, Smile Often and then to Till Then Smile Often. If fits with who I am and my nickname of Smiley. A name is really hard to come up with, but that one just fit.

Anonymous said...

I like it. :) It reminds me of my blog name and how I came up with it in about 2.5 seconds on some random day. I'm not creative at all so lightbulb moments are the best in my brain. Names such as The Lady Okie and A Desert Girl are pretty timeless and won't need to be changed for different decades and phases of life. I like that.

-Amy

Chantel said...

Haha, love this!! Vanilla Ice, LL Cool J, The Lady Oakie -you fit right in! :)

Jennifer Prod said...

such a fun post - you make quirky post about a blog name as interesting as a mindy kaling novel - rare talent. have you thought about writing books? or have you talked about that before?

17 Perth said...

Hilarious and GENIUS. ;) Seriously though--I do love your blog name! I do have an exciting *insert sarcasm* story for my blog name too. lol. I have contemplated changing it....oh but to what you ask? No idea. :)

Brittany Fry @ The 26th of August said...

I love your blog name! I ended up changing mine last year after we got married to something that was more of our life and not just mine. It was Daily Chaos of a Country Girl From Ohio (take a breather - it was way too long!) but I never really loved that name. It took me a good couple of days contemplating what I would change it to. Probably one of the harder decisions I have had to make.

SweetMiles said...

I love your blog name too! I think it's fantastic!

Mimsie said...

I've been reading your blog since you were Breathing in the Wind! I don't know when you changed the name.

Erika @ All Things E said...

Ah I love this! Also I'm amazingly jealous that your blog name came to you on a whim. I've racked my brain for hours and come up with NOTHING original to name a blog. I think it's one of the most difficult aspects of starting a blog. I love "The Lady Okie" though - so perfect!

Betsy said...

YES another post topic I can steal for my TRIUMPHANT RETURN to blogging! I might also steal these sentences - Since that time, I've come to realize just how truly brilliant my blog name is. It's not only a name for a blog but a name for ME. I unknowingly branded myself as THE Lady Okie. - because once a reader came up to me at a random event in DC and asked if I was Betsy Transatlantically and I felt like I WAS SO FAMOUS but less like Vanilla Ice and more like The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, you know? (Except I'll replace where you say "THE Lady Oakie" with "Betsy Transatlantically." I hope that's okay.)

p.s. you are The Lady Oakie to me.

Betsy said...

not really sure why I spelled "okie" wrong TWICE. sorry.

The Lady Okie said...

Wow! Has it really been that long? Crazy!

The Lady Okie said...

That IS awesome.

Brita Long said...

This is HILARIOUS. It's a great blog name, but the story behind it actually is really good. Your Jedi Mind tricks worked!

Katie @ Life Encouraged said...

You are seriously hilarious & I have always wondered about your blog name!! :)

Kiki said...

I love your story behind your blog name! I've always wondered where it came from and I LOVE that you didn't originally intend for it to be a blog name--it makes for an even more unique story! :)

And I also love that it's a part of your identity, too.

p.s. Like Brita said, your Jedi mind tricks worked!

Shea Lennon said...

This cracked me up, especially your comments on breathing in the wind. :) I love the name of your blog, and I love that it just came to you. It was meant to be!!

Kelly Del Valle said...

Wait... you name isn't Lady Okie?
Find your story interesting, I did.

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