Welcome to Ponyboy's World!

Ponyboy:  One of a handful of names that anyone who's read the book/seen the movie can connect with.  In The Outsiders, a girl at the drive-in says, "That's an original name," to which Ponyboy replies, "My dad was an original person." 
What expectations do you think Mr. Curtis had for his third son when he titled him in this peculiar way? 
Ponyboy seems fairly proud of his name, and confident about where it comes from. 

Read the article at the following link before reading and responding to the rest of this prompt:
http://www.pattiwood.net/uploads/What'sinaname_%20Effectonpersonality.pdf

I identify with Ponyboy in this respect:  My legal first name, "Margie," has always been uncommon, and as a kid I abused this by refusing to write my last name on my school papers. (Bless you, patient teachers at Columbian H.S!) I think I was rebelling against my first day of kindergarten when the teacher insisted that my Real Name was Margaret. 

I've heard a couple of different stories about how my first name was chosen. The obvious inspiration was that fact that my mom is Margaret, and my dad was never really fond of the formal name.  (She was actually lobbying for "April," but Dad said I'd be teased.)  And then there was a tv show in the 1950's called "My Little Margie," about a perky young woman and her dad.  And apparently (WAY before my time!!) either Fats Domino or Cab Calloway (talk about unusual names!) recorded a hit song called, "Margie, I'm Always Thinking of You," which my parents sang to me on long car trips. 

I'm a pretty cheerful and confidant person, which might give weight to Patti Woods' theory about names that end in 'i' or 'y.'  However, my name is unfamiliar enough that many people garble it or otherwise seem uncomfortable when having to pronounce it.  Fortunately, I've never sensed that my name was a barrier to jobs or other experiences I wanted to try.

How did you come to have the name you have?  Do you use your given first name, or a nickname more often?  From your observations, how does your name affect your personality, and how does it affect the way others perceive you?

Who among your personal acquaintances has an unusual name?  (Real or nickname?)  What expectation do others get of this person when they first hear his or her name?  How likely are you to keep an open mind the next time you meet someone with an uncommon moniker?