9 Names All '90s Kids Wished They Had

I grew up hating my name. Not for any good reason, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just, the kids in my age class all had such cool names and I found it so frustrating that I only got one. I spent most of the '90s plotting ways to become an Olsen twin — they got to change their names all the time, what could possibly be better? But all the butterfly clips, all the cropped adult clothes, all the tinted sunglasses, all the lip gloss, all the highlights, all the boat hats, all the boots, all the glitter eyeshadow in the world wouldn't accomplish the transformation I was after.

So in the mid '90s, I gave up on trying to be a twin myself, and started naming my dolls after the Olsens' character names in their straight-to-VHS movies. The '90s were jam-packed with cool girl names. And at some point we all became aware of the fact that we had middle names and started using both of our names to better utilize the epic name game going on. But it was never enough. We couldn't help but be jealous of the fact that Mary-Kate and Ashley got to change their names constantly for their movies. Every few months they'd take on another awesome name — they never had it long enough to get sick of it.

If you were a kid in the '90s, you probably had a lot of name envy, too. These are nine of the names you wish you had, they also just so happen to be the names Mary-Kate and Ashley used in their movies.

Michelle

French meaning: Like God, close to God

'90s kid meaning: "You got it dude," adorable, lovable, cheeky; the girl who never gets in trouble for long

Alyssa

Greek meaning: Rational, logical

'90s kid meaning: Posh, fancy, loved, educated and spoiled; the girl who wears fancy pajamas to bed and sleeps under a canopy

Amanda

Spanish meaning: Worthy of love

'90s kid meaning: Casual, funny, tomboy, willing to try anything; the girl who keeps the family together

Tess

English meaning: Harvester

'90s kid meaning: Thoughtful, loving, hopeful; girl next door-type

Emma

English meaning: Whole, complete, universal

'90s kid meaning: Brave, spunky, sneaky, stealth; the girl who knows the answer to the question

Melanie

German meaning: Dark

'90s kid meaning: Romantic, cultured, optimistic, adventurous; comfortable in her skin

Maddie

English meaning: Son of Matthew

'90's kid meaning: Boy crazy, fun, popular, leader; the girl who has all the friends

Chloe

Greek meaning: Blooming

'90s kid meaning: Intelligent, savvy, academic, independent; the girl who solves the mystery

Riley

Irish meaning: A small stream

'90s kid meaning: Crafty, stealth, cool, laid back; the girl who hacks into the mainframe

Images: Dualstar Entertainment, Giphy