Curious- Do you want popular or unusal?

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Registered: 01-20-2007
Curious- Do you want popular or unusal?
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Mon, 02-19-2007 - 9:26am

I have a relatively semi-common name. If it falls in the 100s ever, it is usually at the bottom, but it is always close. My dh on the other hand has a VERY unusual name w/ an unusual spelling. My first boyfriend had an EXTREMELY unusual first name.

Both of these men hated their names. Had/have to constantly defend them and deal with stereotypes surrounding their names.

Now that we've had two kids, it is my dh aim not to "curse" his kids with an unusual name. I think that I go with the mainstay more often than not because I like the names.

(Our babes are Alexandra Estelle and Adam Ronald- both middles are family names.)

So why is it that you want names that our more popular or more unusual?

baby

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-09-2005
Mon, 02-19-2007 - 9:32am

I can't say I really want either... I like names with a name balance. To give you an idea, some names that are my favourites for the moment are:

Tabitha
Eloise
Matilda
Adelia
Tamsin

I find boys much harder:
Simon
Anders

For boys, most of the names are like are *really* popular (ie. Samuel, Charlie) and that is a reason for me NOT to use them. I like something that is heard of, but not so common that there will be another one in the grade at school. That criteria seems to be much easier for girls...

-Nikki


                             
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-26-2006
Mon, 02-19-2007 - 10:02am

For me, I do not want something uber popular because I think that there are 100s of legit names that people forget about. I like traditional names that are currently not in the top 100. My favs include Iris, Celia, Felicity, Quentin, and Dean. I also like some of the classics that are always high on the SSA list: Elizabeth, Sarah, and Thomas. IMO a classic is never out of style. Modern names like Madison and Caden are just not my style. I think it is important for someone to choose a name a name they love. If that name is Madison or Caden, then go for it. I think about teasing too. I do not want my child to be burdened by their name, but I do not want their name to date them either. IMO, these names: Carol, Tonya, Brittany, or Sydney will date a person. Nothing is wrong with these names; it is just obvious when they were born. I want to give my child a classic name that will not cause teasing. Also, I have an unusual ln so I try to make sure that my names aren't too far out there. This board has been helpful in finding names that "are just right" :)

ETA: Boys can be dated by their name too: Alvin, Ken, Brian, and Hayden




Edited 2/19/2007 10:08 am ET by baylorbrooke
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Registered: 02-28-2004
Mon, 02-19-2007 - 10:47am
Ideal names for me are those that are ::familiar:: without being ::common::. Of course, familiarity is a plus so that people can spell and pronounce it easily. My mother's name was made up by her mother, and it has been somewhat of a pain in the neck for her.
However, once a name becomes too common (for me) it loses some of its specialness and sparkle when there are just so many of them! It just ends up sounding plain. If there are 3 others in your class with the same name, it seems that your name is no longer really your own. I'd rather have a name be a special, personal part of one's identity--instead of people meeting my child and thinking, "sigh, yet another Emma," and a few weeks later, "wait, I don't remember your name, I remember it was one of those common ones... was it Emily, Madison, Olivia, Anna...?" I'd rather have them think, "wow! this is the only Adelaide I've ever met!" and a few weeks later, "wait, you had a really distinctive name, what was it again?"
Of course, popular names are popular because so may people like them, so most of them are good, attractive names. But for me, it's like trying to find the right prom dress (lol)--one that shows your style in a tasteful way but avoids the disastrous possibility of having other girls show up in the same dress, but without going to the extreme of weaving together feathers or something. : D
When I was born, I think my name was about #100, but I've only ever met 3-4 people who share it with me. I'd personally stay out of the top 100 for my kids, especially for girls. (It's more difficult to find boys' names that are between common and "weird.")
That's just my point of view.
Happy naming,
Valerie
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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-07-2006
Mon, 02-19-2007 - 11:22am
I like different names, me and my dh have not super popular names but they arent unheard of either (dh is Philip which isn't that very common for our age group and I'm Carly which wasnt very popular at all when I was growing up). But I still like names that are atleast out of the top 100 so the child probably wont have to be Sarah J. or whatever but still wont have to explain their name to everyone. Of course, there is a reason why certain names are popular and others aren't!

_________________________________________
Carly + Phil
proud parents of our four princesses: Alaina Rhoslyn (Lainey) 2.15.07, twins Georgia Carol and Natalia Lorraine (Gigi and Talia) 7.31.08, Penelope Julia (Penny) 8.25.10 and our newest littl

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-08-2004
Mon, 02-19-2007 - 11:31am

Like your husband, I grew up with an unusually-spelled first name. Though I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "curse," it was a bit of a hardship, moreso when I was growing up than now...and probably just because I couldn't get toothbrushes and notepads with my name on them like all my friends and cousins had. :-) When thinking of names for my own children, I don't want anything particularly popular or particularly unusual, and I will always opt for the original spelling over a made-up or trendy spelling. The first two names on my list are Adair Victoria and Caroline Ruth. I gave up Caroline for a little while becuase it was becoming too popular, but then I decided that I loved it enough not to care. Both the middle names are family names.

I LOVE Alexandra Estelle! Gorgeous!

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-20-2007
Mon, 02-19-2007 - 12:14pm

Thanks! It's funny how many nns have come from the name Alexandra. Zandy, Zandra, Alex, Andy, Ally...but I still call her Alexandra about 90% of the time. The rest morphed from family and friends.

BTW- I had to say that I LOVE the name Caroline. My mom's mn is Carolyn, which is another favorite, but no one else likes it, let alone loves it. My mom can't stand the name, nor my dh. Definitely would be my top name for another girl if it weren't for the party poopers.

baby
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-16-2004
Mon, 02-19-2007 - 12:31pm

I always wanted to name my

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-13-2006
Mon, 02-19-2007 - 12:34pm

I grew up with a super-common first and last name, so a distinctive name is very important to me. My middle name, which I use now, is "unique" , but I much prefer explaining that to people than being "Sarah A." all the time.

How popular a name I pick will probably depend on how uncommon the child's last name is. With my last name, I'd stay out of the top 1000 for girls and probably 500 for boys. If the child's father's last name was more unusual, then I'd be more likely to go with below top 500 for girls and 100 for boys. I would pick something fairly recognizable with a standard spelling, however.

I'd also check the rankings for my state and for the UK, where half my family lives (I love Freya, for example, which isn't in the top 1000 here, but is like #10 in England).

So, as you can see, it's a pretty big deal for me!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-06-2006
Mon, 02-19-2007 - 12:46pm

Like several of the pps, I think the safest bet is a name that is uncommon without being unfamiliar.

My own taste in names runs the gamut from popular to obscure, so I never worry much about ranking. For me, it's not as important a factor as loving a name and whether or not the name has pleasant associations. If I loved two names equally, I think I'd pick the less common one just to be more unique. But if I loved Emily (for example), and I felt very strongly that it was the perfect name for my daughter, the fact that it's the most popular girl name wouldn't keep me from using it.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2004
Mon, 02-19-2007 - 6:02pm
couldnt DISAGREE more--read my childrens names and you understand
Crystal
Mom to Jacob,Sydney,Jordan,Madison,Joshua and his stillborn ^i^ twin sister,Brynna
Crystal Mom to Jacob,Sydney,Jordan,Madison,Joshua and his stillborn ^i^ twin sister,Brynna

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