mad about Addison!

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-29-2003
mad about Addison!
14
Mon, 02-12-2007 - 1:26pm
Ok, ladies...I'm mad about Addison becoming a popular girls' name. All of a sudden, there are tons of people who want to name their little girls Madison, Addison, Emerson, etc. The others aren't my style, but Addison hits a chord with me because it was my great grandfather's first name and I had thought I might use it as a son's mn (we have a tradition of using family names as mn's). Now, I feel like because all these people watch Grey's Anatomy (I do too) and to be "a little different" from the MILLIONS of moms who chose/are choosing Madison for their daugher (don't get me started!), they are turning to Addision instead. It feels like I can't use it anymore and I feel like that's both a little crazy and a little true. I, after all, want my son's name to have family significance and sound like he comes from a long line of proud southerners and now if I use it, it will just sound like I am jumping on the bandwagon (and using a "girl's name" no less). Gack.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-26-2006
Mon, 02-12-2007 - 1:35pm

I think that Addison would work well as a mn for a boy, even if the girls are starting to take over the name. For example, I would not use Avery as a fn for boy since girls have usurped this name, but I wouldn't hesitate to use it as a mn. Don't let the girls scare you off of a name you love!!!

Good luck,
Brooke

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-01-2005
Mon, 02-12-2007 - 2:07pm
I love Addison for a boy, can't stand it for a girl. It means "son of Adam," so that makes it all boy in my book. Especially with your family significance, and that you're using it as a mn, I see no problem with using it for a little boy in spite of the current trend of people using it for girls. I do think it will be a short-lived trend, anyway.

AJ, enjoying life with C.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-06-2006
Mon, 02-12-2007 - 4:05pm
I think you should use Addison as a mn if you like it and it has significance for you, and simply not worry about trends. It's not as if you're considering Lily or Maribeth as a mn; despite its strong showing on the girls' side, Addison is still a surname and a traditionally male name. I doubt anyone who hears it would bat an eye, especially if you or your son choose to mention that it's a family name. Just focus on the unique connection you have to Addison, and ignore the girls' name trend and Grey's Anatomy...after all, your great-grandfather predated them both. :)

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2005
Mon, 02-12-2007 - 7:01pm

Aww. :( While I completely sympathize, I don't think you should abandon Addison at all!

While I realize the whole Maddy/Addy/-son craze might make some less apt to use Madison, Addison -- or heck, Emerson, Elliott, Emery, Avery, etc. -- for their sons, I don't think the same applies to the mn position. John Addison, Henry Addison ... nearly any masculine fn paired with Addison sounds wonderful IMO! All the more so since Addison is also a familiar last name, so it fits in perfectly with the surname mns so popular in the South. I don't get a "feminine" vibe from such combos in the least.

By all means, use it!!! ;)


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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-14-2003
Mon, 02-12-2007 - 8:13pm
I understand how you feel. I agree that Addison is a great male name & should be reserved for the boys. It is a name we contemplated for our ds#4. I can't remember why we didn't use it but I do remember that, after he was born, I thought, "Thank God we didn't name him Addison!", for that reason.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-01-2003
Tue, 02-13-2007 - 12:16pm

if you want to use it for a middle name for a boy to honor your grandfather - do that - middle names aren't used that much - and Addison is still considered unisex - game for either one

I wouldn't be concerned with what people think of that situation for a middle name

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-23-2007
Tue, 02-13-2007 - 1:45pm
Yeah, if all these people realized that Emerson is a TV brand, they would probably re-think it. How unattractive is that? Yuck.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-07-2004
Tue, 02-13-2007 - 1:51pm
hello!! well, i would say go ahead and use it if you want. yes there are people using it instead of madison and it has become a trendy girls name, BUT if you use it on your son, it will be unusual and you can tell him you named him after his great-great grandfather and not off a tv show. my hubbys grandfathers name was sheridan. and then the soap opera passions came out in 2000(or 1999) and one of the main characters-female-is sheridan. and one of my hubbys uncles is named perry(and his son is also perry). and ive heard that on girls recently...just like the name elliott-i would never have imagined that on a girl, but theres several that have been poping up. and my 2 girls have middle names that are becoming the new "filler" mns-rose and grace-but i have sginificance behind them-i didnt just use them just because i liked them or because they flowed well-just like you with addison...use it just like you always had planned-take care!!
joanne
maman2goons@aol.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-08-2004
Tue, 02-13-2007 - 8:45pm

I'm 100% behind you on this one. I really, really love Addison as a boy name. Mostly because it IS a boy name. I've known of several people with this name. They're all in the same family, and it originated as a surname generations ago. None of them ever passed it onto a female child, so it never occurred to me (until Gray's) that it could be a female name (not to say that I don't support surnames as first names for girls...personally, I adore Whittington for a girl, which is my great-grandmother's maiden name).

Anyway, I completely sympathize with your conundrum, but I still say that you should use it. My initial response was negative, I'll admit, because of its popularity, but Addison has a masculine sound to it (to me, anyway), and as a male name, it will outlast and outshine the heaps of Madisons, girl Addisons, etc. Plus, for me, family connection always trumps any issue with popularity...after all, it may sound "trendy" now...it may even sound "trendy" for the next 10 years, but in the long run, when your son is putting it across the top of his letterhead, it will just sound sophisticated, surnamey, and Southern.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-12-2007
Wed, 02-14-2007 - 8:36am
I think Addison would be perfect for a boy's mn, especially if it's a fn. I think it's unisex enough, especially as a mn, to use; I like it a lot personally. Plus, honestly, not many people go by their mn's, and it would be a great way to honor his realtive.

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