Serious Name Advice Needed

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-14-2006
Serious Name Advice Needed
18
Sat, 01-06-2007 - 12:01am

I named my son Caden. Had the name picked out BEFORE I knew of the trendy-ness, thought I could deal, I can't.


FOB and I are very seriously considering changing his name (against all family wishes) because we both just ARE NOT HAPPY with how popular and trendy it is. We wanted a unique name, this is the exact opposite.


I have been playing around with Rafe. I want something that has a classy old-school feel to it that you dont hear everyday. I want it to project confidence which, IMO, Cade did (same with Rafe).


So I guess my issue is this, what can you give me to work with or ideas to ponder?


And also if you had to choose between Caden and Rafe, which would you choose?

image


Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2005
Sat, 01-06-2007 - 12:35am

Judging from your siggy, your ds is still rather young, so if you're unhappy with the name you chose now's the time to do something about it. ;)

That said, if the choice is between Caden and Rafe I'd have to stay with Caden. I think Rafe is a great nn, especially for Rafferty (which has Irish roots like Caden, without the trendiness), but I don't like Rafe as a given name, especially with the "rape" association. Having a different formal name avoids that in most written situations, so as a nn I think it's a great choice, KWIM?

Another great option would be to go with a less-trendy given name for Cade -- Caddock, Cadogan, etc. -- or something similar like Cathan, Clyde, Clive, Craig, Keaton, Keith, Quinn or Quaid.

HTH

~Kelli


Powered by CGISpy.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-14-2006
Sat, 01-06-2007 - 12:43am
How do you pronounce Rafferty? Ray.fer.ty ? Raf.ert.y?

image


iVillage Member
Registered: 10-17-2006
Sat, 01-06-2007 - 12:51am

I love the name Caden. And the nn Cade is great.
Not a fan of Rafe. It sounds odd to me.
Why not just change his name to Cade and drop the 'n' -- the trendiness surrounds the 'aiden' rhyming names, so that would eliminate the sound alikes that go with Caden. I agree, it is way too popular now.

BTW, your son is beautiful. Congratulations!

other strong names i like:

Tate
Finn (Finley, Finnegan)
Camp (Campbell)
Quinn
Brooks
Myles





iVillage Member
Registered: 08-26-2006
Sat, 01-06-2007 - 12:54am

your little guy is so handsome - congrats!

What I would do in your situation is call your son Cade 100% of the time. I think that Cade is an awesome name/nn and I NEVER hear it. Yes, I know lots of little boys named Caden, Hayden, etc - but they all go by their full name, I never hear Cade. Cade is strong and unique in my book.

If you dislike Cade too - then what about your sons mn or initials?

Personally, I would not want to go through the process of legally changing my childs name. My best friends family stopped calling her by her fn/Diana when she was 6 months. She now goes by her mn Brooke - her family thought it suited her better. Maybe you could do something like that. I also like Cade much more than Rafe.

Good luck,
Brooke

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-29-2005
Sat, 01-06-2007 - 1:06am

I've actually heard it both ways, so that would be up to you. ;) FWIW, Raferty is also a valid spelling (especially if you were going for ray-fer-tee, nn Rafe).

~Kelli


Powered by CGISpy.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-09-2005
Sat, 01-06-2007 - 10:07am

I love everything about the name Rafe. It is uncommon, strong, classy- seems perfect to me! A great name. What is Caden's MN? Maybe you could just call him by that? Or change it to Kale which is close in sound, or even Kohen/Cohen. I love Rafe though, and if you don't mind changing it, Rafe is awesome.

-Nikki


                             
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2005
Sat, 01-06-2007 - 10:18am
I understand your frustration. Cade is a great, strong name, but the Caden/Hayden/Aiden/etc trendiness sort of ruins it. I think you can avoid some of problem by just calling him Cade and not Caden. But if you really want to change it, I think you can do so this early without any problems. I like Rafe a lot, especially as a nickname for Rafferty. I would defintely go with Rafe over Caden personally, simply because of the popularity/trendiness issue.



Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting



Photobucket
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-29-2003
Sat, 01-06-2007 - 11:00am
I would not change his name...I realize he's only 2 months old but it seems like a little late in the game to me to change it. If I were you, I would simply always call him Cade. I think it would avoid the whole Hayden/Aidan/Caden/Brayden thing. If that really doesn't satisfy you, go to his middle name and try to come up with a nn that relates to that rather than change his first name. If that fails, just call him something that has nothing ot do with his given name (even Rafe if you want, although I'm not crazy about it). John Wayne went by Duke. Sometimes the conncection doesn't have to be apparent. Good luck (and don't change his name!)
Avatar for prifti
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Sat, 01-06-2007 - 11:55am
If you are unhappy with his name you should changed it I have a 8 year old son whos name I dislike and I wish I would have changed it when he was a baby.
I think Rafe is very nice (Raffertyis great as the given name) Cade is cute too so you could just change it to that:) What is his middle name? is your last name have something in it to work with? for example McWhatever nn Mac? I know that still doesn't get rid of the issue of him being the 5th Caden in his class/grade though.
Photobucket 
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-12-2006
Sat, 01-06-2007 - 4:31pm

First of all, he's a doll!

siggy

Pages