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?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-14-2003
Sat, 01-06-2007 - 6:08pm

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

I like Caden/Cade better.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-26-1999
Sat, 01-06-2007 - 7:04pm

Hi there. This sounds very frusterating. For what it's worth, whatever you end up naming you're baby boy he sure is beautiful. :)

I really like Rafe, & it's definitly uncommon. I'd honestly pick it over Caden easily. However, I really like just Cade. I know that Caden nn Cade is definitly popular, but just Cade seems to have more charm. Would you be totally against taking the 'n' off of his name instead of totally changing it? It would save a lot of confusion & unhappiness amongst family. I don't know that it'd make his name a lot more unique, but it'd make it less trendy, if that makes any sense. In any case, I do really like Rafe, & as long as you & your dh are comfortable w/changing it, then go for it.

Hope this helps!

Avatar for 3togetready
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-19-1999
Sat, 01-06-2007 - 10:18pm
I would not change his name but I would call him Cade. You may find that when he goes to school he is the only Caden in class. When my dd Emily was little there were alway at least 2 other Emily's in our mommy and me classes. I thought she would always be one of many once she got to school. I don't know where all the other Emily's went but she is the only 4th grader at her school with the name Emily and there are at least 90 4th graders. I know there is only one in 5th grade too. So a name that on paper is really popular may not be where you live, or where your child goes to school.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-04-2006
Fri, 01-12-2007 - 12:50pm
I know that changing names legally can be very annoying. I would suggest either just calling him Cade or picking something else you just want to call him. I went to high school with a kid who went by Jake and that had nothing to do with his given name. When he was in high school he made the decision to legally change his name to Jake, but then it was his decision and he could deal with all the hassel and paperwork that went with such a transition. He never had a problem in school or anything because his parents just told the school that he went by Jake and he was able to write that on all of his papers and everything.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2004
Fri, 01-12-2007 - 1:27pm

I would second the suggestion of legally changing it to Cade, especially if he already goes by that. I've heard that changing a baby's name in the first year is common and pretty straightforward, so now is the time to do it. To me, Cade has an edge to it that Caden lacks, and changing it legally would give you the peace of mind of not having 'one of the trendy rhyming names'. I do think changing it to something completely different at this point would be a very unsettling experience for the whole family, but if you feel like you will regret not doing it, Rafe is a great name too.

HTH,

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-13-2003
Fri, 01-12-2007 - 5:18pm
Another vote for Cade! I love that!
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-12-2007
Fri, 01-12-2007 - 6:07pm
My sister used Kasen for the originality of the name. It is "technically" his middle name as his first is a family name. In our family of 10 we have 3 males with the same name - one being this new baby. That way the baby can choose what he likes when he gets older. Name him what YOU want because you never know where a nn will come from. My son has a beautiful name, but everyone calls him "Bug". I never saw that one coming....
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-12-2007
Fri, 01-12-2007 - 11:19pm
I love the name Caden. Maybe if Caden is too common then call him CADE, which I dont think is very popular at this time.
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Rafe is not my naming style so it is hard for me to give any imput on the name other than I would not use it.

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