Home Do your kids have unusual names?

[jewelz617]

Date: 2/10/2010 12:14:53 PM
Author: Mrs Mitchell
Chandelier? Where does your friend live? You''d have trouble even registering that as a name in some areas.

California.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 2/10/2010 12:16:41 PM
Author: waterlilly

Date: 2/10/2010 12:02:32 PM
Author: trillionaire
I have a horrid desire to name a son ''Adonis''.


I really just love the name.


I wouldn''t do it to a child, but it would be my fondest desire.


Honestly, I would only give my children neutral and ambiguous names, since I understand that name profiling exists for jobs and such. I think it''s horribly selfish to disadvantage my own child for my own vanity.


A girl would be Avery, not sure what we would name a boy.


however, if I get another Rhodesian Ridgeback, I''m naming it ''Jumanji''!

we don''t plan to have kids, but it''s fun to think of names anyway. We might adopt an older child, and I doubt we would re-name... unless they wanted to choose their own name.

I''ve met a few large dogs name Adonis! Resist the urge, resist the urge!

Exactly. This is why we HAVE pets. To give them all the unusual names we think up.

 

[monarch64]

MC, I was just going to post "that''s what pets are for" and I see you beat me to it!!! So true!

 

[Shoopy]

Date: 2/10/2010 12:20:38 PM
Author: MC

Date: 2/10/2010 12:16:41 PM
Author: waterlilly



I've met a few large dogs name Adonis! Resist the urge, resist the urge!

Exactly. This is why we HAVE pets. To give them all the unusual names we think up.

One of my good friend's son's name is Adonis.

But funny story about names for pets. Sophia is a popular name for small, fluffy dogs. Before I had DD (or even knew that I was having a girl), I was chatting with our CFO and he mentioned that his MIL's dog's name is Sophia (he's a really random guy and catching him in the elevator can mean 30 minute long conversations about random stuff).

Anyway, when I brought her in to the office to show her off

he goes "Oh her name is Sophia? You know that was my MIL's...." and then he just stopped. And a few seconds later he goes "Yes, that was my MIL's name"

LMAO!

I responded that yes it's a really old and popular name, especially for pets

. I think he was too embarrassed or thought he would hurt my feelings if he mentioned that the dog and my DD share a name

 

[E B]

Date: 2/10/2010 11:52:35 AM
Author: monarch64

Date: 2/10/2010 10:15:36 AM

Author: waterlilly

I'm not sure why, but I really dislike unusual names. Not uncommon names, but unusual names. I have a couple of uncommon names picked out - sort of 'older' names that aren't used much anymore. But, when I see names that are spelled all wacky it makes no sense to me - seems like a way for the parents to grab on to some thread of individuality at the expense of poor child that is going to have to pronounce and spell their name to everyone for the rest of their life.

Trends come and go and it seems like there is this trend now for names that end in 'den', I cringe every time I hear one!

Agree. Not only pronunciation and spelling, but also meaning in some cases.

I feel like by naming your child something really unconventional, the parent is thinking more of themselves than the child's future. The name becomes more a reflection of the parent(s) rather than the child. Names precede one in life, they can set the tone for who the child will grow up to be, there have been studies done on this sort of thing. I come from a small rural community in the midwest where people name their girls things like Chastity, Charity, Hope, etc. I've yet to see a classmate of mine with a name like that go on to first of all leave the town (EVER), go to college, or do much of anything besides stay in the same town and reproduce. And name any offspring similarly.

Just saying as a parent I think there is a certain responsibility to think toward the future for your child and know that what name you choose will affect his/her life whether that is right or wrong. When employers see resumes, the FIRST THING on the resume is the name. Lots of assumptions can be made about names.

I absolutely agree, though I'm not as bothered by unique names (unless we're talking "Moon Unit," etc.) as I am unique spellings. It makes no sense to me to change a more common spelling, because it doesn't make the child's name spoken unique in any way- little Alyksis (Alexis?) is still uh-LEX-us, but now, it's a PITA for everyone to have to spell, kiddo included.

 

[Lanie]

This is so interesting. As a teacher, I see a lot of names and that''s what can really ruin a name for me. I like the name Harrison, for instance, for a boy, but I had a minion of the Anti-Christ in my class named Harrison, so he ruined it for me for forever.

I''m with those of you who are sick of the trendy names. However, I am liking the ones on the top 10 more and more (much to my chagrin). But they are classic (Sophia, Olivia, Ava, Emma, etc). I won''t name my daughter one of those, but they are still beautiful.

My idea for a daughter''s name is a common name with a more traditional spelling (Giuliana). It is an old family name that is pronounced the same as Juliana, so I hope she (if I ever have a daughter) isn''t scarred for life!!! Or that she isn''t called "Ghoul-liana".

If you had an uncommon name, was it a pain and/or something embarrassing for you??? I want to hear more "sucess" stories of people with uncommon names or names with unusual spelling!!!!

 

[E B]

Date: 2/10/2010 11:43:55 AM
Author: MC
No, both my boys have more common names. For some reason, I think it''s better to have common names for boys, but with girls, the names can be a bit more creative. I have no idea why I think that. lol

You''re not alone, MC. When I was pregnant, I saw so many more girl names butchered (or spelled "kre8ivley") than boy names. I still remember some doozies.

 

[jewelz617]

I feel like everyone''s boy is named Aiden now.

 

[Octavia]

Date: 2/10/2010 12:55:51 PM
Author: PinkAsscher678
I feel like everyone''s boy is named Aiden now.

This drives my friend crazy -- she named her son Aidan when it was still relatively uncommon.

My mother has a very uncommon and unusual first name, at least in the US (she was named after a foreign friend of my grandmother). Unfortunately, when combined with her maiden name, it sounded horrible in a "Seymour Butts" kind of way. She was constantly teased as a kid. As a result, my brother and I both have pretty classic names -- she said she would never subject her kids to what she endured.

DH''s last name is pretty unpronounceable for most people, so our kids will probably have short and easy first names. It will be a challenge to find names that cross the language barrier and sound good (and can be spelled the same) in both English and his first language, so the names might be a little uncommon. I just don''t want them to be too difficult to say or spell.

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 2/10/2010 11:21:34 AM
Author: EBree
Not unusual, no. I like to think of it as an ''old-fashioned classic,'' which are the kind of names I dig. Too old-fashioned for some people, but for the most part, it''s really well-received. I just hope he likes it.

If I have a son, I hope to name him Henry

so obviously I love your name choice. DH isn''t a huge fan, but he doesn''t hate it, so I''ll have to work on him.

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 2/10/2010 12:27:57 PM
Author: monarch64
MC, I was just going to post 'that's what pets are for' and I see you beat me to it!!! So true!

Yes! I have had pets named Daphne, Emma, Rowan, Sebastian, Oliver, Rory, and Otto. I love all of these names, but not quite enough to give them to a child (well, except Emma and Rory, but DH hates them anyway). I use up all of my good-but-not-good-enough names on my pets

eta: Fiery's story reminded me of this: My parents had a dog before I was born and came really close to naming her Kelly. Then when they had me, they came really close to naming *me* Kelly. I still tease them about that. Strange that they didn't use the name on either of us though!

 

[Sha]

Our daughter's name is Dalila Safiya. Dalila means 'Gentleness is her soul' and Safiya means 'Pure as the water', in Swahili. DH and I like the sound and meaning of a lot of African names, and the fact that it also reflects our African heritage.

I'm not a fan of ultra-popular names, just because they're so overdone. There are so many beautiful names in the world, and so many others yet to be created... I don't see why everybody has to pick the same Top Ten Popular names over and over, as if they're the only names that exist that are pretty. I would also hate my children to be one of 10 "Insert Popular Name" here, in her class/school/job etc.

Re: names being profiled - I think it's really sad that parents can't name their children what they want to, because of bias when it comes to jobs etc That's not a concern where I'm from, but when I lived in Canada, I remember speaking to an Afro-Caribbean man who decided to name his newborn daughter 'Abigail' (not his preferred name) just because he didn't want her to be discriminated against (18 or so years down the road).

To many persons, a name is not just a name, it's also a proud banner of racial/ethnic/cultural heritage. I think it's sad that some groups feel they can't express their heritage in this way but instead have to shift towards the mainstream, whether they want to or not.

 

[FrekeChild]

Speaking as one of 4 Elizabeths in my 3rd grade class, while there is something to be said for a "classic" name, I still would have preferred something more unusual.

And this doesn''t even get into my maiden name, which is a more common/slightly trendy girl''s name, and the problems I endured dealing with that...

Thumbs up from me on unusual/uncommon names.

 

[upgrade]

I''m not a big fan of really unusual names or spellings. I like a lot of uncommon names, but not the really ''out there''. My boys have traditional names, both in the top 40. I like classic, old fashioned names- strong for boys, pretty for girls. I am fine with a different spelling if it''s a family name or something along those lines, but I don''t like when people go way out there with the spelling just to be different. My BFF has a relatively common name but with an unusual spelling and she hates it. No one ever gets it right and when she was a kid, everyone else had pencils and things with their names on them and she never could because it was always spelled wrong. I have fairly common name and I''ve always liked it.

I think that sometimes giving kids a really unusual name is a reflection of the parents thinking ''hey, let''s be really edgy'' rather than ''what is going to serve this child well in life.'' And it''s one thing to give a name to a baby, but another to consider an adult. Is the name cute only for a little child or will it work for a grown professional? We changed our mind and opted out of our first choice name for our second son for that reason. We decided it was adorable for a little boy but just couldn''t see it for a serious adult.

Another one here who would prefer to save the ''out there'' names for pets...

Really, my taste in names is just like my taste in jewelry... classic and simple with a bit of a vintage feel.

Side note: Fiery, I love the name Sophia. Had I had a girl, that would likely have been her name.

 

[Sha]

Date: 2/10/2010 12:30:27 PM
Author: fiery

Date: 2/10/2010 12:20:38 PM
Author: MC

Date: 2/10/2010 12:16:41 PM
Author: waterlilly



I've met a few large dogs name Adonis! Resist the urge, resist the urge!

Exactly. This is why we HAVE pets. To give them all the unusual names we think up.

One of my good friend's son's name is Adonis.

But funny story about names for pets. Sophia is a popular name for small, fluffy dogs. Before I had DD (or even knew that I was having a girl), I was chatting with our CFO and he mentioned that his MIL's dog's name is Sophia (he's a really random guy and catching him in the elevator can mean 30 minute long conversations about random stuff).

Anyway, when I brought her in to the office to show her off

he goes 'Oh her name is Sophia? You know that was my MIL's....' and then he just stopped. And a few seconds later he goes 'Yes, that was my MIL's name'

LMAO!

I responded that yes it's a really old and popular name, especially for pets

. I think he was too embarrassed or thought he would hurt my feelings if he mentioned that the dog and my DD share a name

I have a friend named Adonis too- a woman in her 30's. Other than thinking it was a boy's name, I always thought it was pretty.

I guess names are pretty subjective - what's considered strange by some are considered pretty by others and vice versa...

 

[Keepingthefaith21]

Date: 2/10/2010 12:43:21 PM
Author: Lanie

If you had an uncommon name, was it a pain and/or something embarrassing for you??? I want to hear more ''sucess'' stories of people with uncommon names or names with unusual spelling!!!!

I have an uncommon name - the spelling is very unique and the name overall isn''t common but it does seem to be growing in popularity a bit.

My name has never been embarassing for me and it does often draw compliments from people - sometimes I do find the compliments embarassing but after time I''ve learned to thank people for their compliments. I shy away from compliments regardless of whether they are centered around my name or an aspect of my appearance.

I''ve grown to like having a unique name for a myrid of reasons - I especially love that I can identify a telemarketer almost immediately especially with my married name added to the mix

 

[monarch64]

Date: 2/10/2010 1:33:58 PM
Author: Sha
Our daughter''s name is Dalila Safiya. Dalila means ''Gentleness is her soul'' and Safiya means ''Pure as the water'', in Swahili. DH and I like the sound and meaning of a lot of African names, and the fact that it also reflects our African heritage.

I''m not a fan of ultra-popular names, just because they''re so overdone. There are so many beautiful names in the world, and so many others yet to be created... I don''t see why everybody has to pick the same Top Ten Popular names over and over, as if they''re the only names that exist that are pretty. I would also hate my children to be one of 10 ''Insert Popular Name'' here, in her class/school/job etc.

Re: names being profiled - I think it''s really sad that parents can''t name their children what they want to, because of bias when it comes to jobs etc That''s not a concern where I''m from, but when I lived in Canada, I remember speaking to an Afro-Caribbean man who decided to name his newborn daughter ''Abigail'' (not his preferred name) just because he didn''t want her to be discriminated against (18 or so years down the road).

To many persons, a name is not just a name, it''s also a proud banner of racial/ethnic/cultural heritage. I think it''s sad that some groups feel they can''t express their heritage in this way but instead have to shift towards the mainstream, whether they want to or not.

Sha, I hear ya. My brother was really pissed when my mom wouldn''t let him name me StarBlanket-Dakota-WolfChild. Not kidding.

 

[charbie]

Date: 2/10/2010 1:38:23 PM
Author: FrekeChild
Speaking as one of 4 Elizabeths in my 3rd grade class, while there is something to be said for a ''classic'' name, I still would have preferred something more unusual.

And this doesn''t even get into my maiden name, which is a more common/slightly trendy girl''s name, and the problems I endured dealing with that...

Thumbs up from me on unusual/uncommon names.

I always knew there were a lot of "Katherines" around when I was younger (going by Kate/Katie) so I spelled my name "Katey." Then I went to college and started going by Kate. There was a RIDICULOUS amount of Katie''s in college with me.

I want my kids to have unique but not crazy names. My dream is to have a girl named "Lily Patrice" and a boy named "Wesley Robert"- I know Lily is becoming more and more popular, but I''ve loved that name for as long as I can remember! And is has family importance, which makes it even more special. I have a fairly common surname, but I don''t think there would be a ton of people with the combination of either.

It''s funny- go on facebook and type in your name and see how many people share it- my dad has a fairly common name (Robert) but a not so common surname...however there were 454 people with the same name as him! Crazy!

 

[charbie]

Oh, and my college roommate freshman year was
"Lon''Cherie''"

her mom couldn''t decide between "Lingerie" (seriously.) and "Mon''Cherie''" so she combined them.

 

[cellososweet]

Our son is Søren Thomas. His first name is very popular. In Denmark. Haha. We live in the U.S., so not so popular here.

We love it though as it has a great meaning to us and is the name of one of my favorite philosophers (and when people get the reference, it''s really neat).

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 2/10/2010 1:24:38 PM
Author: elrohwen

Date: 2/10/2010 11:21:34 AM
Author: EBree
Not unusual, no. I like to think of it as an ''old-fashioned classic,'' which are the kind of names I dig. Too old-fashioned for some people, but for the most part, it''s really well-received. I just hope he likes it.

If I have a son, I hope to name him Henry

so obviously I love your name choice. DH isn''t a huge fan, but he doesn''t hate it, so I''ll have to work on him.

Isn''t Henry becoming a bit more popular than it was way back when?

 

[E B]

Date: 2/10/2010 2:11:52 PM
Author: MC

Isn't Henry becoming a bit more popular than it was way back when?

It is. It was #78 in 2008 and I'm guessing it'll keep climbing for a while. Hopefully not too high.

ETA: In 1920, it was #17! The #17 girl's name? Irene.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 2/10/2010 1:29:34 PM
Author: elrohwen

Yes! I have had pets named Daphne, Emma, Rowan, Sebastian, Oliver, Rory, and Otto. I love all of these names, but not quite enough to give them to a child (well, except Emma and Rory, but DH hates them anyway). I use up all of my good-but-not-good-enough names on my pets

All of my pets have unusal names, except for one is named Lily. Another is Luna (one of my female bettas). . .not sure if that is too weird for a girl or not. . .just reminds me of the Luna from Harry Potter. Also, Sam would be acceptable.

Others have been Guppy #5 (no longer with us), Lemonade (also dead - we don''t have good luck with guppies), Frodo (his buddy was Sam) and Mandarine, etc. lol

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 2/10/2010 1:57:13 PM
Author: charbie


I always knew there were a lot of 'Katherines' around when I was younger (going by Kate/Katie) so I spelled my name 'Katey.' Then I went to college and started going by Kate. There was a RIDICULOUS amount of Katie's in college with me.

I want my kids to have unique but not crazy names. My dream is to have a girl named 'Lily Patrice' and a boy named 'Wesley Robert'- I know Lily is becoming more and more popular, but I've loved that name for as long as I can remember! And is has family importance, which makes it even more special. I have a fairly common surname, but I don't think there would be a ton of people with the combination of either.

It's funny- go on facebook and type in your name and see how many people share it- my dad has a fairly common name (Robert) but a not so common surname...however there were 454 people with the same name as him! Crazy!

I've always been one of 3 Lauras (or another spelling - Lauren, Laurie, etc) throughout elementary school, high school, and college. Now that I'm adult, my name seems far less common and I don't meet quite so many, but that's probably because I have friends whose ages span 10 years. While I love Ava, Emma, Sophia, etc, if they're still popular when I have kids I won't use them because I don't want my kid going through the same thing.

I tried the Facebook thing! Both my maiden name and married name are pretty uncommon, so it was fun. For my maiden name, there are 5 other people with the same first and last name and about 4,000 people with the same last name.

For my married name, I am the only one with my combo of first and last name. For just the last name, there are only 23 results (2 of those are DH and his sister

and a few others are DH's relatives). It's extremely uncommon, but at least it's pretty easy to spell and pronounce. No matter what baby name we pick, our kid will probably have a unique first and last name combo.

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 2/10/2010 2:15:22 PM
Author: EBree

Date: 2/10/2010 2:11:52 PM
Author: MC

Isn''t Henry becoming a bit more popular than it was way back when?

It is. It was #78 in 2008 and I''m guessing it''ll keep climbing for a while. Hopefully not too high.

ETA: In 1920, it was #17! The #17 girl''s name? Irene.

Oh, I hope it doesn''t get popular! I have at least 5-7 years before we have kids and I would hate for it to be too popular. As long as it''s out of the top 20 I''m fine.

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 2/10/2010 2:19:42 PM
Author: elrohwen

Date: 2/10/2010 1:57:13 PM
Author: charbie
I always knew there were a lot of 'Katherines' around when I was younger (going by Kate/Katie) so I spelled my name 'Katey.' Then I went to college and started going by Kate. There was a RIDICULOUS amount of Katie's in college with me.

I want my kids to have unique but not crazy names. My dream is to have a girl named 'Lily Patrice' and a boy named 'Wesley Robert'- I know Lily is becoming more and more popular, but I've loved that name for as long as I can remember! And is has family importance, which makes it even more special. I have a fairly common surname, but I don't think there would be a ton of people with the combination of either.

It's funny- go on facebook and type in your name and see how many people share it- my dad has a fairly common name (Robert) but a not so common surname...however there were 454 people with the same name as him! Crazy!

I've always been one of 3 Lauras (or another spelling - Lauren, Laurie, etc) throughout elementary school, high school, and college. Now that I'm adult, my name seems far less common and I don't meet quite so many, but that's probably because I have friends whose ages span 10 years. While I love Ava, Emma, Sophia, etc, if they're still popular when I have kids I won't use them because I don't want my kid going through the same thing.

I tried the Facebook thing! Both my maiden name and married name are pretty uncommon, so it was fun. For my maiden name, there are 5 other people with the same first and last name and about 4,000 people with the same last name.

For my married name, I am the only one with my combo of first and last name. For just the last name, there are only 23 results (2 of those are DH and his sister

and a few others are DH's relatives). It's extremely uncommon, but at least it's pretty easy to spell and pronounce. No matter what baby name we pick, our kid will probably have a unique first and last name combo.

Yeah, the whole change your nickname so you're an individual and so teachers don't get confused, and that's how I dealt with it. That's how I became Liz.

Elizabeth #1= Elizabeth
Elizabeth #2= Beth
Elizabeth #3= Liz
Elizabeth #4 went by her middle name

...le sigh...

ETA: My next door neighbor is also an Elizabeth. She goes by Beth. Her mom was also an Elizabeth, she goes by Liz. Just an FYI, Elizabeth kind of blows as a first name. I went through my elementary and middle school life as "Elizabet" on standardized tests...

BTW, we plan on naming a child (daughter), should we have one, something from a combination of our mother's names...something unusual, but not crazy...

 

[elrohwen]

Date: 2/10/2010 2:28:17 PM
Author: FrekeChild

Date: 2/10/2010 2:19:42 PM
Author: elrohwen

Date: 2/10/2010 1:57:13 PM
Author: charbie
I always knew there were a lot of 'Katherines' around when I was younger (going by Kate/Katie) so I spelled my name 'Katey.' Then I went to college and started going by Kate. There was a RIDICULOUS amount of Katie's in college with me.

I want my kids to have unique but not crazy names. My dream is to have a girl named 'Lily Patrice' and a boy named 'Wesley Robert'- I know Lily is becoming more and more popular, but I've loved that name for as long as I can remember! And is has family importance, which makes it even more special. I have a fairly common surname, but I don't think there would be a ton of people with the combination of either.

It's funny- go on facebook and type in your name and see how many people share it- my dad has a fairly common name (Robert) but a not so common surname...however there were 454 people with the same name as him! Crazy!

I've always been one of 3 Lauras (or another spelling - Lauren, Laurie, etc) throughout elementary school, high school, and college. Now that I'm adult, my name seems far less common and I don't meet quite so many, but that's probably because I have friends whose ages span 10 years. While I love Ava, Emma, Sophia, etc, if they're still popular when I have kids I won't use them because I don't want my kid going through the same thing.

I tried the Facebook thing! Both my maiden name and married name are pretty uncommon, so it was fun. For my maiden name, there are 5 other people with the same first and last name and about 4,000 people with the same last name.

For my married name, I am the only one with my combo of first and last name. For just the last name, there are only 23 results (2 of those are DH and his sister

and a few others are DH's relatives). It's extremely uncommon, but at least it's pretty easy to spell and pronounce. No matter what baby name we pick, our kid will probably have a unique first and last name combo.

Yeah, the whole change your nickname so you're an individual and so teachers don't get confused. That's how I became Liz.

Elizabeth #1= Elizabeth
Elizabeth #2= Beth
Elizabeth #3= Liz
Elizabeth #4 went by her middle name

...le sigh...

We did the ever popular Laura LastInitial

in elementary school.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 2/10/2010 2:25:06 PM
Author: elrohwen

Date: 2/10/2010 2:15:22 PM
Author: EBree

Date: 2/10/2010 2:11:52 PM
Author: MC

Isn''t Henry becoming a bit more popular than it was way back when?

It is. It was #78 in 2008 and I''m guessing it''ll keep climbing for a while. Hopefully not too high.

ETA: In 1920, it was #17! The #17 girl''s name? Irene.

Oh, I hope it doesn''t get popular! I have at least 5-7 years before we have kids and I would hate for it to be too popular. As long as it''s out of the top 20 I''m fine.

I don''t think Henry will move up into the top-20. It''s one of those names that seems to move around on the list, but won''t become ultra trendy.

My younger son has one other kid in his grade that shares his name and it''s in the top-40. I''m not even sure if there are any other kids in his entire school of 550+ kids that have his name so it''s just by chance that both are in 1st.

 

[AprilBaby]

A young girl I know just named her baby Jezebel. Parents and I were horrified. They call her Bella. Any thoughts?

 

[E B]

Date: 2/10/2010 2:30:21 PM
Author: MC

Date: 2/10/2010 2:25:06 PM
Author: elrohwen

Date: 2/10/2010 2:15:22 PM

Author: EBree

Date: 2/10/2010 2:11:52 PM

Author: MC

Isn't Henry becoming a bit more popular than it was way back when?

It is. It was #78 in 2008 and I'm guessing it'll keep climbing for a while. Hopefully not too high.

ETA: In 1920, it was #17! The #17 girl's name? Irene.

Oh, I hope it doesn't get popular! I have at least 5-7 years before we have kids and I would hate for it to be too popular. As long as it's out of the top 20 I'm fine.

I don't think Henry will move up into the top-20. It's one of those names that seems to move around on the list, but won't become ultra trendy.

I agree- I don't think it'll reach the top 20 any time soon (it's still too "old-sounding" for a lot of people) but that may be wishful thinking.