Amber

braveangel2

I watched the movie, Hair Spray recently, and the name Amber stuck with me. It's one of the few names that I liked from my childhood and still have a soft spot for (despite my crazy cousin, Amber). In the 90s, I liked it again thanks to the Jurassic Park association - the word appeal I guess, similar to my name.

So the question is - can the name Amber be brought around? Or does it have some permanant association that makes it unusable...what's your take?

SSA numbers - it peaked at number 13 in 1986, but enjoyed massive jumps in years 1880, 1904 and then it started to increase in popularity in 1956.

kippersophie

wellll... i think its a pretty common name, I mean I work with 4 different Ambers. But I dont hate it, so if you like it, at least keep it in mind~

HappyMrsK

I watch the show Teen Mom on MTV and one of the teen mom's is named Amber and she is a whole lotta crazy. So that's a negative for me. Growing up we had a cocker spaniel named Amber. It does seem very dated to me. I don't particularly care for it but it isn't horrible.

forensicmama

I don't like Amber. It's very '80s IMO.

plunderb

I agree that it sounds dated and most of the associations I have with it are negative (ditto Teen Mom).

That said, I don't hate the name itself. It sounds nice and the meaning is pretty ? I just wouldn't use it because of the dated-ness and class associations.

alohamora

plunderb:

I agree that it sounds dated and most of the associations I have with it are negative (ditto Teen Mom).

That said, I don't hate the name itself. It sounds nice and the meaning is pretty ? I just wouldn't use it because of the dated-ness and class associations.

Ditto the bolded part.  Also, wasn't the name Amber one of the specific names discussed in that Freakonomics chapter about how names trickle down from the upper classes to the lower classes over time?  Not sure if that matters or not, but it's interesting.

LarkNow

A test I use is whether I would vote for a president with that name.  President Amber doesn't sound good to me.  Too...foofy.

MrsCFB

it's okay.

amber isn't as dated to me as heather or kelly are.

sunnyday016

I've never really liked the name, and the Teen Mom association cemented my dislike for it. Sorry.

strangebird

I really like the name Amber--I actually have had a recent addiction to it--despite having a very negative association of the name from my school years. I went to school with the most obnoxious girl I can possibly imagine, she sang constantly, bragged incessantly about being in the Tucson Children's Choir (this amazed me, since I thought she sounded like a dying cat and smelled about as good), and had a seemingly incurable desire to follow me around in the hope of becoming my friend. My memories of her are still so vivid today, it amazes me that I can like the name.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't ever be able to use it. Not only because of my "friend," but because I associate it almost exclusively with trashy individuals. One of the PPs mentioned Teen Mom, which I've never seen, but I do imagine a teenage mother with too much makeup and too short shorts when I hear the name. It's depressing actually--I love the sound of it, I think it should be more popular than it is right now . . . but I can't get past those combined associations/images to use it.

 

MrsFoof

braveangel2:

 So the question is - can the name Amber be brought around? Or does it have some permanant association that makes it unusable...what's your take?

 

I am sorry, but the name Amber makes me think of a naked girl swinging from a pole. 

Amberry10

Well, I love the name Amber! It could be because it is my name... and I don't see anything wrong with it. I was never teased or thought it was a stripper name. I don't know very many Amber's either. I'd say if you like it, go with it.

starlight8323

Well, right now it's still at 186 on the SSA list, which I consider to be pretty popular. Although I haven't personally met anyone with the name that wasn't born in the 1980's.

I do have an awfully strong association to the "Teen Mom" Amber. In fact when I first saw the title of your post, I thought maybe you wanted to discuss last night's episode, (eventhough we never discuss shows on this board) because Amber was just THAT bad in this episode, and because that's what everyone was discussing on facebook today. It didn't even occur to me that maybe you wanted to discuss the name itself. haha

Also I do associate the name with low socioeconomic status. I'm not exactly sure why, and I still haven't read that chapter in Freakonomics (though I do need to).

I wouldn't say that it's unusable, though. I'm sure I could get passed my current associations with the name if I met a darling baby named Amber. Unlike if I met a Barack or an Oprah, in which case I'm quite sure I'd think of the president or the talk show host EVERY time I heard the name.

braveangel2

strangebird:

I really like the name Amber--I actually have had a recent addiction to it--despite having a very negative association of the name from my school years. I went to school with the most obnoxious girl I can possibly imagine, she sang constantly, bragged incessantly about being in the Tucson Children's Choir (this amazed me, since I thought she sounded like a dying cat and smelled about as good), and had a seemingly incurable desire to follow me around in the hope of becoming my friend. My memories of her are still so vivid today, it amazes me that I can like the name.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't ever be able to use it. Not only because of my "friend," but because I associate it almost exclusively with trashy individuals. One of the PPs mentioned Teen Mom, which I've never seen, but I do imagine a teenage mother with too much makeup and too short shorts when I hear the name. It's depressing actually--I love the sound of it, I think it should be more popular than it is right now . . . but I can't get past those combined associations/images to use it.

Oh wow, you and I are on the nose again - my crazy cousin Amber wore a sheet for clothes for a few years and has a husband and a wife (of sorts). I'm amazed I'm related to her, but she couldn't tarnish my love of the name, Amber - the sound especially. I feel like the word name, Ember is a way to get around this, and I've entertained it for a while, but I really like Amber. Ah well...it's not like I'm going to have 15 daughters so I can use all the names I like...just a name nerd I guess.

Thanks everyone for commenting - I know I can get the honesty here, and I love to hear things I didn't think of, like the teen mom show association.