how much emphasis do you put on name meanings?

naa855

DH and I keep going back to the name Allison if LO is a girl, but when I looked it up, it means 'son of the noble one', because it used to be a male name.  Is she going to get a complex because her name meaning is specific to boys?

Zimger

I doubt she will get a complex if you name her Allison. It's very very common as a girls name these days.

I personally put quite a bit of stock in meanings because I would like to use names that are either on my family tree or have a meaning that is a certain attribute that we value.

FirstBabyMomma

The book I have says it means "of noble birth." I think that's a good thing! Yes, it used to be a predominantly male name but I promise you that no one will ever assume your Allison is a boy based on that name (I know because it's my name)!

MissusTexas

justAphase:

Honestly, the meaning was the last thing I cared about. It was definitely a nice bonus if a name I liked had a great meaning, but I wouldn't have based my decision on it. 

I totally agree with this.

RedInLove

I don't really worry about general meanings like that.

HeyJune

I'm not sure where you looked, but Allison is not a "son of" name like most names ending in son. It is a diminutive of Alice. The "s" in Allison is related to the "c" in Alice beause it comes from the French form, Aalis.

These three are all related: 

 https://www.behindthename.com/name/alison

https://www.behindthename.com/name/alice

https://www.behindthename.com/name/adelaide 

And here is the name tree:

https://www.behindthename.com/name/alison/tree 

Hope that helps some! 

shipsshoessealingwax

justAphase:

 It [is] definitely a nice bonus if a name I liked had a great meaning, but I wouldn't have based my decision on it. 

This. While I love names with cool meanings, it would have to have a pretty awful one for me to take it out of the running. Like "freakish imp of the doomed" or something - lol! 

raefre

When naming, I really don't care about the meaning except that it adds a nice flavor to something I've already picked or liked.  If in a dead heat, I'd probably use the meaning and context to choose between two names.

BrideBuddies

Do you know the meaning of YOUR name? 

Probably not.

naa855

BrideBuddies:

Do you know the meaning of YOUR name? 

Probably not.

 

I do, my mom mentioned it quite a bit when I was a kid because I was really good natured and my name means "pleasant", among other things. But, maybe my mom just had a thing for name meanings and lots of other people don't. 

adventureolive

I put a little emphasis on meaning, but not too much. Milo and I knew we didn't want a religious name because we're atheists (I think religious names are a little presumptive of your child's future beliefs anyway) and I wouldn't want a name with a negative meaning, like "ugly head" or "bitter," but I don't think a gender-specific meaning is that big of a deal, especially because Allison is almost always a girl's name nowadays.

this decaf life

I put no emphasis on meaning.

My name is Allison & I love it. I never realized it was a man's name until I had a friend  in high school & HIS MN was Allison [after his grandfather.] It's been used for girls long enough I wouldn't worry about it being a gender bender name. 

The only thing growing up I didn't like was there was one boy on my middle school bus who called me Alice in wonderland. 

Leah&JP

If I have a son I plan on naming him Calvin, which means "bald."  Every man on both sides of the family is bald, so I guess it fits!   But no, I do not not worry too much about the meaning of the name.  After all my name is Leah = weary or cow.