Was YOUR name popular as a kid?

prepster7 · April 2009

As a spin-off of my poll below, I thought I'd ask to hear from those of you who have a popular name for your age group. For instance, there were lots of Jessicas and Jennifers in my classes growing up. Were you one of a few/many in school? If your name is common, did/does it bother you? Was it annoying to be "Jennifer M." to all your peers rather than just "Jennifer"?

Thanks for sharing.

LMS05 · April 2009

My name is Laura and I never met another Laura until high school. I never had another Laura in my class until college. In high school there were at least 8 Katies and I went to a really small private high school with a graduating class of 125. I was really glad that I wasn't named Katie! I love having a common, classic name but I'm glad it wasn't popular when I was growing up. I could always find personalized things like key chains and bookmarks which was fun.?

still_a_bride · April 2009

I knew one other girl with my name (Andrea) as a young child and then in high school went to classes for a couple of years with a girl who spelled her name the same but pronounced it differently. In one of my college classes there was a girl with the same name. It was very weird sharing the same name with someone at that point, but at least it was only one class! I'm glad I had a name that wasn't popular, but wasn't completely out there. I knew SO many Ashleys growing up, it was very confusing!

sandyk51306 · April 2009

My name is Sandy (short for Sandra), and I was usually the only one in my class all through school. I never liked the name Sandra because it was such an adult sounding name (in fact I had a couple of friends in school whose mothers were named Sandra!) but I've always liked Sandy. Easy to spell, easy to pronounce yet different.

thenewmrsrussell · April 2009

Sara...super popular. Even more annoying than its popularity is the fact it is spelled two different ways. That sucked too.

cabana1 · April 2009

My name is Julie. I wouldn't say popular, just common as in everyone has heard of the name. Out of a graduating class of about 400, there was only 1 other girl but her full name was Julia. I didn't encounter another Julie my age until college when I joined a sorority. I have to admit, I was a bit annoyed bc I was so used to going by Julie, not Julie H. Sometimes you just can't avoid sharing a name with someone else.

prepster7 · April 2009

laurasusan:
(on the baby name lists on the Social Security site, it reached up to about #10 in the 80s, so it's made be a bit less stressed about picking a popular name when I have a baby)

Laura, thanks for sharing that perspective!

GiniMcGlothin · April 2009

My name is Gini (really it's Virginia) and no one had it spelled or pronounced that way. Still I've never met someone who spells it like this (except my grandma who I am named after). I will name my baby something much easier to spell and pronounce. I got called "guniea" at my high school graduation.

mrs_tacos · April 2009

There were seven Amanda's in my grade, if you count all four classes, so there were always doubles.My mom and I were talking about this the other day, and she went through my second grade year book, counting the Amanda's- there were 29 of us in the entire school, so we all ended up getting crazy nicknames as we got older. It was really annoying, especially since I didn't like my nickname!

IU_baby · April 2009

I'm Laura as well! It's funny how there are 3 of us already responding to this post...

The first Laura I met I was 2 years older than me and I was in 5th grade. I never had another Laura in any of my grades growing up. There were a couple of Lauras in my sorority in college, but that was it. I still meet very few people with my name.

It goes to show that a common name isn't necessarily a super popular one. The year I was born, it was #19 on the SSA list.

pr_alexander · April 2009

My name was going to be Jennifer (my dad picked it out). But when my parents had me my mother changed her mind last minute and named me Paula after my grandfather Paul. I am very glad that I did not get named Jennifer (no offense, it is a lovely name, there were just 5 Jennifers in my calss and it was confusing for them). My parents gave me a popular middle name for the 80's though Renee. A lot of my friends had the same middle name, but that was fine.

DarcyLongfellow · April 2009

My name was super popular. (My real name is not Darcy.) It actually peaked in popularity a couple years after I was born, though, so I rarely had a bunch of people with my name in my class. One, at most.

It never really bothered me. I liked being able to find my name on personailzed things in stores (even if it was often sold out!). I was a little upset about it but only because the rest of my family had pretty unusual names (not odd, but just not common), and my mom thought she was naming me something unusual also, so she was mad when the name became so popular!

newportbride715 · April 2009

My name (Kate, Katie as a child) was common in school. Most were Katherine or just Katie though, my full name is Kathleen.

Although in college and when I was working, and in my present day groups of friends, I was/am the only Kate, actually, which is nice.

It never bothered me though, b/c it's a classic and I actually really like it!

kegallagh · April 2009

I'm a Kelly, and I knew soooo many Kellys growing up. Luckily they were never in my class so it wasn't a problem. But still.. very common. Didn't mind too much though.

NaplesWifey · April 2009

My name is Dana & I didn't meet anyone with my name until High School (although I went to a really small private school for elementary/middle). There were 2 other Dana/Dayna's in my graduating class, but I really don't hear the name very often.

ErinInVA · April 2009

I'm Erin and I didn't really know many Erin's growing up. When we chose DD's name we had it narrowed down to 2 names. Oe of our names was very popular the other wasn't. We went with the more 'unusual' name to avoid the Jennifer M syndrome.?

LMS05 · April 2009

prepster7:
laurasusan:
?(on the baby name lists on the Social Security site, it reached up to about #10 in the 80s, so it's made be a bit less stressed about picking a popular name when I have a baby)
Laura, thanks for sharing that perspective!

Being a Laura, I feel the same!?

AllThatGlitters101 · April 2009

Nope, my name wasn't popular, and it really has never been (taryn).

Temp778367875008010 · April 2009

There were 5 Kimberly's in my HS class (although my name is actually spelled Kimberley). I went to a fairly small HS, so I guess you could say it was pretty popular. I hear the name fairly frequently now, so I guess you could say its popular for people around my age.

LoriFalce · April 2009

There was always another Lori in my grade, but never in my class. We were bogged down with Amys, Stephanies, Jennifers and Tracys.

Laroogirl · April 2009

I was one of Lauren's in my elementary school. In junior high there were many Lauras, but I was still the only Lauren. My younger sister's grade had 4 or so Laurens though. She is 3 grades younger. I love my name and that it was not popular among my classmates.

LVila · April 2009

There were three Lindsay's in my graduating class of 92, but it never annoyed me. I was glad that I had a name that people could pronounce and I didn't have to answer the "Where did your parents come up with that?" question all the time.

mrsmel · April 2009

i'm melissa, and there were tons of us. i was always melissa a.

i hated it as a kid. now, i'm over it. still gets to be annoying when 3 melissas come to the status meeting, but what can ya do.

sjgrillot · April 2009

I graduated in a class of 35, so needless to say, I was the only Jennifer in my class. There was a Jennifer in the grade ahead of me and one two grades behind me, but it still wasn't very confusing. I really like my name!

xporcelainangelx · April 2009

There was never another Abby in school until my freshman year of college - her name was Abigail but she went by Abby. Well the first time the teacher called out Abby when giving out a test & he gave me her test, I showed annoyance at the mix up because Abby was NOT her name & from then on she was Abigail. Sophmore year there was a different Abigail & an Abbey - the teacher always called us by our full names when handing things out so there was never a problem. When I was younger it bothered me that no one had my name or that I could never find anything with my name on it but when I realized how annoying it must be to always be one of several Jennys, Katies, or Laurens, I got over it. My name still isn't very popular today but that's fine with me. If my name wasn't Abby, there'd be no question my first daughter would be Abby.

andrea922 · April 2009

still_a_bride:
I knew one other girl with my name (Andrea) as a young child and then in high school went to classes for a couple of years with a girl who spelled her name the same but pronounced it differently. In one of my college classes there was a girl with the same name. It was very weird sharing the same name with someone at that point, but at least it was only one class! I'm glad I had a name that wasn't popular, but wasn't completely out there. I knew SO many Ashleys growing up, it was very confusing!

I am also Andrea, pronounced Ondrea. No one ever had my name, not even pronounced And-rea. I hear it sometimes now, but I don't think it is very popular. When 90210 came out and they had Andrea pronounced the same as me it was a big deal to me since no one ever had my name!

KappaUCF20 · April 2009

I'm an Ashley... 'nough said lol. Despite the popularity of the name though, I still think it's beautiful, and I always loved it so the fact that it was common never bothered me one bit. Actually, I like it so much that it would probably be on my list of potential girls names. In school growing up, I don't ever recall having more than one other Ashley in any of my classes so that wasn't an issue either. It's funny because I used to be heavily involved with community groups like the Rotary Club, and most of the members were senior citizens. Whenever I went to their meetings, at least one of them would comment on how pretty or "different" my name was because I guess in their generation, Ashley was used mostly for boys (like in the movie Gone with the Wind).

KappaUCF20 · April 2009

LVila:
There were three Lindsay's in my graduating class of 92, but it never annoyed me. I was glad that I had a name that people could pronounce and I didn't have to answer the "Where did your parents come up with that?" question all the time.

Ditto.

mfransdell · April 2009

There was a boy with the same name (Morgan) in kindergarten. Other then that I never shared my name in school.

j_hope · April 2009

In theory yes...the name Jessica was everywhere, but where I went to grade/middle/high school there was only one other Jessica the grade behind me. I never had another Jessica in my class. I also never had to deal with being friends with another Jessica...I teach and there isn't another co-worker in my building of 800+students/teachers with the name Jessica. So, it really does depend on your location and area where you live.

sprice88 · April 2009

Sarah- yep! there were quite a few of us!

nickschick! · April 2009

My name is Sydney, and I didn't know another Sydney until I was in HS and a couple at my church named their daughter Sydney Grace, and Grace is my middle name too. ?I loved having a name that was different, though it is much more popular now. ?I still don't know any my age.

jenber77 · April 2009

Yep, I'm a Jennifer. There was an average of three Jennifers in all of my classes at school. At my first real job, three of us were Jennifers in an office of twelve.

Oh! And at my first OB appointment back in October there were three Jennifers crammed in the tiny waiting room! Two of us were there for our first appointments and I've run into the other one several times since.

It was, and is, annoying. I want to give my boy a less common (but not weird) name, but I haven't found any I love yet.

pregnantchica · April 2009

My name is Marisol and it wasn't popular then, and its still not popular now. The funny thing is that I grew up in a neighborhood with another Marisol who was a few years older than me and then my cousin marries a Marisol. But there were no Marisols in any of the schools I went to....

Mike&Care · April 2009

I am a Carolyn. I never knew another Carolyn throughout all highschool and college. I met one Caroline though.

As an adult I have met several Carolyn's, but all were over 60 years old.

I personally love the name Caroline (more than Carolyn) and would consider that for a girl if it wasn't so popular.

leah1615 · April 2009

I am Leah and I always hated my name growing up because nobody could ever pronounce it! I never understood why, since all you need to do is sound it out. It's pronounced Lee-UH and teachers would always say LEE. I never met another Leah until college and I have never met another Leah since. I cannot believe how often it comes up on this board, but I am glad that it is gaining popularity! I like my name much better now because it is uncommon, but not weird. My name has always been in the SS top 100, but always near the bottom.

tct1219 · April 2009

my name is taylor and i have always had at least 2 other taylors at my school since primary school. i hate it and wish my mom had named me something that was more of a unisex name and not becoming a girl name because now i hear it everywhere. i would much rather have an unusual name.

JnJHud · April 2009

I have a unisex name, and I never knew another girl with my name until high school (although there was a boy with my name in elementary school). In high school, I met 3 girls with my name, although we all spelled it differently (weird, right?). None of these things ever bothered me. Even when we all played lacrosse together, we just went by nn or last names. No big deal.

Brittany Spitler · April 2009

I am a Brittany. ?There were a few a year older, a few a year younger, but none in my specific grade until late in high school. ?No one ever asked how to spell my name either until Britney Spears came out. ?Then all of a sudden it was assumed by EVERYONE I spelled my name just like hers... which I don't. ?It's a popular name, but I got lucky. ?

NikiT · April 2009

jenber77:

Yep, I'm a Jennifer. There was an average of three Jennifers in all of my classes at school. At my first real job, three of us were Jennifers in an office of twelve.

Oh! And at my first OB appointment back in October there were three Jennifers crammed in the tiny waiting room! Two of us were there for our first appointments and I've run into the other one several times since.

It was, and is, annoying. I want to give my boy a less common (but not weird) name, but I haven't found any I love yet.

Another Jennifer here. There was always at least 1 other Jennifer in my class (but far more Jessica's, why don't people pick on that as a popular name?). Surprisingly I haven't met many other Jennifer's since I graduated high school. I do work with 3 50-something women named Linda.

amoureux · April 2009

No one in my elementary or high school shared my name (Colleen). I have never worked with a Colleen. I like my name. Everyone can pronounce it and spell it but I am not surrounded by Colleens.

The only Colleens I knew when I was a child were in their 40s and 50s.

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