Do YOU have a common first name?

dairygirl19 · April 2009

I am just wondering because I see all these posts about how people don't want their kid to be one of 3 others with the same name in a classroom.

I have a very common name for our age range but it's also pretty classic. There were 3 other girls with my name in a class of 86 kids. I don't see the big deal. None of us really cared, we worked it out and we're not scarred for life by it...lol.

I'm not into the super popular names because I've never come across one I've loved...but if I did...I would use it and not worry about who else had that name.

What are your thoughts on the issue? I'm just genuinely curious...it doesn't matter to me one way or the other.

nickschick! · April 2009

Mine wasn't common when I was growing out, but it is common now (Sydney). ?I liked not knowing anyone else with the same name. ?Now that DH and I are ttc, I'd like a less popular name, but a lot of the ones I like are quite popular (Owen, Madison, Elizabeth). ?

Dh's name is Nick. ?He was one of 4 or 5 in a class of around 100. ?When we first started dating, I think I was the only one who called him "Nick" and not his last name or "Nick first initial." ?I'd like to avoid that, if possible...

smismar · April 2009

No and I prefer it that way. I like the fact that if I call someone and they hear a female voice saying, "Hi, it's Toni." I don't get, "Which Toni?" or "Toni Who?" I have 3 friends named Catie. When I'm talking about them with our mutual friends, I always have to specify Catie J, Catie P, or Catie B. It's almost like their last initial has become part of their first name. Same with the Jens, Jenns, Jennys, and Jennifers. I wanted to pick a name that was fairly distinctive so that she'd rarely have to be Firstname LastInitial.

soon2Bmrspower · April 2009

My name is Kristin. Throughout elementary school, I was the only Kristin in my classes. There was one other Kristin when I got to high school. So I guess it was still fairly unpopular (I was actually REALLY surprised to see how it has fallen in popularity over the years when I just looked at the SSA website - #814 in 2007).

Anyway, I try not to dwell too much on popularity if I really love a name, but I do think about it. I remember the multiple Michael's, Ashley's, etc in my school that always had to be called out by their first and last name or initial and always had to write their full name on everything, etc and I just think that would be better to avoid if possible.

thatgirlang · April 2009

My name is Angela. Obviously not a super unique or uncommon name. But I never knew a ton of them or had 2 or 3 Angelas in my classes.

foundmylazybum · April 2009

Nope. My name is uncommon. As in..in a high school of 3,000 kids I was the only one.

LMS05 · April 2009

My name is Laura and it's classic, but not common. That's what I'm striving for. I was the only Laura in my classes until college. In high school, we had at least 8 Katies and a hand full of Alli/Ali/Allys. I went to a super small, private school and if you were Kaite or Alli, your last name was always used. Two of my best friends were Alli Davis and Katie Hart. No one called them just Katie or Alli...ever. I decided then that there is no way I'd name my child a name that is ridiculously popular. I love being just Laura.?

stcroixbride · April 2009

my name was apparently super popular in my age cohort. There were 5 on a squad of 14 girls when I was cheerleader in middle school. My parents really thought they were naming me something uncommon, and it turns out it was #21 ther year I was born. BLAH

I HATED it and was very focused on finding a name that was pretty UNCOMMON for my child. If I saw a name was over #500 on the SSA list, I ruled it out.

It is weird, I know...but when you seriously consider going by your more uncommon middle name because you hated having to ask "which one?" s.darned.often, name popularity weighs pretty heavily on your mind.

I still came up with a solid list of names for DD, most of which were not even on the SSA list of top 1000 names

j_hope · April 2009

I guess....I am Jessica, but I was the only Jessica in my class all through high school! Surprising yes...but I went to a private grade school and in small highschool. There were a couple other Jessica's, but they were a grade or two below me so it was never an issue. I think it's interesting that there are SO many Jessica's online, but I don't associate with or know anyone really that shares my name. I do have a complex with common names though, I'm very anti-common names, but alas...I sucked it up and named DD Isabel, knowing that it was gaining in pouplarity. I picked uncommon boy names this time around..and alas the girl name I love (and I don't love any other girl names..the exact same dilemma I had with DD's name) is becoming more common, but I'm not willing to change it (Eva).

maltwin1 · April 2009

Mine seems to have been more common in my area than nationally. My name is Merideth, and there were always at least 3-4 others in my grade and 2 others in my college sorority (with a different spelling). Honestly though, it never really bothered me.

DH's name is David, so it was/is very common, but I don't think it ever really bothered/scarred either of us to badly.

Meredith Shaw · April 2009

maltwin1:

Mine seems to have been more common in my area than nationally. My name is Merideth, and there were always at least 3-4 others in my grade and 2 others in my college sorority (with a different spelling). Honestly though, it never really bothered me.

DH's name is David, so it was/is very common, but I don't think it ever really bothered/scarred either of us to badly.

Interesting! My name is Meredith, and I've only known one other in my life.

EmmieB · April 2009

I'm an Emily. I can count on one hand the number of other Emily's I met until I started meeting babies named Emily.

I actually remember - and this is just amusing to me - that the kids in my elementary school would tease me for having an "Old Lady" name. And then whenever Wizard of Oz would come on someone would always spend at least the next week calling me Auntie Em (hate it so much that when my nephew was born I told my SIL that there was NO WAY they got to call me that. I love them, but it's what the mean kids used to call me)

And now it's super popular (phasing out, I think) which means that all of those kids who used to tease me went and named their daughters "After" me.

Makes me smile.

MrsTeague · April 2009

Mine is Lindsay. Never had another one in the school until College. There were 3 in my class of 18

. I had a small major lol.

KappaUCF20 · April 2009

I totally agree with you. My name was in the top 5 for years, but I still always loved it and definitely wasn't scarred by the fact that it was common. I sometimes get the same impression on this board that giving your kid a common name can be equated with child abuse or something... lol. My degree is in psychology, and I remember reading several studies in college that came to the conclusion that children with popular names tend to have an easier time fitting in with their peers and also tend to have higher grades (most of them were longitudinal studies so I would be inclined to believe them). Currently, the majority of our favorite names are in the top 20, and we wouldn't hesitate to use them.

NikiT · April 2009

I have a VERY common Gen X name. Yes, in school, it was a PITA to have a common name, not so much in the adult world where I work with people of all ages. I think what many of us on this board forget, is that popular names nowadays don't come anywhere close to the level of popularity of top names from generations ago. The # of girls born with the top name in 2007 - Emily, wouldn't even have ranked in the top 10 in 1977.

Becky262 · April 2009

My DH and his brother are Chris and Jason - the second and third most popular names when they were born.

Chris has said it was a little annoying being called "Chris M" in grade school, but since then, having such a popular name is no big deal.

desiree_xray · April 2009

I am 27 and growing up I was the only Desiree, but that was in a town of maybe 10,000 people. After college I moved to Detroit and it seems to be a fairly popular name here, although I am still the only caucasion Desiree I have ran across.

CourtneyRDH · April 2009

I meet other Courtneys occasionally. I like my name a lot.?

jebuell · April 2009

I don't have a popular name at all and in my life have only met one other person with my name, and it was a guy. Then a few years ago there was a TV show where the lead character had my name which was really cool. My name is Jaye, btw.

I don't know how it affects the kids, but it's a bit annoying for teachers. I hate having 3 kids in the same class/group with the same name. It gets very annoying to find a way to differentiate between them and in the beginning it's hard to keep them straight. Usually they'll end up going by their last initials, too. But with the variety of names out there I've only encountered two groups with 3 kids with the same name (Sophia and Conner were the names).

Kendall13 · April 2009

I can't stand it when I run into people that have my name. I'm a Kendall and my name has really been growing in popularity. Everytime I see that someone is going to name their daughter "Kendall" I cringe.

We picked an "unpopular" name because it was important to DH and I that our kid not have 3 kids in his class/on his soccer team with the same name. DH is a Brian and meets people with his name all of the time, so people call him by a nickname instead.

seells · April 2009

My name is Shannon. Growing up I only knew one other girl with my name but knew a whole slew of boys. I really got tired of people saying "Hey, isn't that a boys name?"

redshoegirl · April 2009

My name is Lisa, so hell to the yes. Big Smile

There were always like 5 other Lisas in my classes (Pre-K all the way through college), and I HATED it.

LMS05 · April 2009

redshoegirl:
My name is Lisa, so hell to the yes. There were always like 5 other Lisas in my classes (Pre-K all the way through college), and I HATED it.

I've never met a Lisa that was under the age of 50. I had no idea it was common. ?

Edit: Gosh, I re-read it and that came across really rude. I didn't mean to sound so mean! Lisa is my mom's friend so I think of an older lady, but I didn't mean to say it's an old lady name. ?

mZoe · April 2009

I never knew any other Meredith's my age until I got my job, and I've only met one thus far. I've always loved my name because it was sort of uncommon with my generation and the only women I've heard with my name are glamorous senior citizens in my area. So, no, I don't have a common name.

starsmaycollide · April 2009

My name is Lauren. There weren't other Laurens in my classes until middle/high school and it didn't bother me that much. DH was more bothered by how common his name is though-Christopher (mn Michael). They were the #1 and #2 names when he was born.

We like classic names, including a lot of the ones coming back in style these days. Generally speaking, I'm fine with a name being in the top 100 or whatever...just maybe not the top 10 or so.?

I will admit I liked Aidan for a long time, but with all the -den names we strongly dislike (Caden, Jaden, Brayden) that sound so similar, ?we are now less likely to use it.?

?

amyfelice · April 2009

My name, Amy, was super common growing up. I won't say that I was "Traumatized" but it was definitely a PITA. I was never the only Amy in any Classroom or camp setting. I was a pretty easy going kid so whatev, but I definitely want my child to have a less common name. It's nice to be unique.

And Lisa was super common in my era too.

stcroixbride · April 2009

seells:
My name is Shannon. Growing up I only knew one other girl with my name but knew a whole slew of boys. I really got tired of people saying "Hey, isn't that a boys name?"

where did you live? i've heard this on the Nest before and it blows my mind. Maybe it was an East Coast craze? I think all of us were in the mid-Atlantic then ;P

KateLouise · April 2009

It's funny I went to school with at least four other Kate/Katie's but since I left school I've never worked with another one and I work on a staff of over 130 people.

I'm also a teacher and have only ever met about 3 Kate's. So I don't think it's a big deal. I like my name and I like that everyone knows how to say it and spell it. Although when Cate Blanchett became a star people started asking me if it was with a "c".?

Pathrell · April 2009

My name is Megan, so the answer is a resounding YES. I know of (at least) 5 others are the Renaissance Faire I work at, one in my apartment complex, two customers at my store. Thankfully only grew up with one other, and she was in the "special" class, so a who's who never came up. However, even with my extremely uncommon maiden name, there are/were TWO others with the same first/last combo. And most of the girls spell their name the same way as I do. Two have an h, and one has a double-g. If there is more then one Megan in a conversation, I always end up being "Megs" which is fine by me. I'm the only one nn worthy! LOL

sugarmama13 · April 2009

I do have a common first name, Becky, and have never really liked it. I know tons of people with my name, regardless of age... everything from classmates to friends of my parents. I would prefer something less common, and that's probably a big reason I lean toward names that you don't hear everyday. Oh, names that you won't find on 5 different kindergartners in the same class.

But, I agree, if you find a name you absolutely love and it feels right, go with it. It's not the end of the world to know someone else with your name.

MrsJJC · April 2009

Yup - top name for the year I was born and a few years around it as well. It was my mother's favorite for about 5 years before I ever came along so I don't begrudge her for choosing it, although I would joke and complain when I was younger because the same thing happened with my brother's name.
As an adult, I love my name, I don't really wish it were anything else, and I am totally fine with how many Jennifers there are around me. I think it's kind of funny and I think it's a beautiful, classic name so i don't care that it's popular. Now, if my name was some weird spelling of a trendy name, I might think differently, but I rarely have to spell my name (although frequently, people will put 1 n and 2 fs which makes me laugh) and no one doesn't know how to SAY it. ;-) I think that makes a difference.

amyfelice · April 2009

I will say that the only nice thing about having a common name is that it winds up in a few songs and movies. I loved having the song "Once in love with Amy" and "Amy" by the Pure Prarie League in my name.

missaloha · April 2009

nope--i have never met anyone with my name, and saw it once on tv but it was a guy's name. i kind of didn't like it growing up, wishing i had a more common name, but as i got older i was glad for my name--Britton. consequently all the girls names i love are really unusual!

tct1219 · April 2009

yes, taylor. people will say "but it was in the 500s for girls in the mid-80s so that's not popular at all" but i have always known more girls than boys named taylor and i know a few girls named that who are older than i am. i'm glad that my name isn't as plain as my siblings (john, david, mary clare) but i hate having a name that other people have. there was always at least one taylor in my class all through high school.

people should keep in mind that just because something isn't in the top 100 the year you choose a name doesn't mean it isn't going up on the charts. when choosing a name for your child, think of everything you can that might contribute to its rising in popularity in the next few years (like old fashioned and biblical names in the past several years and flower/ word names now).

char-char · April 2009

My name is Charlotte and I don't think it's ever seemed super popular until more recently because of a lot of people using the name because of Charlotte on SATC, ha! In any case, I've rarely known anyone else personally sharing my name, so at least I've never had to worry about that. Oh, with the exception of the fact that my mother's name is also Charlotte, yep, my father insisted on naming me after my mother and my middle name is my grandmother's middle name, Faye.

Smtih&co · April 2009

I'm Sara. When I was in school, I was Sara E. and a girl in my class was Sarah E. It got confusing. My married name is Smith. Sara Smith... it's the new Jane Doe. :-)

ashleycharee · April 2009

I'm Ashley and was born in the mid-80s. It was SUPER popular when I was growing up. Out of the 30 people in my graduating class there were two Ashleys and an Ashleigh. It sucked. Two of us were Ashley S. so I couldn't even use that. I ended up going by just my last name my entire life. A lot of people still call me by my maiden last name because of it.

I won't say that I was traumatized by it in any way but it was annoying and I won't do it to my kids.

high_hopes · April 2009

Yes (Kim), & so does DH (Mike). Sad

Our child will NOT have a popular name (but also not made-up, either).

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