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Baby Names
magpie1127
member
Making a case for popular names....
magpie1127
member
in Baby Names
I was wondering if anyone else had any insight on this.
I'm a perfectly well-adjusted adult, but during my first few years of elementary school I went through an awkward phase. I was going to a strict Catholic school where everyone had to wear uniforms, and I just didn't fit in very well with a lot of the (richer) girls.
My name is Maggie: obviously not too crazy. But I remember wishing I was a Nicole, Brittany, Jennifer, etc. so that I would fit in better. It didn't help that there were a lot of dogs named Maggie 
.
Obviously, a lot of kids tease because of names, and most teased kids are able to get past it. But, is there a case to be made for popular names? If you're an awkward kid in school, it probably makes it worse to have a 'weird' name that none of the other kids can relate to.
Now that I'm an adult, I absolutely LOVE my name. I think it's perfect - it's not too weird, but it's always been relatively unique within my generation. I just remember feeling singled out as a child because I didn't have a 'trendy' name. On a somewhat related note, the homecoming queens/prom queens at my high school were all named Katie, Gia, Caitlin, etc. Is there a connection between popularity and names? I'm not saying popularity matters, or that kids should strive to 'fit in' rather than stand out. I'm just wondering if, for some more sensitive kids, a unique name might not make things harder. I don't know, but I was just seeing what everyone else's thoughts were!
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Re: Making a case for popular names....
I think names are a case of the "grass is always greener." It seems like most people I know didn't love their name growing up, but for the most part, did by the time they reach adulthood. A good example of this is that I liked my sister's name better than mine, partly b/c it had better nn potential; my sister didn't like her name at all, partly b/c she didn't like being called by a nn. You just can't win!
To your second point, the most popular girls in my H.S. class all had rhyming names (i.e., Joey, Jori, Dori)... so maybe there's something to this theory
That is an interesting view. Now thinking back, I think most of the popular girls had "normal" names. Jessica (more than one), Janelle, Kelly, Amanda... But not everyone with the popular names were popular, just everyone that was popular had popular names.
The word popular doesn't look right to me after typing it so many times lol
I'm not sure I follow 100% ? you thought that Maggie wasn't common enough and wanted a trendy name like . . . Gia? That seems like a strange example to me, but maybe I'm just not following your train of thought. It would never occur to me that a community that had a lot of girls named Katie and Caitlin would consider Maggie anything other than ordinary.
As to your question ? whether having a popular name can make life easier for an awkward kid ? I dunno, maybe? I can see that having an over the top name like Maximus Danger might be a problem if the poor kid is being bullied for being scrawny or having a gender presentation that doesn't match such an aggressively masculine name, but I don't think that's an issue of popularity. I think most people go through times when they like their names and times when they don't. You're lucky that you grew to like yours ? I'm just the opposite.
Baby Name Popularity by State
Maybe Maggie is a more popular name in some areas - b/c I know Maggies/Megs/Margarets/Megans that span generations. There were at least 3 Maggies in my HS class (graduated in the early 90s) and I have a couple of cousins & all of my nieces have friends named Maggie (all in their early 20s). Maybe b/c we are Irish & grew up in an Irish Catholic neighborhood.
The only reason I didn't like my name growing up was b/c I could hardly ever find anything with my name on it. Def. popular in the later half of the 1800s- at least according to gravestones in Ireland, but not so popular in the 1980s!
The most popular girl in my high school had an unusual name- but I don't think anyone in my HS really had "youneek" names.
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I'd say there were just as many popular Jennifers as unpopular Jennifers at my school. I can't think of anyone who was unpopular because of their name. When I start going through my yearbook, most of the unpopular/disliked/teased kids had perfectly normal common names. I think people with truly unfortunate names figure out ways around their name early on, and those with simply uncommon names tend to end up "owning" their name.
On another note, I was always surprised at the lack of Jennifers in my last school. It was a arts magnet school, and I figured there was a lack of Jennifers because all the parents were just a lot more creative than mine. Nope, all the Jennifers (including myself) were going by our middle names.
completely understand your point. It is something to think about, but of course is not a "rule" and if it were there are always exceptions to the rule. It will certainly make me less likely to get annoyed when I like overly popular names.
Also, do people ever look at the SSA names by state? Because it is interesting to see how name popularity differs by state.
I love Tyler for a girl!!
Totally agree with the short-sightedness! This person is going to have the name their whole life! Giving a baby a ridiculously cutsy name is not going to age well and will be a huge disservice to them as an adult!
I feel that teasing will happen to people with popular names. Becoming popular in the first place is part nature, part nurture, and part dumb luck!! And if kids can get through those years where they see popularity as so important, and get to the years where they are happy to be yourself, then they'll be set. It's our job as parents to help give them the confidence and resources to get there.
Agreed!
It's a good thing I don't care for my child to be a popular girl. I'd prefer her to be an individual, and if that means some teasing and awkwardness along the way, well, it teaches compassion. And it's life.