Opinions on 'unique' names (in real life)

missesru · May 2013

I find that my personal opinions of names align quite well with this board, but it feels like in the real world (outside TB) that I'm in the minority. I am not a fan at all of youneek spellings, boy names on girls, last names as first names or made-up names in general.

I was reading a thread on a facebook group that I go to frequently and the topic of youneek names came up. The majority of posters talked about how much they loved different spellings and masculine names on girls, etc. I stated me opinion (as above) and only had a handful of people agree with me. One of the names that got a ton of praise was Myk.ynlei (exact spelling, minus the . of course). What?? I had to hold my tounge on that one of course as it was her daughter's name and not a 'name idea'.. but yikes.

Do you find that you're in the minority with name opinions in the 'real world' too? <- referring to those with the standard board sensibilities

JaysonandKristin · May 2013

The only "offender" in my circle of friends is Mackenzie several of them with various spellings.
Otherwise, my friends have very sensible naming styles. I particularly enjoy the names chosen by my ethnic friends. They constantly surprise me with beautiful names that transcend language barriers.

theimpossibleastronaut · May 2013

I feel like the people I am actually friends with tend to see eye to eye with me on names.

The rest of the world? Not so much. Even people I'm just FB friends with, ie went to high school with, seem to think unique is better and less boring than traditional names and spellings. Sigh.

==N== · May 2013

For the most part Ive been very pleasantly surprised with my real life friends' naming choices. There are definitely a few that have gotten a side eye but if anything Im the weird namer in my group. (By weird I dont mean crazy or yoo-neek, just not top 1000).

CaliforniaDream87 · May 2013

Some of my friends name their kids with unique names and others use more traditional names.

To each their own. It's not my kid.

*shrugs*

Dr.Loretta · May 2013

I tend to align with people as far as name opinions go.

That said, my DD has a very Gaelic name that people tend to side-eye at times.

capulet · May 2013

My friends, at least those I've considered good friends since high school and college, have what I consider great taste in names. They've used mostly traditional biblical and saints' names. I am actually kind of the oddball who uses family surnames as first names and that sort of thing, partly because that's the only spot where my taste overlaps with DH's. But yeah, outside a few acquaintances on FB and the odder branches of DH's family, most people I know would fit right in here.

tortuga47 · May 2013

Most of my friends and family have chosen very nice names for their kids. Some not super popular, but good strong names all the same. Very few have gone the "unique" route or crazy spelling. The few that have, seem to get eye rolls from mutual friends...

Zimger · May 2013

I have the unfortunate experience of living in an area where misspelled names and boy names on girls...not to mention misspelled boy names on girls are ridiculously popular. It's terrible.I'm definitely in the minority in this area.

However, my college friends have much better taste in names and those are the ones I usually talk to.

queenbone · May 2013

While I do have a few friends and family who favor occupational names or boys names on girls, the vast majority of my peeps pick properly spelled, recognizable names.

Maybe it is because I live in Portlandia, but there are a lot of uncommon, underused, or ethnic names that people around town are picking. The hipster demographic if you will. (Boys with names like Percy, Casper, Hano, Sang, Kazmer, Eamon, Emil, Isandro, Kavi) So my IRL experience with names mostly mirrors the tastes shared on this board.

whoopsybaby · May 2013

I'm not sure if I share the board's sensibilities or not. I dislike made-up names and spellings and masculine names on girls (though I love them as nicknames), but I don't mind surnames and a lot of traditional names feel safe/dull to me. That said, my kids' names are definitely in the minority--they're not used often in America. My friends and family have named their kids across the spectrum from trendy to obscure but nothing shudder-inducing. I'd classify the majority as sweet but expected. So maybe I'm the odd one out.

cottingham3 · May 2013

I have an odd style. First, I do not like made up or incorrect spellings. I do not like ethnic names that do not fit with family heritage. For me, a name should have solid meaning...not just on its on but to the parents, and family ties. However, I do like for my children's name to stand apart from others in their age group. I like that all three of my children are the only one thier class at school with thier name. This is imoprtant to me as I grew up with 16 Ashleys all distinguished by their last name. Our last name is 10 letters and I would like to spare my children from being forced to use it for distinction.

My oldest two are Carys and Sawyer. Set apart, but not unique. I got hated reviews here and PMs when I decided to name my youngest James Fowler lastname and call him Fowler. It has very deep meaning for our family and we are absolutely pleased we went with this selection.

Most people around me are totally trendy...my nieces are Isabella Grace and Ryleigh. Others include Camden, Hayden, grayson...etc

ferris0906 · May 2013

My current, closer friends have chosen great, real names like Oscar, Harvey, Ernest, Emma, Aubrey, Olivia, and Chelsea.

I do, however, have some high school/Facebook "friends" who have questionable taste. Mckenna and Kash...yay, I'm side-eyeing your parents.

GrayGhost13 · May 2013

I actually really enjoy encountering people with unique names, meaning names I don't commonly hear. Being a name geek, I just like hearing new names, and I love when names represent an individual's history or culture. (I also like regionally or culturally distinct names for that reason even if they're not extremely uncommon...for example all the great Latino names and traditional Southern names I see in the area where I live.)

I have never understood the logic in using a common name but spelling it creatively. IMO, it feels like the worst of both worlds: the dullness of an overused name with the spelling issues of a uncommon name. That's just my style though.

I don't know that many other people with kids, but I think DH's and my style in names is definitely more "out there" than anyone else in our family, which is fine because we are more "out there!" LOL

mrstengallonhat1 · May 2013

Yes, definitely! I tend to like names that are "too out there" for most of my friends (our top girl names are in the 700-900 range for the 2012 SSA list). My friends tend to gravitate more towards the popular but traditional names (not trendy), which I can understand. I know our names won't get a lot of love from some people, but they are real names, spelled correctly and will hopefully not be one of 10 in their class!

Soap1 · May 2013

Zimger:
I have the unfortunate experience of living in an area where misspelled names and boy names on girls...not to mention misspelled boy names on girls are ridiculously popular. It's terrible.I'm definitely in the minority in this area.
However, my college friends have much better taste in names and those are the ones I usually talk to.

I also live in an area with "youneek" names. I sigh in sadness every day at the list of kids in my boys' day care classes. One is Katie but it's spelled Kaaitea.

RedInLove · May 2013

I definitely prefer real names. By real names, I mean nothing that's made up, youneek spellings, overly trendy, etc. While we won't pick the most traditional names (Mary, John, Jennifer, the super common names); we definitely won't be picking Nevaeh or Whatevaiden or Whatyvaydyn. My sisters and I all have regular names, but for the most part were the only ones in our classes with those names or maybe there was one other. Same with my husband, not heard 5x a day but a totally normal name.

I can't think of anyone I know personally that has chosen an off-the-wall name or crazy spelling. My BFF, her husband is from Kenya so her DD has two middle names - her 'American' middle name Marie, and that is followed by a Kenyan name. So other than it being appropriately cultural or ethnic (we would never use a Kenyan name since we're Irish and Italian, for example), I just don't care for unique names/spellings.

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