Your name vs. Your kids' names

vulpini · April 2014

I see a lot of discussion of baby names where people mention that they disliked their own name's commonness/uncommonness and wanted their child to have a different experience. I'm curious about how prevalent this is.

ThereBeDragons · April 2014

At the time of my birth my name was in the top 20 I think. I never really considered it especially popular or unusual though- just a common classic- Rebecca. Am giving baby a common classic too- Elisabeth. I like classic common easy to remember/spell/nickname names.

macchiatto · April 2014

All 4 of us have pretty common/popular names. DH's and the boys' names are very classic. Mine was #2 the decade I was born. I usually didn't mind it though; being "one of the [Name]s." It was a bonding experience.

DH's name was #12 the year he was born but he said he didn't know any others growing up (which is crazy b/c it's a super classic, always-popular name) and wished he had a more popular name.

I initially wanted to stay out of the top 20 or so at the very least--so not uber-popular but if it was a name I loved I didn't mind if it was somewhat popular--but we had such a hard time agreeing on anything that we ended up with names that were in the top 12 ... which both jumped to the top 5 the year they were born. (Though they were born in January so we set the trend. :P )

magsugar13 · April 2014

my name is common and my kids names are a little unusual in this country but not in italy

macska3 · April 2014

My name is not very popular (I've only known one other Nadia) and I plan on giving my children names that aren't in the top 100/super popular.

It gets very confusing talking about "the other Nadia" or "Nadia *initial*" and it easily becomes annoying, and it's very weird to call someone else your name--especially when it's not a common one.

chase16 · April 2014

My FN is sarah... I was born in the 80s, so I was always one of many Sarah's.. We chose Julia for our daughter: classic, feminine, but not common.

WashingtonQueen · April 2014

I have a very common name, Katherine. I generally avoid names in the top 200.

this decaf life · April 2014

Hard to pick an option, both DD and I have very normal names but I wouldn't consider either of them very popular. My name seems to be rising in popularity which actually surprises me a lot.

stahlop · April 2014

My name and Dh's name were both top 10 the years we were born. DS's was 257 the year he was born and DD's had been 110 in 2011 (98 when 2012 came out, waiting to see what it was for her actual birth year).

Meery82 · April 2014

My name is Lucienne, nn Lucy. Lucy was very uncommon when I was born. It seems to be much more popular now. We chose Jack, which is currently a popular name (unfortunately), but DH and I loved it so much (plus it's a family name) that we would've used it even if it was obscure.

Meery82 · April 2014

WashingtonQueen said:

I have a very common name, Katherine. I generally avoid names in the top 200.

Love Katherine! Such a classic!

novilise · April 2014

My name is unusual and we gave our kids unusual names, too. My husband's FN is classic, but he went by his MN which became extremely popular while he was in school....and he hated it. It's a trendy name that even gets used for girls sometimes.

oliversmommy32912 · April 2014

I have a very 80's name. I try to avoid names that scream trendy/2014. I was informed the other day that I have a "mom" name. Oh joy.

Texasgurly0313 · April 2014

DH and my names were both in the top 20 the years we were born. I have a very 80s name.

The FN we chose for our son was not in the top 200 for 2012, but it's a well-known name.

MusicFanatic · April 2014

My name is pretty common, I'd say. The spelling not as much. In the year I was born Erica was in the #32 slot - my spelling is Erika, which I believe was #91. Haven't named a kid yet (but pregnant now!) but I already know he/she is likely to have a semi common/popular name. That's our preferred style (both H and I) and what we tend to lean towards. I like some more unusual names, but I tend to label them as guilty pleasures because it's not likely I'd use them (or that the husband would like). It never bothered me to have a more common name.

ritzgrrl · April 2014

MusicFanatic said:
My name is pretty common, I'd say. The spelling not as much. In the year I was born Erica was in the #32 slot - my spelling is Erika, which I believe was #91. Haven't named a kid yet (but pregnant now!) but I already know he/she is likely to have a semi common/popular name. That's our preferred style (both H and I) and what we tend to lean towards. I like some more unusual names, but I tend to label them as guilty pleasures because it's not likely I'd use them (or that the husband would like). It never bothered me to have a more common name.

Same pretty much. I have a classic name, but a different spelling than what people are familiar with. So when we named my daughter, I wanted to pick the most common spelling of Bridget.

Manderlin923 · April 2014

I went by my first AND last name in school because my name and last initial was so popular.

I think my kids' names are in the lower 900s, if even that high.

dogperson11 · April 2014

My name (Jennifer - go by Jen) was popular according to name websites / SS website, but I didn't have another Jennifer/Jen in school with me until high school (there were 3500 kids at my high school and only 2 other Jennifer/Jens in my grade). We're trying to pick a name that is NOT in the top 100 for our state, but would reduce that to the top 50 if we love a name.

JMU_Bride09 · April 2014

Special snowflake! My name is extremely uncommon, and I love it. I always swore that I'd give my children uncommon names as well. But it ended up that the perfect names for them are quite popular (one is top ten; the other is top fifty). I am slightly peeved by their popularity but absolutely love their names and their meaning to DH and I.

EXL311 · April 2014

My name is Deirdre although I go by my nn most times. Obviously Deirdre is very uncommon. DS is Elijah which is pretty common. DD is Evangeline which is not ranked very high on the SSA name list but seems to have been heard by most people. I would kind of consider her name more uncommon.

Dr.Loretta · April 2014

My name has steadily dropped in the standings since 1930 (I was named after 2 family members). DD's name is an extremely uncommon Irish/Gaelic name.

bumpuser794640 · April 2014

My name was in the top 50 when I was born (derived from a name that was #28, as well), and DH's name was also in the top 50 (and remains there now). We chose a less common name for our LO (#422 in 2012). I'd like to pick a similarly ranked name (or one that matches the tone/feel/most-popular decade for LO's name) for any future LOs.

Tikvahc · April 2014

My name is an extremely uncommon hebrew name. I've still never met anyone with my name. It's hard for people to pronounce and every time I introduce myself I have to repeat my name minimum twice. So I always knew that I wanted to name my kids something easy to pronounce and something not necessarily popular but definitely something recognizable. I most certainly wasn't looking for a super popular name, I just went with what I like and what DH and I could agree on. Isabella was a name i had picked out since I was 10 and it was my great grandmothers name. And with my youngest Sophia was the only name we could agree on. Some days I'm really not crazy about how popular they supposedly are (I only know 1 other Isabella and I don't know any other Sophia's) but we love our girls names and we think they suit them perfectly and thats what matters.

aprilbaby2014 · April 2014

My name was in the top 15 growing up and I always went by first name last initial . For my DS I chose Anthony, A name I ultimately fell in love with although it is common . If he had been a girl he would have been Elizaveta, a name not common her but in the top 20 in Russia, my roots .

sparklychic2012 · April 2014

My name isn't popular, but is so plain. Thus, my daughter is getting a pretty, feminine, girly name.

MandMLeona · April 2014

My name was very unpopular for my age group. I've never met one closer in age than 40 years. My husband has a very common boys name that is always very common.

He hates walking into any room and being one of five with his name.

I hated not having a nickname or something in my teens to help me blend in. As an adult with a hard to spell and pronounce last name, it was nice to say just look for my first name...I'm the only one.

So we compromised. We wanted an underused first name with a more common nickname.

Artsywife07 · April 2014

My name is Lauren and I was born in the 80s. I guess it's a popular classic. But I was always Lauren last initial. So I wanted to give my kids names that are not in the top 100 but still legit names that everyone has heard of. I have yet to meet another Elise around her age.

AlphabetFish · April 2014

My name was #23 when I was born, but it's been in the top 100 for over 50 years, and it was in the top 5 for eight years. I am dang sick of it and sick of meeting so many people with the same name.

The names I have picked out for any future kids are significantly less popular. I know I got tired of always knowing a few people with my name; I'd like my kids to feel a little more individual than I did.

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