Are you sorry you used a popular name

[BlsdMama]

for your child?

 

Or does it just really not matter to you now that he/she is here?

 

We've used traditional names for the most part so far... They tend to be popular but not WILDLY popular.

 

Well, this time we both sat down and made lists. We've talked back and forth and there is one he is in love with that I don't hate and there is another that is in our top three... That is almost a miracle, btw.

 

We also shared a like for Sophia but not only is it insanely popular, but we both like the other two names more, so we just cut it.

 

The biggest problem?

It drives me NUTS that they are both in the top four names for 2011.

 

:glare:

 

So, if you named your child a wildly popular name, did you later just not mind? DH wonders why it would matter, after all, she'll be homeschooled, lol. Maybe he's right. It's just bugging me.

[The Girls' Mom]

My oldest is named Kelsie, and one of my twins Sarah. It has never bothered us, even when there were a ton of girls named the same thing in their grade at school.

 

The only thing I kind of wish I'd done differently was spelled Kelsie with a y like everyone else, because EVERYONE spells it wrong all the time. They just assume.

[pfamilygal]

The only name we chose that was popular at the time was Abigail. I know TONS of other Abby's her age. But all three of my boys' names have become quite popular since we chose them. I don't mind. They are classic names and they suite the boys well. I wanted more unusual names (Hadassah, Evangeline, Malachi, etc) but dh wanted more popular names (Olivia, Samantha, etc). So our names were good compromises. And they are easy to spell. We have a hard to spell German last name, so that is important.

[amy g.]

I'm so sorry that everybody copied me and made the beautiful names I chose become popular!

[leeannpal]

Doesn't bother me at all. DD has a classic, Biblical name that I consider timeless. Even though it was popular at the time she was born, I never even considered not using it. I've always loved her name:)

[KellyKelley]

Nope. We set a rule of a family name and a Bible name for our kids so they have a deeper meaning to us than just a name. They have a history and they also exibit characteristics of their Biblical namesakes.

[PeterPan]

I don't know, I didn't have that problem. With each dc I was fixated on one name (which turned out to be the gender of the child, hehe!), and I couldn't diverge. So popularity wasn't an issue. If looking in the mirror and asking the dc what his/her name should be (what I do) doesn't help, then ask the board for advice. I'm sure they could give you a few to get you into new territory. With the names you have, they're so classic I think you could edge a bit British, a bit Irish, a bit seasonal or geometric and still be a nice mix, kwim? I was thinking you need an Emma. :)

 

PS. Yes the name of my dd was in the top 3 for her birth year, which we didn't realize till afterward. We did spell it a traditional way, which I'm glad of.

[dangermom]

We named our second daughter Emily, which turned out to be the most popular name of her age. Oops. But it fits her just right and it's never been a problem, so it doesn't bother me at all.

[littlebug42]

No/ My oldest is an Emily and even though it was the most popular name the year she was born, we almost never encounter any other Emilys. However, in out girl scout group (daisies to cadettes), at one time, there were five Kirstens (pronounced Keer-sten). Not sure that's on the list but there are a ton of them around here.

[missmoe]

A few of my kids have popular names. All of my kids' names have special meanings and form links with-in our families, so the popularity never mattered to me.

[Ellesmere]

nm

[redsquirrel]

I did not give my kids common names because I happen to have a common as dirt name. I hate it. I hate having to identify myself every time I call a friend. I am always one of several of me that they know. I hated being called by my name and last initial or (shudder) by a first name and number when growing up.

 

My mom has said that she regrets it. I am her eldest child. Everyone else got ever so slightly off the beaten track names.

[kewb]

When we picked our dd's name we had not come across anyone using that name. A few months after she was born her name was everywhere. When she was in 1st grade she was one of 3 girls named Mikaela (and all 3 had different spellings). It is what it is. Although, we have not met any other homeschoolers with her name.

 

My feeling is, if the name speaks to you then use it.

[hsbaby]

My youngest is Ava. Super popular in the last few years. I don't personally know any, but they must be out there as it makes the list every year:). I really don't care if it's popular. I have loved the name for years (even before it made the lists) and always knew I would use it for a dd.

[unsinkable]

My boys have popular names and I don't care. I say you can't throw a ball in a park w/o hitting another boy w/ one of their names.

 

My DD's name is old-fashioned. Its height of popularity was in the 1930s but it wasn't even very popular then. It is a beautiful name that gets many exclamations of: "Oh! I love that name!" :001_smile:

 

Now my name (as I have complained about many times) is one of the most popular dog names. My mom picked it out when she was a little girl and I am sure it wasn't a popular dog's name then. It would also be a good name for a rag doll. :D

[BMW]

One has never been a popular name.... Shasta...

Rebekah has been fairly common, but not what I'd say popular... just common...

 

We pronounce Stephen with a "f" sound, it's not popular that way...

 

Nathaniel is really common... don't know how popular it has been... never really cared.

 

Joseph is our favorite Bible character and we'd never not have named him that... but, I think we have 3 other Joseph's in the family...

 

Julie... I'd have loved to name her Noelle... or Cherise.... but, she's Julie and that's who she is. Common. Not popular.

 

Victor. Wow. I love his name. The symbolism is perfect. His birth was miraculous... he struggled with autism... and I would stick with this name no matter what... although we had no idea when we named him what he'd face.

[Carol in Cal.]

I'm sorry that I created a popular trend. That is my position and I'm sticking to it.

 

The name we used was, at the time, obscure but very 'normal', not totally old-fashioned, not common, not weird, not something we made up. A little refined, maybe.

 

And now it is all. over. the. place.

 

Like I said, I created a popular trend, and now appear to be following it, when actually I started it.

[Wildiris]

My sons have unpopular names, yet their names are recognizable names from mythology, and wildly romantic. For a long time they wanted a "normal" name like "Joe" until they discovered girls adored their names.

 

We stuck with unpopular flower names for the girls.

 

All of the kids grew into their names; they became the meaning of their names.

[journeytolily]

When we started our family, I had certain names that I really liked. DH was adament about not giving our children "popular" names. So for our first, we went with Miranda - not a "strange" name, but not used a whole lot. Our son we named Colin - I wanted to continue on with another British name. Finally, with our second daughter, I told DH that I LOVED Olivia from the time I was a girl. Yes, yes, I knew it was in the top 5. I finally convinced him.

 

Now we are planning on one more baby. If it's a girl, I believe we will go with either Sophie, Isabel, or Ava. All pretty darn popular right now. For a boy, Aidan. Again, being used a lot now. DH is over arguing with me. I've loved these particular names for YEARS, way before they became popular. Can I help it if I have exquisite taste, and I'm a trendsetter??

 

So, no...I don't regret naming our youngest a popular name, and now my DH can't see her as anything else but our sweet Olivia! Go with a name you love.

[mytwomonkeys]

well, my daughter was originally going to be named Agnes Dei (but we would call her "Dei" - as in day). everyone hated the name, and i regret having ever shared it honestly. my husband was swayed and i caved to his concerns. we chose the name Grace. i love my daughter & i can't imagine her being anything else now - so... it is what it is. the meaning of her name now is still beautiful to me and has great significance. no regrets.

[boscopup]

My oldest has a popular, Biblical name that was around #2 the year he was born. Surprisingly, we actually know very few kids with the same name! In his class at school (a Christian school), he had no one of his name in his class. There were three boys in the class with a name that was more like #10. So you never know!

 

He thinks it's cool when we run into someone with the same name. :)

[Ravin]

I didn't. I gave them Tolkien-Elvish names. There were fewer than 5 babies with DD's name born in the U.S. in her birth year according to the SSA. Their middle names are more standard, but not extremely common or popular, though DD's middle is phonetically the same as one of the President's children, in the middle of the top 100 last year and the year she was born. Her spelling was ranked 115th as a first name her birth year. DS's middle name isn't in the top 100 for last year's first names.

Edited April 17, 2011 by Ravin

[Trish]

All Jennifers are in their early thirties to early forties. Just sayin.

[BearWallowSchool]

My daughters name is Emma. VERY POPULAR. However, I don't know any others personally. :D

 

I went back and fourth on whether or not I should name her Emma b/c of the popularity. I finally decided I would rather her have a popular name over me not using a name I LOVED.

 

No regrets. I love her name. So pretty! I gave her a not as common middle name though.

[dcjlkplus3]

If I survived being named Jennifer in the 70s when every third girl was named that :tongue_smilie:I think you will be fine. There were times growing up that I wanted to try different variations of my name (Jenny, Jenna, Jennifer, Jennie) but over all, I would rather have a common name than a super uncommon one.

[jenn-]

All Jennifers are in their early thirties to early forties. Just sayin.

 

Hey, I resemble that remark! That said, living as a Jennifer in the height of Jennifer popularity gives me little empathy for my daughter who only had the #3 name the year she was born. One thing that did bother me though was my lack of nickname choices to differentiate between myself and the 12 others in my grade. My daughter will not have that problem. Between her first and middle name there are about 10 nickname choices. So far, she goes by her given first name though.

[Koerarmoca]

Well dd12's name was popular in the 70's & 80's but it is spelled differently to make it more unique. dd9's name I have only known one other person with her name and she is in her mid 30's. dh named dd5 & dd2 so their names are more "popular" but not overly so that it bothers me too much.

 

Our names are Michelle & Matthew 2 very popular names so we wanted to be a bit more uncommon in our name selections. I had 4 Michelle's in my class in Kindy, and He had 3 Matthews in his we haven't ran into duplicate names with our girls yet (not any in their church classes or school classes atleast) which is good.

[DarlaS]

One of my boys is Kyle, and another is Evan. These are both pretty popular, but it hasn't bothered me at all. They even seem to think it's kind of cool to occasionally come across another kid with their name.

 

They are the only two who almost never need to spell their name out. (Almost never--can you believe there are alternate spellings of Kyle?)

[Marie in Oh]

have names that were in the top 10 of their birth years, and are still in the top 11 this year. I don't care. My dd 7 has 2 girls in her Sunday School class that are Ellie. There are 3 Sarahs in my dd 4th grade Sunday School and there are 5 Abbys in our church. Both my boys were in the top 10 in their birth year. Oh well. What do you do? If you love the name, you love the name. I wouldn't worry about the popularity of the name. People come and go, move in and move away. I don't think it is that big of a deal.

[JeneralMom]

I hated having a popular name. There were 6 Jennifers (out of 50) in my high school class, and we all had to be known by last names. It was also really annoying to have to ask "Jennifer who?" when a teacher asked a question as told "Jennifer" to respond.

 

My kids have uncommon names, and we had never met anyone with DS6's name until we moved to San Antonio and it is more common here.

 

I would 100% avoid naming my child something popular, and aim to not even be in the top 100

[sassenach]

Our boys both have fairly popular names. I guess you'd have to ask them when they're older to get an accurate gauge, but so far it hasn't been a big deal at all. No regrets.

[Peela]

I guess we didnt want especially popular names and we tried to choose accordingly. I would have chosen more unusual name-s dh was the more conservative.

 

Who knew that Jared would be such a popular name? And how many variations of spelling? Jared's best friend is also called Jared, same spelling.

I never even heard the name till I was an adult.

So we tried but failed with that name- but its ok. Not something we lose sleep over, and he likes it well enough.

[kdeno]

actually sometimes wished that I *did* use names that I love but I deemed too popular.

[texasmama]

My oldest is named the #1 name for a girl for her year of birth. I didn't do that on purpose. I actually wanted another name but didn't win that battle. I wanted Amanda. I still want Amanda...but she is almost 16 so I think it is too late. :tongue_smilie: She goes to a medium sized private school with two other girls in her grade sharing her name. They have to go by first and last name. Her best friend has the same name as she does. Yes, I have regrets...

[JessReplanted]

We really focused on the meaning of the names we ended up choosing, and for that reason they are very special to us. Even if their names are popular, we know that they have those names for very specific reasons, so it doesn't bother me.

[SnowWhite]

No, no regrets. My husband and I are named John and Jennifer, though, so we're pretty accustomed to the anonymity that comes with a common name.

[IsabelC]

I like the names of your children :001_smile:

 

I am a teensy bit miffed that when we chose my son's name, I'd never met anyone under about 70 with that name, but it has since become more popular again and we've met several other boys with the same name. But not really annoyed, no. My take is that the traditional names that have become popular are popular because they are great names.

 

It's funny to me that some people disliked having a popular name. When I was a kid, I never met anyone else with my name, and I hated that, and wished I could have a few other kids in my school with the same name :lol: Now that my name has become popular again, I can't get used to hearing mothers call their daughters in the shops by my name.

[felicity]

I have a really uncommon name and I aimed toward the middle for my kids. I didn't want one that everyone had but at the same time I didn't want them to have to spell it constantly. My youngest dd has the number one name for her birth year and I knew it, but I had loved it for so long I wasn't going to not use it because of other people.

 

But it does make me happy that most of my kids can easily find pencils with their names on them.

[2squared]

I hate having a common-as-dirt first name, so one of our child naming rules was that the names couldn't be in the top 10 in the year of birth or year prior. We loved the name Sarah but didn't use it until it fell out of the top 10.

 

I love my boy names - Jonah, Eli, Simon - b/c they are old-fashioned and uncommon. I like my girl names - Anna & Sarah - but wish they were more uncommon. At least they aren't a Jennifer born in the 1970s. Ugh.

[BakersDozen]

I hate having a common-as-dirt first name, so one of our child naming rules was that the names couldn't be in the top 10 in the year of birth or year prior.

This is one of my requirements as well. I hated being one of many "Karens". The odd thing is my mom gave us all completely boring, popular first names but very beautiful and unusual middle names. Most of us chose to try and use our middle names later in life.

 

 

I won't use a name that you call in a playgroup/class and more than two kids turn their heads. I won't use a name that, when shared, gets a reaction of, "Oh, that's a name you hear a lot of now!" I love the reaction of, "Oh, you don't hear that name anymore...I love it!" when I introduce most of my dc. My dh got to name our first boy...that was the last time dh got any input on names. Could he have gotten any more common/boring than "Tyler"?? :glare:

 

So yes, I regret allowing my dh to use a popular name for our ds and am thrilled that the rest of our dc have names that, while not unusual, at least don't cause mass head turning when I call them to me at the park. ;)

[Jenny in Florida]

And I always hated it.

 

I was born a Jennifer, the name that was in the top 10 most popular names in the U.S. for something like 10 years. I'm a year or more older than the largest bubble, but it still irritated me.

 

Several years ago, I legally changed it to Jenny, the nickname I've used my whole life. For some reason, I don't run into as many Jennys (Jennies?) as I do Jennifers.

 

My husband's name is Richard, which was among the top 10 most popular boy names for several years surrounding his birth. He didn't like it, either.

 

When we named our kids, we looked for names that are "real" names, old fashioned ones with some history but that are not especially popular. Our daughter's name peaked in popularity in the U.S. in 1953. The year she was born, it was the 716th most popular girl's name in the country (according to this website: www.babycenter.com ).

 

Our son's name usually ranks a little higher, and we have run into a few other boys with his name over the years, but it's maybe one or two a year. It was the 356th most popular boy name in the U.S. the year he was born.

 

We used traditional spellings for both.

 

As far as I know, both kids love their names. My daugher is planning a career in theatre, and because our last name is kind of unweildy, she's considering a stage name that might be a little easier to put up in lights. But she does not plan to change her first name.

[Desert Rat]

I have a Jacob-the number one boys' name for something like 8 years running. I didn't know it was popular when I named him and I don't regret it. It does irritate me that so many other people thought Jacob was a great name, too. At one point there were 5 kids in my son's taekwondo class. 4 of them were Jacobs. 3 of them had the same last initial. :) Made life interesting for awhile.

[MorganClassicalPrep]

I have only met 3 Jenna's in my entire life. (And two were spelled differently- Jena and Genna). Since DD was born I haven't met any other children with her name. In her birth year, it was number 88. The few years previous to that it was in the high 50s/low 60s, by 2007, it had dropped out of the top 100.

Even so, I sometimes with I had went with something a little more different. But she is named after someone special to us, so I'm happy with it.

[Jenny in Florida]

All Jennifers are in their early thirties to early forties. Just sayin.

 

If I survived being named Jennifer in the 70s when every third girl was named that :tongue_smilie:I think you will be fine.

 

That said, living as a Jennifer in the height of Jennifer popularity gives me little empathy for my daughter who only had the #3 name the year she was born. One thing that did bother me though was my lack of nickname choices to differentiate between myself and the 12 others in my grade.

 

I hated having a popular name. There were 6 Jennifers (out of 50) in my high school class, and we all had to be known by last names. It was also really annoying to have to ask "Jennifer who?" when a teacher asked a question as told "Jennifer" to respond.

 

My kids have uncommon names, and we had never met anyone with DS6's name until we moved to San Antonio and it is more common here.

 

I would 100% avoid naming my child something popular, and aim to not even be in the top 100

 

I hate having a common-as-dirt first name, so one of our child naming rules was that the names couldn't be in the top 10 in the year of birth or year prior. We loved the name Sarah but didn't use it until it fell out of the top 10.

 

I love my boy names - Jonah, Eli, Simon - b/c they are old-fashioned and uncommon. I like my girl names - Anna & Sarah - but wish they were more uncommon. At least they aren't a Jennifer born in the 1970s. Ugh.

 

I love that all these Jennifers spoke up for less common names.

 

Does anyone but me remember when "a Jennifer" was popular slang for the younger woman your ex-husband dated after you broke up? That was a lovely couple of years . . .

[Aquinas Academy]

My eldest is Aline. It happens to be an uncommon name. We chose it because we liked it and it has some personal significance, we weren't trying to go for something unusual.

Next DD is Hope; I wouldn't say it's a popular name, but it isn't unusual. Again, we chose it because it's a name both DH and I love.

My eldest son is Matthew. We debated whether or not to call him Mathieu (DH is French). In the end we decided to stick with the English spelling of the very common name.

We chose the name Sophia becuase we love it. I'd prefer if it weren't quite so popular, but I love it too much to choose a different name.

With Luc we did decide to go with the French spelling. We were living near Quebec at the time, and so this spelling was actually more common than Luke. I do sometimes wish we'd gone with the English spelling, it would save having to correct people all the time. I actually prefer the French one though, so I don't really mind.

Our youngest is Owen. I wanted to name him Eoin, but DH refused. Most of the time, I'm glad he did. I wish Owen weren't so common a name, but again, I'm not going to be the one to change.

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is, you should choose a name that you love. There's the good and the bad to both common and unusual names.

[Joker]

Older dds name was the most popular name the year she was born and for several years later. We've met very few though so it hasn't been an issue and the name really fits her. I don't know where they're all hiding.:001_smile:

[Hebrews3:13]

We named our second daughter Emily, which turned out to be the most popular name of her age. Oops. But it fits her just right and it's never been a problem, so it doesn't bother me at all.

 

Same exact thing here! We have an Emily and she is an Emily through and through. I think of the names we considered and they would never have fit her. I wish her name weren't so popular, but it is so I have moved on. :) Choose the one you like best. Who cares what everyone else does?

 

~Laurie

[justamouse]

I had a name no one knew until it became the most freakin popular name out there and now ...ugh. I didn't like it much when I was a kid and everyone thought I was a boy, but as I got older I appreciated it. So, I named my kids with the end in mind. I picked names they had to grow into. they all have old names.

 

My last one is Sophia. I love the name, always have. And I don't care that it's popular because to me it means wisdom, which, with the last one, I hope I finally got a little. ;-)

[Kareni]

My first name was quite common growing up; I can recall being in class with two others girls with the same name.

 

My daughter has an uncommon first name though it is quite classical in nature. We gave her a more traditional middle name so that she would have a less unique option to go with should she so choose. She is quite comfortable with her name (and quite used to correcting mispronunciations!).

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Crimson Wife]

I thought we were safe choosing a boy name that was in the 80's on the Social Security list the year he was born. Well, it turns out that the overall popularity was deceptive because it's super-popular in our particular social circle. There are 4 others with the same name in our homeschool support group alone! And I've met tons of others in the past 5 years. I still love the name but probably wouldn't have chosen it had I known how popular it is.