S/O Abcde - musing on naming conventions

[historically accurate]

I'm up with a sick kid, and I've been thinking about how we name our kids. I've come up with some categories of names that we think are acceptable and then there are those that just aren't used. I'm just contemplating why some objects become names while others don't.  

Some examples of what I'm thinking of:

We use occupations as names. There's Mason, Hunter, and Sawyer. We don't use Miller or Gatherer or Carpenter. We don't use Warrior as a name, even though it was one of the highly esteemed jobs. However, the name Tanner is common, even though tanning is a dirty, smelly job. Also, we don't use any modern occupations. I've never met Lawyer or Artist. 

We use some gemstones as names, but not others. Ruby and Jade are fairly common; I've never heard of using Emerald or Garnet as names. Another quirk is we don't use "hard stone" names like Granite or Onyx, just some gemstones.  

Calendar names: April, May, and June are common, but July, January, and October are unheard of. We use Summer and Autumn as names, but not Winter or Spring. Other than one child currently in DD's gymnastic class named Sunday, I've not met anyone with a day of the week name.

Nature names: Lily, Rose and Willow all good; not Oak, Maple, or Chrysanthemum (unless you're a book character). River, but not Ocean or Sea. Sunshine, but not Moon (Moonshine would be a bad first name!), although Luna is a name. I've occasionally heard Star or Sky.

Presidents: Presidents' last names are often used as names, but I've not heard Washington as a first name. I don't find Washington to be much different in sound and "feel" than Jefferson or Kennedy or Lincoln, but it's not used while the others are. 

Attributes: Hope, Joy, and Charity are all common names, but I've not met a Love, Kindness, or Peace.

It's just rattling around in my head that we seem to have some unwritten rules for names. Do we all just follow the herd so it's just what we're used to or what we've heard in the past? Is there a reason we collectively think June is better than July as a name? 

 

[moonflower]

July Johnson would beg to differ 🙂

[Ausmumof3]

I think it’s more that occupation names became surnames and then people started using surnames as firstnames.  That’s why there aren’t modern occupations for names because we all already have surnames even if they don’t reflect what we do for work any more.

i think people are more likely name girls after things that seem pretty and feminine than things that are large and strong hence gemstone names but not rock names and willow but not oak.

i think names like love and peace would result in teasing (although I think so would charity!)

with months we tend to only use the short ones not the multi syllable ones.

with seasons I think spring is another one that could end with teasing due to the other meaning and winter is a surname but maybe not enough people like the season winter to use it for a first name.

Edited December 1, 2018 by Ausmumof3

[kiwik]

I know a Miller, an Ocean and a Winter.  Skye, River, Brook, Autumn and Summer a reasonable amount.  I have heard Garnet and I think Onyx but not granite or marble.

It probably depends where you live.

 

[saw]

There's also family surnames as first names. Elder DS has a surname for his first name, as do several other uncles/cousins. Its started a few generations ago when the mother's maiden name was given to her second son, and then the name became frequently used in our family. I've seen this naming convention elsewhere too.

[Melissa in Australia]

i knew someone called Winter. I have also heard of many job description names as last names. very common amongst English descent people here - names like Cooper, Baily, Smith , Carpenter etc. I am imagining that other nationalities have something similar  but I don't understand their language to know what their names mean.

[Shoeless]

I have known a January, (in addition to the actress January Jones).  One of the Zappa kids was named Moon.  I've also known a Miller and a Winter. 

 

 

[Tanaqui]

I definitely know at least one Peace.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Yes, agreeing with others, I have personally met many of the names you put on the not-used list.  *shurg*.  

[MEmama]

1 hour ago, Monica_in_Switzerland said:

Yes, agreeing with others, I have personally met many of the names you put on the not-used list.  *shurg*.  

Same. I can easily think of exceptions to almost everything you mentioned. 

I went to school with someone who is named after a poisonous mushroom (it's such a beautiful name). Also a girl named after a fruit and nut combo. It was the '70s in Northern California--there were a lot of interesting names. Lol

I had a very dear (guy) friend named Sky. I've always liked that. Oceania is not uncommon.

 

Edited December 1, 2018 by MEmama

[LMD]

I knew an Emerald. Her sisters were named Olive and Gold. I liked it a lot. I do love nature names and if I'd had a gaggle of daughters they'd all sound like hippies. 😄

My great grandmother Pearl had two daughters named Zoe and Star.

[TechWife]

3 hours ago, beckyjo said:

 

We use occupations as names. There's Mason, Hunter, and Sawyer. We don't use Miller or Gatherer or Carpenter. 

 

Get thee to iTunes and download anything by The Carpenters and you will hear the voice of Karen Carpenter, one of the purest, unadulterated voices that has ever graced the planet. 

[Andromeda]

I know a Washington, Ruby (male). Providence ( female), Conway ( female), Tequila ( yes, legal first name), and Champagne ( yes, legal,first name also).

The first few are family names, but I honestly don't understand why the parents named the last two for alcolic beverages. And yes, the names are used in full without nicknames.

[freesia]

Actually I think think Garnet used to be really popular in the South. I do know Emeralds and a Love. But I get your point. 

[Guest]

4 hours ago, beckyjo said:

I'm up with a sick kid, and I've been thinking about how we name our kids. I've come up with some categories of names that we think are acceptable and then there are those that just aren't used. I'm just contemplating why some objects become names while others don't.  

Some examples of what I'm thinking of:

We use occupations as names. There's Mason, Hunter, and Sawyer. We don't use Miller or Gatherer or Carpenter. We don't use Warrior as a name, even though it was one of the highly esteemed jobs. However, the name Tanner is common, even though tanning is a dirty, smelly job. Also, we don't use any modern occupations. I've never met Lawyer or Artist. 

We use some gemstones as names, but not others. Ruby and Jade are fairly common; I've never heard of using Emerald or Garnet as names. Another quirk is we don't use "hard stone" names like Granite or Onyx, just some gemstones.  

Calendar names: April, May, and June are common, but July, January, and October are unheard of. We use Summer and Autumn as names, but not Winter or Spring. Other than one child currently in DD's gymnastic class named Sunday, I've not met anyone with a day of the week name.

Nature names: Lily, Rose and Willow all good; not Oak, Maple, or Chrysanthemum (unless you're a book character). River, but not Ocean or Sea. Sunshine, but not Moon (Moonshine would be a bad first name!), although Luna is a name. I've occasionally heard Star or Sky.

Presidents: Presidents' last names are often used as names, but I've not heard Washington as a first name. I don't find Washington to be much different in sound and "feel" than Jefferson or Kennedy or Lincoln, but it's not used while the others are. 

Attributes: Hope, Joy, and Charity are all common names, but I've not met a Love, Kindness, or Peace.

It's just rattling around in my head that we seem to have some unwritten rules for names. Do we all just follow the herd so it's just what we're used to or what we've heard in the past? Is there a reason we collectively think June is better than July as a name? 

 

Naming is one of my many pet interests, so I do have some thoughts about this. 

Firstly, though you’re right that people choose Mason but not Lawyer (usually) - I have a Mason myself, in fact - people don’t (usually) choose the name as a profession name. They choose it because they like how it sounds, looks and/or goes with other names in the family. 

So this is the salient point with modern, Western naming motivations. It is also the case that certain sound families are desirable, while other sound families are less well liked; this is also true for initial sounds. The two-syllable name ending with -on, -en, or -an has been popular for a couple of decades now. That’s why Mason, Aiden, Collin, Hayden, Grayson, Nathan, Peyton, Gavin and a bunch of other names all became popular. When I was naming my first child, the K and C initial letters were very popular, for girls and boys, respectively. Even with that, it was more likely for someone to use a K for a daughter, even if it was a name borrowed from the boy lists (Kameron, for example) and C for a son (Caden). The initial M has also been popular for the past couple decades. 

Cultures as a whole come to like certain sounds while liking other sounds less. It is why a once perfectly normal name, like Bertha or Dorcas, is rarely considered attractive now, while a name that sounds a certain way can become accepted, even if it is rare and made-up. Many people in the other thread (myself included) think “Absidy” sounds fine. We just don’t like the joke spelling. If you named a child Absidy and spelled it that way, it would not likely generate ridicule, even if some prople would need help spelling or remembering it. 

The other parts of your post: while I agree that there are “yes” and “no” names in all those categories, there are always exceptions and I have known people to use names that are in the category but are not the commonly-chosen ones. There was a somewhat famous “January” who was a girl with schizophrenia; there were documentaries about her on TV. I have an ancestor whose name was Washington. There is a family locally who named all of their children botanical names and, while they do have one or two more common ones, like Willow, they also have a Cedar. I have heard of Tuesday as a name; there have been a few Moons now and then (I’m reading a non-fiction book right now where the father was called Moon, although, to be fair, it was not his birth-certificate given name.) 

To summarize, it is mostly the sound and other considerations like name flow and ease of understanding that leads parents to choose or reject names in the modern, western context. Entire cultures come to favor some sounds over others. You could see this quite a lot when surname-names really became popular. Anglo names worked for many people, but not Russian names. Thus, people decided Carter or Grady made a great first name but not Chomsky or Ivanov.

~ Lecture over. 

[historically accurate]

57 minutes ago, Quill said:

Naming is one of my many pet interests, so I do have some thoughts about this. 

Firstly, though you’re right that people choose Mason but not Lawyer (usually) - I have a Mason myself, in fact - people don’t (usually) choose the name as a profession name. They choose it because they like how it sounds, looks and/or goes with other names in the family. 

So this is the salient point with modern, Western naming motivations. It is also the case that certain sound families are desirable, while other sound families are less well liked; this is also true for initial sounds. The two-syllable name ending with -on, -en, or -an has been popular for a couple of decades now. That’s why Mason, Aiden, Collin, Hayden, Grayson, Nathan, Peyton, Gavin and a bunch of other names all became popular. When I was naming my first child, the K and C initial letters were very popular, for girls and boys, respectively. Even with that, it was more likely for someone to use a K for a daughter, even if it was a name borrowed from the boy lists (Kameron, for example) and C for a son (Caden). The initial M has also been popular for the past couple decades. 

Cultures as a whole come to like certain sounds while liking other sounds less. It is why a once perfectly normal name, like Bertha or Dorcas, is rarely considered attractive now, while a name that sounds a certain way can become accepted, even if it is rare and made-up. Many people in the other thread (myself included) think “Absidy” sounds fine. We just don’t like the joke spelling. If you named a child Absidy and spelled it that way, it would not likely generate ridicule, even if some prople would need help spelling or remembering it. 

The other parts of your post: while I agree that there are “yes” and “no” names in all those categories, there are always exceptions and I have known people to use names that are in the category but are not the commonly-chosen ones. There was a somewhat famous “January” who was a girl with schizophrenia; there were documentaries about her on TV. I have an ancestor whose name was Washington. There is a family locally who named all of their children botanical names and, while they do have one or two more common ones, like Willow, they also have a Cedar. I have heard of Tuesday as a name; there have been a few Moons now and then (I’m reading a non-fiction book right now where the father was called Moon, although, to be fair, it was not his birth-certificate given name.) 

To summarize, it is mostly the sound and other considerations like name flow and ease of understanding that leads parents to choose or reject names in the modern, western context. Entire cultures come to favor some sounds over others. You could see this quite a lot when surname-names really became popular. Anglo names worked for many people, but not Russian names. Thus, people decided Carter or Grady made a great first name but not Chomsky or Ivanov.

~ Lecture over. 

That is what I was trying to figure out in the middle of the night. Thanks for the lecture, Quill. I guess it is more sound/feel of the name than anything else. I guess it means that overall, as a whole, we just follow the crowd with naming trends.   

I understand that the examples I gave in the original post have occasionally be used as names, but they're not even close in popularity to the others. IE: Washington ranks #11,309 in 2018, whereas Jackson is #12 and Lincoln #40. Jefferson, a 3 syllable POTUS name, ranks at #3,802. I find it's fascinating, for example, that Mason is #6 on the popularity list and Miller is #971, despite the fact they are both medieval occupations with similar sounds. I guess the ending of the word Mason -on is more popular currently, since Logan is also in the top 10. I'm looking at my DD's AG doll names Saige right now, and realizing Sage (#314) and Rosemary (#619) are fairly popular names, but Parsley isn't. Parsley doesn't even make the list which makes it less popular than Abcde (#7,572). Thinking about it now, I know lots of babies with the name Paisley (#43 in 2018), which has an extremely similar sound to Parsley. 

(All popularity rankings taken from babycenter.com)

I'm right there with you, Quill, on names kind of fascinating me. I think I found a new hobby/favorite website, LOL!! 

One of my kids has a name I made up (I dreamed it), but babycenter lists it within the top 3000 for girls. I've met others with her same pronunciation, but never the same spelling even though it's within the top 3000. 

Edit: I looked up the name Absidy, with that spelling. People have used it; it was #19,368 in 2018. It peaked at #9,438 in 2008.

Edited December 1, 2018 by beckyjo

[historically accurate]

1 hour ago, RosemaryAndThyme said:

I know a Washington, Ruby (male). Providence ( female), Conway ( female), Tequila ( yes, legal first name), and Champagne ( yes, legal,first name also).

The first few are family names, but I honestly don't understand why the parents named the last two for alcolic beverages. And yes, the names are used in full without nicknames.

I've not heard Tequila and Champagne, but Brandy, another alcoholic beverage, was used for a girls' name often during the 70s and 80s. In fact, I have 2 cousins with the name Brandy (one on my mom's side of the family, and one on my dad's).  

[Sneezyone]

I have a cousin named Sweetlove, named by her dad, a high school friend whose sister is Winter, and an elementary friend named Ebony Onyx.

[Sneezyone]

17 minutes ago, beckyjo said:

I've not heard Tequila and Champagne, but Brandy, another alcoholic beverage, was used for a girls' name often during the 70s and 80s. In fact, I have 2 cousins with the name Brandy (one on my mom's side of the family, and one on my dad's).  

 

Yeah, my sister’s best friend in elementary was named Chardonnay. Her sister is Chanel.

[TheReader]

I'll add cities/states....for example, Brooklyn, or Austin, or Phoenix....but not too many Houston or El Paso.  Georgia, yes; Texas, not so much. 

I wonder if it has to do with the ending syllable.....? Or more that some of those names started off as one thing and became "a name" in the same way the occupation surnames just became accepted as names, so now are (more) widely used. 

What makes that transition happen is beyond me, though.....it's fun to contemplate. 

[marbel]

2 hours ago, TechWife said:

Get thee to iTunes and download anything by The Carpenters and you will hear the voice of Karen Carpenter, one of the purest, unadulterated voices that has ever graced the planet. 

Agree about Karen Carpenter's voice, but I'm pretty sure the OP is talking about first names.  

ETA: Names are interesting.  I'm also interested in how people's first and last names go together.  I know someone whose first and last names are two syllables and end in -er.  Like Parker Walker. I find that name so clunky to say. The first name is also more typical as a last name - I assume it's a family name. Note I am not mocking the name; just saying that to me, it doesn't flow and is not a combination I would choose.  Someone once told me that a 2-syllable last name should always have a 1 or 3-syllable first name to go with it, to make it flow well.  I don't know about that.. but I realized I had done exactly that with my kids.

Thinking about it, I know quite a few people - most from the southern US, maybe all - who have as their first name, a last name from their ancestry.  Like, their first name is their maternal grandmother's maiden name.  Just another way of carrying on family names.

My husband and I opted for traditional names for our kids; they are named after grandparents.  Our daughter was doomed to never have any off-the-rack items with her name on them, till we went to England, where her name is more common. 

Edited December 1, 2018 by marbel

[SKL]

6 hours ago, beckyjo said:

I'm up with a sick kid, and I've been thinking about how we name our kids. I've come up with some categories of names that we think are acceptable and then there are those that just aren't used. I'm just contemplating why some objects become names while others don't.  

Some examples of what I'm thinking of:

We use occupations as names. There's Mason, Hunter, and Sawyer. We don't use Miller or Gatherer or Carpenter. We don't use Warrior as a name, even though it was one of the highly esteemed jobs. However, the name Tanner is common, even though tanning is a dirty, smelly job. Also, we don't use any modern occupations. I've never met Lawyer or Artist. 

We use some gemstones as names, but not others. Ruby and Jade are fairly common; I've never heard of using Emerald or Garnet as names. Another quirk is we don't use "hard stone" names like Granite or Onyx, just some gemstones.  

Calendar names: April, May, and June are common, but July, January, and October are unheard of. We use Summer and Autumn as names, but not Winter or Spring. Other than one child currently in DD's gymnastic class named Sunday, I've not met anyone with a day of the week name.

Nature names: Lily, Rose and Willow all good; not Oak, Maple, or Chrysanthemum (unless you're a book character). River, but not Ocean or Sea. Sunshine, but not Moon (Moonshine would be a bad first name!), although Luna is a name. I've occasionally heard Star or Sky.

Presidents: Presidents' last names are often used as names, but I've not heard Washington as a first name. I don't find Washington to be much different in sound and "feel" than Jefferson or Kennedy or Lincoln, but it's not used while the others are. 

Attributes: Hope, Joy, and Charity are all common names, but I've not met a Love, Kindness, or Peace.

It's just rattling around in my head that we seem to have some unwritten rules for names. Do we all just follow the herd so it's just what we're used to or what we've heard in the past? Is there a reason we collectively think June is better than July as a name? 

 

I've known or known of people named January, Winter, Spring, Esmeralda (emerald), Chryscynthia, Luna (moon), Washington (Irving), Solomon (peace), and possibly some of the others you mention.

So I think some of those conventions ebb and flow over time.

I think parents really have a lot of leeway as they should, but they need to view it as bestowing an important lifelong gift on their child.  While anyone can make a joke about anything, a name that apparently starts out as a joke is inconsiderate at best.  If a person likes a name that is honestly ridiculous, why don't they go to the courthouse and change their own name to that?  Or name their dog or their hamster that name.  Not a child.

[Farrar]

I'm another who has met several of the "not named" on that list.

In particular, the attribute names used to be very different in Puritan New England. And they're very different in Africa, where some attribute based names (in English) are a little surprising to American ears.

Really, the naming trend right now is to look for interesting and unique names. Which is okay, by the way. In the other thread, lots of people were like harumph, tradition, ease of spelling, blending into the crowd. Okay, those are all good reasons to give a name. However, individuality, uniqueness, the sound of it, the meaning, a cultural connection - those are also totally good reasons to give a name.

[Faith-manor]

I had a professor whose first name was Garnet, and two great nieces (two different families) one is Ivy and the other Emerald. I also had a Great Great Aunt named Peace. Peace was a somewhat common female name in the 1800's. Her sisters were Temperance, Patience, and Honesty. The four girls' parents were Quaker and lived in a commune type community which may have had something to do with the naming scheme.

When I was teaching full time as a young woman so late 80's to late 90's, I had students names Stone, Amethyst, Birch, Brandy/i, Forest, Hawk, Remington, and a Pearl. Among character trait names, I had two Charities that I recall, and one Serene. I had a lot of students over the years and most had what I would describe as more conventional names though some had unconventional spellings of those names. I used to have to constantly remind myself not to spell one young girl's name, Hannuh as Hannah. Oh, and my sister has a nephew whose name is "Indiana". His parents named him that because he was conceived there while they were on a business trip.

So I didn't encounter anything quite so unusual as Abcde, but definitely some names that are very uncommon. Remington had two brothers named Hunter and Colt. Hunter is common, but Remington definitely not. You can imagine what the father's big hobby was.

[freesia]

59 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

I had a professor whose first name was Garnet, and two great nieces (two different families) one is Ivy and the other Emerald. I also had a Great Great Aunt named Peace. Peace was a somewhat common female name in the 1800's. Her sisters were Temperance, Patience, and Honesty. The four girls' parents were Quaker and lived in a commune type community which may have had something to do with the naming scheme.

When I was teaching full time as a young woman so late 80's to late 90's, I had students names Stone, Amethyst, Birch, Brandy/i, Forest, Hawk, Remington, and a Pearl. Among character trait names, I had two Charities that I recall, and one Serene. I had a lot of students over the years and most had what I would describe as more conventional names though some had unconventional spellings of those names. I used to have to constantly remind myself not to spell one young girl's name, Hannuh as Hannah. Oh, and my sister has a nephew whose name is "Indiana". His parents named him that because he was conceived there while they were on a business trip.

So I didn't encounter anything quite so unusual as Abcde, but definitely some names that are very uncommon. Remington had two brothers named Hunter and Colt. Hunter is common, but Remington definitely not. You can imagine what the father's big hobby was.

Except that the show Remington Steele was popular in the early 80s, that might also have been the origin.

[marbel]

2 minutes ago, freesia said:

Except that the show Remington Steele was popular in the early 80s, that might also have been the origin.

This reminds me of something from a long time ago. An acquaintance was trying to decide on baby names and asked me if I thought it would be a bad idea for her to name her kid Noah, because she didn't want people to think she named her kid after a tv character.  I was like "what tv character?" She was stunned that I didn't know about this tv character - a doctor, I think,  from some late mid-90s show. I said I had never heard of him, but associate the name with the Noah of the old testament. She didn't know who I was talking about.  It was an odd moment for us both! :-)  

[Faith-manor]

 

9 minutes ago, freesia said:

Except that the show Remington Steele was popular in the early 80s, that might also have been the origin.

I had Remington in my choir. His dad was open about the fact that his kids were named for his hunting and guns hobby. Remington's middle name was Winchester. It kind of stuck with me all of these years because it was so unusual for the times, Hunter not so much. I did not know any other students names Colt, but there were several Cody's in the district.

[Faith-manor]

I don't think it is totally uncommon for children to be named for their parents favorite pursuits in some way. A friend in college who was also a music major named her two daughters Melody and Harmony. Not unusual names per se but definitely reflecting her passion in life, and one of the string professors had a daughter named Viola. Viola is an older, but "normal" female name for sure, but he said she was named that deliberately for his love of the instrument.

[Faith-manor]

Some countries are pretty strict about this stuff, one is Iceland. Their law is concerned with not mixing up gender because their surnames are all based on the first name of the mother or father with the Icelandic word for son or daughter added to it. Girls have dottir added to their mothers' names and that becomes their surname, and boys have sson added to their father's first names. It is illegal to use anything that approximates a unisex name, or to give a masculine name to a girl and vice versa. The Icelandic Naming Committee is in charge of keeping the official list of what you can and cannot name an Icelandic baby.

A young mom in Iceland several years ago didn't seem to be aware of the strictness of the laws and named her daughter Blaer which was considered masculine by the naming committee. This was illegal. While she wasn't fined or forced to change the child's name, the child was punished by being referred to as "girl" plus surname on every official document, and no passport could be issued for lack of a legal first name. Eventually a judge ruled that Blaer could be considered female - a bit of a shocker because culturally they have been against unisex names - and the by then young woman was able to get a passport.

Some of this is I think due to the cultural desire to keep their language rather pure. Icelandic has been largely the same for 1200 years and most languages cannot claim such purity. They do not allow Icelandic words to be created for technological advances and such. So computer is computer. Automobile is Automobile, car is car, etc. This way there are no new words introduced to the language. I think that probably makes the naming thing tougher if parents want to do something unique there. With only 338,000 people on the small island, I would imagine that a LOT of people have the same first names, and with their system of surnames, it could get a bit tricky. But they are following their Viking heritage in this regard which is also kind of cool!

They also control spelling for this reason. One government official named his daughter Camilla, only to have her registered as Kamilla because Icelandic language has no C. It gets tougher when one parent is from another country because the naming committee has rejected the use of foreign names for children with Icelandic citizenship. 

Iceland's list of approved names is only about 3500 and Denmark's is around 7000 with a committee that reviews new options or rejects parental choices. 

Dh's family is Danish - grandpa had dual Danish and US citizenship and his wife had some Danish heritage as well. We named our middle boy after great-grandpa not realizing that his first name was a long standing top three name for baby boys in Denmark for many, many years, and that our last names was also in the top three surnames. He wants to go to grad school in Copenhagen and is almost fluent in Danish at the moment so he has a good chance of being accepted. This should be interesting. He's going to meet a TON of men with the same name.  

[KrissiK]

I’ve thought a lot about how people choose names, too. One thing I see in families, is they choose certain types of names, and I try to guess what they would name another kid if they had another one. In some families this tendency is more strong than others. For example, we knew a family with three boys... Cody, Connor and Dillon. If they had another boy, I don’t Think it would be too hard to guess what they would name him. A friend of mine has 6 kids and based on the names of her first five, I guessed correctly the name of #6.  In our family, we have a Daniel and Jonathan. In another family we know, their boys are also Daniel and Jonathan. Those names go together.

[KungFuPanda]

9 hours ago, beckyjo said:

I'm up with a sick kid, and I've been thinking about how we name our kids. I've come up with some categories of names that we think are acceptable and then there are those that just aren't used. I'm just contemplating why some objects become names while others don't.  

Some examples of what I'm thinking of:

We use occupations as names. There's Mason, Hunter, and Sawyer. We don't use Miller or Gatherer or Carpenter. We don't use Warrior as a name, even though it was one of the highly esteemed jobs. However, the name Tanner is common, even though tanning is a dirty, smelly job. Also, we don't use any modern occupations. I've never met Lawyer or Artist. 

We use some gemstones as names, but not others. Ruby and Jade are fairly common; I've never heard of using Emerald or Garnet as names. Another quirk is we don't use "hard stone" names like Granite or Onyx, just some gemstones.  

Calendar names: April, May, and June are common, but July, January, and October are unheard of. We use Summer and Autumn as names, but not Winter or Spring. Other than one child currently in DD's gymnastic class named Sunday, I've not met anyone with a day of the week name.

Nature names: Lily, Rose and Willow all good; not Oak, Maple, or Chrysanthemum (unless you're a book character). River, but not Ocean or Sea. Sunshine, but not Moon (Moonshine would be a bad first name!), although Luna is a name. I've occasionally heard Star or Sky.

Presidents: Presidents' last names are often used as names, but I've not heard Washington as a first name. I don't find Washington to be much different in sound and "feel" than Jefferson or Kennedy or Lincoln, but it's not used while the others are. 

Attributes: Hope, Joy, and Charity are all common names, but I've not met a Love, Kindness, or Peace.

It's just rattling around in my head that we seem to have some unwritten rules for names. Do we all just follow the herd so it's just what we're used to or what we've heard in the past? Is there a reason we collectively think June is better than July as a name? 

 

The days of the week are all names. I think all the months that aren’t numbers are also names. 

[KungFuPanda]

19 minutes ago, KrissiK said:

I’ve thought a lot about how people choose names, too. One thing I see in families, is they choose certain types of names, and I try to guess what they would name another kid if they had another one. In some families this tendency is more strong than others. For example, we knew a family with three boys... Cody, Connor and Dillon. If they had another boy, I don’t Think it would be too hard to guess what they would name him. A friend of mine has 6 kids and based on the names of her first five, I guessed correctly the name of #6.  In our family, we have a Daniel and Jonathan. In another family we know, their boys are also Daniel and Jonathan. Those names go together.

My daughter considers it a huge oversight that not one of the Dugger kids was named Jesus. 

[KungFuPanda]

Have you guys seen this site?

http://howmanyofme.com/search/

It seems I’m the only one in the US with my name. Only 6 people have Dh’s name and two of them live in this house. 🤣

It’s not a difficult name, just a less common spelling variation of a name with multiple American spellings. 

[DesertBlossom]

26 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

Have you guys seen this site?

http://howmanyofme.com/search/

It seems I’m the only one in the US with my name. Only 6 people have Dh’s name and two of them live in this house. 🤣

It’s not a difficult name, just a less common spelling variation of a name with multiple American spellings. 

Oh that is cool. There is only 1 of me too. But only 1900 people have our last name in the US, which is probably why. 

[DesertBlossom]

1 hour ago, KrissiK said:

I’ve thought a lot about how people choose names, too. One thing I see in families, is they choose certain types of names, and I try to guess what they would name another kid if they had another one. In some families this tendency is more strong than others. For example, we knew a family with three boys... Cody, Connor and Dillon. If they had another boy, I don’t Think it would be too hard to guess what they would name him. A friend of mine has 6 kids and based on the names of her first five, I guessed correctly the name of #6.  In our family, we have a Daniel and Jonathan. In another family we know, their boys are also Daniel and Jonathan. Those names go together.

Have you seen that nymbler baby name website. If you put in names you like, it suggests others. The suggestions it gives me always include names we are already considering. 😆

[Guest]

1 hour ago, KrissiK said:

I’ve thought a lot about how people choose names, too. One thing I see in families, is they choose certain types of names, and I try to guess what they would name another kid if they had another one. In some families this tendency is more strong than others. For example, we knew a family with three boys... Cody, Connor and Dillon. If they had another boy, I don’t Think it would be too hard to guess what they would name him. A friend of mine has 6 kids and based on the names of her first five, I guessed correctly the name of #6.  In our family, we have a Daniel and Jonathan. In another family we know, their boys are also Daniel and Jonathan. Those names go together.

Conversly, sometimes people name out of pattern and it always seems somewhat funny to me. One friend of mine named her first daughter an uber-feminine, “fancy” name: think something like Alexandria Vanessa. Then, they named the second daughter a more sporty, gender neutral name: think Kasey Ann. (The names do somehow match those girls, though. It’s funny how it goes that way sometimes.)

Even I did this, though. My first two children have “modern” names. My third baby who did not live was given a very old, Biblical name, which we chose before we knew how badly that was going to turn out. I knew in my soul it was the right name for that child. Our subsequent child was again given a modern name, which turned out to become chart-topping popular (Mason). So three modern names, one ancient, Biblical name.

[Shoeless]

1 hour ago, KungFuPanda said:

Have you guys seen this site?

http://howmanyofme.com/search/

It seems I’m the only one in the US with my name. Only 6 people have Dh’s name and two of them live in this house. 🤣

It’s not a difficult name, just a less common spelling variation of a name with multiple American spellings. 

Husband is the only one of him.  His name is easy to spell, but unique, (think: relatively common name, but with a different spelling).  I am apparently the only one with my name, too.  There are supposedly only 220-ish people in the US with our last name, which makes sense.  

If I use my maiden name, I'm one of almost 2,000.  I liked being anonymous online.    

My child's first name/last name combo makes him one of a kind, too.  That gives me some pause about posting identifying details about him online. If he was one of 2,000, I wouldn't think much of it, but being one of one...hmmm...I don't want anything goofy I post coming back to haunt him later. 

Edited December 1, 2018 by MissLemon

[historically accurate]

4 minutes ago, MissLemon said:

Husband is the only one of him.  His name is easy to spell, but unique.  I am apparently the only one with my name, too.  There are supposedly only 220-ish people in the US with our last name, which makes sense.  

If I use my maiden name, I'm one of almost 2,000.  I liked being that anonymous online.  

My child's first name/last name combo makes him one of a kind, too.  That gives me some pause about posting identifying details about him online. If he was one of 2,000, I wouldn't think much of it, but being one of one...hmmm...I don't want anything goofy I post coming back to haunt him later. 

 

That's a fun site.

With my maiden name, I'm one of almost 5000. My maiden name is within the top 5 of surnames in the US; pair it with Rebecca and voila, you have loads of Beckyjo's. With my married name, I am one of 7, since our last name has only about 3000 people. All of my kids are the only one, since their first names are fairly uncommon. 

 

[KrissiK]

53 minutes ago, Quill said:

Conversly, sometimes people name out of pattern and it always seems somewhat funny to me. One friend of mine named her first daughter an uber-feminine, “fancy” name: think something like Alexandria Vanessa. Then, they named the second daughter a more sporty, gender neutral name: think Kasey Ann. (The names do somehow match those girls, though. It’s funny how it goes that way sometimes.)

Even I did this, though. My first two children have “modern” names. My third baby who did not live was given a very old, Biblical name, which we chose before we knew how badly that was going to turn out. I knew in my soul it was the right name for that child. Our subsequent child was again given a modern name, which turned out to become chart-topping popular (Mason). So three modern names, one ancient, Biblical name.

They do and that name totally stands out. It’s funny, I even notice that in tv shows. One that particularly stands out was “Parenthood”. It always bothered me.... Sarah, Adam And Julia. Those names go together. And then.... Crosby. Crosby?? 

[Bluegoat]

I am not sure there are really any limits on the categories of sorts of names.  If we include cultures all over, I'd say none.

What I do think is there is a sort of an idea, though it might be vague, of an "unlucky" name and that people in general do not like to give names like that.  So that might include names about poor ideas or characteristics - like you don't hear about kids named Gluttony or Sloth.  Or unlucky places - not too many Chernobyls around.  Or unlucky people - Adolf has fall en well out of popularity.  Then different groups or cultures might have certain things they think of as unlucky or bad, or even individuals don't tend to want to name someone after something or someone with negative personal meaning.

To relate to the other thread, names for me that really are a little dodgy probably fall into that  - joke names, beverages consumed during conception, and some names that seem to be after inane things - Blanket comes to mind.   

[Lady Florida.]

I remember a character name January in a Jacqueline Susann novel. That's the only time I heard the name.

[Lady Florida.]

Dh's very WASP-ish family often uses family surnames as middle names. That wouldn't work with my Italian side of the family though there are a few surnames in my Irish side that could work (Riley, Foley). 

I named ds after my dad, whose name was once very common among Irish-American men. For all I know it's still common in Ireland but in the U.S. in recent years it's become more common among African American men than Irish-American ones. 

[Crimson Wife]

I've seen a couple of "cool baby names" lists recently that included the name "Aryan". In this political climate it astounds me that anyone could offer it as a serious suggestion. 

ETA: I'm not the only one questioning this: https://www.kveller.com/why-is-aryan-one-of-the-most-popular-names-of-2018/

Edited December 1, 2018 by Crimson Wife

[Lady Florida.]

2 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

Have you guys seen this site?

http://howmanyofme.com/search/

It seems I’m the only one in the US with my name. Only 6 people have Dh’s name and two of them live in this house. 🤣

It’s not a difficult name, just a less common spelling variation of a name with multiple American spellings. 

There are 8 of me. 🙂 

45 of dh,  8 of ds, 12 of dss. I also put the grandkids in.  The oldest and youngest are among 5 or less with their names. The middle one is the only one with his name. 

There are some different spellings of our last name. 

[Meriwether]

14 hours ago, beckyjo said:

I'm up with a sick kid, and I've been thinking about how we name our kids. I've come up with some categories of names that we think are acceptable and then there are those that just aren't used. I'm just contemplating why some objects become names while others don't.  

Some examples of what I'm thinking of:

We use occupations as names. There's Mason, Hunter, and Sawyer. We don't use Miller or Gatherer or Carpenter. We don't use Warrior as a name, even though it was one of the highly esteemed jobs. However, the name Tanner is common, even though tanning is a dirty, smelly job. Also, we don't use any modern occupations. I've never met Lawyer or Artist. 

We use some gemstones as names, but not others. Ruby and Jade are fairly common; I've never heard of using Emerald or Garnet as names. Another quirk is we don't use "hard stone" names like Granite or Onyx, just some gemstones.  

Calendar names: April, May, and June are common, but July, January, and October are unheard of. We use Summer and Autumn as names, but not Winter or Spring. Other than one child currently in DD's gymnastic class named Sunday, I've not met anyone with a day of the week name.

Nature names: Lily, Rose and Willow all good; not Oak, Maple, or Chrysanthemum (unless you're a book character). River, but not Ocean or Sea. Sunshine, but not Moon (Moonshine would be a bad first name!), although Luna is a name. I've occasionally heard Star or Sky.

Presidents: Presidents' last names are often used as names, but I've not heard Washington as a first name. I don't find Washington to be much different in sound and "feel" than Jefferson or Kennedy or Lincoln, but it's not used while the others are. 

Attributes: Hope, Joy, and Charity are all common names, but I've not met a Love, Kindness, or Peace.

It's just rattling around in my head that we seem to have some unwritten rules for names. Do we all just follow the herd so it's just what we're used to or what we've heard in the past? Is there a reason we collectively think June is better than July as a name? 

 

We had a boardie named January. Washington Irving. I think I've seen Winter, but maybe not. I could see someone using Onyx, actually. It seems like it would fit in with some of the more unusual names people use occasionally.

An acquaintance was referring to one of my daughters when she said, "I have a friend who names her kid weird names, too." LOL My daughter's name is Ainsley. It isn't super common, but I don't think most would consider it weird. It is phonetically correct, at least. This same acquaintance named her daughters Michael and Gabriel.

[Lady Florida.]

24 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

It says there are "1 or fewer" of me. I'm not sure if I should be concerned or not. 

Yeah, middle grandson said 1 or fewer. The fewer part is a head scratcher. 

[rebcoola]

There is only 1 of me 5 with my maiden name my first name is incredibly common but the last name is not.  In fact everyone in my family is 1 or fewer.  Our last name has less than 200 in the country.  My kids names do have a common theme but only 1 person has ever got it without us telling them they don't sound like they go together.

Edited December 1, 2018 by rebcoola

[Lady Florida.]

20 minutes ago, Meriwether said:

An acquaintance was referring to one of my daughters when she said, "I have a friend who names her kid weird names, too." LOL My daughter's name is Ainsley. It isn't super common, but I don't think most would consider it weird. It is phonetically correct, at least. This same acquaintance named her daughters Michael and Gabriel.

The man who was briefly my step brother named his daughter Michael Ann. (My mom and  his dad dated for seven years then divorced after four years of marriage. I still don't understand what went on there and my mom never talked much about it.)

4 minutes ago, rebcoola said:

There is only 1 of me 5 with my maiden name my first name is incredibly common but the last name is not.   

I didn't think to check my maiden name. There are many more of me that way. 263 as Kathleen Maiden Name and 168 as Kathy Maiden Name. As opposed to only 8 with Kathleen and my married name and 5 with Kathy Married Name.  Those poor other Kathleens and Kathys with my maiden name probably had to deal with "what's your last name?" as well (my girl cousins of course also had that problem and we used to complain about it to one another often). 

Edited December 1, 2018 by Lady Florida.

[gardenmom5]

January Jones

Tuesday Weld

 

I had great aunts named: crystal, pearl, june, myrtle, wreath(a).

great-uncles named "Forrest, Ruby, and Holly Berry Ivy (what a name to give a child.)

I've seen many of those surnames people wouldn't dream of using as a given name - as a middle name.  it was popular to give the mother's maiden name to the oldest son as a middle name.   some keep using a died-out surname, as a middle name through generations.

10 hours ago, TechWife said:

Get thee to iTunes and download anything by The Carpenters and you will hear the voice of Karen Carpenter, one of the purest, unadulterated voices that has ever graced the planet. 

she had an amazing voice, no one today has a voice like hers - and terrible self esteem.  She only ever thought of herself as a drummer.   John Lennon told her how much he admired her voice - she thought he was just being polite.

(though there was a 13 year old britain's got talent winner who makes me think of maria callas.)

10 hours ago, RosemaryAndThyme said:

I know a Washington, Ruby (male). Providence ( female), Conway ( female), Tequila ( yes, legal first name), and Champagne ( yes, legal,first name also).

The first few are family names, but I honestly don't understand why the parents named the last two for alcolic beverages. And yes, the names are used in full without nicknames.

so many  puritans with their "virtue" Names - even used virtue. Verity (truth in latin)  providence, charity, faith, dependence, perseverance, . .etc.

there was one baby name book - a family with six children named each child after a catholic university.

[SKL]

I think I am the only person in the world with my full name.  They say there are 5 with my first & last names.  Interestingly, there is 1 person whose name is the same as mine, except that the first and middle names are switched.

I have a really simple name, just apparently an odd combination.  😛

One of my kids is the only one with her first & last name.  Her first name is pretty unusual, but it sounds like a name and is spelled like a name.  😛  Actually it is a version of a relatively common fusion of anne and elizabeth.  In other words, I don't think it will look weird on a resume.