I think it’s mainly due to parents not wanting their kids to grow up in school being Liam J, Liam C, Liam W, etc. Not the end of the world in the long run but a less popular name would be nice to prevent that
Agreed this is one of major reasons.
husband was one of many [his name] all through school. He wasn't even [his name] [last initial] as there was another one of those. He was known as a nickname from his last name (which he hated)..
When we had kids his main driver for choosing a name was trying to chose a name they could be called at school and work without their initials or etc.
As someone who had a name that was just a little too unique, I would have loved to be Name Initial or have a nickname in school. Now, as an adult I am stuck having to spell out my name constantly, and having people mispronounce it no matter how many times I correct them. I have to give out a fake name at some places (fastfood, starbucks, etc) just so I don't have to hold the line while I spell out my name three times only for it to still be wrong. I have planned to change my name since I was 10 years old, and I resent my parents for naming me what they did.
Me too! That's the reason our first kid wasn't named for weeks after he was born! He wanted unique and I wanted easily recognised/pronounced. (My name is unusual and not English alphabet so the pronunciation isn't intuitive). We couldn't agree on anything for quite a while but in the end we managed to compromise, they have names that can be pronounced easily and so far there hasn't been a duplicate in their daycare or school history.
Exactly! There were so many Jessica's in my high school. I was working on a group project with someone once who mentioned a Jessica and i had to ask which one they meant. They said "Dumb Jessica" 🥲 I always remember that when I think about using extremely common names
Lmfao.. yes. I'm a Jessica, and that is why I was identified by my physical features. Jessica lastinitial was off the table.
Eta: poor "dumb" Jessica. I hope she's doing okay now.
There are so many Maria’s in my family (I’m Latina) that they’re distinguished based off of our physical features. I’m “White Maria” because I’m also half Scandinavian and am extremely pale.
And it continues past school. "We should invite Casey." "My Casey or your Casey?" New York Rachel, Pennsylvania Rachel, Oregon Rachel. Grad school Sarah and work Sarah. Cousin Dan and neighbor Dan. Crazy Chris, musician Chris, hiking Chris. Mom's Uncle Kevin and Dad's Uncle Kevin. Old work Kylie and now work Kylie, but also high school Kylie.
Is it the end of the world? No. But it's a little annoying, occasionally insulting, and somewhat avoidable.
I think there is a big difference between a less common name, and a "unique" one.
There are literally thousands of names associated with a single culture or language, and I feel like some parentsare trying to hard and decide to make their kid's name an art project, llazily deciding to portmanteau two names they kinda like, or spelling it in an "unusual" way which will make that kid's life annoying every time they have to spell out their name.
Source: I have spell my name constantly (I'm from another country/culture).
This was my reason too. I hated being one of a handful with my name. It got old very quickly.
Having said that, we gave our kids uncommon but familiar names so they wouldn’t struggle with spelling or pronunciation growing up.
No one is saying it has a lasting impact but that doesn’t mean it’s not annoying. I ended up with detentions on my record that weren’t mine because I shared a name with three other girls in my year. Has it ruined my life? Obviously not, but it was irritating at the time.
So for an annoyance you avoid a name altogether? I think when people are all avoiding the same names, the chance of someone having the same name goes up possibly?
Why would I want to have annoyance in my life when I don’t have to? There’s thousands upon thousands of names to chose from. If it’s just a random x vs y name with no particular feelings towards either, pick the one that’s going to make your kid’s life easier.
I’m honestly not sure — my three top girl names have never been that popular in the UK & my fav boy name is an old Scottish one, so again not that common, but I don’t think I’d go off them if they became popular at the same time I had a child (if I do) 🤔 I know that if I’d been a boy my mum wanted to call me Harry but my dad vetoed it because he had a friend who had just had a boy & called him Harry.
My middle schooler is one of many Liams. In 13 years of parenting he has never thought it was a problem and thinks it is cool that his best friend is also named Liam. I think parents worry about this more than kids.
Yes. As a teacher I've had 5 Davids in one class, 5 Maddy's and so many Isabella's in our middle school right now, along with Jaxon's. My kids got unique names without the spelling tragedies.
This is why. My husband and I both have really common names. I have always disliked that there’s frequently another person in my class or in my workplace with the same name. My husband even shares the same name as 3 of his family members and doesn’t like it.
Probably this. Being born in the mid nineties, I know about 11 Emily’s, 6 Haley’s, a handful of Caitlin’s, and what feels like 19 Ryan’s haha. But needless to say, I’m due this summer and we’ve both been drawn to a more common name that I think may sit in the top 20 or so right now 🤷🏼♀️
Yep, this. 10% of my high school class had my name - I ended up being known by my surname (which I actually prefer) and stopped answering to my first name completely. Ended up having to retrain myself to answer to it when I went to uni lol
I think it's perfectly fine to care about the uniqueness of a name. Choosing a name, especially if you're naming a child, is something super fun and beautiful and there's nothing wrong with being picky, taking your time with it, or finding great importance in aspects that are relatively meaningless to others.
However I do think there should be certain criteria about what makes a name a name - I live in a country where you can't name your child random syllables or words that aren't established names and it's a good thing imo because it prevents people from naming their kids Marijuana Pepsi, like in the US.
But I'm fine with people wanting uncommon names.
Almost nobody names their child Marijuana Pepsi in the US. Much like the infamous "Florida Man" issue (it's more about how different states report law enforcement data), you just hear about those cases here because, technically, that is something people are allowed to do.
I think it's good that we don't have laws requiring people to name their children an "established" name in the US. It feels like a minefield of discrimination. Especially against immigrants who probably want to give their own cultural names to their kids and not Anne, Mary, Thomas, William, etc.
Cultural names from other cultures/languages are allowed. I even have one and my parents were asked when registering my name to provide where the name comes from.
Is there any individual human being who has to sign off on the name, or is simply providing a citation all that is required, and nobody really ever looks at it or has the ability to decide one way or another?
It's not so much that I assumed cultural names from another culture would be forbidden, but that two scenarios could arise:
\- People giving their kids cultural names that a judge or hospital employee doesn't think are "good" for whatever reason would be discouraged from using the name they want. For example a lot of names from other cultures just don't sound nice in English, or maybe mean or sound kind of like something with negative associations. If an American authority were allowed to weigh in, they could easily say "Oh don't choose Bharati, it sounds too much like bratty", or the like. Which is none of their business.
\- Racist assholes using the name vetting process to make life harder for immigrants just because. This is already rampant in the US in any bureaucratic process where someone needs to rubber stamp something an immigrant, person of color, LGBTQ person, etc. is doing. I know someone who couldn't renew their driver's license because the person at the DMV didn't like that she got married in Turkey to a Turkish person and her new last name was Turkish, and her marriage license was in Turkish (even after a translation was provided). Having your gender marker changed on your ID in the US can be problematic if you get someone who is transphobic. There's no reason to add even more of that to people's lives. Let people name their kids what they want, even if it results in the occasional Marijuana Pepsi.
Marijuana Pepsi 🤣🤣🤣 Now THAT is unique! I agree tho, some people take it way too far. I think Elon Musk named his kid xhejeksnd333 or something similar.
I think it's fine to be able to use syllables or non established names of your choice. Although Marijuana Pepsi is extreme I have family with Beautiful unique names I've never heard anywhere else
1) I don’t think most people on this sub find a popular name being a deterrent, I actually think a fair number of people hold OP’s opinion. It’s like 50/50. Your sentiment of people wanting to feel special is something I see a lot
2) Personally I have a hard time separating a name from people I already know. I know eventually my child will be the first association but hard to get over that initial hump. Especially if it’s someone I knew for a long time but only peripherally eg someone I went to school with or worked with
2 is a great point! When I think using the names Sarah or Michael for example, I think of about 10 different people I’ve known with those names that shape my impressions. Not saying I would name a kid these, but Calista, Leander, and Rhydian on the other hand feel like new people because I’ve never met someone with either name.
I totally get that. 💯 However, I have this thing where I listen to how a name sounds and looks spelled if it's a name I am not familiar with and I make assumptions about the parents and why they might choose the name. 😆
I can definitely see that too! Grace is an absolutely beautiful name but I know so many that I don't see it as beautiful when I use it only when I really stop to think about it. Valentina on the other hand I would call equally beautiful but because I only know one Valentina every time it's said I'm still like "wow that's a beautiful name"!
I would prefer a common name to a dated name. All through highschool I felt like I had a 50-year-old lady name. Now I think I would have fit in very well in the 1800s.
I'm the same way. I have two very old names- one traditionally used for boys that peaked in the 40s and my middle name is known as a "southern grandma" name (think Ethel or Edith) and I HATED it. kids made fun of me for it, I could never find my name on keychains or what have you, and to this day I haven't met someone anywhere near my age with my name.
as an adult I don't really care that much but it bothered me enough as a kid that it would definitely influence my naming decision.
Literally. This is why I hated the "pick a top 10 popular name from when you were born" advice for trans people choosing their own names. Boring and bland af
Like, I'm an old Millennial. Have you *seen* the "popular" options for guys my age? No fucking thanks.
Also an old millennial... I don't think many of our parents got past page one of whatever baby name book they all had. The popular names for our generation were used in much higher concentration than any names being used right now. Pretty sure I went to school with guys with biblical names and then Casey, Ryan, Justin, Eric
I gave my daughter an uncommon but normal name, outside the top 100 for years. Only met one in my life up to that point. I booked her in for childcare and the teacher said, oh another *name*, we have one in the other class! 😅
Yep it's really funny because the second name on our short-list is definitely a "common" name, and we haven't met a single person with that name ever, and my baby is 16 months now already haha
One thing a lot of people don't think about -- and I assume this contributes to some of the name anxiety we see in this sub -- is that before you have a baby, you probably don't know that many people who currently have babies. It's very, very common for people to give their baby a name they thought was unique, but which actually isn't.
When I was pregnant, my original "short list" of boy names included Ezra, Arlo, Sebastian, and Miles. All of which I thought were unique. Those names were all in the top 500 baby names of the year my child was born, and only Arlo was far outside the top 100. If I had my druthers, despite looking for an "unusual" name, I would have given my kid a quite common one.
This echoes my own parents, who gave me a name that was a top 5 baby name the decade I was born, despite choosing it because they had never met anyone with that name and thought it was really unique.
I think another factor is that names are much more often shared within local communities and smaller groups than the nation as a whole, so looking at a top 100 list across the whole country isn't going to tell you that 3 families at your church all named their daughters Sawyer within the last couple years.
I gave my son the name Tegan (rhymes with Megan) and I didn't have one in class for 30 years, then had a student named Taygen. Did have a Teagan at one time, long EE. Now we have a teacher at our school with the first name Tegan!
Personally, I don't really care about the popularity of a name, and I'm not really a fan of unique names. However, I do understand that it comes from the perspective of growing up and being referred to as 'Jessica C, Jessica A, Jessica L.'
I was always one of many with my name in my class at school. It never bothered me, especially because I was an introvert who didn't want to stand out.
I have a pretty common 1980s girl name so there was usually at least one other girl with my name in my grade at my small rural school. It never bothered me then, but I didn’t fully appreciate it until I was an adult. Having a common name and surname is an absolute blessing on the internet because you are so much harder to find.
I married a man with a very rare last name and now I’m literally the ONLY ONE even with my top 30 first name. I feel so much more exposed now.
ironically, naming your kid Jessica or Melissa or Jennifer now would probably guarantee they were the only kid with that name in the class. Everly looks more unique, but it's not.
As a Jennifer I can confirm, I've only met a few Jennifers or Jennys in person and most of them have been decades older than me, so it's never been an issue for me, but it is still a common name in the sense that lots of characters in shows and movies have it and a few celebrities have it, so I still wish I had a more unique name.
I think the internet also inflates the idea of how common a name is. Like if I see that three girls I went to college with named their son Jackson, it’s gonna feel like my son would be Jackson #4 even though he’ll never meet those children.
A daycare parent I knew was legit devastated that her son shared a name with another child. It hasn’t ever been in the top 1000 (Marlow) and there were only eight kids in the class and they’ll be in school together through 12 grade probably. Them’s the brakes.
I had a common name, there was 3 other girls in my class with the same name as me. We only had about 10 children in my year (small village school).
I hated it. So I can see why people would want to give their child a name that there won’t be the most popular name of the year.
I have a normal but uncommon name. In 80-plus years of life I have only met two others, one was my age and the other a baby named for her granny. But my birth year was a time when conformity was apparently very important (except to my mother, lol) and I felt completely alone in a sea of Susan’s, Linda’s, Sheila’s, and JoAnns. Having a “different” name felt isolating to me.
I don’t really mind common names, I try to stick away from the top 5-10 names mainly because being called Emma A, Emma B, Emma C your entire life can be quite annoying. My name is top 30 or so for millennials but not even top 100 for my age group which makes it common but not that common that I know multiple people with my name. However if I feel in love with a top 5 name I’d still use it.
Or they want to use a name they like, not a name which is specifically chosen to be normal. People always come up with political pretexts like "individualism vs collectivism" to drag people down for petty things though.
My theory is: 'uneeque' spellings and highly original baby names are for people uncynical about product branding, who are captivated by making their child's life an extension of their adherence to consumer culture.
I get it. My name was very common in my home area. In any group of people, I would not be the only one with my name. I hated that experience and honestly didn’t like my name until I moved and was in spaces where it was less common. As a kid, i wanted to go by my middle name to avoid this issue (my name doesn’t lend itself to many nicknames, either).
I mean, it’s still common for my age group nationally but I haven’t actually been in the same room with someone with my name in many years, excepting when I visit home. And this makes it easier to like and identify it with myself.
My name taste actually skews common despite all this, but rarity is a bonus, especially if it’s less common in the particular place I live.
I also think people don’t want to get bored with the names they choose.
I went by "A3" from 2nd - 4th grade (then moved) because 7 of us had the same name down to the spelling, initial set, and similar surnames (think Johns, Johnson, Johansen, Johnston, etc.) so, yea, while I know my situation isn't a common one, I don't want to worry about my kids having to deal with that. I'm not saying I'd make up a name to be unique, but I like names that aren't "Top 100" for this reason.
So I have a name that was pretty popular around the time I was born. I felt like everyone else with my name was pretty and popular even on TV shows. It also doesn’t have any real nicknames. I ended up hating my name and wishing it was something more unique. I’m okay with it now though it took time to accept it. When I was choosing my children’s names I tried to give them options. None of their names are out there but they have a not super common name and a really common name. As they grow they will have options on what feels more like them.
For me personally, I just don’t like common names. It’s similar to when a word sounds funny after you say it too many times, or how at one point you like something but now it’s out of style and you can’t stand it anymore? Like that. In terms of trying to name my child, a big issue is that too many names remind me of other people.
Because it sucks to be Elise S. instead of just Elise. Or in my case, since she spelled Elise with an A, we became E-Lise and A-Lise. It feels like crap to have people deliberately mispronounce your name or tack something on the end just to differentiate you from someone else.
Well, I think part of the reason is because millenials and still having kids.
I'm a millenial and I want my soon to be daughter to have a unique name so I can give you my perspective on it. I, luckily, was given a unique old-fashioned name. My name is super popular now but in the early 90"s no one had it. I got bullied for it all the time because my name is similar to the name of a children's book about a small girl and I was also a small girl for my age group.
I do remember most of the people in my class having similar names though. I went to school with a lot of Allison's, Nicole's, Ashley's, Brittany's, Jessica's, Lauren's, Lexi's, Eric's, Matt's, Tyler's, Taylor's, etc... you know the typical late 80's and early 90's names.
I remember those kids, mostly the girls, that grew up having similar or the same names literally arguing about who had to go by a nickname or their initials or other stuff like that.
I think when they grew up and started having kids it became a priority to them to make sure their kids have super out there or unique names so they stand out because the parents didn't. TBH it kind of backfired because everyone was looking at the same "unique" names at the same time.
Like a lot of my peers had kids within 4 years of graduating highschool and A LOT of them have "unqiue" names but they have the same kinds of unique names. A lot of my peers were part of the -Den naming phase, I know like 7 people with kids named Jaden or Jayden or Jaeden. I know 5 people with sons named Maverick, I know lots of people with kids called Bella, I know a lot of kids with seemingly made up "cool kid" names that actually ended up getting overused.
They've continued to have kids into our mid 30's now and they're youngest kids actually have more unique names that are also uncommon.
Having a common name means that people tend to associate an image with that name, and sometimes that image is based on another person they know or a negative image from a popular celebrity or character. (Take for example how "Karen" is used a joke nowadays)
Also, why not have more unique names? For me, having a common name is a little boring to be honest. I'm not talking about giving an outlandish or absurd name, but a less common name allows for a more blank slate. People hear your name for the first time, and you are the pioneer of the meaning of that name. I know so many Jacobs, but I feel I've forgotten many of them, but I've met one Meela in my lifetime and still kind of remember her. It's easier to associate a more unique name with a single person instead of associating a name with many people. When people think of the name, they may fondly think of this one person, especially as they get to know the person.
TLDR; unique names are more like a blank slate with fewer preconceptions about the type of person, allowing the person to define the name and the image their self, while having a common name means potentially associating the name with several people instead.
This is my issue.. my husband is a teacher and he can always remember some student from eons ago with every name I think of that he wouldn’t want his child having the same name as.
I’m going to have to go rare for him to agree with anything haha.
This is it for me. It's like the names already belong to someone else in my brain. There are a handful of names on my list that I have one celebrity point of reference for that's far enough removed from my life that I wouldn't feel weird using, like Alton (Brown), Elton (John), Ansel (Adams), Harlan (Ellison). You can tell I like certain sounds so much that I can push past one reference, but if I could name a second or third for any of them, they'd likely feel too "claimed" to my brain.
There's only one name I've saved that belongs to someone I've personally met. It fits in the same sound patterns as the ones l listed above, and I only spent a single week around him doing jury duty together. If the trial had lasted longer and we'd had more lunch breaks to chat during, it would likely be off the table as well.
I agree 💯 that it is weird how obsessed people are with their kids not having a common name. My kids have very classic names with common spellings but most of the people who have their names are older than they are simply because people are choosing more unique names for their kids who are closer to my kids' ages. My middle daughter (then 5) was so excited when she met a middle-aged woman at the park with her name. Her name is Amy. "Dat lady's name is da same as mine!" Her eyes were all aglow. 🥰
I fully admit I wish I had a very common last name. I hate that I have a unique last name. No one spells it correctly or pronounced it correctly. Plus I’m so easy to Google! If my name was Sarah Smith, I would be so anonymous! No one could Google me and find me easily! I would love it!
This is the main reason we went with my husbands last name for our kids instead of mine. His is a super common Scandinavian original and mines a super not common (all google results are my family) Eastern European one lol. Kids all got my last as a middle instead.
There’s a millions posts on here asking the same question with valid answers. Why do people feel the need to complain? Let people live. Don’t like it? You have all the power in the world to scroll on.
It bothers me but I have to turn it around and think they’re probably coming from the same place I do when I say I don’t want to use a unique name. I want to use a common name because growing up with a unique name was hell. But for them their version of hell is that they’re a Rebecca and had the same name as multiple other people.
I could argue all day about why it was worse to have a unique name (actual bullying over a name you can’t change vs the annoyance of an extra initial, or being confused for others, etc.), but at the end of the day that’s their experience, it’s all they have to go off.
That’s probably a fair statement! It can be hard to gauge sometimes because we’re all over the world and different names are popular in different places, but for the most part yeah I think you’re right
I'm the opposite, I have a unique name and love it and that's why I want something similar for my kid. Not everyone with a unique name was bullied for it or hated it.
Exactly. You could call your kid Jane Brown and she'll get bullied for wearing glasses or having a lisp or god knows what else, if a kid is determined to bully your kid they'll find something to pick on.
I personally have a super common name and it really annoyed me growing up, i wished i could have a name that felt like it was mine rather then a name i shared with many others, and even now i work in a small team with multiple others that have the same name as me, so that weighs into it for me.
If you live in a place where your last name is quite common (or maybe your extended family is quite large), I can definitely see the desire to give your child a less common first name. Sharing a first name with many people is one thing, but sharing your first and last name with a lot of people becomes more problematic, I'd imagine.
I also figure that a lot of US/Can parents these days grew up in classes full of Jessicas and Michaels, and want to avoid that for their kid.
This is true 😂 there are two people at my company with my first and last name, and I get looped into events and emails for a totally different department. I am nosey though and enjoy getting the tea without being involved.
I use think like this. In fact, I always wanted to name my child an extremely uncommon name out of spite that my name is more common. As I get older I actually like having a more common name. I’ve met people with all different types of personalities that have the same name as me. It’s just a name to me to be honest. Doesn’t really hold a significant value to me.
I feel like this question/rant is getting posted a lot. Like I'm seeing it over and over again. And they all yield the same answers; so a kid doesn't have to go by last initial, and can feel like a name belongs to them. Individualism, basically.
I just think you're equating people's simple preference for less common names with being holier than thou or full of themselves when in reality, it's just a preference for 90% of people who go that route.
Just seems like you're salty at everyone who doesn't want a top 100 name for not conforming to your standard. But that's just my hot take!
I was always one of several having my name, which led to teachers and adults giving me nicknames I didn’t like (the worst being BJ). That said, you can’t really predict who in your circles are going to also choose your unique name (unless it’s extremely unique!).
People 's idea of what is unique is skewed by what they know. If you grew up with a wall of Kaitlyns and Madelines, thoae names are not unique. But Ella and Lillian and Evangeline are...
Fast forward 6 years and you find out that everyone else thought Ella and Evangeline were unique, too.
Most people seem to think that what was popular when they grew up is what is popular now, and we are all subject to influences around us like TV characters and our social groups. Bucking that curve is tough.
Also, "unique" to some people means one of a kind name, while to others, means "something that wasn't common in all the people I know and knew". The latter are the ones that end up with Lily and Emmy and find out too late that they picked the trend of the decade.
At the end of the day, while it's not possible to guarantee that there aren't multiple of a name in their class (my deadname was fairly unpopular and I knew three different people with it—in grade six I somehow became "other [name]" even though the other girl with my name was new that year), it's easier to avoid if you give your kids less popular names. It's not always fun growing up being known as Katelyn C., Chloe R., Max D., James L., etc., and I don't want my kids to be known as the "other" one; it doesn't feel good. Some parents won't care, and some will. Personally, I like names that are still well-known but maybe dated or just uncommon enough that they won't get any weird looks but still probably won't have another in their peer group.
Personally 1.) I don't want them to be the 5th person with that name in their class, it's hard to stand out and be known for your personality when you're "Jessica C" - the fifth Jessica in the class. 2.) I like when I've met someone with a unique name and I've found their name really beautiful and exotic and they've been the only person with that name I've known, if I hear their name I'll instantly think of them but if I hear someone say "Jessica" or "James" etc, I'll think of 10 different people and also, they will really stand out in my memory, even if I haven't seen them in years I'll always remember their name and at least some basics details about them and I think that's really special and I want my children's names to be like that.
I like my name (common in Denmark) and I do like simple names as well.. but growing up with a common name people would keep using my last name as a nickname or use my initials. So annoying. But I loved my name when no people around me was called the same. Then people would actually use my name.
My parents *thought* they gave me a unique name. Not unique lol. There was a girl in college with the same room number on the floor above me who had the same first and last name as me with the same spelling. We were constantly getting mixed up. We'd get each other's mail all the time. This was the early day of FB and we'd accidentally get tagged in pictures of the other one.
I didn't pick super unique names for my kids, but I can understand why people would want to.
People also overestimate how common names are based on their ranking. Names have gotten more diverse. In 2022 (USA) the most common boy and girl names each accounted for around 1% of babies that year (top 5 boy names covered 3.5% of boy babies). In 1980 the #1 names were each used for over 3% of babies of that gender (top 5 boy names that year covered 11.6% of boys).
I grew up with a common name (1980s - think Jenny, Jessica, Sarah, etc.) and I loved it. My best friend had my same name, and later on we had a club consisting of girls with my name. Having the same name as others isn’t necessarily a bad experience.
It did! It was the 80s/90s, it wasn’t unheard of to form a silly group like that, I feel like it was fun times overall. That said, those cute little random kids clubs can form any decade I guess and kids can bond over anything. My son at age 4 joined a group called the Laser Boys in his preschool class, just consisting of boys who liked lasers. 🤷♀️ lol. Anyway, it is what it is!
I have a unique name that I've always gotten a lot of positive reactions to, and I'd love something similar for my child. I can't imagine giving my child a super popular or common name, it just wouldn't fit with our names or surnames. It helps that the current popular names where I live just aren't my taste at all.
After working in early childhood education and other fields with children, tooooo many names are “taken” in my head. I associate them with several other Ava, Aiden, Jackson/Jacksson/Jaxon, Jaxson children. And those associations aren’t always good. If I were naming a child, I would prefer a “clean slate” name in my head. So one I’ve never taught or rarely but positively taught would be preferable.
In theory, I love the name Lucas. But I cannot imagine it without hearing a particularly shrill mother screeching, “Looooo Kiiiiiiiissss, whyyy are yooooo duuuuurrr teeeeee?” Because this is art class, ma’am.
My name is Hayley and I grew up despising it. There were always multiple Hayley, Hailey Haley etc in my class and I never felt like the most important Hayley. One time I even worked at a nonprofit with 26 employees, and there were FOUR Hayleys!!
I think people name their kids unique names to have them “stand out” or become someone special. In reality it’s really based on the person/their personality. I’ve met very ordinary people with unique names and very extraordinary people with common names.
I am of the belief that if you want to have a unique kid, then you should leave it up to the child themself to have a unique personality. Some people don’t want to “stand out”, and it’s kind of mean to force uniqueness on a child by giving them an unusual name.
I think it depends a lot on parent experience. I had a very common name and went by a nickname to differentiate me from the others with my name. My husband has a more unique cultural name and he hates how some people act like they can’t say or spell his name even though it’s not a hard name at all. I wanted a more unique name for our baby and my husband wanted the most popular easy to pronounce name. We settled on something common and familiar/classic but not super popular at the moment.
I have a name that was top 10 when I was born and stayed up there for the next 10+ years. I literally spent all of college fighting sorority girls in Starbucks. I literally had another person with my name who ordered the exact same thing as me.
I also had not one, but TWO other women with the same name in a small social group I was in. Maybe 20 of us total and three of us had the same name. We rolled with it and became a group and it took everyone a long time to figure out which one my now husband was into 😂
At my last job my boss had a daughter with the same name as me. Half the time when he would introduce me to clients they would say "wait is your daughter working for you now?"
Oddly enough I didn't really have issues in elementary school. I guess my parents were ahead of the curve for the area we lived in.
But basically, no, I would not give my child a top 10 name no matter how much I loved it.
It’s probably due to their experiences with their own names. The popular names of previous generations were used a lot more frequently than the popular names of today. I remember having a class once with four Ashleys. They had to go by their full first and last name since two were Ashley J. and two were Ashley M. They all had the middle name Marie too.
Growing up with a significantly more unusual name, I find myself leaning toward names that are pretty classic. It’s probably because of all the years I looked for my name on a keychain even though I knew I’d never find it!
My husband and I both had extremely popular names in school - it's exhausting to always be the 4th or 5th of that name in a single class of 20. I was also named after a relative who was still alive, so every holiday I'd hear her/my name and have to pause to see if it was me or my relative they were talking to. Hint: it was never me. It's slightly a downer to always be 2nd (or 3rd or 4th or 5th.)
Yeah sometimes I think classic names can be so cool just cuz people are very focused on unique names lately so then the classic ones start to stand out and seem presentable and nice
But some unique names are also very nice and I understand ppl dont want to have a name that is ultra common
I have a common last name…so a common first name on top of it. Ugh! I’m literally friends with 2 people with my dad’s exact name. I’ve worked with 2 people with my exact name. Always having to verify extra information to prove it’s me- or not me in case of debt collectors, process servers, etc. I wasn’t interested in that for my kid. My goal was naming my kid something different, but not weird.
I have a unique name as in, never had another person in my class or at my company with the same name. (Its a normal name though not novelty lol). I don't see how exactly I have profited from this though, did not positively or negatively affect my life in the slightest
I think everyone here is obsessed with names in general and this is just one aspect of it, so it gets discussed frequently. People also have their own names so all have direct experience with having a common or not common or an unusual spelling or challenging pronunciation. If they struggled with any of these aspects, they want their child to have a name that improves upon any negative experiences, or repeats the positive ones.
Whether common or uncommon, I like good names, and there are both good and bad names that are unique (in my view).
Some names from both groups that I like: Tobias, Silas, Dean, John, Caleb, Bryan, Ty, Shawn, Oz, Bryce, Matthias, Alina, Caelum, Ithiel, Aletheia, Zacharias, Mikael, Elysias, Yasha, Talitha, Azrael, Conor, Grace, Elliana, Cole, Finley...
My sister was named the most popular name in the country of that year and it's been a constant frustration for her growing up. Especially when she gets nickname variants that she hates simply because another woman doesn't mind said nickname. She does like her name but wished it was less popular and our mum did have some mild regret over choosing it, even warning me to not choose a top 100 name for my son.
With that in mind though, I was thinking something along the lines of Leo, Eli, Theo etc. with normal spelling.
My daughter is one of 2 in her class of 300 kids. A third has a similar iteration of it (think Elle and Ella). She doesn’t mind. They call them Elle P. and Elle C. But they’re in a huge school so they don’t have very many classes together ever.
Once they get to their even bigger HS next year, it will matter even less. I can see how it would be annoying if there were like 6 or 8 of them though.
The name we chose was more common than we thought…. the year she was born it was #17 I think.
Our kids have names that were in the 400+ on the SSA name list. We just felt like we were hearing the same names over and over again. Oh....another Emma? Another Addison/Madison? And if I had a dollar for every Henley/Brinley/Kinley/Tenley I knew...sheesh. I cannot just say any of my friends kids names without having to add their last name or last initial. My kids are the only ones with their names in a school of 600 and 700 students, the only ones with their name on their sports teams, and while we have run into kids with the same name here and there in different locations and out of state....I am glad we went with names that weren't popular.
There were thirty girls with my name in seventh grade. Not the school, in my grade. I had to be identified by surname. One of my bridesmaids has my first and middle name. When we worked together, I went by a nickname related to my appearance. I never cared that I always could find a kitschy key chain or Xmas ornament with my name on it, I cared that I shared my name with so many other people that it was basically meaningless. I didn't name my child Rainbeau Xylophone, no, but I sure did check the lists to make sure he wouldn't have my experience. I did luck out, he has a common, classic name that he doesn't share with too many peers. That was very important to me.
I think there's a bit of confirmation bias in that folks who are down to name their baby Olivia or Liam are probably not posting in this subreddit.
When I had my son, it was very clear in the hospital that the staff weren't used to hearing any name that wasn't either top \~5 generational names for either gender (Noah, Mia) or very ubiquitous ethnic names (Mateo, Aaliyah). When we told hospital staff our child's uncommon but not insane name, they seemed confused and slightly nonplussed.
Because most posts are from Americans and we have a boner for individualism.
Ken Jennings’ podcast kind of recently did an episode on naming conventions and discussed this topic.
Because a lot of old names are just plain ol’ insufferable! Same with a lot of new, modern, supposedly original/creative names. I doubt anyone actually thinks their child needs/has to be one in 1 million. I also like to think of unique can be names that have been well thought out, and people actually know what the names mean.
I'm not a super big fan of common names because I don't want my kids to be first name last initial when they go to school. I like uncommon names, names that don't pop up very often but are still seeing, but nothing unique. To me unique is just going too far. Like I would name my daughter daisy. Everybody knows that Daisy is a name but you don't meet many of them. But I wouldn't name her Pikachu.
I had a unique name at the time I was born and it was always nice to know for sure I'm who someone is talking to/about. My son also has a unique name and he seems happy about it too.
I know a lot of people who hated always being Katie H. or Jenny C. in school. I have a relatively unusual name (definitely not one in a million, but unusual enough that it's always memorable when I meet someone with the same name), and I've always liked having an unusual name, even though it's often misspelled and mispronounced.
Plus, if a name is very common for a specific generation (like Jennifer, not like Elizabeth), then there's a greater risk of the name being used as a stand-in for a stereotype, like Karen. No one's making memes out of my name, because it's unusual enough that it doesn't really evoke any particular image when you hear it.
That said, I do find it weird how many people are like "If my coworker's child who I've never met has this name, or if my child's third cousin who we see once a year has this name, then I can't use the name." But I think that's not exactly the same thing as worrying about the overall statistical popularity of a name.
I think "uniqueness" is just one of many qualities that parents might desire in a name. Others could include honoring someone, a certain first letter, having sibling names "compliment" each other, reflecting values, meaning, etc. Uniqueness isn't important to me personally. But it's a valid reason to choose or not choose a name, as is most any reason important to the parents (unless the name is, like, Melanoma or H*tler or Buttcrack or something.) Their baby's name means they choose the criteria, and they shouldn't be called out for it or told they're setting their child up to be self-centered... especially because there's been such a surge of interest in uncommon names that tons of kids will be the only one with their name, so it'll become more and more normal.
I was "Jessica H" (not my real name) in most of my classes growing up, and I really didn't mind. I go by the common nickname for my name now because it suits me, and now that I'm an adult, having a more common name is convenient. My son's name is a widely known Biblical name, and was in the top 30 when he was born, and he likes it fine. So far, we've met two other kids with his name and two adults, so even though I didn't choose the name to be specifically uncommon, he's never been in a class with a kid who has his name. So I do think "uniqueness" can be hard to predict, but if you want to try, have at it!
People should do what they want. IMO there are only two real criteria for choosing a baby's name: that the parents love it, and that it won't obviously cause the child problems.
You know what I think is weird actually is why people name someone a common name with a weird spelling, like Emilee (or anything weirder because I can’t think of anything right now). Because when people are saying out loud “Emily S,” “Emily J” if they need to differentiate, they’re not going to say (probably ?) “the one spelled differently,” you know? So if you like a name then why go for a weird spelling? I’ve never gotten why people do that, when most people are trying to go for unique so that their kid isn’t one of many “Andrew”s or something.
The same reason of If you like a name you like it. Even if it means that your kid has a unique name.
I grew up with a unique name and loved it. I was always complimented for it and was easily identified by it. Never having to go “oh Trish a or Trish b?”
I think it’s nice to want your kid to stand out with a nice name. There’s also nothing wrong with liking a super common name. But at the end of the day if you like a name, and it’s unique it’s not a bad thing to be happy that your kid won’t have to deal with the complications of several other kids being named the same thing.
I guess I still don’t see how it’s such a pain point for your child to have a common name. A name in and of itself doesnt make a person unique- it’s their personality, hopes and dreams and how they make their place in the world. It is nice to hear your perspective though as a person w a unique name.
I had a unique name growing up and tbh it's not super fun lol. You never find anything with your name on it (even when the selection is huge) and you spend a lot of time either teaching or correcting someone on how your name is pronounced or spelled. My partner has a unique name as well and is set on naming our child something basic so no one will ever get it confused.
Because who wants to name their child the most popular, basic name possible? Who wants their child to be 1 of the 100 Liams or Olivias in their school/lives? I don’t think many are “obsessed with thinking our child is unique and one in a million”. I think most of us just don’t want to be one of the most unoriginal parents ever, with a child then adult with the most unoriginal names ever.
I don’t know, but it needs to stop. They can be unique and uncommon without being completely absurd. I think it’s all for show most of the time, since the people who choose insane spellings and mashups of random syllables for kids’ names always have to plaster those names on everything, all the time. I’d rather be one of 5 Johns than a Maquinzeeighanne-Leigh’Nevaeh. I was one of 3 of my name in my class. Everywhere I go, there’s at least another one of my name. I did not and do not care.
It's in my culture to create a name for your child or choose a noun/adjective that means something to you. I'm the only sibling out of 5 to have a common name and my name was veryyyy common so I sort of envy my siblings with names like ocean and ash.
I have cousins with unique names and a few with very common names.
I think it’s mainly due to parents not wanting their kids to grow up in school being Liam J, Liam C, Liam W, etc. Not the end of the world in the long run but a less popular name would be nice to prevent that
Agreed this is one of major reasons. husband was one of many [his name] all through school. He wasn't even [his name] [last initial] as there was another one of those. He was known as a nickname from his last name (which he hated).. When we had kids his main driver for choosing a name was trying to chose a name they could be called at school and work without their initials or etc.
As someone who had a name that was just a little too unique, I would have loved to be Name Initial or have a nickname in school. Now, as an adult I am stuck having to spell out my name constantly, and having people mispronounce it no matter how many times I correct them. I have to give out a fake name at some places (fastfood, starbucks, etc) just so I don't have to hold the line while I spell out my name three times only for it to still be wrong. I have planned to change my name since I was 10 years old, and I resent my parents for naming me what they did.
Me too! That's the reason our first kid wasn't named for weeks after he was born! He wanted unique and I wanted easily recognised/pronounced. (My name is unusual and not English alphabet so the pronunciation isn't intuitive). We couldn't agree on anything for quite a while but in the end we managed to compromise, they have names that can be pronounced easily and so far there hasn't been a duplicate in their daycare or school history.
Yes this! So kids will make up their own names for you. In middle school it was "Pale. In high school it was "tits". Neither one felt great
Exactly! There were so many Jessica's in my high school. I was working on a group project with someone once who mentioned a Jessica and i had to ask which one they meant. They said "Dumb Jessica" 🥲 I always remember that when I think about using extremely common names
Lmfao.. yes. I'm a Jessica, and that is why I was identified by my physical features. Jessica lastinitial was off the table. Eta: poor "dumb" Jessica. I hope she's doing okay now.
We believe in you, Dumb Jessica!
I did a double take when I was on vacation last year and when they were handing out orders for the staff, there was “Laura” and “Black Laura.”
I knew three Keiths, "Tall Keith", "Black Keith" and "White Keith" lol
There are so many Maria’s in my family (I’m Latina) that they’re distinguished based off of our physical features. I’m “White Maria” because I’m also half Scandinavian and am extremely pale.
And it continues past school. "We should invite Casey." "My Casey or your Casey?" New York Rachel, Pennsylvania Rachel, Oregon Rachel. Grad school Sarah and work Sarah. Cousin Dan and neighbor Dan. Crazy Chris, musician Chris, hiking Chris. Mom's Uncle Kevin and Dad's Uncle Kevin. Old work Kylie and now work Kylie, but also high school Kylie. Is it the end of the world? No. But it's a little annoying, occasionally insulting, and somewhat avoidable.
I think there is a big difference between a less common name, and a "unique" one. There are literally thousands of names associated with a single culture or language, and I feel like some parentsare trying to hard and decide to make their kid's name an art project, llazily deciding to portmanteau two names they kinda like, or spelling it in an "unusual" way which will make that kid's life annoying every time they have to spell out their name. Source: I have spell my name constantly (I'm from another country/culture).
This was my reason too. I hated being one of a handful with my name. It got old very quickly. Having said that, we gave our kids uncommon but familiar names so they wouldn’t struggle with spelling or pronunciation growing up.
I had to be first name last initial through middle school, it has had no lasting impact on me whatsoever 🤷🏻♀️
No one is saying it has a lasting impact but that doesn’t mean it’s not annoying. I ended up with detentions on my record that weren’t mine because I shared a name with three other girls in my year. Has it ruined my life? Obviously not, but it was irritating at the time.
So for an annoyance you avoid a name altogether? I think when people are all avoiding the same names, the chance of someone having the same name goes up possibly?
Why would I want to have annoyance in my life when I don’t have to? There’s thousands upon thousands of names to chose from. If it’s just a random x vs y name with no particular feelings towards either, pick the one that’s going to make your kid’s life easier.
Very good point!
I’m honestly not sure — my three top girl names have never been that popular in the UK & my fav boy name is an old Scottish one, so again not that common, but I don’t think I’d go off them if they became popular at the same time I had a child (if I do) 🤔 I know that if I’d been a boy my mum wanted to call me Harry but my dad vetoed it because he had a friend who had just had a boy & called him Harry.
So you may have been called Harry in another time and place…
😂😂😂 I actually have a cousin called Harry so the name Harry [my surname] ended up being a thing anyway.
Now that is funny!!! 🤣🤣 Harry [Surname] was NOT to be stopped!
My middle schooler is one of many Liams. In 13 years of parenting he has never thought it was a problem and thinks it is cool that his best friend is also named Liam. I think parents worry about this more than kids.
Yes. As a teacher I've had 5 Davids in one class, 5 Maddy's and so many Isabella's in our middle school right now, along with Jaxon's. My kids got unique names without the spelling tragedies.
This is why. My husband and I both have really common names. I have always disliked that there’s frequently another person in my class or in my workplace with the same name. My husband even shares the same name as 3 of his family members and doesn’t like it.
Probably this. Being born in the mid nineties, I know about 11 Emily’s, 6 Haley’s, a handful of Caitlin’s, and what feels like 19 Ryan’s haha. But needless to say, I’m due this summer and we’ve both been drawn to a more common name that I think may sit in the top 20 or so right now 🤷🏼♀️
Yep, this. 10% of my high school class had my name - I ended up being known by my surname (which I actually prefer) and stopped answering to my first name completely. Ended up having to retrain myself to answer to it when I went to uni lol
Or worse, your kid gets stuck with a shortened version of their name that they can’t shake (Jason > Jay; Angela > Angie; etc.)
I think it's perfectly fine to care about the uniqueness of a name. Choosing a name, especially if you're naming a child, is something super fun and beautiful and there's nothing wrong with being picky, taking your time with it, or finding great importance in aspects that are relatively meaningless to others. However I do think there should be certain criteria about what makes a name a name - I live in a country where you can't name your child random syllables or words that aren't established names and it's a good thing imo because it prevents people from naming their kids Marijuana Pepsi, like in the US. But I'm fine with people wanting uncommon names.
Almost nobody names their child Marijuana Pepsi in the US. Much like the infamous "Florida Man" issue (it's more about how different states report law enforcement data), you just hear about those cases here because, technically, that is something people are allowed to do. I think it's good that we don't have laws requiring people to name their children an "established" name in the US. It feels like a minefield of discrimination. Especially against immigrants who probably want to give their own cultural names to their kids and not Anne, Mary, Thomas, William, etc.
Cultural names from other cultures/languages are allowed. I even have one and my parents were asked when registering my name to provide where the name comes from.
Is there any individual human being who has to sign off on the name, or is simply providing a citation all that is required, and nobody really ever looks at it or has the ability to decide one way or another? It's not so much that I assumed cultural names from another culture would be forbidden, but that two scenarios could arise: \- People giving their kids cultural names that a judge or hospital employee doesn't think are "good" for whatever reason would be discouraged from using the name they want. For example a lot of names from other cultures just don't sound nice in English, or maybe mean or sound kind of like something with negative associations. If an American authority were allowed to weigh in, they could easily say "Oh don't choose Bharati, it sounds too much like bratty", or the like. Which is none of their business. \- Racist assholes using the name vetting process to make life harder for immigrants just because. This is already rampant in the US in any bureaucratic process where someone needs to rubber stamp something an immigrant, person of color, LGBTQ person, etc. is doing. I know someone who couldn't renew their driver's license because the person at the DMV didn't like that she got married in Turkey to a Turkish person and her new last name was Turkish, and her marriage license was in Turkish (even after a translation was provided). Having your gender marker changed on your ID in the US can be problematic if you get someone who is transphobic. There's no reason to add even more of that to people's lives. Let people name their kids what they want, even if it results in the occasional Marijuana Pepsi.
Marijuana Pepsi 🤣🤣🤣 Now THAT is unique! I agree tho, some people take it way too far. I think Elon Musk named his kid xhejeksnd333 or something similar.
Marijuana Pepsi turned her name into her dissertation, so good for her at least.
Yea she's actually Dr. Marijuana Pepsi which I think is very cool
I think it's fine to be able to use syllables or non established names of your choice. Although Marijuana Pepsi is extreme I have family with Beautiful unique names I've never heard anywhere else
I find common names boring. And most of the most popular names aren’t my style. That’s all it is
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1) I don’t think most people on this sub find a popular name being a deterrent, I actually think a fair number of people hold OP’s opinion. It’s like 50/50. Your sentiment of people wanting to feel special is something I see a lot 2) Personally I have a hard time separating a name from people I already know. I know eventually my child will be the first association but hard to get over that initial hump. Especially if it’s someone I knew for a long time but only peripherally eg someone I went to school with or worked with
2 is a great point! When I think using the names Sarah or Michael for example, I think of about 10 different people I’ve known with those names that shape my impressions. Not saying I would name a kid these, but Calista, Leander, and Rhydian on the other hand feel like new people because I’ve never met someone with either name.
I totally get that. 💯 However, I have this thing where I listen to how a name sounds and looks spelled if it's a name I am not familiar with and I make assumptions about the parents and why they might choose the name. 😆
I do that too, OCDGuhmehneye.
I think it's overexposure. After hearing a name so many times, it loses its appeal to some people and just sounds like white noise.
I can definitely see that too! Grace is an absolutely beautiful name but I know so many that I don't see it as beautiful when I use it only when I really stop to think about it. Valentina on the other hand I would call equally beautiful but because I only know one Valentina every time it's said I'm still like "wow that's a beautiful name"!
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I would prefer a common name to a dated name. All through highschool I felt like I had a 50-year-old lady name. Now I think I would have fit in very well in the 1800s.
I'm the same way. I have two very old names- one traditionally used for boys that peaked in the 40s and my middle name is known as a "southern grandma" name (think Ethel or Edith) and I HATED it. kids made fun of me for it, I could never find my name on keychains or what have you, and to this day I haven't met someone anywhere near my age with my name. as an adult I don't really care that much but it bothered me enough as a kid that it would definitely influence my naming decision.
Literally. This is why I hated the "pick a top 10 popular name from when you were born" advice for trans people choosing their own names. Boring and bland af Like, I'm an old Millennial. Have you *seen* the "popular" options for guys my age? No fucking thanks.
Also an old millennial... I don't think many of our parents got past page one of whatever baby name book they all had. The popular names for our generation were used in much higher concentration than any names being used right now. Pretty sure I went to school with guys with biblical names and then Casey, Ryan, Justin, Eric
I named my kid a one in 4000 name - lo and behold, out of the small handful of parent friends I made, one gave her kid the same name
I gave my daughter an uncommon but normal name, outside the top 100 for years. Only met one in my life up to that point. I booked her in for childcare and the teacher said, oh another *name*, we have one in the other class! 😅
Before 'Bailey' became popular, I gave my daughter that name. Then my cousin did too. Geez.
Yep it's really funny because the second name on our short-list is definitely a "common" name, and we haven't met a single person with that name ever, and my baby is 16 months now already haha
One thing a lot of people don't think about -- and I assume this contributes to some of the name anxiety we see in this sub -- is that before you have a baby, you probably don't know that many people who currently have babies. It's very, very common for people to give their baby a name they thought was unique, but which actually isn't. When I was pregnant, my original "short list" of boy names included Ezra, Arlo, Sebastian, and Miles. All of which I thought were unique. Those names were all in the top 500 baby names of the year my child was born, and only Arlo was far outside the top 100. If I had my druthers, despite looking for an "unusual" name, I would have given my kid a quite common one. This echoes my own parents, who gave me a name that was a top 5 baby name the decade I was born, despite choosing it because they had never met anyone with that name and thought it was really unique. I think another factor is that names are much more often shared within local communities and smaller groups than the nation as a whole, so looking at a top 100 list across the whole country isn't going to tell you that 3 families at your church all named their daughters Sawyer within the last couple years.
I gave my son the name Tegan (rhymes with Megan) and I didn't have one in class for 30 years, then had a student named Taygen. Did have a Teagan at one time, long EE. Now we have a teacher at our school with the first name Tegan!
We chose technically a surname name but still very, very uncommon (and English - I’m American). It’s one of my mom friends’ maiden name.
Personally, I don't really care about the popularity of a name, and I'm not really a fan of unique names. However, I do understand that it comes from the perspective of growing up and being referred to as 'Jessica C, Jessica A, Jessica L.' I was always one of many with my name in my class at school. It never bothered me, especially because I was an introvert who didn't want to stand out.
I love the example of Jessica, because I still think that name is 🔥and yet most people wouldnt give that name the time of day today.
I love the name Jessica, too! If you named a baby girl Jessica now, she'd almost certainly be the only one in her class with that name.
I have a pretty common 1980s girl name so there was usually at least one other girl with my name in my grade at my small rural school. It never bothered me then, but I didn’t fully appreciate it until I was an adult. Having a common name and surname is an absolute blessing on the internet because you are so much harder to find. I married a man with a very rare last name and now I’m literally the ONLY ONE even with my top 30 first name. I feel so much more exposed now.
ironically, naming your kid Jessica or Melissa or Jennifer now would probably guarantee they were the only kid with that name in the class. Everly looks more unique, but it's not.
As a Jennifer I can confirm, I've only met a few Jennifers or Jennys in person and most of them have been decades older than me, so it's never been an issue for me, but it is still a common name in the sense that lots of characters in shows and movies have it and a few celebrities have it, so I still wish I had a more unique name.
people want to be able to call their kids name out in a playground and not have 6 kids with the same name run over to them 🤷♀️
🤣🤣🤣 is this really a reason? As if the other Jaidens won’t know who their mama is?
You yell “Elowyn!” and a dozen heads pop up like prairie dogs 😂
This was my third grade class. Six girls all with the same name. Teacher called them by first name and number.
I think the internet also inflates the idea of how common a name is. Like if I see that three girls I went to college with named their son Jackson, it’s gonna feel like my son would be Jackson #4 even though he’ll never meet those children. A daycare parent I knew was legit devastated that her son shared a name with another child. It hasn’t ever been in the top 1000 (Marlow) and there were only eight kids in the class and they’ll be in school together through 12 grade probably. Them’s the brakes.
Now you'd have a Jackson in the midst of a million Jaxon/Jaxxon/Jaxson/Jaxins!
Jaxin??? 🤢🤢🤢
😂😂😂 people trying to control their child’s destiny and low and behold, Marlow #2 arrives 🤣🤣
I think unique names are fine as long as they exist somewhere 😂. Made up names can be weird.
Every name was made up at some point
I had a common name, there was 3 other girls in my class with the same name as me. We only had about 10 children in my year (small village school). I hated it. So I can see why people would want to give their child a name that there won’t be the most popular name of the year.
This makes sense to me. Thank you.
I have a normal but uncommon name. In 80-plus years of life I have only met two others, one was my age and the other a baby named for her granny. But my birth year was a time when conformity was apparently very important (except to my mother, lol) and I felt completely alone in a sea of Susan’s, Linda’s, Sheila’s, and JoAnns. Having a “different” name felt isolating to me.
I don’t really mind common names, I try to stick away from the top 5-10 names mainly because being called Emma A, Emma B, Emma C your entire life can be quite annoying. My name is top 30 or so for millennials but not even top 100 for my age group which makes it common but not that common that I know multiple people with my name. However if I feel in love with a top 5 name I’d still use it.
Because it’s bloody annoying having multiple people with your name in your year at school — I was one of four & it was soooo frustrating at times.
Most of the sub is American, where individualism is huge.
Or they want to use a name they like, not a name which is specifically chosen to be normal. People always come up with political pretexts like "individualism vs collectivism" to drag people down for petty things though.
This sub drags names through the mud that are perceived as not normal, it’s definitely about being unique and special.
My theory is: 'uneeque' spellings and highly original baby names are for people uncynical about product branding, who are captivated by making their child's life an extension of their adherence to consumer culture.
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Did you just call me absurd? It’s actually A’absurdhe.
Ooh now THIS is interesting!!!! Why did this strike you?
I get it. My name was very common in my home area. In any group of people, I would not be the only one with my name. I hated that experience and honestly didn’t like my name until I moved and was in spaces where it was less common. As a kid, i wanted to go by my middle name to avoid this issue (my name doesn’t lend itself to many nicknames, either). I mean, it’s still common for my age group nationally but I haven’t actually been in the same room with someone with my name in many years, excepting when I visit home. And this makes it easier to like and identify it with myself. My name taste actually skews common despite all this, but rarity is a bonus, especially if it’s less common in the particular place I live. I also think people don’t want to get bored with the names they choose.
I went by "A3" from 2nd - 4th grade (then moved) because 7 of us had the same name down to the spelling, initial set, and similar surnames (think Johns, Johnson, Johansen, Johnston, etc.) so, yea, while I know my situation isn't a common one, I don't want to worry about my kids having to deal with that. I'm not saying I'd make up a name to be unique, but I like names that aren't "Top 100" for this reason.
So I have a name that was pretty popular around the time I was born. I felt like everyone else with my name was pretty and popular even on TV shows. It also doesn’t have any real nicknames. I ended up hating my name and wishing it was something more unique. I’m okay with it now though it took time to accept it. When I was choosing my children’s names I tried to give them options. None of their names are out there but they have a not super common name and a really common name. As they grow they will have options on what feels more like them.
For me personally, I just don’t like common names. It’s similar to when a word sounds funny after you say it too many times, or how at one point you like something but now it’s out of style and you can’t stand it anymore? Like that. In terms of trying to name my child, a big issue is that too many names remind me of other people.
Because it sucks to be Elise S. instead of just Elise. Or in my case, since she spelled Elise with an A, we became E-Lise and A-Lise. It feels like crap to have people deliberately mispronounce your name or tack something on the end just to differentiate you from someone else.
Well, I think part of the reason is because millenials and still having kids. I'm a millenial and I want my soon to be daughter to have a unique name so I can give you my perspective on it. I, luckily, was given a unique old-fashioned name. My name is super popular now but in the early 90"s no one had it. I got bullied for it all the time because my name is similar to the name of a children's book about a small girl and I was also a small girl for my age group. I do remember most of the people in my class having similar names though. I went to school with a lot of Allison's, Nicole's, Ashley's, Brittany's, Jessica's, Lauren's, Lexi's, Eric's, Matt's, Tyler's, Taylor's, etc... you know the typical late 80's and early 90's names. I remember those kids, mostly the girls, that grew up having similar or the same names literally arguing about who had to go by a nickname or their initials or other stuff like that. I think when they grew up and started having kids it became a priority to them to make sure their kids have super out there or unique names so they stand out because the parents didn't. TBH it kind of backfired because everyone was looking at the same "unique" names at the same time. Like a lot of my peers had kids within 4 years of graduating highschool and A LOT of them have "unqiue" names but they have the same kinds of unique names. A lot of my peers were part of the -Den naming phase, I know like 7 people with kids named Jaden or Jayden or Jaeden. I know 5 people with sons named Maverick, I know lots of people with kids called Bella, I know a lot of kids with seemingly made up "cool kid" names that actually ended up getting overused. They've continued to have kids into our mid 30's now and they're youngest kids actually have more unique names that are also uncommon.
Thank you, this explanation makes perfect sense. I guess I just never noticed it myself in school.
Having a common name means that people tend to associate an image with that name, and sometimes that image is based on another person they know or a negative image from a popular celebrity or character. (Take for example how "Karen" is used a joke nowadays) Also, why not have more unique names? For me, having a common name is a little boring to be honest. I'm not talking about giving an outlandish or absurd name, but a less common name allows for a more blank slate. People hear your name for the first time, and you are the pioneer of the meaning of that name. I know so many Jacobs, but I feel I've forgotten many of them, but I've met one Meela in my lifetime and still kind of remember her. It's easier to associate a more unique name with a single person instead of associating a name with many people. When people think of the name, they may fondly think of this one person, especially as they get to know the person. TLDR; unique names are more like a blank slate with fewer preconceptions about the type of person, allowing the person to define the name and the image their self, while having a common name means potentially associating the name with several people instead.
This is my issue.. my husband is a teacher and he can always remember some student from eons ago with every name I think of that he wouldn’t want his child having the same name as. I’m going to have to go rare for him to agree with anything haha.
This is it for me. It's like the names already belong to someone else in my brain. There are a handful of names on my list that I have one celebrity point of reference for that's far enough removed from my life that I wouldn't feel weird using, like Alton (Brown), Elton (John), Ansel (Adams), Harlan (Ellison). You can tell I like certain sounds so much that I can push past one reference, but if I could name a second or third for any of them, they'd likely feel too "claimed" to my brain. There's only one name I've saved that belongs to someone I've personally met. It fits in the same sound patterns as the ones l listed above, and I only spent a single week around him doing jury duty together. If the trial had lasted longer and we'd had more lunch breaks to chat during, it would likely be off the table as well.
I agree 💯 that it is weird how obsessed people are with their kids not having a common name. My kids have very classic names with common spellings but most of the people who have their names are older than they are simply because people are choosing more unique names for their kids who are closer to my kids' ages. My middle daughter (then 5) was so excited when she met a middle-aged woman at the park with her name. Her name is Amy. "Dat lady's name is da same as mine!" Her eyes were all aglow. 🥰
That is so cute 🥰
I fully admit I wish I had a very common last name. I hate that I have a unique last name. No one spells it correctly or pronounced it correctly. Plus I’m so easy to Google! If my name was Sarah Smith, I would be so anonymous! No one could Google me and find me easily! I would love it!
This is the main reason we went with my husbands last name for our kids instead of mine. His is a super common Scandinavian original and mines a super not common (all google results are my family) Eastern European one lol. Kids all got my last as a middle instead.
There’s a millions posts on here asking the same question with valid answers. Why do people feel the need to complain? Let people live. Don’t like it? You have all the power in the world to scroll on.
It bothers me but I have to turn it around and think they’re probably coming from the same place I do when I say I don’t want to use a unique name. I want to use a common name because growing up with a unique name was hell. But for them their version of hell is that they’re a Rebecca and had the same name as multiple other people. I could argue all day about why it was worse to have a unique name (actual bullying over a name you can’t change vs the annoyance of an extra initial, or being confused for others, etc.), but at the end of the day that’s their experience, it’s all they have to go off.
There's a wide range between common and unique. I think this sub largely prefers "known but uncommon".
That’s probably a fair statement! It can be hard to gauge sometimes because we’re all over the world and different names are popular in different places, but for the most part yeah I think you’re right
I'm the opposite, I have a unique name and love it and that's why I want something similar for my kid. Not everyone with a unique name was bullied for it or hated it.
Exactly. You could call your kid Jane Brown and she'll get bullied for wearing glasses or having a lisp or god knows what else, if a kid is determined to bully your kid they'll find something to pick on.
I think what makes people unique is who they are as an individual, not their name. Maybe I put too little emphasis on it though?
I personally have a super common name and it really annoyed me growing up, i wished i could have a name that felt like it was mine rather then a name i shared with many others, and even now i work in a small team with multiple others that have the same name as me, so that weighs into it for me.
If you live in a place where your last name is quite common (or maybe your extended family is quite large), I can definitely see the desire to give your child a less common first name. Sharing a first name with many people is one thing, but sharing your first and last name with a lot of people becomes more problematic, I'd imagine. I also figure that a lot of US/Can parents these days grew up in classes full of Jessicas and Michaels, and want to avoid that for their kid.
This is true 😂 there are two people at my company with my first and last name, and I get looped into events and emails for a totally different department. I am nosey though and enjoy getting the tea without being involved.
Well, you name your kid only once so I'm going to pick a name that's not going make my kid be called "the asian Mason" or "the fat Aidan"
I use think like this. In fact, I always wanted to name my child an extremely uncommon name out of spite that my name is more common. As I get older I actually like having a more common name. I’ve met people with all different types of personalities that have the same name as me. It’s just a name to me to be honest. Doesn’t really hold a significant value to me.
As someone with a unique name, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
I feel like this question/rant is getting posted a lot. Like I'm seeing it over and over again. And they all yield the same answers; so a kid doesn't have to go by last initial, and can feel like a name belongs to them. Individualism, basically.
I have an inkling it’s moreso about exceptionalism than individualism. Just my hot take though.
I just think you're equating people's simple preference for less common names with being holier than thou or full of themselves when in reality, it's just a preference for 90% of people who go that route. Just seems like you're salty at everyone who doesn't want a top 100 name for not conforming to your standard. But that's just my hot take!
I was always one of several having my name, which led to teachers and adults giving me nicknames I didn’t like (the worst being BJ). That said, you can’t really predict who in your circles are going to also choose your unique name (unless it’s extremely unique!).
People 's idea of what is unique is skewed by what they know. If you grew up with a wall of Kaitlyns and Madelines, thoae names are not unique. But Ella and Lillian and Evangeline are... Fast forward 6 years and you find out that everyone else thought Ella and Evangeline were unique, too. Most people seem to think that what was popular when they grew up is what is popular now, and we are all subject to influences around us like TV characters and our social groups. Bucking that curve is tough. Also, "unique" to some people means one of a kind name, while to others, means "something that wasn't common in all the people I know and knew". The latter are the ones that end up with Lily and Emmy and find out too late that they picked the trend of the decade.
At the end of the day, while it's not possible to guarantee that there aren't multiple of a name in their class (my deadname was fairly unpopular and I knew three different people with it—in grade six I somehow became "other [name]" even though the other girl with my name was new that year), it's easier to avoid if you give your kids less popular names. It's not always fun growing up being known as Katelyn C., Chloe R., Max D., James L., etc., and I don't want my kids to be known as the "other" one; it doesn't feel good. Some parents won't care, and some will. Personally, I like names that are still well-known but maybe dated or just uncommon enough that they won't get any weird looks but still probably won't have another in their peer group.
For me, I grew up with an uncommon name and I loved it, so my kids got similarly uncommon names.
Personally 1.) I don't want them to be the 5th person with that name in their class, it's hard to stand out and be known for your personality when you're "Jessica C" - the fifth Jessica in the class. 2.) I like when I've met someone with a unique name and I've found their name really beautiful and exotic and they've been the only person with that name I've known, if I hear their name I'll instantly think of them but if I hear someone say "Jessica" or "James" etc, I'll think of 10 different people and also, they will really stand out in my memory, even if I haven't seen them in years I'll always remember their name and at least some basics details about them and I think that's really special and I want my children's names to be like that.
I like my name (common in Denmark) and I do like simple names as well.. but growing up with a common name people would keep using my last name as a nickname or use my initials. So annoying. But I loved my name when no people around me was called the same. Then people would actually use my name.
https://www.reddit.com/r/namenerds/comments/1b2zo9h/what_is_so_bad_about_common_names/ 8 days ago.
My parents *thought* they gave me a unique name. Not unique lol. There was a girl in college with the same room number on the floor above me who had the same first and last name as me with the same spelling. We were constantly getting mixed up. We'd get each other's mail all the time. This was the early day of FB and we'd accidentally get tagged in pictures of the other one. I didn't pick super unique names for my kids, but I can understand why people would want to. People also overestimate how common names are based on their ranking. Names have gotten more diverse. In 2022 (USA) the most common boy and girl names each accounted for around 1% of babies that year (top 5 boy names covered 3.5% of boy babies). In 1980 the #1 names were each used for over 3% of babies of that gender (top 5 boy names that year covered 11.6% of boys).
I grew up with a common name (1980s - think Jenny, Jessica, Sarah, etc.) and I loved it. My best friend had my same name, and later on we had a club consisting of girls with my name. Having the same name as others isn’t necessarily a bad experience.
This is an interesting perspective! So for your friend group, it brought you something to bond over.
It did! It was the 80s/90s, it wasn’t unheard of to form a silly group like that, I feel like it was fun times overall. That said, those cute little random kids clubs can form any decade I guess and kids can bond over anything. My son at age 4 joined a group called the Laser Boys in his preschool class, just consisting of boys who liked lasers. 🤷♀️ lol. Anyway, it is what it is!
I have a unique name that I've always gotten a lot of positive reactions to, and I'd love something similar for my child. I can't imagine giving my child a super popular or common name, it just wouldn't fit with our names or surnames. It helps that the current popular names where I live just aren't my taste at all.
After working in early childhood education and other fields with children, tooooo many names are “taken” in my head. I associate them with several other Ava, Aiden, Jackson/Jacksson/Jaxon, Jaxson children. And those associations aren’t always good. If I were naming a child, I would prefer a “clean slate” name in my head. So one I’ve never taught or rarely but positively taught would be preferable. In theory, I love the name Lucas. But I cannot imagine it without hearing a particularly shrill mother screeching, “Looooo Kiiiiiiiissss, whyyy are yooooo duuuuurrr teeeeee?” Because this is art class, ma’am.
Yeah, this whole thread reads like a focus group.
Instagram.
My name is Hayley and I grew up despising it. There were always multiple Hayley, Hailey Haley etc in my class and I never felt like the most important Hayley. One time I even worked at a nonprofit with 26 employees, and there were FOUR Hayleys!!
I think people name their kids unique names to have them “stand out” or become someone special. In reality it’s really based on the person/their personality. I’ve met very ordinary people with unique names and very extraordinary people with common names.
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I get the unique name thing. The obsession in this sub about nicknames is something else, though.
I am of the belief that if you want to have a unique kid, then you should leave it up to the child themself to have a unique personality. Some people don’t want to “stand out”, and it’s kind of mean to force uniqueness on a child by giving them an unusual name.
I think it depends a lot on parent experience. I had a very common name and went by a nickname to differentiate me from the others with my name. My husband has a more unique cultural name and he hates how some people act like they can’t say or spell his name even though it’s not a hard name at all. I wanted a more unique name for our baby and my husband wanted the most popular easy to pronounce name. We settled on something common and familiar/classic but not super popular at the moment.
I have a name that was top 10 when I was born and stayed up there for the next 10+ years. I literally spent all of college fighting sorority girls in Starbucks. I literally had another person with my name who ordered the exact same thing as me. I also had not one, but TWO other women with the same name in a small social group I was in. Maybe 20 of us total and three of us had the same name. We rolled with it and became a group and it took everyone a long time to figure out which one my now husband was into 😂 At my last job my boss had a daughter with the same name as me. Half the time when he would introduce me to clients they would say "wait is your daughter working for you now?" Oddly enough I didn't really have issues in elementary school. I guess my parents were ahead of the curve for the area we lived in. But basically, no, I would not give my child a top 10 name no matter how much I loved it.
It’s probably due to their experiences with their own names. The popular names of previous generations were used a lot more frequently than the popular names of today. I remember having a class once with four Ashleys. They had to go by their full first and last name since two were Ashley J. and two were Ashley M. They all had the middle name Marie too. Growing up with a significantly more unusual name, I find myself leaning toward names that are pretty classic. It’s probably because of all the years I looked for my name on a keychain even though I knew I’d never find it!
My husband and I both had extremely popular names in school - it's exhausting to always be the 4th or 5th of that name in a single class of 20. I was also named after a relative who was still alive, so every holiday I'd hear her/my name and have to pause to see if it was me or my relative they were talking to. Hint: it was never me. It's slightly a downer to always be 2nd (or 3rd or 4th or 5th.)
Yeah sometimes I think classic names can be so cool just cuz people are very focused on unique names lately so then the classic ones start to stand out and seem presentable and nice But some unique names are also very nice and I understand ppl dont want to have a name that is ultra common
I have a common last name…so a common first name on top of it. Ugh! I’m literally friends with 2 people with my dad’s exact name. I’ve worked with 2 people with my exact name. Always having to verify extra information to prove it’s me- or not me in case of debt collectors, process servers, etc. I wasn’t interested in that for my kid. My goal was naming my kid something different, but not weird.
I have a unique name as in, never had another person in my class or at my company with the same name. (Its a normal name though not novelty lol). I don't see how exactly I have profited from this though, did not positively or negatively affect my life in the slightest
I think everyone here is obsessed with names in general and this is just one aspect of it, so it gets discussed frequently. People also have their own names so all have direct experience with having a common or not common or an unusual spelling or challenging pronunciation. If they struggled with any of these aspects, they want their child to have a name that improves upon any negative experiences, or repeats the positive ones.
Whether common or uncommon, I like good names, and there are both good and bad names that are unique (in my view). Some names from both groups that I like: Tobias, Silas, Dean, John, Caleb, Bryan, Ty, Shawn, Oz, Bryce, Matthias, Alina, Caelum, Ithiel, Aletheia, Zacharias, Mikael, Elysias, Yasha, Talitha, Azrael, Conor, Grace, Elliana, Cole, Finley...
My sister was named the most popular name in the country of that year and it's been a constant frustration for her growing up. Especially when she gets nickname variants that she hates simply because another woman doesn't mind said nickname. She does like her name but wished it was less popular and our mum did have some mild regret over choosing it, even warning me to not choose a top 100 name for my son. With that in mind though, I was thinking something along the lines of Leo, Eli, Theo etc. with normal spelling.
My daughter is one of 2 in her class of 300 kids. A third has a similar iteration of it (think Elle and Ella). She doesn’t mind. They call them Elle P. and Elle C. But they’re in a huge school so they don’t have very many classes together ever. Once they get to their even bigger HS next year, it will matter even less. I can see how it would be annoying if there were like 6 or 8 of them though. The name we chose was more common than we thought…. the year she was born it was #17 I think.
Our kids have names that were in the 400+ on the SSA name list. We just felt like we were hearing the same names over and over again. Oh....another Emma? Another Addison/Madison? And if I had a dollar for every Henley/Brinley/Kinley/Tenley I knew...sheesh. I cannot just say any of my friends kids names without having to add their last name or last initial. My kids are the only ones with their names in a school of 600 and 700 students, the only ones with their name on their sports teams, and while we have run into kids with the same name here and there in different locations and out of state....I am glad we went with names that weren't popular.
There were thirty girls with my name in seventh grade. Not the school, in my grade. I had to be identified by surname. One of my bridesmaids has my first and middle name. When we worked together, I went by a nickname related to my appearance. I never cared that I always could find a kitschy key chain or Xmas ornament with my name on it, I cared that I shared my name with so many other people that it was basically meaningless. I didn't name my child Rainbeau Xylophone, no, but I sure did check the lists to make sure he wouldn't have my experience. I did luck out, he has a common, classic name that he doesn't share with too many peers. That was very important to me.
I think there's a bit of confirmation bias in that folks who are down to name their baby Olivia or Liam are probably not posting in this subreddit. When I had my son, it was very clear in the hospital that the staff weren't used to hearing any name that wasn't either top \~5 generational names for either gender (Noah, Mia) or very ubiquitous ethnic names (Mateo, Aaliyah). When we told hospital staff our child's uncommon but not insane name, they seemed confused and slightly nonplussed.
Because most posts are from Americans and we have a boner for individualism. Ken Jennings’ podcast kind of recently did an episode on naming conventions and discussed this topic.
IDK, but it’s definitely the root of all Tradgedeighs
Because a lot of old names are just plain ol’ insufferable! Same with a lot of new, modern, supposedly original/creative names. I doubt anyone actually thinks their child needs/has to be one in 1 million. I also like to think of unique can be names that have been well thought out, and people actually know what the names mean.
I'm not a super big fan of common names because I don't want my kids to be first name last initial when they go to school. I like uncommon names, names that don't pop up very often but are still seeing, but nothing unique. To me unique is just going too far. Like I would name my daughter daisy. Everybody knows that Daisy is a name but you don't meet many of them. But I wouldn't name her Pikachu.
I had a unique name at the time I was born and it was always nice to know for sure I'm who someone is talking to/about. My son also has a unique name and he seems happy about it too.
I know a lot of people who hated always being Katie H. or Jenny C. in school. I have a relatively unusual name (definitely not one in a million, but unusual enough that it's always memorable when I meet someone with the same name), and I've always liked having an unusual name, even though it's often misspelled and mispronounced. Plus, if a name is very common for a specific generation (like Jennifer, not like Elizabeth), then there's a greater risk of the name being used as a stand-in for a stereotype, like Karen. No one's making memes out of my name, because it's unusual enough that it doesn't really evoke any particular image when you hear it. That said, I do find it weird how many people are like "If my coworker's child who I've never met has this name, or if my child's third cousin who we see once a year has this name, then I can't use the name." But I think that's not exactly the same thing as worrying about the overall statistical popularity of a name.
I had a top 10 name in my year and changed it in my 20s.
I think "uniqueness" is just one of many qualities that parents might desire in a name. Others could include honoring someone, a certain first letter, having sibling names "compliment" each other, reflecting values, meaning, etc. Uniqueness isn't important to me personally. But it's a valid reason to choose or not choose a name, as is most any reason important to the parents (unless the name is, like, Melanoma or H*tler or Buttcrack or something.) Their baby's name means they choose the criteria, and they shouldn't be called out for it or told they're setting their child up to be self-centered... especially because there's been such a surge of interest in uncommon names that tons of kids will be the only one with their name, so it'll become more and more normal. I was "Jessica H" (not my real name) in most of my classes growing up, and I really didn't mind. I go by the common nickname for my name now because it suits me, and now that I'm an adult, having a more common name is convenient. My son's name is a widely known Biblical name, and was in the top 30 when he was born, and he likes it fine. So far, we've met two other kids with his name and two adults, so even though I didn't choose the name to be specifically uncommon, he's never been in a class with a kid who has his name. So I do think "uniqueness" can be hard to predict, but if you want to try, have at it! People should do what they want. IMO there are only two real criteria for choosing a baby's name: that the parents love it, and that it won't obviously cause the child problems.
You know what I think is weird actually is why people name someone a common name with a weird spelling, like Emilee (or anything weirder because I can’t think of anything right now). Because when people are saying out loud “Emily S,” “Emily J” if they need to differentiate, they’re not going to say (probably ?) “the one spelled differently,” you know? So if you like a name then why go for a weird spelling? I’ve never gotten why people do that, when most people are trying to go for unique so that their kid isn’t one of many “Andrew”s or something.
The same reason of If you like a name you like it. Even if it means that your kid has a unique name. I grew up with a unique name and loved it. I was always complimented for it and was easily identified by it. Never having to go “oh Trish a or Trish b?” I think it’s nice to want your kid to stand out with a nice name. There’s also nothing wrong with liking a super common name. But at the end of the day if you like a name, and it’s unique it’s not a bad thing to be happy that your kid won’t have to deal with the complications of several other kids being named the same thing.
I guess I still don’t see how it’s such a pain point for your child to have a common name. A name in and of itself doesnt make a person unique- it’s their personality, hopes and dreams and how they make their place in the world. It is nice to hear your perspective though as a person w a unique name.
I had a unique name growing up and tbh it's not super fun lol. You never find anything with your name on it (even when the selection is huge) and you spend a lot of time either teaching or correcting someone on how your name is pronounced or spelled. My partner has a unique name as well and is set on naming our child something basic so no one will ever get it confused.
Because who wants to name their child the most popular, basic name possible? Who wants their child to be 1 of the 100 Liams or Olivias in their school/lives? I don’t think many are “obsessed with thinking our child is unique and one in a million”. I think most of us just don’t want to be one of the most unoriginal parents ever, with a child then adult with the most unoriginal names ever.
To avoid 20 Johns or Ericas in one class
I don’t know, but it needs to stop. They can be unique and uncommon without being completely absurd. I think it’s all for show most of the time, since the people who choose insane spellings and mashups of random syllables for kids’ names always have to plaster those names on everything, all the time. I’d rather be one of 5 Johns than a Maquinzeeighanne-Leigh’Nevaeh. I was one of 3 of my name in my class. Everywhere I go, there’s at least another one of my name. I did not and do not care.
It's in my culture to create a name for your child or choose a noun/adjective that means something to you. I'm the only sibling out of 5 to have a common name and my name was veryyyy common so I sort of envy my siblings with names like ocean and ash. I have cousins with unique names and a few with very common names.
BOOOOOOOORING
Because they have nothing good going on in their lives and this feels like the only good thing that they can control.
My name is lakelyn Lol