In the interest of full disclosure, I stole this topic from another forum, but I am going through the same thing, so...
If you loved a name in the Top 10, would you still use it despite the popularity and the probability that your child will be relegated to _______ T. ?
I have loved the name Isabella since I was a kid (see my u/n lol). It was #4 in 2006 (#2 in California) and that is a huge turn off for me. It's the only name DH has agreed on, and her middle name would be Catalina. I also really like Catalina Isobel/Isabel, but DH prefers the original... and I guess I'm worried about regretting it if we don't use it, although I don't want my daughter to be the sixth Bella in her class, kwim?
Even though I love the name Emma, and wanted to honor my best friend and name our first after her, we opted not to choose a name in the top 100 for our kiddos. In 2004, Emma was #1.
My parents gave me and my bros unusual names and I like the fact that they are not heard often. As a former school teacher it is neat having a few different ones in the mix, though I do have to say that my pet peeve is made up names with no meaning.
The nice thing is that you have a bit of time to decide. You can keep compiling. My parents were set on my name before I was born and then my dad decided something totally different at the last minute.
Is there some special meaning attached to the name? If so, I'd go for it! The names we've picked are common, but mean something. So it's worth it to us.
On the other hand, if it's just pretty, I think I'd aim for something less common. Seems like it'd be lame to have to be referred to with your last name or last name initial. That might strip away a lot of the "pretty."
Thats really tough! My gut would be to not use the name no matter the life long affinity. That was one of my top top top criteria in choosing a name! I had some favorites in the 10 ten list, LOVE Aiden and have for awhile. (Well I admit it was not since I was a child.
) and it was hard to not use it since I really loved it. BUT I wanted my child to have a name that you do not hear all the time but still was recognizable. I did not want her to be the 3rd one in her class, nevermind how many in her school. So she is forced to use her last name to distinguish herself OR have to resort to a nickname. I like the idea of her first name in a small group will be all she needs to distinguish herself.
My husband is David and just in his small company of 60 people their are 5 Davids!! It gets very confusing when the guys are chatting about manpower and who is doing what since people float around alot. They call him by our last name alone when speaking about him and other Davids have other odd nicknames like "tall David" or just their first and last name. Its just strange. BUT with all that said I can imagine it will still be a hard decision since you love the name soooo much.
With that said I loved the name Sophia but I met a family with a daugther named Sophia. We had a falling out and I don't want people thinking if I named my daughter Sophia was because of her.
I like pretty names with meaning.
My sons have fairly common names, but I like them, so they were picked.
If you loved a name in the Top 10, would you still use it despite the popularity and the probability that your child will be relegated to _______ T. ?
No way, no how. I grew up as Amy W. #2, and I SWORE I wouldn't do that to my kids! I was so irritated when I found out that Henry was in the top 100 in 2006 lol.
There's always a name you like that ends up being someone you know and don't like and therefore can't picture your child with that name.....lol
Popularity? I dunno. I named my first daughter Hannah thinking I was being original and old fashioned and it turned out to be the most popular name that year - but she was born at the beginning so I figure we were the trend setter! LOL
If it's a name you like I don't see what role popularity would have. Unless you were tossing around a couple names you could let popularity being the deciding factor?
I try to stay away from the top 10 names, even the top 20. Unfortunately, as soon as I named my son Aidan (2002) it shot up to the top 10 the next freaking year. In 2002, it wasn't even on the top 50! I guess it's fortunate that he is older, so far he hasn't met anyone else his age with that name, they are all younger.
My second son we named Sean and it was low on the list, then the following year Brittney Spears named her son Sean. *SIGH*
If we have a dd, her name will be Eleanor and I am pretty sure it won't be in the top 10. We have a lot of work to do to decide on a boy name.
I've picked names based on what I want. Remember, every little 8 year old Madison you meet got the name because her parents wanted something unique.
And I have no idea where the names we're thinking of fall in the list, but I've only encountered two fictional (no real) people with the girl name and everyone I know with the boy name are at least 15 years old. To mean it's more important that I haven't met or seen any obnoxious people with those names.
I guess if you've always loved the name and can't imagine NOT giving that name to your daughter, or if it has special/family significance (we have friends who named their daughter MacKenzie at the height of the MacKenzie craze, but it was the wife's maiden name, so it was meaningful for them), then go for it.
Otherwise, I think a name's being in the top 10 would be enough to stop me from using it, particularly if it were not a 'classic' name.
Have you checked out the baby name voyager? You can track a name's popularity over time since the 1880's. It's interesting; a name like "Sarah" was big in the late 1880's, waned steadily in the 1960's and 1970's, peaked in the 1980's at #5, but now it's on the decline again at number 15 and falling.
The name "Rowan" didn't even exist in the top 1000 until 2003, whereas "Alden" was on the charts in the early part of the century, fell out of the top 1,000 in the 80's and 90's, and then crept up in popularity beginning around 2000.
We a couple of names in the top 10 for our state, DH especially. But we won't be using them because the are so popular. I remember "the Jennifers" from elementary school and how I always had at least two Elizabeths, Michaels and Laurens in my classes all through school. I would never do that to my child.
my name is Amanda, I was generally one of two or three in my classes growing up, even now two of my best friends are also named Amanda (we go by 1, 2 and 3
or last names). The difference is, I never minded being one of a few. my name is still my name, even if I share it with others. my adult friends and I who share a common name have fun with it.
pick a name you like and feel like it fits, I wouldn't pay much attention to the ranking on a list.
I'd argue that names like "Elizabeth," though, have been consistently popular throughout time and are thus 'classic' popular rather than 'trendy' popular (like, say "Jennifer," which came out of nowhere, spiked, and then started to vanish.)
Maybe one person's 'classic' is another's 'boring.'
My name is Jennifer, I didn't like having such a popular name. In a grade of 72 kids there were 3 jennifers. We separated ourselves by Jenn Jenny and Jennifer.
2 of us had last names that started the same so last initials didn't even help.
I swore I would never name my kids popular names and wouldn't you know it I have a Grace and Mason. Both were in the top 100 the year they were born. I just loved the name Grace and Mason is my maiden name.
Oh well, life goes on. Atleast they don't care right now.
I have no idea what we will name our next child. Still thinking.
I think, deep down, I know I WILL regret using Isabella because I was also one of 4 Brookes in my grade - and my mum had only ever heard of Brooke Shields when I was born in 1980. I was born in Australia but I just looked it up on SSA for the US and it was #57 in 1980
Now it is just a matter of convincing DH to go with Catalina or something entirely different! And I'm not even going to start with boys names!
I think this is one of those things that is important to some people and not to others. To us, it is important to avoid super-popular names. DH and I both have common names and didn't much enjoy it. Also, we are just very drawn to uncommon/less-used/family names. But I say follow your heart on this one!
I try to stay away from top 10 names. I want the name to have meaning and be unique to the little personality in me. For some reason the name Phoneix is really sticking with me. I know my BD isn't going to go for it but it is today.
My grandmother, who I am very close to, is named Isabella and my entire life I knew I'd name my daughter after her. So far I have two sons! But, honestly, after some soul searching and sadness, I realized I just can't name a baby Isabella right now. It is just much too trendy for me. So Isabella will have to be a middle name if we have a daughter (or Annabella after my mom and grandma). I totally feel for you here, its a beautiful name, and I always felt so happy growing up knowing that my daughter would one day have this gorgeous family name that was so uncommon (oh well, times change.)
The fact is its hard not to be part of a generation. Things that sound original or fresh or romantic to us do so for a set of reasons which encompass many in our generation. So things we "just think of" are thought by many at the same time. I think its worth looking for a less popular name, though I haven't had much success at it in the past. Both my sons names are in the top 20 I think, though Caleb's wasn't in the top 50 when I named him it!
I think you should use the name you want if it fits your baby, but bear this in mind - naming a baby Isabelle or Isabella will give her "Brittany/Courtney/Betty" syndrome (as I call it
) and everyone will know what decade (perhaps half decade) she was born in for the rest of her life.
Use it if you like it.
You also never know you could pick a name like Madison = totally obscure almost unheard of and on my top list 15 years ago...only to have it in a few years go to the top ten....
or use it as a middle name or pick a cooler nickname from it..
sabel...izzie
I have an unusual name, and my sister has a very common one, and as a kid I would have given my front teeth for hairbrushes, pencils, keychains and mugs with my name on them. We try to stay out of the top ten, but I have to admit, I checked the keychains at the dollar store before we narrowed it down to 2 options for DS.
You'll know who babe is meant to be when you see them, I'm sure.
Originally Posted by allborntogrow
I just wanted to point out that Madison was totally obscure until the movie Splash. The year after it came out it was like #20 or something.
Just a little tidbit . . .
True! And the irony is, there is a scene in that movie where someone says "Madison? That's not a real name!" (after Daryl Hannah picks the name off a street sign). Or something along those lines! I guess every name has to be born somewhere!
My daughter's name was number one the year she was born and is maybe number five now? Something like that. I pointed that out to my husband who had picked the name but he really wanted the name, was totally in love with it, and it had very special meaning to him. I decided I didn't care enough about the name's popularity to squash my husband.
Originally Posted by goldfinch
According to the baby name voyager, "Phoenix" was number 423 in 2006.
:nana:
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Mothering Forum
16.5M posts
285.1K members
Since 1996
A forum community dedicated to all mothers and inclusive family living enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about nurturing, health, behavior, housing, adopting, care, classifieds, and more!