If your child is one of many with the same name in their class, does it bother them?

I was one of many with the same name in my class at school and it didn't bother me at all. I was quite odd in many respects and it was nice to be normal and one of the crowd in one thing at least.

In her class my dd2 is Rachel T and her friend is Rachel D. There are several other girls with matching names (Iona, Eilidh) and none of them are bothered (I don't know about the boys, dd2 doesn't "do" boys - primary 2).

None of them seem to mind. I was one of four of my name at school, and it didn't bother me either.

I had a couple of friends with "unusual" names and they weren't as happy with it as some have made out here.

Nothing you can do to predict this - my son is called Ari and there is only one other Ari in whole school - in his class. He doesn't seem to mind. They use his surname too. There are 3 Jonathan's in DD's class but none in DSs.

My DD is one of 3 in her class and it's a fairly unusual name. She gets very pissed off with me and wishes she was called our second choice.

My DS1 has a fairy unusualish (ie not Jack or harry) name, but he arrived at school to find another in his class.

And guess who his best frind is?? They love having the same name, but they are the only 2 in the school.

DS2 has a classic but not top 20 name, he arrived at school and became best frinds with the child in his class with the same name. they use different nickname versions of the name, and they are the only two in the school with this name. They too love having the same name. They think it demonstrates thier frindship.

My point is, you have to go really unusual if you want to ensure there won't be another at school. Also ime the kids don't seem to mind.

Oh, and George is a gorgeous name.

Having got that little rant over, our DS is George. There is only 1 other in the school and none in his class. Its a family name and it really suits him. We love the name but may be slightly biased.

There is a big difference between giving your child a popular name and the most popular name in your town for the 5th year in a row.

I was one of 5 girls in my class all with the same name. Now in my 40's and there are 3 of us at work, there were 4 but one moved to another site.

Its very frustrating when someone says your name and you stop working only to find out its one of the other 2 they want to talk to.

I don't even like my name very much. My sister is Clare and was born just around the time that Gilbert O'Sullivan had the hit with "Clare".

I don't agree that it's only a problem while they're at school. My name is common everywhere you go, and I hate that (though it is a pretty name in itself, I think).

I have given my child a nice unusual name so that he will nearly always be the only one in any group of people.

And no, I'm not one of those 'Oh, I chose Jack 5 years ago when it was really rare, then to my surprise it suddenly became all the rage!' people who appear to have been brainwashed without noticing.

I had 5 Hannah's in a class I taught a few years ago. They seemed fine.

My mum taught a class with two children with matching first names AND surnames. Luckily their middle initials were different, so they were known by first name + middle initial.

Honestly, it's only really going to be a problem in school. Outside of school and once they're at work they'll be in a mixed age environment and will be far less likely to be one of many. So, really, you're only talking about a proportion of their time between the ages of 5 and 18. Thereafter it isn't an issue, even if it was before. Besides, I think boys are generally less fussed about it than girls might be.

Equally, I originally had a name that was unusual for my generation (it was really a name for my Mum's contemporaries) and I HATED it. Which is why I changed my name by Deed Poll so that my middle name became my first name.

I had the same name as another girl in my class - we were known as xxxx B and xxxx D (our surname initials). I used to think it was really cool actually

Anyway, in DS's class there are a few pairs of kids that share the same name and they all seem absolutely fine about it.

Sometimes they differentiate by surname initial and sometimes they have nicknames "big xxxx" and "little xxxx" - these kids are both 3 but differ vastly in height!

Cultural names are slightly different as they are common within a particular ethnic group.

I dont have a problem with cultural names as long as the child being given the name is part if that culture. There would be no point in me giving my children Japanese or Indian names as both dh and I are white British.

Each to their own I guess, it's what keeps the world interesting!

But Barack Obama or Condaleezza Rice haven't been held back in life despite having rather unusual names .

I have one of those seventies names that spawned about 6 in each class and right from kindergarten, through school and every job I have ever had, including my current one where there are three of us in an office of ten, I have always had to be identified by my surname or initial and I am sick sick sick of it. Hence I went to the top 100 and picked a name that was in the upper half to lessen the chance of DD being in the same situation.

Of course I can't guarantee that she won't have three others in her class at some point and if you love a name I wouldn't not use it because of that but it certainly was a consideration for me.

Sil still now 53 years on can get irate about being one of 4 Jacuqline Anne's in her school so yes I would say it bothers them

A rule of thumb I was advised to apply when choosing a baby's name is to imagine your child filling out a job application form aged 25.

Call me old fashioned if you want but Prime Minister Fifi Trixibelle Smith does NOT have a ring to it!

Names don't need to have their spellings changed, hypens added etc. In the grand scheme of life it doesn't matter if your child is 1 of 4 Emily's in her class, she will still be an individual person in her own right.

"unique" baby names are a real pet hate of mine, children are unique by their very nature and a name doesn't change that.

Some "names" I've come across (not on this site I hasten to add) are tantamount to child abuse and parents need to realise that it might be sweet to call their dc one thing when they are babies but that name will become a millstone around their neck when they are an adult.

Rant over

Doesn't stop a name being nice. We had six Catherines/Katherines/Kathryns in my year at school and five Rhians (no prizes for guessing what country my school was in). All of them had their own unique personalities. If you like a name don't let it stop you. Personally I'd draw the line at another little Josh running around the place though.

It can indeed be confusing and annoying if a child has the same name as several others in the class/school.

And yes, in an ideal world, we'd all choose different, beautiful names for our children.

Problem is, we often like the same names, just like we like the same fashion, music etc.

I was 1 of 4 in High School and din't like it. I envied those with good, original names.

But I was better off than those with daft names. There is a happy medium!

I was one of 4 Clare's in my year at school and have to say that I didn't like it. I was envious of the girls with beautiful, unique names...

.... so my DD and DS have names outside of the top 100, but I do happen to love their names too!

There are 3 Jack's in DS's class and they are known as Jack C, Jack T and Jack A (their surname initials). I think they probably would prefer to have their 'own' name, but it probably bothers the teacher more than the kids .

Imo, the whole point of 'naming' something or someone is to uniquely identify it. And given how many lovely names there are, I do think parents should spend a bit of time finding a name they love that isn't also used by 8000 other babies (I think there were 8000 boys called Jack in 2008 if I remember correctly.).

I was one of 4 Emmas in my class at school and I didn't like it. However, it's different once you're out of school and in the workplace as you're no longer mixing with large numbers of people the same age. So I still come across a fair few Emmas but they don't dominate my life any more! Even at Uni the names are more mixed as people are coming from different parts of the country/world and different names are more popular in other areas. It's only really an issue during the school years.

GEorge is a great name. I already have a James which isn't as popular as i thought it was and George will be the name of this bump should it be another DS.....