To think unique child names take away some childish delights?

[EugenesAxe]

I was musing about this today - my DS (4y) came to me and said a boy on a certain CBeebies show had the same name as him, and he was really chuffed about it.

There is a book we read in which DS likes to point out some names in a school that are his and his two cousins' (all names in recent top 10s).

One of my favourite things about The Twits when I was young, was that it was 'For Emma'.

It seems popular these days to search for a unique name and I sort of think it's a shame that people forget the vague affinity you feel when you meet someone with your name. Or is this just me and AIBU? Not a very important one to be fair.

I have an uncommon but not unheard of name. When I was a teenager (early 70's) personalised items were just becoming popular. (obvs before the internet!). I only found my name once; on a dog tag ohh the shame

Oh Truly! DH's original choice for DS2 was discounted when DSS2 told us that all those he knew with the name were Labradors.

I always felt sad doing through the personalised tat racks, too. Internet ordering, even if it had existed, just wouldn't have been the same.

You just don't get that moment of excitement, and to cry, "look, that's my name! Can I have it, please?"

My name isn't unusual common 80's name but the spelling is the least popular in this country. Therefore, I could NEVER buy any tat with my name on in shops and had to correct people constantly (I do prefer my spelling of the name to the most commonly used though)

I have a unisex name that can be spelt 3 ways. Pen makers always choose the boys version. More irritatingly, my aunt used to buy bedroom door signs m pencil cases etc, all spelt "wrongly" and would say "oh it doesn't matter, it's still your name".

Oh for the day that I can share a coke zero with myself. ....

I wish I knew what everyone's names were

For my 5th or 6th birthday, a friend bought me a little red personalised leather purse. Only she couldn't find my name (unusual but becoming more popular now) so she got one that said Rachel. My mum wrote my name on a piece of paper and stuck it over the top.

Ds has a very common name but I don't care, he was named after my late brother

Both dds have uncommon names, dd1s name doesn't even come up on any lists I've seen including ONS and is basically unsearchable, and dd2 name was just inside the top 100 in Scotland in her birth year but is now well outside the top 100.

I love their names and dd1 loves hers (dd2 is too young to have an opinion)

My DDs have no trouble finding their names on keyrings, but poor DS will never have the same thrill I am afraid!
How do you find out how many babies with a certain name were born in a particular year?

House I was about to ask that - I can't find DD's name anywhere and I would love to know how many of 'her' there are?

Yanbu. When I went to a gift shop as a child I was always disappointed to not find cheap tat with my name on!

names.darkgreener.com/

I think it says it only counts them if more than three a year though

The thing about a common name is that loads of people agree with you that it is a lovely name

Oooh...I'm the opposite. I know no one with my name at all, never find it in books etc and have always been quite smug about this. I'd hate meeting someone else with my name because it's mine and I always wanted to give DC unique names too as a result. I had no idea my plan would deprive them!

Throughout my school years (1969-1983) I was the only one in my year with my name.During my early working years,I hardly met anyone with the same name. I now work with 4 others with the same name, all similar in age group...it is so strange to not be the only one any more!

My name was practically unheard of when I was born. It's now quite common on little girls about 6 and under, and is commonly seen as a 'chav' name (very American). I could never get things with my name on (I can now though) but I love my name.

DD's name was only used on 32 babies last year, and her nickname isn't hugely popular either. I don't think having a popular name is the be-all and end-all :)

I've just checked - my name does not exist at all on the coke bottles! I have never met another me, it is a classical non-English name and there must be some out there but it's not all that popular in its place of origin either it seems. It's very easy to pronounce and the country it hails from is linked to England but people still struggle.

Sleepyhead :" I still have a quick glance at personalised tat in gift shops in the vain hope that one day I come across my name [sadface]. It aint gonna happen"

Your name is ?!?! Awesome

I'm not a fan of parents who give their children unusual names. It makes it all about how wonderful the parents are.

I have an extremely rare name and this sounds odd, but it's living up to the expectation of such a name that annoys me. Plus the ' that's an unusual name' 'where's it from' barrage of questions that's routinely asked. I was always adamant that I would change my name to a normal one (I wanted to be a Samantha when I was little).

My children have completely ordinary run of the mill names. I love their names and completely wanted them to have children with similar names and no awkwardness. I do love Irish names but avoided them due to living in England and them being rare.

There is a child in the nursery class I teach who has a unique name. She has a beautiful little backpack with her name embroidered on it. It was a 'made to order job' off the internet.

My full name is a common diminutive form of a very common name. However my form of the name was not at all common when I was little (think Betty and Liz) and I could never find pencil cases etc in tut shops with my form of the name on. However now there are several very high profile people with that name, and it now comes up on pencil cases etc.
I used to get super excited if I saw someone with my name on the TV credits.

Anyway - call your children Biff, Chip or Kipper and they will love reading at school.

I have an extremely rare name and this sounds odd, but it's living up to the expectation of such a name that annoys me. Plus the ' that's an unusual name' 'where's it from' barrage of questions that's routinely asked. I was always adamant that I would change my name to a normal one (I wanted to be a Samantha when I was little).

I knew 4 siblings who all had very unusual 'name up' names. They were children of the early 80s and this kind of thing wasn't as common then. Their parents told them all that if they wanted to change their names when they got to 18 to something more ordinary they they were welcome to with no hard feelings. Two of them did, and chose very ordinary names like Sarah and David. (no offence to people called Sarah and David)

Mmmmmm. I am in my 50s. My first name used to be fairly common but was already becoming less popular by the time I was born. From the mid-70s on, most people have associated my name with a massively divisive figure in recent British history . It's obviously not as bad as being called Myra or Adolf - in fact, it's really not that bad at all, but I'm sure that association is one reason why my name has remained relatively uncommon.

Margaret? I think it's due a revival, there's definitely a subgroup of people on here who like it for all its old fashioned charms.

Someone just the other day told me that a friend (born late 80s), was naming her new baby Maggie.
My first thought was of Thatcher.

I have a name which was very common when I was younger, but with an unusual spelling.

Worst of both worlds.