To change their name!

[Chesternut]

My DD is 4 years old and I gave her a name which, I thought, was very original as I hadn't heard another girl called it in about 20 years. Only to find when she started nursery another girl called the same but spelt differently. DD is due to start full time education in September and there will be 2 other girls with the same name so 3 in the class including DD. Now there's another in other DC's class.
Totally hacked off and really upset by this. Maybe an over reaction but in the 1970's I was one of 5 named the same in my class and vowed never to have my DC's live with the same. Now history is being repeated.
AIBU to change my DD's name before September? I love her name but HATE it's so common now.

Unless you named your daughter Titty I think it’s a little unreasonable.

For some perspective, OP, I have one of those "timeless classic" names that has been top 20 for decades. There were four or five in my year at school (including my best friend), numerous at uni (including my flatmate in halls) and there's been at least one other at every place I've ever worked.

And it has never bothered me in the slightest. Before I signed up to mumsnet I never even knew it was a thing that people cared about. So maybe your daughter will be more like me than you about the whole thing.

I think changing a name at age 4 is a bad idea.

Is Titty short for Titteryenot?

I gave my daughter what I thought was an uncommon name (after 2 weeks of deliberation!)
She went to creche/ nursery from age 1 and there were no others. Got to primary and there were 4 in her year.
Went to secondary add another.
So, five in her year. It wasn't an English name and had never been used in Disney or anything like that.
Turns out that she went from primary to present day BF with one of the others.
They are both 30.
We just said she was the original as she was the eldest of all of them - OG!
It doesn't matter and I think it would be confusing for your little girl. And it's a beautiful name!

Chloe?

Don't be ridiculous.

Esme is quite a common name in Cornwall. I have a few relatives with the name.

I’m a Tracey. There’s bucket loads of us and my best friend is also a Tracey. It’s never bothered me and I’ve never thought it strange that I shared a name with other people. Your daughter won’t care unless you make a big deal about it.

I went to school with 3 Rachels, 2 Laurens and 4 Rebeccas.. It happens!

My DD is Isla, didn't do my research either 😁 At school in the 80s I hated having an unusual name and wanted to be called Katie or Laura like a normal person (there were a few of each in my class!)

Too late to name change imo.

Don’t change her name. How about a nickname? Essie, mimi, siesie etc it gives her a name to herself without the paperwork.

Even if you change it you might face the same problem in a few years from now.

DD has a relatively uncommon name (around 150th in the list when we picked it). Now she goes to a tiny daycare of 12 children and there are three of them with the same name! And another two who have similar or rhyming names - think 3x Flora, Nora and Lora. The chances were so incredibly slim given how relatively few of them there must be out there!

I was a bit miffed to start with but I'm sure it doesn't really matter - I shared my name with 3 girls in my class and two of them were my best friends. We've always liked sharing our name!

Luck of the draw sadly op. I refused to consider anything in the top 100 names for this reason...now the only duplicate name in the whole year at school is is dd’s 😒 so she is wishful surname.
There’s so many Uber popular names in her year Isabelle, Emily, Harry, Oliver but the only bloody one there is more of happens to be dd’s.
Sweetly though her and her name twin have become great buddies purely based on the fact they have the same name (that’s enough when you’re 5).
I still love her name and your dd’s Name is lovely op.

I was one of 4/5 in my year... didn't give it another thought. My best friend has the same name. Starting school is confusing enough without having to remember you're not called your birth name and more and answer to something else. This could have HUGE psychological implications. Don't do it !!!!!

I was one of a whole bunch of Samantha's and it's never bothered me at all. Maybe your daughter won't care either

OP on the nicest possible way you are not special or unique and neither is your daughter. Meeting someone with the same name as you is not a problem. However changing a 4 year olds name would be a properly shit thing to do to them.

I was the only one with my name in my school, uni and work for over 50 years. I hated it at first and then grew to love it.
Now there are loads of 5 year olds with my name and it's a bit annoying if I'm honest

You can't change her name, she's 4!! She knows her own name! You'd confuse the hell out of her, and in any case you have no idea who she's going to meet in her life - what if you pick a different name and it also ends up being shared by others?

There are very few unique names, but that doesn't make it less special. You chose it because you love it, that should be the reason. Other people come and go but her name is part of her identity and it belongs to her now.

If she wants to change it when she's older that's fine - but it's her choice not yours.

My ds has a top 10 name - he’s 16 now and has been to 2 primary schools and one secondary school. He has been the only one with his name in all his classes, and there’s only one other in his whole year group of 210 pupils. He has always been the only one in his cub/scout group too.
What I’m saying op is that whatever the name it’s chance whether they are the only one in the class or one of two or three.
At 4 years old she knows her name - it’s her identity. You can’t take that away from her.
I’m the nicest possible way - get over your self.

Esmee, as in a character from the twilight books - yep, no one else was ever going to have that

Yes, change it to Brenda. There won't be any other girls in her class with that name.

I think it's unfair to project your own school experience onto your child.

The main problem she's likely to have with this pretty name is not how many others share the name, but its pronunciation.

French pronunciation is not Ez-may. It's more like Ess-mé with the mé part sounding like the beginning of the word mellow. The emphasis is on the mé not the Ess.

The classic English way to say this word is Ez-mee, emphasis on the Ez.

In recent years Ez-may, again with emphasis on the Ez, has become popular, possibly because it sounds more like the French pronunciation. But 'may' is not actually the pronunciation of the French 'mée' of course.

Another problem she'll have in English is getting the acute accent included in anything written.

Just leave her name as it is. If you don't make a fuss about how many other children there are with the name, it will not be an issue to her.

For what it's worth, I have a really really unusual name and when I started nursery there were 2 other girls with the same name! Since then I've only ever encountered one other person who shares my name! So it might not be as popular as it's appearing to be

You can't change her name she's 4 years old not 4 weeks old, it's her name now and more importantly she doesn't want to change it! It must be a popular name where you live because I've only ever met a couple but I know it became extremely popular after Twilight as that's where I associate the name too, so your DD was always going to come across others with her name really you should have done more research concerning the name a google search would have told you that!

If your DD has said no then I absolutely would not be changing her name. It bothers you, not your daughter. A quick google search of the name would have told you how popular it is. I do sympathise as I don't like popular names either but I know it's probably inevitable that I'll encounter someone with the same name as my DS's.