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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Do you like having an unusual name?

217 replies

WeAreNow · 09/05/2021 15:14

Just that really.

DP thinks it’s mean to give baby an unusual name as people will struggle with it. All of the names I’ve suggested are unusual. My name is really common, there were 4 of us in the same class with the same name at school and I always wished I had an unusual name.

So my question is if you have an unusual name do you like it or do you wish you were called something a bit more ‘heard of’? If you don’t like it, why not? I know there will be usual problems such as not being able to find things with names on in shops but I’m not sure of other reasons!

YABU: no I don’t like it
YANBU: I like it

OP posts:
Crosstrainer · 09/05/2021 17:01

I just put my wife's first name into google - nothing else - and she's on page one.

I was going to make this point. My DH has a very bog standard name ((think John Brown sort of thing) and has always said he’s really grateful for it. He works in an industry where there’s been a bit of publicity and he’s been glad that he can retain a bit of anonymity. If you’re Atlas-Romulus Brown-Phillips, it’s much, much harder to do that....

EmmaOvary · 09/05/2021 17:02

I've never met anyone else with my name but it does abbreviate to something a BIT more common (still rare). I used to hate it, but now I appreciate it. It's a talking point, and people remember me.

JustanotherTuesday · 09/05/2021 17:02

My name is unusual in that I never went to school with anyone else called that.. I have never met anybody my age or younger with the same name. They have always been ladies in their sixties or older.
It's in the bible, so it's not a weird name but I absolutely hate it, it's so old fashioned.
When I was a teenager I envied my friends called Sharon or Tracey.

hennybeans · 09/05/2021 17:02

My name is an actual name, but fairly uncommon in my home country. I hated it growing up. I dreaded the register being called if it was a new teacher, or any circumstance where someone had to read my name. It was always mispronounced, misspelt, of confused with a similar, more popular name. I really didn't like it growing up.

However, I now live in the UK and people here can spell and pronounce my name! I don't think any has ever got it wrong, even in Starbucks. I really like my name now as an adult as a consequence.

picklemewalnuts · 09/05/2021 17:03

I've never met anyone with my first name, though there are a couple in the Uk.

It's not spelled the way people expect, though it isn't hard once you know. I got teased occasionally, but that was in a time of everyone being Catherine, Sharon, Deborah, Tracey, Jane... these days, mine would still be unusual but not in a teaseable way- names are so much more varied now.

Spelling is an issue for almost all names- Tanya, Tania, Jane, Jayne, Catherine, Catharine, Kathryn etc.

I probably wouldn't go for a name like Peaches or Rainbow, or one that had awkward combinations of letters that uk people struggle with, but I would go for names that are uncommon or out of fashion.

Can I suggest you be equally rude about the names he chooses? It may help him consider yours, if he realises his choices are equally problematic just in a different way.

thegreylady · 09/05/2021 17:03

Fifty years ago I named my son Guy. We thought of Guy Fawkes and the American ‘guys’ but we didn’t anticipate 12 years later ,at secondary school, his friends making the ‘u’ into an a. Fortunately he didn’t seem bothered and now, as an adult, loves his name.

SarahBellam · 09/05/2021 17:03

Unusual as not not that common - e.g. Carlotta or Rosanna - fine. Unusual as in made up or with a made up spelling that doesn’t look like it’s pronounced - Elyzbet or Malandra - then no. I always felt sorry for the actress Malandra Burrows because she got her name from her dad, Malcolm, and her mum, Sandra. Don’t do that to your child. I have an unusual name that is spelt differently to how it sounds and it’s a pain in the arse.

Aprilwasverywet · 09/05/2021 17:08

Have only met another 1 of my name.. Same for a few of my dc...
Happy to be different!! All of us!!

Original poster
WeAreNow · 09/05/2021 17:09

@Soubriquet

I have a name that’s known as a normal name but it’s unusual as I’ve only met one other person with the same name

I hated it as a kid. Now it’s just my name

I know someone on MN who’s name is Loki. I think that’s awesome but I do wonder how they felt when they were growing up

I LOVE Loki!! I keep trying to slip this suggestion in and DP tells me to piss off every time 😂
OP posts:
Paddingtonthebear · 09/05/2021 17:13

No I didn’t like it when I was a child, I just wanted a plainer name that blended in with everyone else. But that changed as I got older. I rarely meet people with my name and we chose something a little less common for our DC too.

MaverickDanger · 09/05/2021 17:14

I have quite a common Irish name but live in England (and other places around the world) so I’m lucky in a sense that people know how to spell it & pronounce it (mostly) but I’ve always been the only one in my school etc.

For DS, we decided to pick something outside the top 100 & ended up picking something that’s like number 400 ish.

DH has a very unusual surname so even a Oliver/Harry/Amelia or other common name will mean they are the only person in the world with that name, so very identifiable.

Paddingtonthebear · 09/05/2021 17:17

I always found it nice at work in large companies when there was never anyone with the same name as me so I didn’t have to be known or referred as first name surname/initial, just first name. Same in social groups, just my first name - everyone knew who I was.

Downside of that is when it’s a negative situation, everyone knows it’s you and it’s much easier if you have a very common name 🤣

ItsFor · 09/05/2021 17:19

Oh, yes, the google thing. I'm far too easy to find.

I don't feel sorry for Malandra, her name is quite nice.

Soubriquet · 09/05/2021 17:20

She’s a set of triplets!

I think she has a brother called Thor too. Not sure what the 3rd brother is called

oldnormalplease · 09/05/2021 17:20

I have a name which is quite common in my mum's native country. I was named this by my parents because they believed it would be easy for people to pronounce and spell. And it SHOULD be, only you wouldn't believe the trouble people have with it. It's two syllables, 6 letters. If it was an English word you'd never seen before you'd have no problem with it. But because it's a name, people seem to think it's more complicated than it actually is. Having said that, I hated my name when I was younger but now I like it.

ShopTattsyrup · 09/05/2021 17:22

I have a name that is very common in the country my parents are from but less common in the UK, never had any issues with pronunciation as it's phonetic but people tend to spell it wrong on hearing it as they use the "British" spelling which is mildly annoying.

E.g. being a Germanic Karl instead of a british Carl

Saying that I've never had any issues with being one of 5 and people tend to remember my name as it's mildly unusual which is handy! I like my name so would say go for the "unusual" name - my only caveat would be that it's easier if it's phonetic

PegPeople · 09/05/2021 17:23

I've got a pretty uncommon name and 80% of the time people mistake it for a very similar name which is very frustrating.

However as someone who has taught many children I would urge caution on using an uncommon/unusual name. As well as the problems of being identifiable online, I've met a large number of children with big names who are very shy and introverted and their names bring them so much unwanted attention.

Having an unusual name which provokes discussion and questions is great if you're an outgoing chatty person but you have no idea if that will be your child's personality. For a child who just wants to blend into the crowd having an unusual name just makes that a million times harder.

ItsFor · 09/05/2021 17:24

Probably helps that she's very pretty.

FangsForTheMemory · 09/05/2021 17:25

I used to know someone who loved her name because she said 'You rarely meet another one.' In fact I've known several people with that name, but that was her impression. I knew someone with a very unusual biblical name that I've never seen anywhere else and if you google it, it doesn't come up with the identitical spelling. She loved her name because her father had chosen it for her. I would say that unless the name you have chosen is very weird, you should go for it. My own name is extremely common and very dull.

Neighneigh · 09/05/2021 17:29

Mine is rare but not massively unusual. I don't meet many others at all, but at one old job I had, I'd been there for about three years and they employed another woman with my name. I did joke they couldn't do that.

To be fair the thing that annoys me most is laziness in people spelling it wrong. Its really not a complex name at all but I do get all sorts of letters added in!

wonderstuff · 09/05/2021 17:29

I think something people can't pronounce would be a pita, but it's nice to be the only one with my name in a workplace. Occasionally people decide to call me a similar but more common name, but rarely.

In my life I've met 3 people with my name, and I'm a secondary school teacher so meet a lot of people.

Do research if chosen name is popular elsewhere. We had a child arrive as a refugee one year, her name was probably lovely and unusual in her native country, but was a traditional boys name here and she had to change it.

babbaloushka · 09/05/2021 17:32

Let us hear the names!

garlictwist · 09/05/2021 17:32

I hated it as a child. I was very shy and really disliked introducing myself as people would inevitably say "what?" when I told them my name and I felt very self-conscious. Doesn't bother me too much now. There was actually someone with the same name in my office and I really liked it! It felt quite cool to be "Name A" and "Name B".

TatteredOwls · 09/05/2021 17:36

Not really! And my name is super unusual. I can almost guarantee you won't have met one and I curse my mother for being a big fan of Pepsi & Shirlie in the 80s

The big clue for you here is that she didn't go with Shirlie. Thanks mum

Anyway, I'm known by a nickname usually

riddles26 · 09/05/2021 17:37

If the pronunciation is not obvious from the spelling, please don't. My name is uncommon in UK because it reflects our culture and I hate how noone knows how to say it when they see it written down. 90% of people pronounce it wrong and I need to correct them. Lots still get it wrong after correcting them. Also, when I say my name, it isn't obvious how it is spelt so they are not sure if they've heard right or not too

I would much rather be one of 4 with same name. I was very particular when picking my DC name to go for something that is not unheard of but not common at the time they were named (nothing stopping it becoming popular immediately after!)