Do you like having an unusual name?

[WeAreNow]

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

I have s really common name (think top 3 for year I was born) and was always one of several in every class/ workplace. I didn't want this for DD and decided that the cut off for any name choice was that it couldn't be a top 50 name, so she has a very rare name. I did insist that we gave her a fairly common, but lovely, middle name so that if she ever works in a profession where people take issue with her name she can always use her middle name. Middle name use is a common practice in Wales anyway, more for men though, so it wouldn't be a particularly odd thing for her to do.

I have an uncommon name that is short and easy to spell/say, in 30 years I’ve only met a couple of other people with my name. I hated it as a child as I was very shy and longed for a normal name, but as an adult I like being the only one and the feeling that it’s ‘my’ name I always get told it’s lovely when meeting new people too so that’s nice!

There’s a big range in unusual. I can understand not picking a top 10 name to avoid the 4 in a class thing. But I personally wouldn’t choose a made up name or a unique spelling.
I went to a girls school - 28 in my class had same middle name Louise - only me and my middle nameless friend didn’t. My mum chose a name for me that wasn’t popular. In a school of 750 girls only one had same name. I much preferred it to bring one of the many Claire/Emma/Sarah. Teen DD has a well known easy to spell classic name but only one in her school - Isabelle/Isobel is the Claire of her generation and lots have Grace as a middle name.

I know two people with totally made up names who hate them. One is a teenager and chooses to go by her middle name, the other in his thirties and goes by a completely random nickname.

My brother had personalised things, I didn't unless my mum bought me an Easter egg from \Thornton's.

I know it’s common on here for people to comment that names don’t have to “go” for siblings as they’re not a pair joined at the hip, but I also think that’s important for kids.

Siblings should at least all have the same style of name imo.

My elder siblings all had very common, normal 70s names along the Paul/Mark/Tracy/Sarah/Nicola/David mould - I then had a totally wacky name. It made it even worse and made it stand out even more.

I've never liked my unusual name and when younger I wanted to be a Sarah, Claire, Laura etc. -- a name everyone knew, could spell and could be found in a pencil case shop (I don't think this last one matters now as eBay personalise anything bespoke!)

Even now, at 40, I still find it a bit annoying having to spell my name and correct mispronunciations and my name isn't even THAT unusual.

All of that said, I think there's a middle ground and it doesn't have to be a really unusual name or a top 10 name where you're more likely to end up with 4 in a class. For example, there are lots of classic names that everyone will know but just aren't used all the time, e.g. Rebecca, Anna, Cassie or Zoe.

Sorry, voted the wrong way by mistake.
Yes I love having an unusual name. .
I also like having a more straightforward middle name as an alternative occasionally.

Mine is one of those that isn't completely unusual but has multiple spellings - it is CONSTANTLY being spelled incorrectly and that is annoying.

My dd’s friend was Elfrida which I do like.

Mine is unusual in the UK, but common in North America. It's nice being the only one with my name in a sea of Vicky's, Clare's, and Jo's.

Mine is fairly common in my home country, but uncommon here. It's spelled and pronounced slightly different in the UK so that part is annoying, but otherwise I love it.
To compromise I'd look for short and fonetic, recognisable but not common. Hopefully you'll find a name your husband loves too.

I have a foreign name. Very few people pronounce it properly or spell it right.
I’m used to spelling it out or correcting people and I’m proud of my name. It’s part of my heritage and background.
I don’t believe in giving people normal names with unique spelling, that’s just mean.

I have never liked my name - it's dated (I'm 53) and you won't meet anyone younger than me with this name. Plus, to make matters worse, it's not the 'normal' spelling so when I say my name to someone who has to write it down they have always started writing before I start spelling it out, and when they do that they always get the first letter wrong (it's G but sounds like J) and it goes downhill from there!

My name was of the 'so common it's generic' variety growing up and now I live somewhere where nobody has it, so I've sort of had both experiences - I think, on balance, I prefer the second to the first. I know both dh and I were reluctant to give our children names that were too popular - we discounted a couple of really lovely names on that account. All other things being equal, dd would have been Emily or Sophia, but we felt there were just too many of them about (and as a consequence she has a lovely name that suits her perfectly).

My name was my grandmother's name, and it was fairly popular during her era. I often meet people who say "Oh, that was my grandmother's name, that was my aunt's name..." But I've rarely known someone in my age group with it, and I was never "#3" in my class, which my younger sister was.

I liked having an uncommon name (actually I wished for a more romantic, uncommon name), and we gave our daughters romantic and unusual names. Some people compliment them, some say "I can never remember your daughters' names." I'm happy with my choices, even if someone "can't remember."

I don't think it's "mean" to give a baby an unusual name. There may be challenges, and there will always be someone who finds a way to make fun (yes, I experience that), but the problem is them, not the name.