Brave versus safe?

[horsechesnut]

Most people have unusual/ uncommon names which they love but when it finally comes to making that choice just cannot bring themselves to use for whatever reason.

So my Q is - which did you go for - your brave name choice or your safe option and why? And do you now wish you'd chosen the other one?

Is Merren for a girl or a boy? It's a lovely name, and goes really well with Logan, Ayden and Korben....

All three of my names were unusual when I was at school in the 70's, and my first name is still unusual now. It drives me CRAZY. My son has an incredibly ordinary name and I love it and so does he.

Nothing mor annoying than always having to spell your name EVERY SINGLE TIME you meet someone....!!

It depends on the names I think. I wouldn't go for something really brave but then my mum is a hippy and we all have extremely brave names that we hated. I got off lightly because at least mine is a real name and not Rainbow or Sky or Wolfie (all people I know!!) On the other hand I would not want another James, Tom or Ben, because there are too many of them. I try to aim to be the only one in the class but not so unusual that no-one has ever heard of it IYSWIM

I have a fairly common name...but with a spelling I've NEVER seen on anyone else in nearly 30 years! My last name is a common surname, but spelt unusually too, so I've always had to spell both names. As a child, I hated it with a passion, and wanted to be called Sophie, but the older I got the more I enjoyed both my names being unique in their own way.

Ooh, my favourite boy's name was not used at all on that statistics page

I think a lot depends on where you live.My dds have,according to mn,popular names,but both are the only ones with their names at school and we have only ever met one other child anywhere else with the same name.

The very worst thing you can do is name your child in order to "get a reaction" from those around you. If you love it, that's a good reason. But just to do it in the hope of seeming original, quirky, unique or fascinating is really naff I think. And a bit unfair on the child.

You can always spot them...

Personally I love it when people call their child by what some of you describe as boring safe names as it makes me think their parents are probably more secure confident individuals who don't need to use their child to make them appear more interesting than they are.

Portia - do tell please!

You need to be brave to give your child a boring or safe name, as people pass remarks on that too.

I agree SoLong... Quirky is the norm now, so not really quirky anymore. The real head turners that I have heard are the Pauls, Sarahs & Roberts! Now they really do get a raised eyebrow or two!

I have talked about it on here before. It's Iggy. Short for Ignatius- my grandad's middle name (he had the rather more prosaic John for a first name). It's an old Irish Catholic saint's name- I think names like that are making a bit of a comeback. I just think that Iggy is unspeakably cool. I am probably stretching the bounds of what is reasonable though to have another baby just to use the name .

I like Ignatius nn Iggy!

I think it depends on what you like, really. Our DS is Sam. Safe, maybe, boring, maybe, but we liked it and he is such a Sam. I appreciate more unusual names too, they're just not for me.

Think Jasper is lovely btw.

In 2008 only 43 babies had my daughters name, yet I dont consider it unusual at all! I love old fashioned names and the name we have picked if we ever have a boy always gets people making faces and saying its awful, but I dont care, I love it! And again, I dont consider it unusual--its nicknames are used all the time as full names.

Although I'd always say brave, I think there's a difference between old-fashioned or unusual names that have simply gone out of fashion or perhaps were never in fashion to begin with, and "trendy" names that get a reaction at the time but quickly go stale. All the names that might be considered brave that I like are in the former category; if you're interested, not that I'm going to have tons of kids, but saying I had 4 DSs, I'd call them Atticus, Ira, Phineas and Xavier. And Rose for a girl. See? Pretty old-fashioned, actually.

I have an unusual name (although it's getting more and more common - same as the baby in the mother of 5 article in the grauniad family section!), and HATED it at school. I still don't much like it. I always wanted to be called Jennifer, as there were loads of them at school! DP has to spell his name, as although it's fairly common in his home country, it's rare over here. So we named DS Oliver, which is my favourite boy's name. It's a name we both love, it works in both our languages, it is easy to spell - what's not to like? He has an unusual middle name, and impossible to pronounce/spell surname, so they even out. plus which, his initials spell OAK Other options were Oto and Eduard (think we'll use eduard if we have a 2nd!). My 'brave' choice was Felix, but DP just meowed every time I said it

BRAVE, BRAVE, BRAVE

Hate 'Safe' names

The choice does not have to be between
1)SAFE/DULL and

2. BRAVE

IMO there is a third category:

3)LESS COMMON / UNUSUAL names - names that are just not 'fashionable' and used by lots of parents but they are still easily pronouncable and spellable names e.g. Xavier, Quentin, Atticus, John, Richard

In other words, there are loads of lovely less common names out there to choose from if you want to avoid a top100 name .

also, I've had a couple of folk say it was 'brave' to use a name which a zillion other boys have been named this year. so depends on your definition!

I still feel that you should go with a name you and your DP like, which you are not embarrassed to tell people, and which your child won't be bullied horribly for. And sod the opinions of family members

I remember as a child not wanting to be classified as "different" and I think this is still the norm?

The kids with the oddball names always got a hard time at my school - some might say it's all character building stuff but I'm not convinced.

Really obscure names may make for a happy & proud ("aren't I clever & original?") parents, but safe just may make for a happy child.

Why are people so cagey????

Hardly anyone has shared their akshewel children's names.

I have Noah and Edie. Not brave but also not traditional.

Bonsai I would just love to reveal my DC names on a thread like this and see if people liked them - but they are very, very unusual and would identify me immediately, so I can't! I sometimes use MN to rant about family/discuss various things I don't want to share with people I know in RL.

Portia, I knew you were going to say Ignacius.... its the only name from my list that wasn't on that list. I LOVE it! DH unfortunately thinks it is ridiculous, although he has also discounted every other boys name in existence.

If DC2 is a boy(which he is convinced it is for some reason) he will have to agree to a name sooner or later.

Ignacius, Cassius, Xavier and Zeus may be the future tasteful boys name.

They are all beautiful, established yet barely used.

All are very masculine and powerful names.

Like Alexander and Theodore.

Historical, strong, European yet still easy to spell and pronounce. Great names.