This may be controversial but you know what, I don't care if name we have chosen is too popular...

[Yellowflowers]

...because for example I know loads of Johns and they are (nearly) all perfectly well adjusted despite never being the only one in their class.

The common names when I was at school were Dean, Dwayne and Samantha - always more than one of them per class. They all came across as individuals though.

So there.

What I do care about though is a celebrity chose the name we have chosen if we have a ds a few years ago and I don;t want people to think we are copying them. Sigh. Still, most people won't even know the name of that celebrity's child - I just read a lot of magazines!

"Kids are not nice about anything and IMO those with names that make them stand out are more likely to be picked on and have silly nn's made up about them"

True, although what makes a name 'stand out' is entirely relative. My DD has never batted an eyelid at names like Marshall, Harrison or Pyper but today she met a girl at a park called 'Faye' and commented to me afterwards what an odd name it was.

I'm guessing there are not many little Fayes around these days :)

faye is lovely
lol at thick ben too

why Finn?

What ZombieChickens said.

I also have an unusual name. Only ever met 1 other. It's not at all wacky and I've never been teased about it, but I would have loved to have had a more run-of-the-mill name as a child.

Now not bothered either way, except that people always expect me to be older than I am (from my name).

Can't say I've ever been pleased to have an unusual name (sorry M&D).

I was one of five girls who had the same name in my year at school. One also had the same surname initial! When I got to 6th form college there was a girl in one of my classes who had the same name and surname! It didn't bother me. We thought it was hilarious. She had a middle name and I don't so she was known as X Louise and I was known as just X.

There are sooo many Emmas in our village.
I was shocked to hear my daughter say' You know FatEmma, well she......'

I said 'What! You are not to call her that!'

'But Mum, that's what she's called.'
There were 3 Emma Ds :(

Hmm, that is true about other children using a describing word to show who they mean. DS describes 'nice Tia' and 'mardy Tia' in his class. The descriptiions are pretty accurate though .

You either like a name or you don't-I don't see what popularity has to do with it.

I think some people will have an opinion on whatever you call your DC so don't be put off by names that are considered too popular or too unusual.

My name is unusual outside of the area I live and at work I had to spell it at least 4 or 5 times a day. It used to drive me nuts.

Tbh the ideal is to plump for a traditional, not fashionable, not unfashionable name and pray it doesn't get revived in the next 10 years. Now where's my crystal ball....

My worry with choosing a popular name is that our surname is really common too, so the risk of there being another child with exactly the same name or there being someone well known with the same name is really high.

Also does anyone find it's much easier to find slightly more unusual nice girls name, whereas with boys it's harder to be original?

Totally agree thefurryone