Anyone actually managed to pick an unusual name?

[Carlitawantsababy]

I'd really love my DC to have an unusual name and personally wouldn't like it if there ended up being 4 others in his/her class at school etc. I gathered together a list of names I like bit looking on here loads of other people like them too so I've clearly, subconsciously, picked up a penchant for fashionable names. So..I was wondering, did you pick an unusual name for your DC which is actually still unusual now they are at school? How did you do it and have you got any tips for avoiding the latest trends?

"I think you have to pick a name you know you truly love - in that case chances are others will too"

Agree that you have to pick a name you love. But why should we expect others to share OUR taste? Thankfully there are thousands of different names to choose from - it is great that we all have different tastes imo .

Can I ask, if you want your child to have an unusual name, do you just consider whether their peers will have the same name, or do you look at the names in society as a whole?

Several people have mentioned John and Jane type names, which are unusual now, and a baby John is unlikely to have another John in his class. However, there's the fact that something like 1 in 10 60-70 year old men are called John, so to me that still makes it a common name - it's irrelevant if the majority of Johns were born in the 1940s or 2010s.

Issah is African afaik.

But it may be totally different from Issa - I dont know that name. Nice though.

I think some people want to avoid peers with the same name so as to avoid 'Olivia P' or 'Little Harry' or unwanted nicknames at school.

Others want names which have never been particularly popular.

I think most of us who prefer a less commonly used name are looking to avoid names that will be used by lots of their peers. Because we're looking to identify a child by its name, a job that is made much harder if it is already used by three others in the same class.

I've only ever picked a name because I like it but tend to like names outside of what is popular. I couldn't tell you if the fact that they're not popular is why I like them.

tummytickler, I had Amos and Elijah on my list for ds (and Aphra if it was a girl) but as I said went for Raphael (dd's favourite Ninja Turtle and she wouldn't countenance any other choice). Brill names. All fairly underused but looking at my choices, I think they are also quite 'themey'. Clearly I like old names, possibly biblical if I can get away with it. I tried to get dh to agree to Abraham too (Bram for short) but he wouldn't have that.

With our Elana we wanted something Hebrew to pacify the mil but didn't want to use Esther or Rachel which were top of her lists. It's just so happened to also be in a novel we had both read recently albeit with a different spelling Ehlana. I've never met another in RL but have seen a couple on t'internet.

ShowofHands - all of ours dc's were very nearly Abraham! And Raphael was on our list too, but I worked with a weird one and it put me off using it! We are clearly women of great taste

I agree with ShowOFHands - the names I love tend to be the less popular, classic ones. I don't consciuosly discard names just because they are popular but find myself less keen on a name if it is used very frequently - it loses some of its 'beauty' if it is overused.

Some cool names on here - love Linus, Quentin, Amos and Aphra for example.

Wouldn't it be great if we were all a little 'braver' in our name choices - life would be much more fun, interesting and easier (to remember names) .

And to answer the OP: have a look at last year's ONS statistics. There is a list showing ALL baby names given last year (all first names used at least twice, I think), and look at the list outside the top 250 or so - some lovely names there!

My youngest has an unusual name and I haven't heard anyone else with it. It isn't an English name though, it is Kurdish and it is quite common in Eastern Turkey.

My Ds's name is on your list as are 2 potential names for any future DS! Great taste! I chose the name (Gus) because we both loved it, but nearly chickened out because it is unusual. It really suits him and we have had great comments from others about his name.

Well is you fancy going biblical like ShowofHands, you could try Shagpat or Sexwolf - both good saints names and strangely underused

Sexwolf is litcherly the best name I've ever heard.
I have a Romy, only heard of one other.

I might have to have another baby just to use Sexwolf.

My ds is called Buckminster Pantacrator but not many people seem to like it.

My dd is Hypatia Agatha

Not many people know that my ds's full name is Vlad the Impaler. We call him Impy for short.

10 points, by the way, to anyone who can remember an Impy in literature. Well, I say literature- maybe in fiction would be more accurate.

Oo oo oo was there one in Enid?

Don't think so, not the one I have in mind anyway. It's an adult book. Or series of books. The Impy isn't a main character.

Xander 95 in UK and wales (Xander Heath not to so many Heath only 36)
Jessica lots (Jessica Darla not so many Darla only had 6 in uk and wales)

If I was to be able to produce a smattering of children now, apart from existing DDs who have fairly unusual names, I would knock myself out with one more girl - Violet Electra (no I am not kidding) and a couple of boys - Aneurin (Nye for short - Nye Bevan) and Lemuel - Gullivers Travels. Originally I was after a Denzil (character from Only Fools and Horses) and a Niles (from Frasier - was the brother character name). I really really like Violet Electra!!

When picking a name for DD(13) I chose what I thought was a lovely, unusual name. Unfortunately so did everyone else, and Olivia hasn't moved far off the number 1 position since...

seeker if I ever have another child, I'm so going to call him/her Vlad the Impaler. Great choice of name.

my ds has an Irish name. 'Ciaran' No other child in his school has his name and I only know one other child with the same name in our towm (could be more I dont know) He gets fed up because people pronounce it kyron or worse klaron

by that I meant spelling.. its pronounced Kieran

My dsis has triplets: Aramis, Dartagnan and Brian (for her dfil)