unusual names, but we all have the same ideas!

[Monkeyandanimal]

Hello all. I'm finding this name finding thing really frustrating, don't know about you guys. As soon as i think i've found a nice, traditional, old-fashioned, slightly unusual but not ridiculous name, i then see it in all your lists! And I don't want there so to be more than one of these in my child's class! How can we avoid all having the same great ideas? Short of ridiculously strange names......all the good ones are being used up! Sorry, this message doesn't merit reply; just needed a rant. I have seen my best names suggested by several people today, and there was i feeling smug and thinking noone else would have thought of them! Serves me right.....

We had Isabella on our list pre-dc1 - precisely because we had never come across one and both liked it when we saw it in a museum! I now know many, many Isabellas and variants among friends and colleagues. It's a lovely name but unusual it isn't.

Likewise, I had never met a Florence in RL ever until my thirties, but my DC will grow up thinking of Florence in the way I think of Sarah or Claire!

However, I do not know a single small Sarah, Claire, Rebecca, and these were the names that all had to have their surname attached in school when I was young. Maybe that's the way to go - choose something ubiquitous from your generation and you'll be safe!

Note of caution, Wren Aurelia will be very hard to say if you have a children when cannot say her Rs

I'd go for nice classic names which aren't popular right now: Clare, Helen, Rosalind, Marianna, Emma, John, David, Matthew, James, Nicholas

Bit of a random comment I know but I thought of the name Erica the other day - dont think I've seen it mentioned recently on MN and I only know one in RL.... and I think it's quite nice!