Baylor?

[WittyUsername102]

We were originally going with Laurel for our DD, but DH discovered this today and really likes it, but I'm a little unsure - what are MN's opinions?
He really likes the meaning of it and it does fit our family - it means horse trainer.

hearts - interesting point. I have a not unknown but certainly far from common name, and I find people remember my name (and thus me) many years later, and I always look the right idjit for not having a clue that I ever met John Smith or Jessica Brown. I think you're right about the potential negative impact due to having a memorable name.

Oh, and: I'm getting Team Laurel/Team Baylor t-shrits printed. Who is in?

Hideous. Also a boys name. It's the kind of name you hear and say "how...unusual" but what you really mean is "wtf? what did the kid do to you?"

Hearts (great name BTW, always nice to meet another hearts ) not unless he has moved here from Toronto sometime since 1986! But if he has, your lucky friend, he was lovely.

It is bloody awful.

heartscakescandles - my experience has been the opposite - I hated having a popular name, the grass is always greener on the other side, right?

Middle ground between really unusual and really popular? I'd say laurel fits that nicely :)

Hearts - aw!

Has he been reading the Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood? Baylor is one of the kids (boy) in that. From memory he ends up a depressive alcoholic in the sequel. This name has this association for me, its only fiction though & you should name your child whatever you want !

Even if you have a wildly popular name, why would you go to the other extreme and give your DD a wildly unpopular boy's name?

Unpopular = disliked, broadly speaking. Baylor certainly has the ability to provoke a very negative reaction, and that would make me very wary of using it.

Choosing a name that is almost universally hated just because you've got a popular name is probably going a step too far.

Have you ever considered Jane? Or Anne? Maybe go wild and settle for Mary?

Laurel Jane sounds good. Unusual these days for both, but not wtf at all.
IMO it would be a tragedy of Baylorian proportions if you did not go with Laurel. A Baylorian tragedy, if you will.

KatieKaye - it's unisex (I've seen some sites list it as only female or only male though). More common for boys, but so were names like Mackenzie and Madison.

Madison is definitely a boys name. Hence the ending 'son'.
OP do you like Baylor? If so, do you prefer it to Laurel?

According to this baby name website it means "barrel inspector".
OP, I doff my hat to your DH. He has come up with what has to be the worst of all the awe-inspiringly bad names I've seen in ten-plus years on MN.

Mackenzie is not unisex either - "Mac" means "son of". And it's a surname.

Baylor is about as butch as you can get without actually calling your DD "Butch".

Butch Baylor has a ring to it.

Yes it was, but now it is much more common for girls - top 10 compared to below 1000.
Infact thanks to google I just learnt that until the 1900s my name was only used for boys.. would never have thought that! (Truly surprised).

I prefer Baylor.

Well if you really love it and think it's the perfect name for your daughter, don't let a load of strangers on the Internet put you off it!

makes me think of banks.

Oooh, are you Evelyn?

So, you changed your name. And your dd1 changed her name. (What was it, btw?).

I guess if you want to give your dd the ultimate reason to change her name...

Nope not Evelyn

DD1 was Emily and she changed it to Carissa.

Hilary?

How old was she when she changed it? My dd's name is a bit like Carissa. Maybe she'll change it to Emma when she grows up!

I love the name Hilary. I think it sounds like hilarious and hilarity, - makes me think of happiness and laughing. You just don't hear it anymore in people under 50.

Madison is definitely a boys name. Hence the ending 'son'.

Alison?

Baylor is a character in the book/film 'Divine Secrets of a Yah Yah Sisterhood'. Could your DH have read/seen that?

The character is a little boy though.

I quite like it.