Is it really that big of a deal?

[Kelsey28]

Is it really that bigger deal if a child has the same name as other children in the class? I see so many people on here give that as a reason not to pick a name and just wondered what the general consensus is? My mum called me my name and very few people had heard of it in the early nineties yet when I started school there was another girl with the same name sat next to me. It never bothered me.

There were four girls with my name that lived on my small street in the 80s. All at the same school, one was in my class. It was never a problem and I didn't think much about it except to be pleased my name was popular!

I hated being called my name + initial

Chosen username = TeshiB !

Also, DS2 has the same name as a boy in his reception class. He likes that they share a name. His teachers generally call DS by the shortened version and the other boy by the long version, which was their choice anyway.

Ps I've also mentioned this before but if you give your children unusual names you do run the risk of them always having to spell or qualify it. My name is January and if I had £1 for every time someone asked 'what, like the month?' I would be bloody minted. I guess the point is you can't please all the people all of the time. As long as you're not about to call your child Ben Dover or similar, you're good to go.

January is lovely and unusual but easy to spell!

Even very common names need constant spelling e.g. Finley/Finlay or Kathryn/Catherine etc.

It seems to be the great divide on MN: people who love common names and peope who avoid them, and never the twain shall meet! There's no right or wrong answer, though, just differing opinions.

Personally, I don't understand why people would choose a popular name when there are so many different ones to choose from, but then I have a common name and would have loved an unusual one. My DS has a very rare name and loves being the only one we know.

My problem with very popular names is that, to me, it seems like not as much thought has been given to them. It is as though the parents haven't been able to come up with anything so just stuck a pin in the top 10 instead.

People with low confidence may choose a very popular name because it comes already pre-approved by their peers.

Not judging anyone, you do you, just some of my thoughts on the subject.

My eldest is Emily which was the number one girls name between 1996 & 2007 (she was born in 2000) however I have yet to meet another Emily & she was the only one in both primary schools she attended so just because it's popular on the name charts doesn't mean that there will be 4 other kids in the same class, or even school, with the name.

Funny how there seem to be little pockets of popularity geographically. We lived in Norfolk for a few years and it seemed every little boy was called Edward or George. Now we live in London, we don't know any Edwards or Georges, all the boys are called Oscar, Sam or Alfie.

"Not judging anyone, you do you, just some of my thoughts on the subject."

Well, yes you are. You said that if you pick a top 10 name for your child you are either lacking in confidence or haven't put any thought into choosing a name!

How about you really like it, or it's a family name, or it's the name you've dreamed of calling your child all your life, or it's the name of your favourite poet, or your mentor? You know- the same reasons people have for naming their child something from 500 down? But without the subset of "look at me, areen't I alternative? Not like you mundane sheeple!^"

I'm a teacher. It's not really a PITA to call someone James C or Oliver T but personally I think it's nice to not have loads of kids called the same name.

No, I said that I thought that people MAY choose a popular name, etc etc, Bertrand. Read my post again before you get your knickers in a twist.

look at me, areen't I alternative? Not like you mundane sheeple!^

If you're looking for judgmental, that's it right there. Sneery and judgmental.

Odd question. It's a big deal if you think it is, if you don't think it is, it isn't.

I am also a teacher. My class has one Alfie and one Riley. Next door (same year group) has 3 of each! I agree it is nice to have to call them by intials but likewise being called "Kelsey G" never really bothered me either.

I'm an Emma from the late 70s. At primary there was another one in my class, so we were referred to as Emma X and Emma Y (letters being first letter of surname).

At secondary though there were loads of us, at least 10 in my year. That got interesting when streaming started and there were 3 of us to a group...

MrsMeeSeeks I definitely agree that there's a geographical element to name popularity Niamh, Chloe & Caitlin were the most prevalent names in my eldests class at primary school.

I didn't choose Emily because it was popular didn't know it was until a few years ago both my girls are named after suffragettes. The eldests namesake is obvious but DD2 not so much.

I'm a Claire from the late 70s, Bishop (awesome username) and there were 3 in each class in my year, not to mention the other years! Loads of Emmas, too. Emma is popular again now, though, which is surprising to me as it's not long since it last had a popularity surge.

Prickshit - I met a woman called Christabel at the Women's March yesterday. So jealous!

I'm a late 70s Rachel.

Shuffle up Bishop and mrsmeeks

MrsMeeSeeks DD2 has studied suffragettes for school & demanded to know why she wasn't called Lucretia Mott as it was much better than her name

My name and middle name combination is one of the most common late 70s ones. I was one of 5 girls at school with my first name and one of 3 with my first name and last initial. My answer was to hyphenate my first and middle names and use that as my name. Even using my middle name on its own I would have been one of 2 in my class.

DS16 has been friends with a boy with the same name as him since nursery - same first name and his last name starts with the same two letters. DS thinks they have been friends partly because they were always sat together alphabetically and went through nursery, primary and secondary always in the same class.

I would actively avoid a name that I thought would risk duplicates at school.

When my ds started in y7, there were 5 Keirans in his class. 5 in a class of 26! So they all had to be lumbered with 'Keiran D, Kieran S' etc etc

Now my ds2 is in a class with 2 Harrys, 2 Olivers and 2 Jacks!

MrsHathaway is that really true about names like Jack and Harry never being out of the top 10 or 20 for decades? I was born early 70s - I have no recollection of any Jacks or Harrys throughout my school years. All the boys were called Steven, Martin, Mark, David, Paul, Michael, Chris and so on. I remember only one boy being called George and that was viewed as a very old fashioned name. Thinking of all the husbands and partners I know, along with male friends and my DH's friends - all of them have similar 60s and 70s names.

Jack and Harry would also have been viewed as old man names, although obviously the birth of Prince Harry probably turned the tide.

Wrt to the OP, no it doesn't matter that much. Although I work in a school and it can get a bit tongue tying with all the Ella, Lily, Emily ,Ellie, Emma, Erin, Evie, Ellie names there are going on, especially if you're trying to say a few of them in a row!

What matters is you love the name. I think the only people who are bothered who are like me and have been traumatised by having a really popular name - 1 of 7 in my year!! Made worse by the fact its a bit of a naff of its time type name. It does make me try to pick more unusual/classy names for my kids and weirdly ocd about it although i know it doesnt really matter!!! X

I did care, I don't have that common a name but i had the misfortune to have the same name as the most popular girl in my year. So I was know as "the other one" or if i was even more unfortunate "the fat one"

But even if you pick what you think is an unusual name that might happen. I wont go out of my way to try and find something no one else has (partly because i think the best way to ensure that is to pick an awful name no one would want)