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.

imo its not a big deal, they aren't gonna be around those same kids in the class for life after all. i named my eldest (indirectly) after a famous musician and my second after a character in a novel who by chance shared a name with another famous musician. i went to a book signing event once to see Ronnie O'Sullivan and he asked me who I wanted the book dedicated to and when I said the names he looked at me like I was taking the piss

3 or 3 Matthews regularly call my office. You hear "which Matthew?" all the time. A very unusual name is difficult to live with (I know) and leads to problems with giving it over the phone, people not knowing how to spell it or pronounce it, but a very common (in the sense of popular) name is also not ideal I think.

I had a name that wasn't only uncommon at the time but spelt strangely. I was never that bothered, thought I got used to having my name spelt wrong or being called something else.

DH had a very common name and remembers vividly being at school in a class with 4 girls with the same name and another 3 with the same but different name, as well as his own name twin. He desperately didn't want our DC to have popular names.

We ended up coming down in the middle, DD has a very uncommon name but the most common spelling variation. DS also has the main spelling variation though his is now a very popular name. DS loves having name twins, DD likes no one else having her name. Guess we lucked out there

"its not a big deal, they aren't gonna be around those same kids in the class"

Well, no, but if it's really popular when they're born they're going to be around other people with the same names all their lives.

There were three of me in my class (very common name for girls born in the 80s) and it never bothered me. As an adult I am actually the only person I know with my name.

My DS has a fairly unusual name, there were about 30 in the country for his year of birth, but there was a boy with the same name as him in his nursery class and I know about two others. Doesn't bother me either, but just because you pick something uncommon it doesn't mean that there won't be a little cluster of them near where you live.

I have a very common name. I like it now that I'm an adult but hated being "Pink P" throughout school. There were 12 of us in a year of 120.

My parents didn't realise how popular my name would be, but finding uncommon (but not made up or misspelt) names for my kids was still a priority for us.

not necessarily, mistermagpie's post just shows the opposite

I was one of 5 with my name in my year at school and I hated it, I deliberately picked unusual but not whacky names for my 4 babies for that reason. They will bump into other people with their names but they won't be first name+initial at school

I chose unpopular names , now they are popular but my dd is 13 so I'm adamant I set a trend rather than following . She suits her name , I've seen other who don't which is good . I don't really understand why people choose harry , Oliver , jack etc .. I want my dc to be Individuals . Each to their own though .

I was 1 of 3 in my class. (out of 24 kids in my class). It annoyed me to be honest... Just wanted to be only me, rather than a numbered person!

Boring and unimaginative king names here. We clearly spent no time or effort coming up with a long list of different options before deciding to use traditional names that they aren't going to get teased or judged for and just plumped for the first names that popped into our heads {sarcasm}.

I knew no one with DS2 name, yet he ended up in a class where 4 of the 5 boys all had it.

I have a name that was probably top 50 when I was born (stupid router is still blocking ONS).

At primary school there were no others.

At secondary school there were no others in my year, but possibly one or two in other years.

In sixth form we represented three out of a class of eight.

At university there were several, but three of us with exactly the same name - I shared an extracurricular interest with one and a college with the other, with much confusion of each other. Mortifying when I was invited to an audition and it turned out they meant the other one.

Nowadays I'm usually the only in any group, and when I'm not, the other is under ten.

It's just weird how names cluster.

Both of my children have names in the top 100 but they're classic and I love them. I would avoid the very popular names though, as in my workplace with nine employees there was at one time four men with the same name - it gets a bit confusing.

There is definitely a difference between classic names (consistently popular) and flash-in-the-pan/trendy names (come out of nowhere and are very popular for a few years, then disappear again). The latter are more likely to sound dated than the former. My DD has what I think of as a classic name, and while there's a good chance she'll encounter others with the same name I loved it too much not to use it. Plus she has a very uncommon surname to distinguish her!

I want my dc to be Individuals

So name them "Curtain Pole" or "Seahorse Fifty Three".

I'm sure all the Georges, Jameses and Johns that ended up in the White House cursed their common names for their lack of individuality.

Certain names such as Jack, Harry, Elizabeth, Katie etc have never been out of the top ten or twenty

Neither Jack nor Harry was anywhere near the top 20 boys' names when I was born in the mid-70s. They weren't even in the top 100!

Katie was at no.81 and Elizabeth was somewhere down in the 40s.

So, not actually as enduringly popular as people might think.

Personally, I don't think it matters if your child has an 'unusual' name or a common one. All that matters is that you like it.

My son had the most popular name in is year at school (4 or 5 in his class). Our surname is less common. When he went on FB he sought out people with exactly the same full name as his and found two and sent them friend requests.

Surprisingly they accepted (he has never met either of them) and they periodically enjoy confusing each other's friends by occasionally commenting on each other's posts.

Is it just me who finds this weird?

Sorry - in his year

Same as the OP, I gave DD a name which is outside the top 100 and traditional but never very common. I sort of considered the popularity of the name as part of the choice but it was quite low down the list of criteria. She then started school and there was another girl in the class with the same name, no big deal. Neither DD nor I (nor, afaik, the other girl or her family) cared at all.

There were three of my name (including me) in my class of 32. I still love my name and I didn't mind sharing it with others, the more the merrier!

I want my dc to be Individuals

A name isn't what makes someone an individual. You can call your kid Perseus Redvers Aubergine Luxury-Yacht and he could still grow up to have the personality of a dishrag.

Giving a child an unusual name in the hope that it will make them unique is a bit like men putting on a tie with cartoon characters on it in the hope that it will make them appear fun.

Ok so we have an Amy-Rose, probably not many of them & it has significance for us as she's named after my MIL Amy & my mum Rosemary. It does grate when people call her Amy but I suppose that's another thread.....

We also have an Ava, tbh I had no idea how common a name it was but it's meaning spoke to us especially as she was poorly before & immediately after she was born. Just because there are lots of them doesn't mean it's not a pretty name & it suits her so well....... She's too little to care at the moment but she's got such a huge personality that I can't see it holding her back 😂

I actually think it's quite nice to have a really popular name. David Evans or Evie Williams or similar. We live in an age where our every move is tracked on social media - I think today's kids will be grateful for a name which many have - allowing them to go incognito online when they are adults!

the advantage of using Welsh names for my kids while living in England... they are the only people with their names in the whole school. I don't even bother writing surnames in their uniform as they are only ever referred to by first name, even when having a certificate awarded in assembly.

I didn't know another Jane ( apart from my grannies) until I left school & ended up with a Jane A, a Jane B & me. All slightly different age groups.....

There were 7 girls with my name in my primary school class one year. Now that was confusing.