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Original poster

Regretted an unusual name?

161 replies

MickeyAndMallory · 20/04/2017 09:20

Reading comments on other name threads, a theme seems to be people saying they loved 'insert unusual name here' but stayed safe and picked a more conforming/normal name. Wishing they had been braver to pick those wilder names they loved- but has anyone gone the other way- picked the unusual name and regretted it??

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GinIsIn · 22/04/2017 08:30

Might have looked for it too..... Grin

Auntieobem · 22/04/2017 08:31

My dd is Kasia, which I love and is getting more common here with an expanding polish community- but (accompanied by her Polish surname) it is always mispronounced.

pigeondujour · 22/04/2017 08:41

I think Phyllis is lovely!

Raaaaaah · 22/04/2017 09:07

In terms of bullying, I have a really bog standard name and it was used as bullying ammunition. Frankly if someone has a bullying mentality they will use anything to do it.

WateryTart · 22/04/2017 09:23

I think unusual names are lovely, especially if they are historic.

Made up names or daft spelling I judge harshly.

LettuceMash · 22/04/2017 09:32

What about Liss, or Lissi, Phyllis?

Mercedes519 · 22/04/2017 10:03

I went against the grain to PP on here as my DCs both have names that are consistently in the top 20 if not top 10. However because of all the unusual names as discussed here we know a few people with those names but is not like when I was at school and there were 3 Joanne's in my class...and two of my best friends were called Rachel.

As an unusually named person myself I liked my name but hated that I could never get anything with my name on. My folks got me a named mug made - that was it! I didn't meet someone with my name until I was a teenager and even now I only know one other person. Makes you instantly recognisable in a work situation which is good.

originalbiglymavis · 22/04/2017 10:09

I think it may well depend on the child. Did my name make me nervy, unconfident and shy or was I like that anyway? NB my 2 sisters with relatively normal names are loud, confident and as bolshy as they come.

Bodicea · 22/04/2017 11:09

I chose a very uncommon name. It isn't completely uncommon in other generations. It isn't an old fashioned classic or a particularly modern unique name. It just isn't in fashion right now.
I did get a few raised eyebrows when I told people and a few people gushed about her very classic middle name. When I hit the baby blues on day 4 I had a complete meltdown about it.
But I am so glad I stuck with it. Really suits my little girl and is elegant and will work in adulthood. I love that I haven't yet come across another baby with the same name.

PhyllisKemp · 22/04/2017 11:14

Thanks to those with suggestions, I like the sound of Lissi.

Very grateful, you've made my weekend.

Now, I may try a new bolognese recipe to celebrate.

originalbiglymavis · 22/04/2017 11:21

LeeSee or Lizzy?

MiddleClassProblem · 22/04/2017 11:31

Oh lissi is good!

Anditstartsagain · 22/04/2017 12:35

I have what was a really unusual name it ended up in the top 20 or 30 about 7 years ago so its heard of now but ive only ever met 3 adults in my life with the same name. It never bothered me infact im quite proud of it and was rather upset when suddenly i started to hear it everywhere.

I names my kids not usual names though not as unusual as mine.

ChocolateWombat · 22/04/2017 13:41

The people I know who have regrets aren't so much those with unusual names, but those who have fairly common names but picked unusual spellings - they spend all their time correcting and spelling those names to people or being a bit cross that people forget and spell it in the usual way.

Raeroo18 · 22/04/2017 15:11

My DH is from a different country & has a different religion to me. He was pretty set on having a traditional name for his background whereas I wanted something more English sounding & easy to pronounce so we comprimised and said we'd find a name that did both. So my ds name sounds like a pretty usual name when you say it but never met anyone that uses the same spelling (in this country anyway!)
He loves his name atm and it does suit him but I do wonder if he'll hate it when he's older purely for the way it's spelt.

BertrandRussell · 22/04/2017 15:20

My brother's step children hav very unusual- as in unique- names. One by one, as they went to secondary school, they chose a new name and insisted on using it. They weren't bullied for the unusual names, they just found the constant comments- even the positive ones, deeply tedious.

BertrandRussell · 22/04/2017 15:24

"Imo having an unusual name makes you an intriguing person!!"

Why? It's absolutely nothing to do with you what you were named!

In the case of some names all it says is that your parents were dickheads.

DoItTooJulia · 22/04/2017 15:50

My ds (12) has an unusual name. It's a short name, a proper word (as in not made up) and a proper name, that's very positive.

He gets a lot of comments on it and all of them have been positive. He likes the comments and likes his name.

MangosAndPapayas · 22/04/2017 16:06

This thread is addressed to the wrong group of people.

It should be asked of people who were given a poision chalice of a name by their "oh so cool" or "trying to be original" or "aren't we wanky middle class" by their parents.

Plus it depends what you mean by unusual - unusual as in rare (there are plenty of classical unusual names that aren't whacky or weird l) or unusual in that out-there/whacky/weird spelling/peace love and mung beans way.

Former is usually OK; later rarely is. If you want to do the latter do chuck in a a normal Peter, Mary or Jane type name (not those obv as dull) so the child has a choice later in life.

Remember your child has their name for life - not just as a cute kid, but as an adolescent, a person trying to get their first job, possibly a senior professional and potentially a parent and a grandparent. Names like Sunshine, Wheat or River are only going to really be anything other than a life hinderance if they go into the arts.

BertrandRussell · 22/04/2017 16:10

"This thread is addressed to the wrong group of people."

I agree. Which is why I mentioned my step nieces and nephews. And which is why anyone asking "Am I brave enough to use X name?" should be reminded that it's not them who has to be brave.

FeedTheSharkAndItWIllBite · 22/04/2017 16:12

betrand

True. Which is why I mentioned my opinions on my own name.

It's not a made-up name but doesn't even appear on any naming stats... (well, I think it appears on the popularity stats of the US at the end of the 19th/beginning of the 20th century. But that's pretty much it...).

I actually really like my name :)

FeedTheSharkAndItWIllBite · 22/04/2017 16:13

unusual as in rare (there are plenty of classical unusual names that aren't whacky or weird l) or unusual in that out-there/whacky/weird spelling/peace love and mung beans way.

That's probably true. My name is classical (and unusual).

sonlypuppyfat · 22/04/2017 16:15

My children have welsh names that have caused a bit of a fuss that's wound me up no end

yikesanotherbooboo · 22/04/2017 16:20

My observation would be that people are often a bit braver with DC2 than DC1
Fwiw I had a common name when I was young... I never minded and it is easy to spell / pronounce etc
My DH had an unusual name albeit easy to spell and well known... he still hates it...would much rather have been John or Tom or something
My children have well known but not particularly common names

lanbro · 22/04/2017 16:22

Not at all, both our dds have names that don't even come up on the list which I think means only 3 or less that year. One is a proper yet unusual name, in this country anyway, the other a made up hybrid name but doesn't sound made up IYSWIM...no regrets at all