Thoughts on having a really rare name?

[reeny19]

So I’ve recently found out I’m pregnant and we’ve had to seriously start deciding on names.

I’m torn between traditional, timeless ‘normal’ names but there are two very rare names that I love (one for a boy, one for a girl). I was expecting DH to veto my unusual names but he hasn’t and wants to use them!

What are your thoughts on rare names? Do you have one yourself? did you love/hate it or experience any problems with it? Did you name your own child something rare and how did you get on? What did your family think? Do you know of any children with rare names? Is it quite normal nowadays for children to have unusual names?

My issue with unusual names is that it’s does mean that the child will lose a degree of anonymity. I can also foresee my family disliking the names, people being confused when they hear it, struggling with spelling, remembering it, pronounciation etc.

Help please!

My brother's name was very rare when we were kids, but is now quite fashionable. He always said that he hated having a rare name, partly because people didn't always know how to spell it or said things like "what's that short for?" and partly because he could never get personalised stuff, whereas I could, as my name was pretty mainstream. Curiously, he never asked to be called by his much more conventional middle name, although (or perhaps because) our parents made it clear that they wouldn't mind. Now that his name is more popular he seems to be happier with it, or maybe he's just more mature and doesn't need to disagree with our parents all the time any more.

I wouldn't rule out using a rare name (although both of my DC happen to have quite common names just because they were the ones we could agree on, though DC1's name is not as common now as it was in my generation). If I did, I would want to use a more timeless middle name and make it clear right from the start that my DC had the right to use either, or any short form they preferred.

Ariadne Oliver is a character in lots of Hurcule Poirot books. I think it's easy to spell and very lovely.

@VforVloodyHell I agree that your name is gorgeous! It's actually on our shortlist!

Love your names. Ariadne in particular is lovely and not so rare that no one has heard of it.

My name is very common, there are loads of us and would love to have a less popular name! But, only if it was a good name! Names are so subjective, as long as you both like it go for it!

I have a very commonly used name and have never minded. DH has an unusual but 'known' name that he has always hated and resents his DM for what he considers to be her vanity in choosing it.
Our DC have one in a year group type names although subsequently DD's name has become very popular. When they were little my DC used always be sad that there were never any junky souvenirs with their names on!Children like to belong.

I have an unusual name. I used to also have an unusual last name (I was so very happy to change my last name when I married). No one ever seemed to be able to pronounce my name(s) growing up. I hated that my sister and brother, who had “normal” names, could get things with their names on it. They even had a choice of “normal” nicknames!

I always had to answer to however or whatever people would pronounce my name/call me because there’s only so many times you can correct people. I have one very good friend that just cannot pronounce my name - and she tries. 15 years and she is still trying (I no longer correct her, but she knows). (She’s very good to me, helpful in so many ways, goes out of her way for me over many years, so truly a good friend)

I have had important documents have to be redone because the name is misspelled.

When I introduce myself, if I have to say my name more than twice, I just make a joke of it and say I answer to anything.

Don’t lumber your child with weird names or bizarre spelling.

Ariadne is a lovely name, it was on my list. I've looked it since I was a child too.

*liked!

See I like uncommon names, so if you guys don’t think Ariadne is too weird then maybe I could use it. Even though Olan is more uncommon I feel like it’s way easier for most of the population to understand.

I really was expecting more people to dislike the names!

Not having your name on personalised stuff isn’t such an issue nowadays as you can easily get custom stuff made from sellers on Etsy

Isn't Ariadne from the borrowers? I think it's really pretty and I'm not a fan of a lot of unusual names

I'm all for unusual names so long as they aren't made up, I had a top 5 name and I felt like I might as well have been given a number. They did indeed read a number after my name in class since there were 7 of us in the year. I absolutely hate my name. Currently I'm in a position in work where most of my colleagues are younger than me. My name really dates me, I'm only 32, but there are no 18-25 year olds with my name. So those are the main downsides to a popular name. Mine was probably considered pretty timeless before it disappeared.

Ariadne doesn't sound unusual to me though. I think there are lots of similar names like that at the moment, Ariana like the pop singer that make it sound popular. I prefer Arietty.

Very unusual first name, coupled with very unusual, (French), surname. Thankfully I jettisoned the surname upon marriage.
Hated it. I spent half my life spelling it out, correcting people's pronunciation and nodding grimly as they said, "ooh that's different/weird/unusual isn't it? Where's that from then?" As a shy person, it's torturous. My mum actually recently apologised to me for saddling me with such an unusual name, (my siblings all have super common names; she got mine from a tv show!), she said if she'd known what a nuisance it would be for me she'd never have done it.
I have thought about changing it, but seems too late now I'm in my 40's.

I should add one of mine has a name that there are 0-3 of born a year. We've only ever had one rude comment, from a child. Everyone else seems to like it or keep quiet.

I've got an unusual name. It is a 'real' name but I've never met anyone called it, although relatives that live where my parents came from tell me when they occasionally see it in the birth announcements.

I like having an almost unique name and don't mind having to spell both my first name and surname (my husband's). I get asked where it is from frequently and explain that it is from my parents home country.

Sometimes when I've initially 'met' people online, e.g. emailing colleagues that work in other location, they are surprised when they meet me. I think as I have 2 non-English names, they expect to meet someone non-white and / or with an un-English accent.

I've not heard Olan before but it sounds fine to me. Personally I'm not keen on the spider connations of Ariadne but I'm sure if I met an Ariadne in real life I would just then associate it with her IYSWIM.

Its Arriette in The Borrowers!!

I love Ariadne!! It was on my short list for dd1.. The only reason we went for Anneka instead is that our surname starts with an "ee" sound and it flows into one word.

Also Aria is very popular at the moment so if she wanted to blend in at school she could always go by that as a nickname.

I have an unusual name and I like being different. I think it helps that it's a name that sounds like a name, if you see what I mean... so not Princess Consuela Bananahammock or anything weird like that!

I do have to spell it but luckily it's only 6 letters and I've got used to it. We live abroad so my DH has to spell his pretty traditional name too.

In Starbucks I use an abbreviation to speed things along.

Ariadne is a very good name!

It strikes the right balance of being fairly rare but still recognisable as a 'normal' name. Especially if you have a common surname. Autocorrect even allows it

I am less keen on Olan, autocorrect doesn't allow it & I can't imagine my teen DS being keen on it.

I gave my DD a name that only 3 girls were named the year before. It's now top 25.

I have one very good friend that just cannot pronounce my name - and she tries. 15 years and she is still trying

What's your name

OP, my parents were WTF (but in politer terms) when we told them our name choices.
But then I pointed out my name !

Children are used to unusla names now. In DD school it is a sea of Noah and Alfie’s, or Ellie and Gracie’s or the other extreme and the rest have unusual names.

For what it’s worth I had a friend called Abigail (lovely name) and she was picked on at school and called Abbey National Bank!! If kids want to tease they will find something. Being call sarah Smith is no fail safe against it.

Let’s teach the kids not to tease people rather than names everyone the same so we all fit in!

Do you have any Greek connections or just like the name?

I know an Ariadne, it's not common but I wouldn't consider it super rare or unknown. And it's a nice name. Like PP said, Ariadne Oliver pops up quite often in Poirot, and she definitely appeared among the main Greek myths we covered at primary school. I think the biggest issue is that people might mistakenly read it as Adrienne, though that wouldn't put me off

I've never heard the name Olan, would instinctively guess it was Irish. It doesn't sound at all strange to me though - blends in well with Arlo, Noah, Milo type names.

Ariadne is a nice name, even nicer because it's actually a real name. Wouldn't have trouble spelling or saying it, but I know my Greek mythology.
Her nn might end up being Ari , are you ok with that?

As for name on things, DD has a boring,common, traditional name (by other people's standards) we can never find things with her name on it!