Anyone else on here not keen on classic names?

[Lalaland8]

Hello Mumsnet,

Anyone else on here not keen on classic names?
Please tell me it's ok to choose a modern, non-traditional name?
Reading the threads on here it seems there is a bias towards traditional names and it's making me worried about my choices and taste :( x

I like classic names because I think a child will not be embarrassed in later life by a name like Sarah, David, etc. Nobody ever complains about names like that.

However of course it's OK to choose a modern, non traditional name if you want to, it's entirely up to the parent.

Traditional names-not for me!

I'm not keen on traditional names. Both of my kids have names like jake (ie not Jacob)

I think there is such snobbery. As if modern names will cause embarrassment

Of course people complain about names like Sarah and David. A lot of people consider them intolerably dull, unimaginative, and just not very nice. I have a classic name and I'm one of SO many. I absolutely can't stand it.

Yes!

Go with a name that you love it doesn't matter whether it's modern or classic.

It's funny someone has used Sarah and David as an example of the classics as they sound quite dated to me.

My experience of MN is that everyone wants something unique or quirky!

I get surprised when people mention classic names.

I'm with you. I just really dislike names like Sarah, Thomas, George, Olivia. I think they're dull and I like my children having names that there are fewer of. Partly it comes from personally having a 'classic' 80s name that at least one other girl in every class had, and I resented my parents for being lazy and just picking an overused and boring name.

We spend so much time telling kids to be themselves, not worry what anyone else thinks etc., but then somehow feel their entire lives will be hampered by having a name that isn’t traditional or shared by 6 others in their class. I don’t understand it. But then I have a very unusual name (which I love).

I suppose it depends on what you mean by a classic name?

If it’s Elizabeth vs Darcie-Mae
or William vs Ryder.

Then yes, I’d definitely prefer the Classic names.

If it’s Mildred or Joan vs Ellie or Tia then I prefer the modern alternatives.

Ditto with Wilfred vs Noah and Albert vs Lucas.

There’s a habit on MN of preferring very old fashioned outdated names that seem ridiculous for a baby over more modern names. If a poster says they are looking for an unusual name they’ll be told “How about Nigel or Keith or Deborah or Maude?” rather than “Troy” or “Lyra”.

There is a huge snobbery towards “Yoonique” names and I dare say unusual but not dated names.

I don't dislike them as such (with the exception of the weirdly-popular George, which I think is hideous), I just think their main quality is inoffensiveness. They're the magnolia paint of names for me -- the kind of 'nothing to see here, pass along' personalityless décor you might slap up in a house you were planning to rent out.

This was the reason my parents chose my name, and there were five of us, two with the same initial, all through primary school.

I am not keen on classic names, and do prefer the more unusual ones. I think there are so many children now with more unusual names, that it won't seem such a big deal to not have a classic or traditional name as they grow up.

As pps have said it depends what you mean. Non-classic/modern can mean lots of things.

But if you know what you like then don't look on MN for advice because obviously you are saying the majority of people on here disagree with you. You shouldn't care about that though if you are secure in your own taste.

I think MN primarily dislike names that pigeon-hole people into a particular social group, and that may not help the child as they grow into an adult and want to be judged on their qualities rather than their name.

Whether that's right or not is of course, up for debate.

Personally I prefer classic names. I think a "modern" name dates you to a specific time period but there are plenty of nice modern names out there. I don't like names that are too unusual. As a shy child I hated standing out by having an unusual name. I think if you give your child a very non-traditional name, it's sometimes nice to have a classic name as a middle name so the child has a choice of what to use when they are older.

Depends what you mean by classic. I don’t like made up faddy names - I think kids aren’t fashion accessories.... but there are lots of unusual or foreign gems that I like that fall outside the ‘classic’ bucket

Yeah I don't like them either! They make me roll my eyes and yawn.

I have a very unusual name, and am always being asked to spell it. So much so that, after over 60 years with the bloody thing, I go slightly cold when being asked for it. Daft, but that's how it's affected me.

Of course it ok to choose a modern name. Personally I usually prefer more traditional names although I do like some modern names, like others it depends what they are.

I think there are some names that children will be embarrassed of when they are older though, I know a couple of teens who use their middle names for this reason. When their parents named them, I did cringe and think the names were setting their children up for ridicule and it did happen. Not that that is right but it does happen unfortunately. I mentioned one of the 'unusual' names on a baby names thread to my nephew and he said that the child would probably get bullied. I do think parents need to think about the name on a teenager and an adult not just a baby/toddler.

Can someone give examples of modern names....

Jayde? Chardonnay? Finn? Brandon, Cameron, Kieron?

Melanie or Julie? Presumably neither classic nor modern?

I would love a baby Margret but I know everyone would just think it was ridiculous and she would probably get bullied. X

I love baby names, I’ve worked with children for many years and I love it when I hear uncommon names. I admit that once you hear a name so many times, it doesn’t seem very special anymore and just feels very ordinary and plain - Olivia, Harry..

I strongly dislike names which are common names which have been “made” unique by spelling them different - Emily : Emmaleigh

I find them really boring, but each to their own!

I see it's totally down to the individual and perception of a 'classic name' I have a classic name, I love it but it's now very popular (not popular when I was born).

So classic names I'm thinking Elizabeth, Edward, Andrew, Jonathan, Alex, Alexandra, William, Rebecca etc absolutely no issue and all lovely in their own right but just don't do it for me.

Could you give us some examples of modern names you like too please? Just for contrast?