Do you think ‘unusual’ names put a child at a disadvantage?

[Nojeansplease]

My name and my partners name are both difficult and we have to spell them constantly
I’m conscious about giving that to a child.

I’ve also read about studies showing people with foreign names are more likely to be rejected for jobs etc.

And there’s snobbishness if you choose a name that is considered ‘chavvy’ by some.

Did you pick an unusual name / do you have an unusual name - is that something you think of?

If you didn’t pick an unusual name were these things a factor?

I just can’t imagine myself with an Oliver/ Olivia or whatever the most popular names are now! (Though I appreciate they are lovely names too!)

Nope. I have an unusual but well known name if that makes sense. Always only one in school or work place. Never been an issue at all.
Both my children have unusual names. But real ones not made up.

As long as it doesn't sound made up or isn't just a name spelt weirdly on purpose to appear 'unique'. I would argue people called Sarah in a classroom with 4 other Sarah's (nothing against Sarah's, just using an example of a common name!) can resent their names because there are so many people with the same name.

No . My unusual name one always wins competitions. Especially coloring competitions . So an advantage!

I have a name which isn't that unusual but isn't common either. As a child, I could never buy the "off the shelf" tat with my name pre-printed on it....pens, mugs, door signs, necklaces, ornaments, that sort of thing. At the time, I felt really aggrieved about this and it made such an impression on me that my children all have very mainstream names. I have thoroughly enjoyed showering them with personalised tat too! 😉

Agree, @ButterflyRuns — I was one of six with the same name throughout primary school, and while I didn’t consciously resent it at the time, it’s a bit tragic that I never learned to respond to my name. It felt like being an egg in a box rather than an individual.

DS has a name so unusual the exact number wasn’t recorded in his year of birth.

My name is usually a nickname/short version and also has an unusual spelling. I regularly have had to correct the spelling and get eye rolls when I do so as they think I'm being fussy about a nickname. tell people it's not the long version. I've had service users complain it's unprofessional of me not to use my full name as they assume it's the long version. Emails go astray as people assume a spelling or ignore the one I've given them. It's a huge pain.

As a result my children both have "proper" names (one coincidentally a top 10 name, one less popular but within top 100) with conventional spellings on their birth certificates, though they usually go by shortened ones day to day.

My daughter was named Esme 26 years ago. It was very unusual then and we could never get any tat with her name on it and she was very annoyed as a child ..Esme has always loved her name and it is now very popular !!

I have thought long and hard about this exact question many times. Initially I am a names obsessive but always found unique names interesting. However, when it came to naming my own, I picked mainstream top 10 names- however classic options within the top 10.
My reasons for this was:

1. I grew up with a unique name which I have to spell and deal with mispronunciations and I just longed to have a “Normal” name.
2. Names are for life. They aren’t just a fashion trend. With clothing you can wear the fashion trend of “studs” etc. But when it’s overused, you can take those studs off and wear something else. With names you can’t do that. You are stuck with it. I’d rather have a normal classic name that’s timeless than yesterday’s fashion trend that became so overused that your sick of it. Then again classic names are boring...so you can’t win.
3. This is now controversial...but I feel like if you are white (British), you have the white privilege that when you pick a unique name it’s “oh so exotic, so interesting”. But if an ethnic minority picks a “unique” name, the name isn’t seen as special, it’s just “fresh” and you’ve saddled your child with a difficult name.

My children have boring names, but hopefully they won’t hate me for having a classic name that you won’t be able to predict their cultural background/age and if a celebrity with that name negatively taints the name- the name is so well known and widespread that it still won’t be badly tainted. (Eg when Britney Spears shaved her head- and no one wanted to name their daughters Britney anymore).

Spelling the child's name incorrectly is a big no imho. I often think of the poster who called their child Elle (pronounced Ellie) and cringe when I see spelling like Kayliegh , Konnah, Kayteee Etc

The majority of my dc have always been the only ones of their name at school (s). They are all happy afsik with their names also.

No I don't think so. We live in fairly diverse country and having an 'unusual' name isn't really that unusual anymore.

I know a 50 year old esme who also loves all the available tat these days!

I was one of many in my class and so have given my children unusual names, so far they haven't complained about it.

I came across a child called 'Unique' last week, that really is unique!

Not if it's a real name spelt correctly. I think some out there names end up not really suiting the child though, they don't have the personality to match the name if that makes sense.

I've got an unusual name and I wouldn't say it's ever held me back.

If the name is attractive that will help.
I would say that very popular names are fine if you have a fairly unusual surname, and that a common surname can take a more unusual first name. There is an actor who uses a stage that is a unique name made up of her very popular first names (Sarah Anne) and her birth surname, which is very ordinary, and it works.

Names can say a lot about a person's background, so choose carefully, and a name that seems fresh now might be terribly dated in 40 yrs time. Names like Darren and Karen, both nice enough names, now mark you as probably middle-aged.

Ignore comments about high court judges, most people don't become high court judges, and those who do seem to have quite ordinary names. If you look at lists of admissions to The Bar, the names now vary a lot. How would you feel if your child's teacher was called Stormi or J-kub?

If a name gets a 'chavvy' or 'downmarket' comment, think twice about it. Weird spelling will mean a lifetime of corrections. Long names usually get shortened. Even if you insist on the full name. Even shortish names get shortened (e.g. Toby to Tobes, Lydia to Lyds).

Names from another culture or language can cause problems - I wouldn't want to have to spell my name all the time or have it said wrongly. The names usually don't sound as nice anglicised as in their original language. I wouldn't want someone to make assumptions about my background before they met me based on my name (but they do). Even on here, I've had assumptions that I am a man - I'm a woman.

People tend to like people they have something in common with, so a more popular name might be a good thing.

Children can pick on others for the slightest thing, including names, but you can encourage a child to not rise to it.

A-unusual original
B-incorrect/unique spelling of a regular name

I come across hundreds of university students in work and find group A to be good humored about correcting us
Group B seem withered by any confusion.

Yes, I see it a lot. There's a reason some large companies are moving to anonymous cv's. (Uni names and other indicators which create bias too)

Comments on here will often be what people are thinking but in real life to your face will say, oh that's lovely.
I am really blunt on here, but not so in real life.

Names that you pick because they seem unusual will probably be a lot more popular than you thought, especially if the name is inspired by a celebrity. Over popularity makes a name meh for me.

The best name is one that is

1. istraightforward to pronounce and spell
2. inot common/popular (so no neeed for surname initials)
3. interesting and memorable

There's lots if lovely 'unusual' normal names outside the top 100. I hated having a popular name so my dd has a lovely name that was used about 30 times per year around her birth.

Some names are fine in a family group, but would really stand out in a professional setting. I have been involved with healthcare interviews for many years and do not see names like Lacey-May or Konnah. I don't think it's the name necessarily reducing social mobility, but I don't think it helps either.

My real name was never on any merchandise and I didn't really mind. It was fairly unusual and a bit mumsy, and I minded that. Now it is a lot more popular. My ears prick up instantly when I hear my name, and it is sometimes because a child has the same name.

I thoroughly dislike people getting my name wrong - it usually gets lengthened to something it is not. It isn't spelt unusually but people get it wrong sometimes.

I work with two young ladies who go by their "preferred" name. One of them on appointment actually really stressed to me that I must never call her by her actual name at work. One is a Chelsea, the other is a Mercedes. When interviewing, I never looked at their applications and expected a "chav" to walk through the door. Its obvious they dislike their names, but I don't judge them for it.

I often think about children of the future. Teddy is now hugely popular and yet I just can't imagine it in the workplace. Had I been blessed with a son, I'd have called him Roman, which again doesn't seem very mature. But a name is just a name, I really don't think it defines a person.