Why do people do these mad bodyswerves to avoid names?

[hunkermunker]

Just give your child a name you like and don't go all-out to avoid anything someone else will choose.

It's really hard to imagine someone naming their DC Princess Tiiiiiaaaaamii with no poncy intent though . Although maybe some people would say the same about my DS's name?

I gave my eldest 4 names that weren't common, having had a very common name myself. I didn't make them up though.

I had a list of favourite girls names as long as my arm, but DC2, 3 &4 were boys. Then we finally had DD2 last year. My favourite name, Isabel, is now in the top 20 in every variation. My dancing teacher told me that in one ballet class (of 20 girls) she had 6 Isabels (and at dancing the variations in spelling don't come into it). I didn't want my DD to be referred to as "Isabel G" for her whole school life.

I think people get upset when the comments turn from 'I don't like the name' to 'OMG you are cruel to call your child that' or 'You must be a chav' etc. Also, the people getting upset are often not the OP (who may not yet have decided upon a name) but other posters who have already named their DCs.

I wasn't an MNer when I named my DS, and was genuinely surprised when people commented negatively about his name to my face. I honestly had no idea that people were so opinionated about names. Oh how the scales have fallen from my eyes

I once taught a class of 4 Bens. Two even shared a surname. Unfortunately, they were known as Ben Characteristic. One poor boy was even known as 'Thick Ben' by his classmates.

I vowed then never to give my child a super popular name.

haha re pencils
I could never get anything with my name on as a kid
DD CERTAINLY won't ever be able to, and actually, DS can't over here in NZ. So I've failed

Agree. just call them what you like. I've had a few people be rude about DD's name but I couldn't give a rat's arse really. I don't like a lot of the names kids have here but that's my problem, not theirs! (am slightly bemused that DD has a friend called Kaleb though. Why the K?)

I chose all my dcs names simply because I had loved all the names for years and years and always knew thats what I'd call my dc....however, I was slightly gutted to realise the other day that there are three kids with my three kids names at toddler group, and not only that, all three names are in top 50, two are in top ten.
But whatever...I wouldn't want to have named them anything else, even if their names are more common than I thought at the time.
If we ever have a fourth I am not telling ANYONE what my fave names are ! keeping them safe FOREVER !

Mrs JC - if you order pencils from Letterbox they will put any name you like on them! Even Princess Tiannammaniii if that is your choice!

Out of our NCT group of 8 kiddies, there were two girls called Isobel/Isabelle, and if we'd had a boy there would have been two called Jasper, and none of us ever discussed names. Weird. It's in the water/collective consciousness or something, I'm sure.

And LOL at pre-printed tat with names on - I've got a Polish name so obviously could never find anything with my name on as a kid (pre-Letterbox, natch), and that used t make me quite sad. Once on a school trip to France I even bought an egg cup at the Mont St Michel with 'Madeleine' written on it because I had decided it was my 'French name'. It bears no relation to my real name. My parents must have though that was very odd.

I have an unusual name myself, and hated it growing up.......I sooooooooo wanted to own something with my name on it and was so jealous of friends who could go and buy something with thier name really easily.

I vowed to never give any of my children a name that was unusual, something they constanly had to spell out, something they would always have to explain etc etc.......they all have very common names, all in the top 50 if not the top ten, and altho yes my DS2 is known by full name including surname, I am not sorry as they all suit their names, and most importanlty, I STILL love their names.

oh, and mine is that unusual I have never ever yet met anyone else of the same name, not even in diminuitive form, proptimg many people to ask if it is a made up name.

nope, it is a greek goddess name, so I am now proud of it, altho I would love not to ever again have to automatically spell it for people, or if they see the spelling, have to explain how to pronounce it!

......you won't have heard of me

Actually DS is a Ben and there were a few kicking around at nursery but now he is the only one in his class of 30, moreover there are 23 boys in the class. And of the 7 girls two have the same name, so really it is just pot luck.

Well, my children are the only ones IN THE COUNTRY, possibly the WORLD!! with their names, so there! [GRIN]

Couldn't agree more Hunker!

Mine all have (apparantly) common names - i couldn't care less ...i love them and thats all that matters!

Well, i love them all apart from dd3's name - she was named by dh and although i really like it, i don't love it and i still can't get used to it but thats a seperate thread

Common/unusual/old/fashionable ...if you like it - GO FOR IT !

I found the below site really interesting when choosing my childrens names - it shows the popularity of each name through the ages...has everyone seen it?

We thought we were being "different" with one of our DDs' names but since she was born in 2005 her name has shot right up the scale and will soon be in the top 50 I'm sure..

The great thing is that you only realise that you are never going to be "unusual" with your child's name once they've been born and, like us, three friends call their child the same name within a year. Which I think is great it must be a lovely name if everyone likes it!

babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html

Don't bother trying to guess, you'd never get it!

......intrigueing......

altho you'd probably not get mine either, altho I have announced here before.....

Before the dcs were born I was so sad that I printed off the Times list of 100 most popular baby names for the past 5 years so I could avoid the most popular ones and try to predict what was gaining in popularity.

There are three Lilys in dd's class, and three Maxes in a class of 30. In ds's class there FOUR Alexes, two Eleanors and two Toms.

There is no need to choose outlandish names, but hark back to earlier ones. I bet if you choose Colin, Norman or Barry, you're on to a winner.

Fircone, I saw a baby called Colin the other day, so you might be onto something there...