Unusual/uniqu names - why?

[seeker]

i really don't understand why people are so keen to give their child a really unusual name. I could understand not choosing the "most popular name of the year", but I am always puzzled by threads that say "We were going to call ds X, but we discovered that someone else in the town has chosen it so we can't now"

My Ds goes to a primary school with 420 pupils
and the only names that duplicate often enough to be at all confusing (ie more than 2) are Emily, Callum, Connor and Jake. Apart from that, there is only one of even the most traditional names - Patrick, John, James, Charlotte - the list of tried and tested spellable, non eyebrow raising, non-pigeonholing, non potentially embarrassing, non dating, non "I hate my parents for doing this to me" names in endless. Why choose Sequoia when Rose, Lily, Daisy and Fleur are available?
Of course in 5 years time the Reception classes of the country will be full of little Sequoias - and it'll all be my fault!

Why? Well, I was one of 3 girls in the same class of 12 at primary school with the same name which resulted in us being called 1,2&3. Also, said name shouted in playground or spoken by teacher practically had half the class answering. IMO there's nothing wrong with Chloes & Emilys, but 10 yrs ago these were "unusual" names. Its just times & tastes changing. Would like my childs name to be called and them to know that they were being spoken to (unlike me!)

But Seeker, you can be unusual without being what did you say? There's a middle ground.

Some names just aren't used any more. What is wrong with say Richie or Valerie? Not my children's names! but just throwing them in there to show that you can give your children unusual names for their peer group without making a big song and dance about being yoooooneeeeeeeeek.

My name is unusual where I grew up but it's more common in Wales. I did have a terrible time when growing up because people always misheard it and couldn't pronounce it when it was written down but I'm used to it now.

My kids have unusual names but they are easy to pronounce and spell, they are also not totally wacky.

I think that you can choose a name that's a bit unusual without having to resort to your own spelling or calling your child Montana moonshine or some such thing.

My youngest sons name is Kai. It is a little unusual around here. It is a good old Scandinavian name.

Imagine my surprise when 2 weeks later there was another little baby Kai down the road.

It caused no end of problems with our local GPs surgery, as they would change the records each time they had spoken to me or the other Kais mum, confirming the address to be Kai XYz at Nr 70 Roadstreet, or Kai XYT at nr 90 Roadstreet. They thought it was only ONE of them, not two.

The other mum had a norwegian MIL and wanted to honour her culture in naming their son.

Totally agree MrsPnunt. I have not run in to another child with either of my children's names, but they aren't the kind of names that make people roll their eyes either. I ruled out the names Lydia and Phoebe because I thought they were too popular, but I haven't come across one of those either, and I meet lots of children. I think the top 100 is so general it's not much help. There were two Floras in my dd's old school, and Flora wasn't even on the top 100 list. You really have to have your ear to the ground. National, International and local ground.

Actually there is another child in DD2's year who has the same name as DD1. Which means that whenever someone calls 'XX! Don't do that' or suchlike I look round to see what my PFB has done

i really should stay off the baby names thread because i have so much baggage of my own that i carry along.

I have an unusual name- i have only ever met one or two other people with my name.

and quite frankly as a child i hated it.

i had a maths teacher who for a whole year did not call me by my proper name but rather by 'amusing' plays on that name.

people always think it's short for something else, or ask again. or make jokes about it.
i reached a point in my teens where when i met someone i waould make chippy comments aout my name when introduced to someone just to save them the bother.

i'm used to it now and i like the sentiment behind my mothers choice.
but oh how i longed to be a sarah.

when i had my children i was determined that they were going to be called names that other people had.
names that people couldn't make jokes from.

so when i hear people who are themselves called things like lisa or sarah saing that they are going to call their child something unique i cringe, because they have NO idea.

Why do people spell normal names differently?? I know a girl who spells Jamie, JAYMIE for a boy. Why???
My child is Flynn, slightly different but not at all OTT (I hope)

i favour calling them virues/traits eg sanctimonious yer tea's ready, Curmudgeonly, time for bed,perseverance for the 100th time sitdown

treehugger, that is a good point. I have no objection to unusual names, but oddball of spellings of common (by that I mean not unusual as opposed to not classy ) names just make everybody confused.

I know of a little girl called Maizie. why the need for the Z other than to just be different.

Yes, spelling Emily Emylee does NOT make you different. That's like saying, I want to be different, but I haven't really got the nerve. If you suggested Edith or Cristabel or Beryl or Muriel or Belinda to somebody looking for something different they'd say eurghghghgh. I have spent too long on the US boards. The people who say they want a yoooneeek name end up calling their children Kaden or Kaylee. Or Addison rather than Maddison.

I agree! It bothers my when people try to think of 'unusual' or 'unique' names for their kids and end up with some thing ugly, with a ridiculous spelling or crazily old fashioned. My personal favourite is when people put two names, or not even names but words, together with a hyphen. I'm sure I will offend lots of people which is why I'm trying not to give examples but something like Alpha-Kaia or something. Oh God I bet there is an Alpha-Kaia on here! I also can't stand when people take a normal name and spell it differently, I know a Destinee and many other examples, or when every kid in the family has a name starting with the same letter! Why make your kids into a gimick?

Ok, flame me now!

AS someone with a very common name in the late 60s (there were at least six of us in my year at school) I can appreciate the need for something that not many other kids have.

My DS is Cameron, fairly common in Scotland where I'm from, but not in N England where I live. We still know another two of them though.

LOL hanaflower. How can a newborn possibly "look like a Sequioia".

Oh my God the ugliest one I can remember, from that family in the news with 13 kids or something, was Lilyarna. It just looks ugly! What's wrong with Lilyanna? Or Lilyana? They are lovely names!

I am really strict, and the only name that I allow to be spelt different is Jillian.
that's it folks.

Responding to the memorable-at-interview point - I think there is - unfortunately - research to show that having a wacky name is a genuine disadvantage - ie, it seems people get dispropotionately turned down for jobs when they have that sort of name.

I say unfortunately as obviously it shouldn't matter one way or the other. But it does seem to.

Vicsta, the name Emily was not a new, made-up name 10 years ago like some of hte modern and weird names we currently see.
Emily was popular in teh 19th century (think Emily Bronte), but has been recorded as far back as Roman times. It is actually a very old name.

And people who spell it like Emylee are just setting themselves up to look twattish and setting their poor child up to a lifetime of correcting the spelling....

BTW Bink can you email me - my email is playing silly buggers and I want to talk to you about something.

There is a boy called Yorkie at my dd's school. That's all. Just thought I'd mention that. I'd love to know if he has any brothers and sisters.

really sprogger? mine would have been called 'little angel' or 'cherub' but then i do have stunningly good looking kids.

my dd has an unusual name. (Mine is fairly common or garden!) Some people get very huffy and take it personally (wtf?) and act all funny. My dh and I adore our little one and her name. I've never met anyone with her name but I got her name from an historical piece on a person in WW2.(it's not Adolph btw!)
I adore it and her. But, I also hate makey-uppey names ie Shanessa iykwim.

I had to call my daughter pookie for the first two yrs of her life. She's grown into her name finally. My son has always been Tubman. Walkman when he stood up to walk, and now, becuase he is behind in all his development checks, Rainman.