Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Do you think children want to have a common or an unusual name?

51 replies

emkana · 11/03/2009 23:02

My name was quite unusual in Germany when I grew up and I hated it, I always wanted to have a more common one. Dd1 has quite a popular name and doesn't mind at all meeting others who are called the same as her, whereas dd2's name is more rare and she often says she would like to change it.

So what do you think?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

ohdearwhatamess · 12/03/2009 09:03

I like my very common name. I had an awkward surname and it was a PITA to have to repeat it 3 times and spell it out. Since marrying dh I have a common surname too and it is fab.

My poor brother was given an unusual first name and was picked on all the time at school because of it (he was not a confident child).

MrsMattie · 12/03/2009 09:05

I always liked having an unusual name, though I did struggle with people's inability to spell it. Now I am so glad my name is unusual.

MrsY · 12/03/2009 09:15

My first name is the French spelling of a perennially popular name - there were 6 of us in my year at secondary school. My middle name is unusual and my surname is unusual. i have to spell all three names over the phone and so on. But, I love being a bit different.

When we were choosing our daughter's name, my husband wanted names like Elizabeth, Sophie, Emily, Jessica - I wanted much more unusual, but not weird, names like Maud and Constance. The name we chose is not common, and people always say how pretty it is. It is spelt how it sounds, and is quite versitile in terms of future jobs etc., plus has a lovely meaning...

SoupDragon · 12/03/2009 09:16

I think children want a name which does not leave them open to ridicule.

It can be tricky top spot which names these might be, although rhyming names are generally not a good idea

2Helenback · 12/03/2009 09:49

MrsY, that makes me think you are an Aimee, as I had 6 of these in one class a few years ago, all spelt differently.

My sister hated her unusual biblical name as achild and was teased for it, but likes it's originality as an adult. she has now given her two dds very unusual names, although living in LA they are not so odd, as their friends are called things like East, Singer and other words I don't think of as nmaes really. In her toddler groups Chloe was the odd one out as it was an established name!

mloo · 12/03/2009 10:01

I reckon boys like bog standard names & girls often prefer to have a unique name.

scarletlilybug · 12/03/2009 10:09

I have an unusual name, which I didn't enjoy as a child, but don't mind now. I was always slightly jealous of the children who had to have a distinguishing letter after their nale - "Samantha L", etc.

Certainly, I think that, on the whole, it is more parents who are bothered by their child being one of three "Jacks" in the class (or whatever).

RachieB · 12/03/2009 10:26

somewhere in the middle I think !

I was always one of at least 2 or 3 Rachel's in my school year,all through school

It didn't bother me as I like my name
had it been Tracy as my dad wanted to call me ! then maybe it would have bothered me more so ?!

My sons don't have unusual names ( youngest a tad less "common" though) but so far they haven't been in the same class with another of the same name ( they are now 12 and 6)

I don't think there is another in my sons school, with the same name actually ( he is YR 2 )

duchesse · 12/03/2009 10:43

Mine all have uncommon names. The only one of the three who is having a phase about his is my son (Benedict) who insists on being called Ben at the moment.

dinkymum · 12/03/2009 10:56

i think its a case of the grass is always greener on the other side, everyone goes through periods of wondering what if certain things were different, but this is just my oppinion

branflake81 · 12/03/2009 11:14

My name is quite popular now but when I was a child there weren't that many around. I was a very shy child and hated telling people my name as they invariably went "eh?".

muppety · 12/03/2009 11:43

I have a very popular name mentioned on here. I have to admit something more unusual would have been nice but then the alternatives my parents had were even worse!

DH aand DB both have top 10 names that have remained popular and don't mind one bit. I don't think men care really. DS1 has a top 5 name (which I was unaware of at the time, not knowing any small children). Anyway he loves meeting others. I think small boys probably appreciate having a popular name but girls less so.

SobranieCocktail · 12/03/2009 11:49

I have a well known but rarely used (old fashioned) name, and and I've always liked or loved it. (was least enthusiastic about it as a young teenager,when I probably wanted to be called "Star" or "Ariella" or somesuch ). I would have hated to have a very common name.

changer22 · 12/03/2009 12:02

Mine was unusual but then became really popular. So much so that most of the women with my name are about 10/15 years younger than me - makes me sound younger than I am

My DC all have uncommon names but ones that you can spell. I didn't want them to go down the route of having to spell them out. So far they like them although my 5 year old DD is going through that phase where everyone's name is better than hers, along with their clothes, their house, etc....

I think times have changed a bit now and people are a bit more broad minded. I used to have a friend called William who told everyone his name was Andy because William was considered really posh in the mid 80s!

MrsY · 12/03/2009 12:07

2Helenback - no, not Aimee, but like that. It's not a name that people ask about spelling, they always put 'y', when it's 'ie', but half the time I don't correct them!

mrswoolf · 12/03/2009 13:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BlueChampagne · 12/03/2009 13:44

I have an unusual name and have never wished otherwise, even during my unconfident teens.

EachPeachPearMum · 12/03/2009 19:58

I have a v uncommon name, though one that people have heard of.
What I like about that is that when the name is used, it's always me they're talking about. However I don't like my actual name, mainly because it's a virtue type name that is a lot to live up to.

DH has a very common name and has always been one of those children with their initial after their name. There were 5 with the same name in his class. He is neutral about his name.

We chose very uncommon names for our dc, and we have a unique surname in UK too...
they're going to hate us....

but we love their names, and dd so far seems to like hers.
Only registered ds this week, we live in a major city, but the registrar said she's never come across one before. As far as I'm concerned thats a good thing

CarrieBo · 12/03/2009 20:33

I have an uncommon name in my generation. I have always always hated it. I started going by a nn as soon as I went to uni and met new people, but with hindsight I picked the wrong shortened version of my name, so am now stuck with real and nn that I hate! So unusual is great, slightly eccentric is great, but not if its unusual because its in the wrong generation. I always wished I'd been called Katie, Chloe or Emma.

We gave our dcs names that are both high in the charts, and I'm thrilled for them that they won't experience what I did.

btw my name is Carol [sticks fingers down throat and hurls into bucket at even having to write it]

BikeRunSki · 12/03/2009 22:33

I was a fat, unconfident child with glasses and mad hair. I also had an unusual name (for my age, very popular now), and a surname that was next to impossible to pronounce in French (I went to a French school, but in England). I hated my name as a child.

Bit of a shocker for this topic - DS has a very normal name, along with my very traditional English married surname. He is very likely to meet other people with his name. I am so pleased for him!

Babbity · 12/03/2009 22:44

BikeRunSki - if you Google my DCs names you will find dozens and dozens of them. Mine are so normal they're boring, yet weirdly underused (both around 70th in the UK chart). If they do want to stand out I'd like them to stand out for something more interesting than their name.

spicemonster · 12/03/2009 22:49

My DS has a name that is not really common but not so unusual that people would ask him to repeat it. I have a really, really common first name and there were 5 girls in my year with the same name, 4 of whom were in the same maths class as me. Really annoying.

Karamazov · 12/03/2009 23:17

DD1 is Eloise - the only one in her school. She likes the fact that she is the only one in her school, yet is fascinated if she ever meets another one (have met 3 others in her life time).However, she also likes the fact that she can shorten it to something popular (Ella) for her personalised mug, pens and other tat that she likes to buy on holiday!

DD2 is Katherine, not unusal but not popular for her age. She's too young to ask her opinion on her name,but she does like to change her name daily. She chooses her name that day,and that's what we have to call her (Katherine, Katie, Kay, Kitty).

So both my girls have a bit of both - they're not one of 3 in their class with their name,yet at the same time they can popularise it if they want to!

2Helenback · 13/03/2009 08:29

The tat bought on holiday is a thorny issue. My dd's name was around number 80 for 5 years before/after her birth, and I have never found anything with her name on. She'll have to make do with nameless crap when we hit the seaside instead

Dc2 is imminent, and if a girl her name isn't in top 100, though I think it will reach the lower numbers in the next few years. This should give plastic tat balance in our house (and caravan) If a boy, always at around number 40, and considered slightly posh, so probably less tat potential there.

So, if you want your child to be able to waste their pennies on s*ite from tat shops you've got to go tp 20 at least! Otherwise prepare to order online and pay top dollar for tat!

EachPeachPearMum · 14/03/2009 05:33

bikerunski on the subject of names... I always read your mn name as a russian sounding bikernski!

Flip

1 2 3