Aren't there enough girls with Grace and May and Rose as middle names?! Can we stop now?

[lowrib]

A personal bug bear ...

Did I miss a law being passed that every family with a girl must use one of these as a middle name?

I mean they're pretty names, sure, but it's getting boring now!

Use your imagination people!!

When I was little all my mates had Louise as their middle name, these names are the Louise of the moment I reckon.

Rant over. As you were

I can't believe people think these names are overused

and I don't think my name is overused either

I LOVE (y)our name, mystery poster!

Oh dear, I see now that a thread ranting about popular names is bound to piss off most of MN! Perhaps not the most diplomatic move

I will attempt to explain myself a little ...

It was honestly meant to be light hearted. I don't really care a monkey's arse what you call our DCs as long as it's a name which suits you.

It was a late night post, after someone on the baby naming topic had asked for middle name suggestions. Before I opened the thread I thought I bet they say bloody 'Grace' and sure enough there it was.

It's people acting like sheep and not thinking for themselves that annoys me really! If you name your child after a family member, or because you absolutely love the name, then that's not what I mean at all. It annoys me when people go along with the mainstream without too much thought, it just does.

Here's a vaguely related RL example. I was on a coach on the motorway. The driver was driving so erratically that it was extremely dangerous and we were a menace to the other road users (so much so that we were actually escorted off the road by a passing police car in the end).
Everyone on the coach was aware of what was happening but of the 70+ people on the coach, all sat there and just let it happen. It was me in the end who got up and went to speak to him, and I was travelling on my own - I had no one to hold my hand. No one else would break with the social pressure to conform.

I'm trying to say in a round about way that it annoys me that people get stuck in social convention and are too sheep-like to think for themselves and break from the crowd. I think it would be nicer if some people gave a bit more thought to their children's middle names, and if when people asked for a middle name on MN, every one doesn't just come back with bloody Grace and May and Rose all the time - but I don't care that much! It was nearly 3 in the morning, and I was in a bit of a grump anyway.

If you have a DD with one of these names I'm sorry I didn't mean to get at you (it was perhaps not the most sensitive post ) - and like I said they are pretty names.

But if you are suggesting middle names on the baby name topics on MN why stick to the 'defaults'?

Variety is the spice of life, no?

Oh and those of you who are annoyed at me may smile to learn that in a stoke of instant karma I have already had my comeuppance on this thread - someone listed a load of 'boring' boys names - and sure enough there was my DS's middle name

good for you for having a sense of humour about it all lowrib

Lowrib, you are really equating talking to a coach driver about his dangerous driving with using Rose as a middle name?

Why on earth do you assume that people give their children names they don't love?

BSC, truly. And I don't mean Honours. I mean BatShitCrazy.

I also don't get why people give a toss what other people name their children. It is nothing to do with anyone else.

Nutty is right. Let's inform MNHQ they need to close the name board.

That's what I meant too, lowrib.
Glad you came back. They'd have been thinking I am really you.

Louise was still popular in the very late 80s/early 90s - I was once very bored at DD's Parents' evening, waiting to speak to the Maths teacher & ended up counting the Louises in the classlists on the table - out of 210 girls in the year (b 1989 - 1990) 46 had Louise as either a first or middle name.So I think Grace, Rose & May have a while to run....

I can't believe that people are offended. Grace, Rose and May are ubiquitous and if you choose to give these as middle names you know they are uber-popular and highly un-original. I can't imagine being hurt if someone pointed this out.

Thanks dizzydixies it really was meant to be light hearted!

at redshade

I agree with Slowreadingprogress my dd has one of those middle names and I don't feel in the least offended.
It's all just opinion, isn't it?
Maybe I'm just thick skinned.

As the owner of a highly individual Middle Name, there was a period in my life when I would have chopped my arm off to have what I now term a "generationally normal" middle name like Louise/ Claire/ Anne/ Jane(namely between the ages of 7 and 18)

Now, I sort of like it, but will never ever say it's a good middle name, so for the love of Mike, never ever bestow your hapless newborn with the middle name of Marguerite.

I was also born in '79 and there was always a Claire/Clare in my classes throughout school. There were two Claire's in my form at secondary school. My first name was thankfully a little less popular than that name, but my middle name is Helen and I absolutely hate it!!! Urrrghh, awful name is Helen. I much prefer Helena.

My dd's first name is Grace, but I just loved the name, I didn't even realise when I named her how popular it was. But it's popular for a reason - it's a lovely name and I always get comments on what a beautiful name it is.

Surely seeking an 'original' name is the real sheeplike behaviour of the current age - not choosing an original name because you love it, but actively seeking a name because it's original seems to be strikingly common.

What's so special about originality that it should be a diving factor in your choice?

FWIW none of my three have the listed names as middle names. They're all lovely though.

What's so special about originality

well, it's what the success of the human race is built on. We'd never have made any progress of any sort if all humans had that mindset

lol. how utterly pompous.

nice post, lowrib, agree that your OP was insensitive. disagree, however, that people are choosing similar names to be sheep, or not thinking about middle names. it's a very arrogant position. perhaps they just like the names? should they be put off by the fact that you're goiing to be snooty about it?

Popularity would never put me off a name. Either you love it or you don't; what is really sad is loving it but not using it because you are swayed by everyone else having it. Be individual-if you want Grace or Rose have it!
Second names have always followed a trend as in Louise and Jane.

"What's so special about originality

well, it's what the success of the human race is built on. We'd never have made any progress of any sort if all humans had that mindset"

Everyday names didn't seem to stop Einstein and Newton. Ludwig and Wolfgang were bog standard names, didn't hold Beethoven or Mozart back.

An original name is not going to produce an original thinker by default.

Chessiers I think you have got the wrong end of the stick. slowreadingprogress was discussing originality in general, i.e. original thinking not original names. She's saying that if everyone just followed the crowd all the time that humanity never would have had progressed. By implication originality is a good thing. You see?

Incidentally I'm not sure about your examples.

Albert was quite an unusual name for Austria at the time.

Isaac Newton was named after his father. However I think his family might have been puritans and if so Isaac would indeed have been a very unusual name.

Here are some examples of C16th and C17th Puritan names. Thanks for reminding me about these Chessiers some of them are very funny! (I only hope I haven't offended any C16th puritans )

Virtue names

Abstinence
Accepted
Amity
Ashes
Assurance
Belief
Donation
Dust
Earth
Elected
Forsaken
Handmaid
Lamentation
Love
Perseverance
Return
Temperance
Troth
Virtue
Wrestling

Slogan names

Be-courteous
Be-faithful
Be-thankful
Faint-not
Fear-the-Lord
Fight-the-good-fight-of-faith
Fly-debate
Fly-fornication
Freegift
God-reward
Hope-for
If-Christ-had- not-died-for- thee-thou-hadst- been-damned
Jesus-Christ-came- into-the-world- to-save
Job-raked-out-of-the-ashes
Joy-again
Kill-sin
Learn-wisdom
Love-well
Make-peace
More-fruit
More-trial
Much-mercy
Safe-deliverance
Search-the-scriptures
Seek-wisdom
Sorry-for-sin
The-Lord-is-near
The-peace-of-God
Weep-not
What-God-will
Zeal-for-the-Lord
Zeal-of-the-land

from this web page

OMG I can;t get away from it!

Grace is on the list on that web page!

I can't get away from it!!!

Perhaps, lowri, I guess that's not how I read it as I asked why it's an important driving factor in this choice.

I'm not sure Albert was such an unusual name at the time. Prince Albert died not too many years before Einstein was born (btw he was born in Germany afaik) and royal names tend to be fairly well used. He was actually Hans Albert anyway, and Hans is not an unusual name by any stretch of the imagination.

Searching for originality in naming a child is a valid choice, but it's no more valid than choosing a popular name. It doesn't make the parent original (check out the rest of the threads to see how many posters 'would never choose a popular name)and doesn't signify that the child will be anything but who they are.