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When picking a name for your baby, do you go with an unusual choice or try to stick with a more traditional name?
A recent study has found that many new parents are choosing very unusual names for their babies, that are quickly taking the places of more traditional ones. What would your choice be?
Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100224/sc_livescience/parentschoosingmoreunusualbabynamesnow
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Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100224/sc_livescience/parentschoosingmoreunusualbabynamesnow
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March 01, 2010 04:46 AM
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I go for real names that are not in the top 50, but are moving up. I learned this from Beyond Ava and Aiden authors Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran, back in the first permutation of the book, when it was called Beyond Jennifer and Jason (and then Beyond Madison and Montana).
Rosenkrantz and Satran are name-trend chasers and have been since the late 80's. So many first-time parents try to pick something "unique", only to find out on the first day of preschool their child is going to be forever known by their last initial because there are 5 of them in the class!
The books divide names by Style, Image and more. I decided I wanted my kids to have names that fit under "Standing Out, Fitting In": names that definitely stand out in a positive way, but aren't so wildly out there that they're off-putting. Nor did I want something they were always going to have to spell for people: "No, with a CH instead of K and a IY instead of IE and a PH instead of an F and then a silent K". Or to have other people assume I just didn't know how to spell. I've seen lots of names like that.
Names my kids have as first or middle names, in no particular order:
Gemma
Jasper
Arabella
Alexander
Sydonie
Arwen
Davis
Eressea
Foster
They actually have more names than these, but they wouldn't fit on the government forms. I'm a major name geek. :-) But their names are all lesser-used traditional names.
Rosenkrantz and Satran are name-trend chasers and have been since the late 80's. So many first-time parents try to pick something "unique", only to find out on the first day of preschool their child is going to be forever known by their last initial because there are 5 of them in the class!
The books divide names by Style, Image and more. I decided I wanted my kids to have names that fit under "Standing Out, Fitting In": names that definitely stand out in a positive way, but aren't so wildly out there that they're off-putting. Nor did I want something they were always going to have to spell for people: "No, with a CH instead of K and a IY instead of IE and a PH instead of an F and then a silent K". Or to have other people assume I just didn't know how to spell. I've seen lots of names like that.
Names my kids have as first or middle names, in no particular order:
Gemma
Jasper
Arabella
Alexander
Sydonie
Arwen
Davis
Eressea
Foster
They actually have more names than these, but they wouldn't fit on the government forms. I'm a major name geek. :-) But their names are all lesser-used traditional names.
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February 25, 2010 03:26 AM
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I went went old traditional names. They may be unusual now and in my country but both of my sons names are very old names that once were traditional in some locations. To me this acheives both goals.. an uncommon name and a traditional one.
My sons are Torsten Wilhelm and Rafe Vladimir :D
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My sons are Torsten Wilhelm and Rafe Vladimir :D
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February 25, 2010 03:48 AM
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I gave my sons traditional names, but not from their era. I wanted them to be unique, and both were the only ones in their class with those names. I did this because I had such a common name that there were 4 people in my school with the same first AND last name, 3 in my graduating class.
One of my children said he was teased about his name when he was very small, but when he got to high school, he put "the" in front of his name, and became somewhat of a celebrity, because he was the only one.
My other son was called by his middle name, and he has elected to be called by his first name instead. I understand why, but I still call him by the name I gave him.
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One of my children said he was teased about his name when he was very small, but when he got to high school, he put "the" in front of his name, and became somewhat of a celebrity, because he was the only one.
My other son was called by his middle name, and he has elected to be called by his first name instead. I understand why, but I still call him by the name I gave him.
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February 25, 2010 04:03 AM
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I'd go for names that are unusual in terms of popularity (for instance, I love the name Sophia for its sound and meaning of "wisdom," but I'd never use it because so many people are naming their daughters that now), but still actual names. I can't stand when people make up names. They usually end up blending in anyway, and besides, there are so many lovely legitimate names out there.
Some names I like include Susanna, Corinna, Francesca and Rosalind. They're still uncommon, but they have character and they'll age well. Plus, they're absolutely gorgeous.
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Some names I like include Susanna, Corinna, Francesca and Rosalind. They're still uncommon, but they have character and they'll age well. Plus, they're absolutely gorgeous.
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February 25, 2010 06:22 AM
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I like slightly unusual. Nothing like "Apple" though, or anything too difficult to pronounce. Maybe not so much unusual as just less common. For what it's worth, I also like first initials like W. Brett Wilson rather than Brett W. Wilson.
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February 25, 2010 01:42 PM
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I had unusal names picked out and then for some reason I let people talk me out of them. My ex named our youngest daughter Vanessa even though I begged him not to. It was his turn and I couldn't talk him out of the name. She ended up with the name Vanessa Williams. 
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