Anyone who has given their child an unusual name ...

[bluesaturn]

My parents named me something unusual, but they were smart and picked a very short name. So I can quickly spell it for people, and that tends to clear up confusion. And it is easy for people to remember. I've always loved my name (and my sister's which is also rare but not as unusual as mine), my parents did a wonderful job naming us. I sometimes worry I won't be able to pick such good names for my own children.

 

[maelstrom]

I have an uncle named Jimmy. His older brother is named James.

My grandma has two brothers named Willy and Bill. Now, my great-grandma *did* have ten children, but did she really have to recycle a name?

 

[Plannin'Shannon]

I'm a 21-year-old Shannon and I'm sure my parents never imagined so many people would have spelling difficulties with my name. I constantly have to spell it out. Otherwise I've seen Shannen, Shannyn, Shannan, Shannin, and the most common, Shanon. And here I thought I had the most common spelling of my name!

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

I'm a 21-year-old Shannon and I'm sure my parents never imagined so many people would have spelling difficulties with my name. I constantly have to spell it out. Otherwise I've seen Shannen, Shannyn, Shannan, Shannin, and the most common, Shanon. And here I thought I had the most common spelling of my name!

That's really weird. My DSD (30) is named Shannon and I don't believe she has any problem. I really think that people have messed up the spelling of such common names that now no one can spell anything.

And Shannon is a very cool name BTW.

 

[golfgal]

Ugh, I HEAR you!! Just out of curiosity, when you go a restaurant or anywhere that asks you for your name, do you cringe and wish you didn't have to cause then you'd have to spell it or explain it, etc? I do. I hate that part. Thank goodness I have a very common last name.

Sometimes I wish I had everything I need to say about my name either on a handy business card or tatooed on my forehead.

Ok, funny story about Restaurant names--we went out to eat last Friday with some friends to a French Coffee shop. Our friend's name is Bill but he usually leaves the name Bubba because there are so many Bill's out there. Well, the hostess/manager at the shop is from France, she calls out his "name" pronouncing it "boub-Wa" We about died laughing over that one.

 

[Irin997]

Ok, funny story about Restaruant names--we went out to eat last Friday with some friends to a French Coffee shop. Our friend's name is Bill but he usually leaves the name Bubba because there are so many Bill's out there. Well, the hostess/manager at the shop is from France, she calls out his "name" pronouncing it "boub-Wa" We about died laughing over that one.

Holy crap, that's hilarious!!

I haven't sat down and tried to think of a good alias for these situations....it's really hard to come up with something so plain when I'm not used to it! I like the Esmerelda idea but I don't think I could keep a straight face.

My BF's mother is Naomi. Na-omi...not Ni-omi....my mom still has trouble with it after 3 1/2 years.

My BF's name is Jeffrey but he goes by Jeff and his brother is Matthew but goes by Matt. They went to college with around 20 Matt's so I've gotten in the habit of calling them by their last names. Not to mention the fact that on their college wrestling team there were I think 5 Matt's so that's fun.

His other brother Brian has two boys named Toby and Andrew. Toby is named after a great-grandfather that was spelled Tobey and Andrew's intention was to be called Drew, but everyone seems to call him Andrew. Of course he is only 3 months old so that could change. Big Brother Toby calls him Andy like in Toy Story. And he's the only one.

One of my friend's is having a baby right around Christmas and she is naming her son Zion. She is quite the hippie so it fits her very well. Pretty sure she got her inspiration from Bob Marley.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

worst name ever "Le-A"
how is it pronounced, you ask? not Lea
not Leia
not Lee-A
not Leigh

THe girl when asked said you pronounce the dash....Yes, this name is "Ledasha" .

That's actually a really racist urban legend. Check out Snopes for more details.

 

[princessariel]

I like the name Otto. I think it's cool.

My FIL, DH, DS & DGS all have Otto as a middle name. They all love it!

 

[Caradana]

In my family, last-names-as-first-names, and maiden-names-as-middle-names, are very common. My middle name is Lawrence, which is my mother's maiden name. (I used to joke around that my friends could call me Larry). Other common first names: Miller, Grayson, Addison, Mason, Leighton.

My mother has a rather exotic first name, and she named me Dana because she figured that no one would ever mess it up. I actually really like the name, though all of my European and Pacific Rim friends pronounce it "Dan-uh"

 

[cocodog]

I've only read the first couple posts here, but I must say that I love both the names Sage and Piper.

My dd is named Camille; not really unusual but definitely uncommon, at least around here. There is never a need for a last name. My son is named a quite common name, and I hate always needing to associate a last name with it as to avoid confusion.

So, I guess I like uncommon (as I would also consider Sage or Piper) but not unusual (Apple, Seven etc.). It is always helpful if there is only one way to spell a name. My name has a zillion variations in spelling, and people always get it wrong. I finally given up trying to get people to get it right!

 

[PlainJane]

I don't really worry about scarring my kids by giving them a name that they will have to spell out to people. I know for my name, Amy, there are at least four very common spellings. I always have to clarify which one it is.

I also have a last name that goes on for a day with silent letters and everything. Having to take an extra 20 seconds to spell something will not kill them. On the other hand, I'll try to avoid giving them a name that is difficult to say or sound out phonetically.

All I can promise is that they won't be named something like Tree Bark.

 

[Jenvenza]

Aisling, I have always pronounced your name A-sling in my head. Guess I'm not alone. Good to know I've been wrong!

Jenvenza, Scooner finally realized Gianna was not her. She called her Sarah.

LOL! They arent looking as much alike as they used to when they were younger I guess!! That is too funny she called her Sarah!

 

[Rora]

Just wanted to jump on the Piper bandwagon..

DFiance and I have talked about baby names we liked:
Girls:
-Piper
-Claire

Boys:
-Scott
-Seth

We have no idea about middle names though!! I love Piper and Claire but I'm not too wild about the boys' names (DFi picked those out..).

 

[CathrynRose]

Just wanted to jump on the Piper bandwagon..

DFiance and I have talked about baby names we liked:
Girls:
-Piper
-Claire

Boys:
-Scott
-Seth

We have no idea about middle names though!! I love Piper and Claire but I'm not too wild about the boys' names (DFi picked those out..).

I love the name Claire (as well as Claudia! So under used) And absolutely *adore* Seth. If I had a boy tomorrow, he'd be named Seth. My husband might not agree to it - but I'd name him Seth.

My husband likes Jason. Maybe we'll name our next dog, Jason - as we are not interested in making babies.

And a girl - if I had a girl tomorrow - she'd be Samantha.. I know it's common, I don't it's nothing unique - I just really like it. Samantha a.k.a. Sami.

 

[RangerPooh]

Our girls are named Caolyn (pronounced Kay-O-Lynn) and Cairrean (pronounced K-I-rin) or Cai for short. We love their names as it embraces our Irish heritage.

 

[shirley 38]

My daughter in law has picked out two names. One if its a boy Emerick, if its a girl Celia.
I love them both.

 

[Buckalew11]

My daughter in law has picked out two names. One if its a boy Emerick, if its a girl Celia.
I love them both.

I dated an Emmerich (said like you spelled it tho) who was called "Rick". I love the name Celia!

 

[AlternateEgo]

My name is Crystal... regular old Crystal... and people still don't spell my name correctly. They want to write it with a K or Ch or even an I...

My daughters names have been ranked number 17 (Brianna) somewhere in 400 (Alayna) and somewhere in 1000 (Keeley)...

But I hear people with children named Keeley more than Alayna...

 

[lovesmurfs]

One of the prettiest unusual names was a girl I met at camp one summer -- she was Scandanavian - her name was Astrid -- I thought it was just magical.

 

[BayouMickey]

My DD(9)'s name is Shayde pronounced "shade". But people keep calling the poor girl "Sha day" lol