Choosing a Baby Name

[TBGOES2DISNEY]

Would you pick a popular name for your new child? Top 100? What about top 10? Why or why not?

With our first child, we unknowingly picked a name that (with a different spelling) was in the top 50. Still, my dd hasn't run into people with the same name very often. Only once or twice at church, there was one other girl with the same name and another time two other girls. It didn't seem to bother my dd though.

With our 2nd child, her name is all the way down in the 600s, so it is unique. Lots of people have never heard her name before.

With our 3rd child, the name at the top of our list has been in the top 100 for 8 years and currently is in the top 10. I'm trying to find something we like just as well or better, but so far, no luck.

So what would you do? Pick the popular name or keep looking?

 

[kuusimo]

We don't look at the lists. We choose what we like. We also try to give our children at least one family name as well.

 

[AmyBWV99]

it's so hard! Our first son has what we'd consider a common name but it seems like everyone spells it uncommonly tho there aren't tons. But we're expecting son #2 and telling no one our name b/c someone stole our girls name we had in reserve so this one has been kept mum. Doesn't help that we know lots of couples expecting boys before ours is due. It stinks you can't share.

 

[reginaastralis]

Honestly, I don't know if I would pick a top 10 name. My name is Amanda ... and I personally want to go mad whenever I am anywhere new. I go by my last name at work, when I was hired, I was the third Amanda.

I don't know though, it's so hard. I named my dd Juliette. How many Juliette's do you know? After having her, I always looked through the baby announcements and ten little girls were named Juliette *same spelling!* the year after her. This isn't a lot, but when you're like 800 on the list, it seems to be.

Worse comes the worst, if it bothers your daughter, she'll give herself a nickname, or go by her middle. I was Amandaly in school. One time, there were five Amanda's in my homeroom. I thought my teacher was going to go insane.

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

Nowadays, even the top ten names are not uber-common (as in the days of the Amandas and Tiffanys). Still, I've always avoided the the top tens for my two girls. I like traditional, sturdy names. So, my daughters' both have more old fashioned names. But, I also really don't like too crazy of names. But, go with what you like. If you really like the name, it doesn't matter who else has it or doesn't. It is your child and his/ her name will be used everyday endless amounts of time so make sure it's the one you want. Good luck and I am sure it will be perfect no matter what you chose!

 

[islandmum]

our first ds is named after my grandfather who was french heritage and middle name of my father which is scottish - Louis Hamish

second ds has two names we just loved - Toby Patrick. None of their names are in the top 50, which we didnt know until after and I like that. Not that it would have affected our choice as we called our kids what we liked, and which are names that arent "of the moment" but are more classic and dont sound daft when they get to be adults.

And nobody in their schools has their names which is nice ... unlike Jack or Sophie where theres tonnes of them - lovely names but loads of kids called the same.

 

[susykt4]

We named our daughter Kaylin. She's the only Kaylin in her school but there are several Kaitlyns. Seemingly everyone calls her Kaitlyn. She had three Jacobs in her class last year (just finished 1st grade) but no other overly popular names in her school.

Our son is Logan which seems to be hugely popular in our area. However, there are only two in his fairly large daycare center so I'm hoping his kindergarten class won't have six!

My friend's daughter is Eden. Friend totally freaks out whenever she sees another Eden in the paper or on tv because she's POSITIVE everyone in the world is out to steal "her" name. That drives me nuts! Does she really think there will be NO other kids with that name???

 

[GoofyMomInOhio]

We named our ds Tyler not realizing how popular it was (it was the only name we could agree on). After he was born I was concerned because everytime we went to Walmart someone would be yelling 'Tyler get back here' or Tyler stop it.' I started to think every boy was named Tyler. In preschool there was one other boy with the same name but in his current school of 400 kids, there are only 2 others and they aren't in the same grade.

 

[KTMEMOMMY]

I would definately be in the "go with what you like and not worry about how popular" category. My 2 dd's both have fairly conservative, traditional names that my dh and I just really liked. It seems like so many people try and avoid these that, in our circles, anyway, they are pretty much the only ones with these names. My younger dd is Emily...top of the list for how many years? Yet we know no other Emilys, between preschool, MOMS Club, other friends, etc. I do, however, know 2 little Emersons and several Emmas. So the lists are not necessarily indicative of what your experience will be. My older dd is Katie (Katherine)- the only one in preschool, and we only know of one other in our groups of friends and acquaintances.

Personally, I have one of those names that was huge in my generation, and it was a source of only mild irritation growing up; even now there are 4 of us with the same first name in my MOMS Club and we laugh about it more than anything.

I am a big believer in giving kids a name they can grow with, and will not be embarrassed to put on a resume someday. Think about how your dd might feel if she has a diminutive, cutesy name and wants to be a CEO someday. I think different for the sake of being different can sometimes backfire on the child.

 

[MinnieGi]

I would go with the name you really like. I did not choose either of my kids names based on popularity, but by what DH and I liked best and the meaning behind those names.

DS's name is in the top 10. We did not realize this when he was named. However it is a traditional name that has been in existence for centuries and also has family ties. It is a perfect name for DS. Although I do hear the name called out in the mall often, we personally do not have any friends that have a son of the same name and no one else in his preschool class had it either.

DD's name is probably not in the top 100 in this country. However her name is very popular in Russia! When we see meet or hear of someone with the same name it is always a novelty and DD likes to hear of others sharing her name.

 

[kayc86]

Our first DS (8) is KayShawn and I have never met another one yet,and we just love his namemit fits him to a t.Our middle DS (20 months) is Jordan and when we named him we didnt know that is was such a popular name for both boys and girls but still I dont think it would matter if we knew we would have named him jordan anyway.and our little girl (4 months) is Savannah,i dont know anyother ones yet but only time will tell.We dont go by the list,if you like the name then just go with it.good luck!

 

[gris gris]

I am a big believer in giving kids a name they can grow with, and will not be embarrassed to put on a resume someday. Think about how your dd might feel if she has a diminutive, cutesy name and wants to be a CEO someday. I think different for the sake of being different can sometimes backfire on the child.

This is how we decided on DD's name - it's Olivia, which I don't really like, but we call her Liv or Livy. DH really wanted an Olivia and I agreed only because when she's older, she can drop the Liv or Livy and be just Olivia. She's starting Kindergarten in September and I told her I am going to ask her teachers to call her Livy and she told me she wants to be Olivia

DS is Kevin, it was the only name we both liked and there aren't a whole lot of little Kevins around, but there were a lot when I was a kid.

 

[GreatLakes5]

Go with what you like the sound of, what goes well with your surname, and (I think quite important) what your child could age gracefully with. Lesser, but still important to us, is whether there were shortened versions of the name that we either detested or actually enjoyed.

We named our DD Madeline.....spelled like the cartoon of the name (though named after the French derrivative of Magdalene...Biblical)....She insists on pronouncing it like Madelyn so she's already asserting her personality over her name And we didn't mind Maddie if that's what she appeared to be.

Also remember that an "unpopular" name may easily hit the popular list. We have an Ethan....was not too high on the popular list 11 years ago....it's been creeping up....but I still love the name, the meaning & it is, again, Biblical.

We pick family names for middle names.

(Just so he doesn't feel left out, we have a Benjamin too....loved the name, loved the meaning, loved "Ben" for an older guy)

 

[Micka Mouse]

DD5 is Olivia. Before she was born, I didn't know ANY olivia's. We (as the OP does) call her Liv or Livy Lou (which isn't her middle name, it just came out one day and stuck). Now I hear Olivia everywhere. In her pre-k there is an Alivia. She tells me "I'm Oh-livia, not AH-livia". That's how they say her name in school "Oh-livia". Lord help me if I say 'alivia' when I call to her. She corrects me right away.

DD2 is Delia. We just fell in love with the name. I don't think it's even in the top 1000, but we like it. The only thing I'm sad about, is that I can't find her name on anything. We have the little ceramic coffee mugs that fit in the tiny little wooden house. I have one for each of us, but not Delia.

 

[gris gris]

DD5 is Olivia. Before she was born, I didn't know ANY olivia's. We (as the OP does) call her Liv or Livy Lou (which isn't her middle name, it just came out one day and stuck). Now I hear Olivia everywhere. In her pre-k there is an Alivia. She tells me "I'm Oh-livia, not AH-livia". That's how they say her name in school "Oh-livia". Lord help me if I say 'alivia' when I call to her. She corrects me right away.

OK we live in CT, we call our Livy "Livy Lou" and she's in preschool too . But when we say Olivia, we do say it "Ah-livia". Some people call her "Oh-livia". Never really thought to say it that way! That's why I like Livy.

 

[soccermom5]

my youngest is Daphnee Maiya my dh brought 2 children to the marriage and their names are Dawn Marie Damien Mikael he didnt even realize the pattern of D.M.Z so i said nat we need another dmz name

 

[TBGOES2DISNEY]

DD2 is Delia. We just fell in love with the name. I don't think it's even in the top 1000, but we like it. The only thing I'm sad about, is that I can't find her name on anything. We have the little ceramic coffee mugs that fit in the tiny little wooden house. I have one for each of us, but not Delia.

I think it is so neat you mentioned this! I also have a miniature cabinet with those tiny mugs in it. We have one for DH, me, and dd #1, but I cannot find one with dd #2's name on it. I'm hoping someday I'll at least find a blank one so I can write her name on it!

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I wanted to say thanks to everyone who has posted! I feel better about choosing the more popular name if that's what we decide on. It helps that you can make nicknames with the name too if it turns out we do run into lots of little girls with the same name!

 

[TheDizMom]

These threads are always so fun to see what people picked and why . I have a name that everyone and their uncle had in my age group . I have always hated it and the fact that I graduated high school with 6 others and college with 4, mind you it was a class of only about 100. I also find it rather funny when parents pick a really common name and then try to make it unique by using some cockamamie spelling. If you like the name use it whether it's popular or not and don't apologize for it.

I used a very uncommon name for my DD. If she ever comes across another I will drop dead on the spot or assume they are related somehow. Because her first name is so different she got a very plain jane middle name to counterbalance it (we have a really weird last name too). We used 2 family names. Her first name was my great grandmother's maiden name, and one I fell in love with as a little girl and knew if I had a daughter it would be her name. Fortunately my DH didn't have a problem with it . Her middle name is for my DH's grandmother, so her name is Trafton Emily. For our son we again chose a family first name, Thomas, for my DH and his uncle. My problem was we already had a big Tom and little Tom, so what was going to happen with our son if we named him that too (there is a huge run on Chris in his family too and it gets interesting trying to differentiate them). We ended up chosing Hunter for his middle name just because we both really liked it and we use that, no baby Tom for him I was determined . Strangely there don't seem to be to many other boys named Thomas in his grade, and there aren't to many Hunters either. Surprisingly I tend to gravitate towards more traditional boys names , and Hunter just seemed like a good strong sounding boys name .

In my family we tend to go for family names and names that are different, at least in my generation, and in my DH's family they tend to go with what's popular . Anyway I say just find a name you love and don't worry about if it's popular or not. If you love it that's all that matters .

 

[kribit]

My son has a very popular name because he's named after a relative but my daughters name has never been on the top 100 or 500 for that matter. We just loved the name when we saw it.

 

[Liltx]

We never look at the list. We pick traditional names that are not too common anymore but that have more common nicknames.

Lillian Claire (Lilly)

Amelia Grace (Mia)

When we have another baby we like: Andrew Thompson called Drew (yes, this name is VERY common but goes well with my dh's first name Thompson) or Caroline Elizabeth (Cara).

I would just pick what you like but not make it too out there. Kids can be very sensitive about thier names.