Baby names: More of the same old uniqueness

Tangible · May 19, 2010

Your baby is unique, but her name isn't

Great article.

svl3p · May 20, 2010

interesting thanks for sharing

Sabertooth · May 24, 2010

I believe God influences the subjective baby-naming process, just like He does with marital attraction. After that, the commonness or rarity of a name is just an excuse to do what we felt like in the first place.

If we go with a more common name, we tell ourselves it is solid and established. For a rarer name, we say it is unique, bold and dynamic. In the end, I think these qualities have little to do with why we ultimately choose a name.

moonkitty · May 26, 2010

I gave mys on the name that was my father's favorite person of the bible, not because i care on wit about the bible, but because it pleased my father. My father and I had a turbulent past and we were finally coming to peace with each other. I didn't like my father's actual name though, to hill-billyish.. so I choose one I knew he'd appreciate more.

My daughter I choose because I liked it. It is a name I've always loved the sound of and one I feel is very versatile. And several strong women of history has also had the same name.

PegasusOnFire · May 26, 2010

LOL 2 of my daughters' names were in that article, and were said to be out of date. Mary(biblical) and Alice(named after 3 Great Grandmothers). My other daughter is Christian (which in medieval England was a feminine name)

ChildByGrace · Jun 2, 2010

Interesting article.

We wanted names that were traditional, biblical but also not too common. Didn't work with Daniel as that name has been in the top 20 names for the 6 years before he was born.
Esther worked as the name didn't even enter the top 100!

CrystalBrooke · Jun 3, 2010

Emily was the number one name the year I had my daughter...and named her Emily Emily is a timeless name, IMO, and that's why I like it. I don't like that people think I named her that because of it's popularity and because of how common it is...those two things are what I don't like about it. But in the end, Emily is just a pretty, feminine name to me.

ImperialPhantom · Jun 3, 2010

My wife read this article and told me about it. It's like the old saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. I'm sure someday there will be a sort of cultural backlash against bizarro, made-up names, and one day the classics will be in again.

It could be worse, though - Venezuela's government has actually considered releasing a government mandated (maybe not mandated, but suggested) list of traditional baby names because of the prevalence of odd, made up names. Apparently, awhile ago it was a trend there to name children after superheroes and such things.

b.hopeful · Jun 3, 2010

I think it's funny when people give their kids surnames and trendy names so they will be unique. Um....no. Our schools are riddled with Taylors, Addisons..etc...but my kids are the only Peter and Mary in the building.

Sabertooth · Jun 3, 2010

ImperialPhantom said:
...because of the prevalence of odd, made up names. Apparently, awhile ago it was a trend there to name children after superheroes and such things.

I have named superheroes (as an amateur) AND have studied names. Names we hear as Isaac, Jacob and Esau (nicknamed Edom) were heard by their friends as Laughter, Underhanded and Hairy (nicknamed Red), because their names came right out of their dictionaries.

This happened in other cultures, as well. Names tended to be flattering, but not always. Masculine names often reflected themes like strength & heroism, while feminine ones tended toward beauty, though there was definitely a spectrum.

From our own dictionary, we have names like Violet & Christian. Other names, like Mark & Penny are there, too, but with different word histories. I'm just saying it is not unprecedented.

Girlee · Jun 23, 2010

Our little one is named Wesley. From the character in the Princess Bride.
Named after that character, but I wanted a more normal spelling. (instead of Westley). His middle name is my husband's middle name.
I think it's common enough to not be "weird", but not too common where everyone else will have the same name. Of course, those are just things we are glad about--far from the reason we picked it.

Diane_Windsor · May 9, 2012

Interesting article

CelticRose · May 11, 2012

Hmmm. My oldest's name is unique in that it is the only name my hubby & I even came close to agreeing on. We have never met anyone else with the same name, though I know it is used as a Christian name. My oldest daughter has never met anyone with her Christian name yet she has a very traditional old~fashioned family name that can be traced back for generations. MY younger 3 have uncommon names for their generation. Either side of them their names appear to have been popular but they are the only ones amongst their friends.

I think it's subjective. In the end people choose what sounds pleasing to their ears with a meaning they like. I'm not convinced people check a name's popularity before they use it.

Baby names: More of the same old uniqueness

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