# For those who chose unusual children's names



## Raene (Jul 24, 2008)

How is it? Do they enjoy having uncommon names? Do they get made fun of?

We're considering a unique name and we'd planned on having a common first name, with a unique middle that they would go by (but have the first to fall back on).

But now we're just thinking it's easier to have the name they'll go by as their first name.

Opinions here? Firsthand advice? Thanks!


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## laohaire (Nov 2, 2005)

Our kid has a somewhat unusual name, but she's only 3, the story is still unfolding. Most people think it's lovely, and it is mispronounced quite a bit but it's no big deal, you correct them and then they say it right.

I myself have an usual name. For full disclosure, my name was a pretty consistent joke in 5th grade (mispronounced to sound like various other things) but it wasn't the name itself that led to the teasing. My name could have been Jane and they would have teased me some other way. But anyway, I don't regret the name, I like it very much, and other than some mean 10 year old boys leveraging it for their purposes, it hasn't hurt me at all. Like with my DD, people mispronounce it all the time, but a gentle correction is all that is needed.


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## Eman'smom (Mar 19, 2002)

I have a unique and I think very pretty name however people still comment on it and I'm in my 30's. I agree that kids will find something to pick on one way or another. But growing up I hated it and would have done anything to be something simple.


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## Jojo F. (Apr 7, 2007)

I'm not going to be much help as DD is only 3 months. Her name is not common in the states, you hear it more in the UK.

For us the difficulty is regional. If you live in the NE you know who Big Pappi is and calling a little girl Poppy is ridiculous but, we get mixed reactions. People either love it or hate it.

If she ends up not liking it she can go by her middle name.

And as laohaire said, kids will make fun of ANY name. I was Hoanna Hairya*s for many years. My name wasn't anything wierd.


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## sunnmama (Jul 3, 2003)

My dd has an uncommon name. She is 8, and not teased for her name at all. But, to be honest, her school is very diverse and many of the students have names that are uncommon in the US. Her name is very easy to spell and pronounce.

She is always upset that her name doesn't appear on the key chains at the check out, lol. But her daddy is an artist, so he makes her pendants and keychains from clay and paints her name on them









Our friends also tend to give their dc uncommon names, although dd did not always appreciate that her friends' names were uncommon. Funny story--when dd was 4ish, she told me (changing all names, but she named her friends) "I don't like having a different name. I wish I had a normal name, like Apple, or Pepper, or Ocean, or Song". I had to explain that those were not exactly "normal" names, and they didn't appear on the key chains either


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## aprons_and_acorns (Sep 28, 2004)

My son has a very short (three letter) "real" name that is very very unusual in our part of the world. Sometimes its mispronounced one time, but since it's short and easy to say people tend to get it right after that, and then they remember it. Other kids tell my son his name is "cool" which makes him feel good. His middle name (Joseph) is popular and easy in case he ever wants to make the switch.


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## aprons_and_acorns (Sep 28, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sunnmama* 
Funny story--when dd was 4ish, she told me (changing all names, but she named her friends) "I don't like having a different name. I wish I had a normal name, like Apple, or Pepper, or Ocean, or Song". I had to explain that those were not exactly "normal" names, and they didn't appear on the key chains either


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## earthmama369 (Jul 29, 2005)

DD's only 4, but we haven't run into any teasing or anything about her name. She did learn how to spell it for people by the time she was 2, though.


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## Ceinwen (Jul 1, 2004)

You guys need to share what some of these names are - I'm curious!









My six year old has a fairly common name - Zoë (although in my defence it was 'un'common when we named her that







)

My sixteen month old's name is Rue, like the flower.

We get lots of 'Er - you mean Ruby?' or 'Like Kanga & Roo?' or 'What's her whole name?'

I just say 'Rue - like the flower'. So, it's a little different, but I love it. I honestly wish I'd named my older dd something a little wackier...


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## missjessicajames (Jan 23, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Raene* 

We're considering a unique name and we'd planned on having a common first name, with a unique middle that they would go by !

This is kinda of what we did. My dd is named Allyson Justice . Here first name is an adaption of my grandmother's who passed away this year, and her middle name was cause we liked it







Our theory was she could pick which named suited her, like if she wanted to a very formal CEO she could go by Allyson (or Ally) and if she wanted to be a dj she could go by Justice (or a super hero "Justice is my middle name"







)

What's funny now is that we go back and forth about what to call her. Some days she Allyson some days she's Justice some people call her AJ. We just haven't settled in to a permanent name. But she's only 4 months so we'll see what happens


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## j924 (May 17, 2005)

I have one dc with a very unique name. Two with recognizable names but not popular names. And one with a super popular name. They all like their names but the two extremes can have some grass is greener scenarios. The unique name would like to see hers on a pencil and the popular name would love to be the only one in their class (never mind world) with that name. I do agree with pps that kids will tease no matter what your name is. Also beware the nicknames. Someitmes these beautiful names can have the worst nicknames!


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## aprons_and_acorns (Sep 28, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ceinwen* 
You guys need to share what some of these names are - I'm curious!









My six year old has a fairly common name - Zoë (although in my defence it was 'un'common when we named her that







)

My sixteen month old's name is Rue, like the flower.

We get lots of 'Er - you mean Ruby?' or 'Like Kanga & Roo?' or 'What's her whole name?'

I just say 'Rue - like the flower'. So, it's a little different, but I love it. I honestly wish I'd named my older dd something a little wackier...

I love RUE! It's actually on our girl list to use for our next child.







I hardly ever hear that name but I just love it.

DS's name is Ivo (pronounced Ee-vo) by the way.


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## CarrieMF (Mar 7, 2004)

My kids names are Tirza, Asha & Nadia. Tirza is the most unique for this area, but all of them are not common here at all.

There is such a wide variety of names in our school that the kids are not teased at all.

I work in the school at noon & the kids try to tease me about our last name, it rhymes with turtle. I don't mind it, but they all know if they want something they have to use my real last name.lol That is the most teasing over a name I've ever seen.

We have 240 kids in our school K-6. There are 3 Dillons & 2 Kaidens in my dd's Grade 1 class, 3 Aidans, 2 Kaidens, 2 Connors in kindergarten. 2 Taylors, 2 Mackenzies in Grade 2(plus another in grade 1 and in grade 4), 2 Masons, 2 Austins, 2 Chases in Grade 6, 2 Tori's in grade 5

Working in the school I'd never name my kid(s) the common names. Kids with names the same as other kids(or even closely resembling) blend in together. The kids who have different names are easier to remember & stand out more.

Also working in the school I'd never name my kid(s) the common names.


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## Raene (Jul 24, 2008)

These are very helpful comments.

I should have added my personal experience...my name was Rachel growing up and it was so common that it annoyed me. Someone would shout "Rachel" and I would turn to see that they were talking to someone else. Arg. So in college I changed my name.

I realize there's an in-between, but we just like more nature inspired or unique names. We've considered Clementine, which I see has become pretty popular now, as well as Cayenne (Kaya for short), Lyric, and Cedar. Lyric is my favorite and that's probably what she'll go by. And we'll call her Lyre, Lyra, etc, which aren't bad nicknames.


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## steelmagnolia9 (May 4, 2009)

My dd is only 2 months old, so I don't know that I have much insight on this yet, but we named her Magnolia. People always ask us to repeat her name as if they didn't hear us correctly the first time, and then ask if we call her that. Like I would name her something and then not call her by her name?

My sister's name is Alynn (pronounced like the male version - Allen). She's 20 now and has always enjoyed having an unusual name, although she does get frustrated with having to spell her name for people so that they understand what she is saying. She has never complained of being teased for it, though.


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## sunnmama (Jul 3, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Raene* 
Lyric is my favorite


Lyric is a beautiful name!


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## Quinalla (May 23, 2005)

Unusual names are fine, but depending what they are, yes they will probably get made fun of to an extent, but really, kids will find a way to make fun regardless. However, I think if you are going to call your child a name, it really should be their first name, it is really confusing otherwise. If they decide to go to their middle name in the future, they can and I know two guys who do that because for different reasons they don't like their first names (not usual names, one was named for his became-a-dead-beat Dad and refused to go by his name and I don't know the story of the other).


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## kittymoose (Oct 9, 2008)

We're planning on Echo Narcissa for a girl after the myth and Edward William Lawrence for a boy after DP's father and grandfather (Edward) and my two grandfathers. I suppose Echo is the only really "unique" name, but Edward isn't really in style either, and I hate Ed and Eddie. So it'll be Edward for me


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## Ceinwen (Jul 1, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aprons_and_acorns* 
I love RUE! It's actually on our girl list to use for our next child.







I hardly ever hear that name but I just love it.

DS's name is Ivo (pronounced Ee-vo) by the way.

Thank you! And Ivo is a seriously awesome name - absolutely envious!

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kittymoose* 
We're planning on Echo Narcissa for a girl after the myth and Edward William Lawrence for a boy after DP's father and grandfather (Edward) and my two grandfathers. I suppose Echo is the only really "unique" name, but Edward isn't really in style either, and I hate Ed and Eddie. So it'll be Edward for me









Ahhhh! I







Echo! That's adorable.


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## cappuccinosmom (Dec 28, 2003)

Our kids have unusual names (for America). The only "issue" has been for me, having to spell them out for doctor's appts etc, and occasionally having to repeat them 6 times before someone "gets" it.







Nobody has ever made fun of them, adults or children.


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## mjg013 (Jul 29, 2008)

My kids have uncommon first names and traditional middle names. They haven't been teased viciously about their names. Of course Aslan and Anakin haven't started school yet and those are the most commented on now. Vada, my oldest, and I have discussed it. She said she's so glad I gave her an uncommon name because she would hate to have to go by her name and initial like lots of kids in her classes. They do call her Darth Vada and the like but it's not mean-spirited and it doesn't bother her at all.


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## Raene (Jul 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mjg013* 
My kids have uncommon first names and traditional middle names. They haven't been teased viciously about their names. Of course Aslan and Anakin haven't started school yet and those are the most commented on now. Vada, my oldest, and I have discussed it. She said she's so glad I gave her an uncommon name because she would hate to have to go by her name and initial like lots of kids in her classes. They do call her Darth Vada and the like but it's not mean-spirited and it doesn't bother her at all.

I was just thinking of the name Vada yesterday...I only know it because of "My Girl".

Mean-spirited or just fun-spirited is so different and I know what you mean. My Savannah gets called "Savannah Banana" but she doesn't seem to mind.


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## snoopy5386 (May 6, 2005)

My DD has a pretty normal but not super popular name - Morgan. I didn't however forsee her being called Megan all the time, which does happen. I think no matter what something comes up with a name. Mom of Rue, I've never heard of that flower, what is it? My 1st thought would probably also be kanga and roo.


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## mlh (Sep 29, 2005)

I think unusual or unique names are the norm these days. I named my first dd Magnolia and was very scared at first to do it. I am so glad that we did and now that she is 5 she only wants to be called Magnolia (some people like to call her Maggie). We went for the normal middle name, so she can switch if she wants.

Our second dd is Sienna and we kind of wish we would have gone with something more original. Her middle name is Rayne and I have a little regret that we didn't name her first name Rayne.

So, I would say go for it...


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## LizLizard (Jul 16, 2007)

Unusual names are VERY common nowadays. We were hesitant to name our oldest daughter what we wanted, but after perusing the births in our college newsletters and the names of kids at our church's school.... yeah, she'll fit in just fine.







I'm fairly sure that names like Chris and Bob and Jennifer will be the "unique" names in her classes....

We did give her a fairly normal middle name, and her name also makes some initials (DJ), so if she decides she wants to go by something differently later on, she can.

My youngest has a more normal name, but still a little different for our area.


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## Sierra (Nov 19, 2001)

I did not choose my kid's names. Their birthmothers chose them.

Both are not the most common names, but not unheard of. In other words, in our church there are 160ish other kids on the roster, and none of the other kids have their names. We don't know another kid with ds' name, but we do know an adult with his same name. My SIL's neighbor's daughter shares dd's same first name...and amazingly/completely coincidently, she shares dd's middle name as well.

They don't generally strike people as terribly unusual names, and most folks know how to spell them and pronounce them.

The biggest problem we have is that some people tend to add two letters to my dd's name, which completely transforms it into a more common variation. This only happens on rare occassion, but it annoys me because I don't particularly like that variation of the name, and well, it isn't her name.

Same thing with ds. If you drop two letters from his name, it transforms into a more common variation. With him, people do this in a "nickname" fashion. I don't like that version of the name, so it does bug me just a little when folks decide to use that as a nickname for him.

I have an unusual first name. Actually, all my siblings do. My younger brother has a *very* unusual name. The name I was given at birth (hint: you might know it) was pretty darn unusual when I was born. I loved how unusual it was, so much so that when I met another kid with the same name around age 7 or 8, I took offense and decided to *change my name.* I changed my name to what my grandmother called me. That "new" name is still the name I use. It stuck after a while. My given name is now common enough that every now-and-then it gets on a keychain. I started hearing of babies being given that name around the time I was in high school. That's the thing about names. What is unusual now could be common 15 years from now.

My siblings all seem to have done fine with their unusual names. My oldest sister changed the spelling of her name to make it even more unusual during high school, but has since changed it back. She frequently goes by a unique nickname. My younger brother, whose name is quite rare, probably got teased the most about his name, but he has stuck with it over the years and I don't think he'd have it any other way.


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## kamilla626 (Mar 18, 2004)

Dd's name is Taryn, and we still love it. She sometimes gets frustrated that we can never find her name on personalized keychains (toothbrushes, mugs, etc.) but she likes her name.

It's interesting... every once in a while we will discover another adult Taryn while we're out shopping somewhere. So far we've met a Taryn working at the shoe store, at Old Navy, and at Sears. Apparently the name is well-suited to a career in retail!









I used to be a little frustrated when I'd introduce her:
"This is Taryn."
"Karen?"
"No, Taryn"
"Oh, Darren? .... but that's a boy's name!"









Now I just introduce her as "Taryn, with a T" and people get it. And I am glad that her first name is the name she goes by, as opposed to her having to tell people, "Not Katherine, just Kate please" or "Don't call me Elizabeth, it's just Liz", etc. That was annoying for me as a kid.


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## Sierra (Nov 19, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kamilla626* 
I used to be a little frustrated when I'd introduce her:
"This is Taryn."
"Karen?"
"No, Taryn"
"Oh, Darren? .... but that's a boy's name!"









Now I just introduce her as "Taryn, with a T" and people get it.

You know, I wasn't even thinking of the introductions aspect of all this when I posted.

Thanks for posting this.

I have mild hearing loss. I also work with families, and have been introduced to many a-child with an unusual name. I feel so awful because sometimes I am like the people in this example. If my ears don't catch it, my brain first goes to the more common name. Especially when kids introduce themselves, I've definitely had to do the back and forth a few times before getting it. I like your strategy now with saying "with a T." That would definitely save folks like me from unecessary struggles trying to hear the name properly







.


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## nextcommercial (Nov 8, 2005)

Some names are unique.

Some names are just stupid and cruel. I have met kids with the cruel stupid names, and they get tormeneted at school.

Plus the names that are a repeat of the last name is just abuse. I know a "David David".... Seriously? His parents couldn't come up with another name besides David?

Also, we have a principal named "Dudley Butt". Butt is unfornunate enough... but Dudley???? At least make give him a better first name.


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## travelinmom (Feb 19, 2006)

My children have pretty unusual names but I paired them with common middles names. My dd is Sapphire, she's old enough to be in school but has never gotten teased about it. My ods is Mckenzie and the biggest issue is that he's the only BOY Mckenzie. My yds is Journey, I get quite often either "jeremy?" or "after the band?" I don't know how they will like it when they are all grown. They have common middle names that they can fall back on incase they can't see being a lawyer with the name Journey


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## queenjane (May 17, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *nextcommercial* 
Some names are unique.

Some names are just stupid and cruel. I have met kids with the cruel stupid names, and they get tormeneted at school.

Plus the names that are a repeat of the last name is just abuse. I know a "David David".... Seriously? His parents couldn't come up with another name besides David?

Also, we have a principal named "Dudley Butt". Butt is unfornunate enough... but Dudley???? At least make give him a better first name.


On the David David....i knew someone who was a Bill Williams (that is, William Williams) and it was a family name. He was a third, i think. I thought it was pretty cool.

My sister worked with a girl who was Bunny Butt(s?). oh boy.

Katherine


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## queenjane (May 17, 2004)

My older son's name (Seamus) is probably very common in Ireland but hasnt totally taken off in our area yet. He's 12, and we have only one or two other kids with his name. He is always the only "Seamus" in his school or group. He's probably the only Seamus in the city. I think it helps him stand out. His name really suits him (he's got red hair and freckles.







)

My younger son has a fairly uncommon name, Keegan, but its not what i would call "unusual"....its pretty straightforward, doesnt lend itself to much nicknaming, and is easy to pronounce.

Seamus on the other hand...lots of people want to call him SEE-mus...?? I always have to say "no, Seamus, s.e.a....like SEAN?" but people are still confused. Sometimes he gets called Shane...? Or James...and for awhile some kids in school were calling him Shaman, but he thought that was sort of cool.

ETA: you never know, when you name a child, what names will be popular or not in five, ten, twelve years. My niece and her friend (they were 12 or 13 at the time) were looking through my old high school year book a couple of years ago, and were rolling on the floor laughing at a particularly "weird" name...which was....Renee. Renee?! I went to school with SO many of them, and yet now kids would think that was a "weird" name. But Neavah, or Skylar, or Ella, not so much.

Katherine


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## fruitfulmomma (Jun 8, 2002)

My kids don't go to school, so interaction with children on a regular basis is pretty limited, but they play with other kids at playgrounds, church, etc... and never had any problems. Adults generally like their names. I've never heard any rude comments about them.

My MIL, hated some of the names chosen, but by the time she see's the baby she gets over it. My mother did not like my dd2's name, due to the reference I took it from, but she has gotten over it, I think. Actually I'm surprised more people haven't reacted to it, but maybe they are just keeping their thoughts to themselves.

My name otoh, I had my share of frustrations with it as a child. It is not Nicole and everyone would always ask me that, especially people who were named Nicole but went by Nikki. Also, it is spelled like a boy would spell it, because my dad refused to use the feminine spelling because of some girl he didn't like from high school.







I used to get a lot of people singing the Mouseketeer song to me, but I am cool with it now and am glad it is a bit different.


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## mazajo (Nov 3, 2004)

My oldest son has a common first name and less common middle- Anthony Malachi. We have always called him Malachi. He likes his name and appreciates it being different.

To my knowledge he has never been teased for it (I was when I was pregnant and told people what I was naming him, most people went "Ooooh, Children of the Corn!







) but I don't think he has been. People do pronounce it wrong all the time (They say Ma-Latchie instead of Mal-a-cuy) and that annoys him just a little, but not too bad.

IMO however, it is a huge PITA to go by one's middle name instead of the first. I do myself, and I have no idea what made me do that to my poor kid. Any kind of official school, insurance, ect, that requires a person's full name, will automatically call you by your first and you'll have to explain what you go by, and aside from schools, nobody remembers and you'll probably have to explain everytime you contact them. It's just so much easier to go by one's first name.


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## mjg013 (Jul 29, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mazajo* 
My oldest son has a common first name and less common middle- Anthony Malachi. We have always called him Malachi. He likes his name and appreciates it being different.

To my knowledge he has never been teased for it (I was when I was pregnant and told people what I was naming him, most people went "Ooooh, Children of the Corn!







) but I don't think he has been. People do pronounce it wrong all the time (They say Ma-Latchie instead of Mal-a-cuy) and that annoys him just a little, but not too bad.

IMO however, it is a huge PITA to go by one's middle name instead of the first. I do myself, and I have no idea what made me do that to my poor kid. Any kind of official school, insurance, ect, that requires a person's full name, will automatically call you by your first and you'll have to explain what you go by, and aside from schools, nobody remembers and you'll probably have to explain everytime you contact them. It's just so much easier to go by one's first name.

I agree with this. My mom did it to my brother. His name is Oscar Neil but he goes by Neil. He hated getting called Oscar all the time. I go by both names so I have to tell everyone all the time that it's Mary Jane not just Mary. I was going to name my first son Matthew Kyan because I thought it sounded better than Kyan Matthew and he would go by Kyan. I'm glad I changed my mind and went with Kyan Matthew.


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## Amberoxy (Dec 20, 2007)

I have an unusual name and have never liked it. It is Shalonne. I am always asked what nationality it is or if I am Jewish (because of the Jewish word "shalom") or how to spell it. It is not that the questions themselves are a problem, it is the sheer # of times I have been asked the same questions over and over and over and over again. I never introduce myself to people because I don't want to answer the questions. When I am asked my name, I hate to answer. And, no matter how often I spell it correctly, it still gets spelled wrong - even by people who have known me forever. People do say it is pretty but I don't agree. It sounds too much like "alone" which I don't like. My father says he made it up but then it turns out it is an African American name and he just happened to come up with that name. I wasn't a popular kid in school so my name was just one more thing kids had to make fun of. My parents did not give me any middle name at all so I had no choice as to what name I went by. I don't mind pretty, unusual names but I think my name was a bit over the top. I tried to choose names for my kids that weren't super popular but were still names that had at least been heard before. I know not every child with a unique name has the same experience I had but, with the bad experiences I have had, I just would not have been comfortable using unique names.


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## notjustmamie (Mar 7, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ceinwen* 
My sixteen month old's name is Rue, like the flower.

We get lots of 'Er - you mean Ruby?' or 'Like Kanga & Roo?' or 'What's her whole name?'

I just say 'Rue - like the flower'. So, it's a little different, but I love it. I honestly wish I'd named my older dd something a little wackier...

I've also never heard of Rue the flower. I'll have to look it up. I always think of it as the French word for street. Or Rue McClanahan.

My daughter has a short but very unusual name. Almost everyone gets it wrong the first time or three, but it's pretty easy to pronounce once they see how it's spelled.


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## honeybee (Mar 12, 2004)

We have an Aaron. Common name. I still love it.
And then Kian and Taegan. They are not so common names, BUT their names follow current naming trends. They're Irish, end with -en, and sound similar to some popular names. As a result, we get a lot of confusion and both kids are often called "keegan." lol! And our youngest gets called "Teegan" a lot. Oh well. I still love their names. They're not in school yet, to hard to say what they'll think about it later.

But if you want to avoid confusion, make it a really unusual name, rather than a name that is almost but not quite a common name!


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## honeybee (Mar 12, 2004)

Speaking of constantly having to correct people...

My mother's name is Diana. This is not an unusual name, and you'd think after Princess Diana, it would be pretty easy to remember. But, there are still MULTIPLE people who constantly call her Diane even when she continually corrects them every time they say it. So you can't win for losing.

I have a top-10 name. I like it fine, but it gets tiring to find So Many people with the same name in your age bracket.


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## artgoddess (Jun 29, 2004)

My daughter is only 20 months so who knows if she'll hate it or not. Her name is Quinn. Not so usual for a girl, but easy for people to pronounce and spell. She'll never find a mug with her name on it though.


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## _betsy_ (Jun 29, 2004)

I'm an Elizabeth, officially. I only ever got called that on the first day of school or when I was in Big Trouble at home. Now I only ever called that when it's a sales person calling our house or on official documentation.

Betsy certainly isn't a common name, but I never got picked on at school for it, that I recall. I did hear it about my last name (a man's first name was my maiden name) - for some reason that was what always got focused on, not my "wierd" first name.

I get people who don't know me who decide to call me Liz or Beth when they read my first name, like some random stranger gets to decide my nickname? How presumptious!

My kids have common, not unusual but not too popular names. DD1 is 2.5 and we only know one other girl (a baby) with her name, and we don't know and haven't met any other girls with DD2's name.

Pick-on-ability was one topic of concern when naming the kids.


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## Drummer's Wife (Jun 5, 2005)

My DD is Denae, so it's pretty unusual... we have met a few w/the same name along the way, including one at her school this year.

When asked what her name is, people often have to ask again or try and repeat what she said, sometimes saying "Jenae?"

It gets spelled wrong all the time. Even her teacher has everything labeled Danae, notes come home like that, etc., I sometimes wish I had spelled it that way. Oh, and when seen only in print, it's often mis-pronounced. The correct way to say it is Deh-Nay, rhymes w/Renee.

My youngest is Lincoln. We've gotten a ton of positive feedback, but then he's only 2 and not in school or anything.. so we'll see.

My extended family thought Jayden was super unusual, but most people having babies nowadays know that -aden names are trendy. I think his name is now more popular than Nathan -- my 6 yo's name.


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## SparklingGemini (Jan 3, 2008)

Eh.

I have a unique(ish) name and yes, some people teased me as a child. But I loved it then and love it even more now!







I do have to spell it for people but this really doesn't bother me. Its just a matter of fact now.

I wanted to bestow that same joy on my DD and give her a different name. Both her first and middle names are sort of uncommon. Her middle name more so because its two names hyphenated together. I really hope she likes it as she gets older.

I think if its a name you like and it still works when you meet her, then you should do it and just shrug at all the potential criticism you might get.


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## Drummer's Wife (Jun 5, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *honeybee* 
We have an Aaron. Common name. I still love it.
And then Kian and Taegan. They are not so common names, BUT their names follow current naming trends. They're Irish, end with -en, and sound similar to some popular names. As a result, we get a lot of confusion and both kids are often called "keegan." lol! And our youngest gets called "Teegan" a lot. Oh well. I still love their names. They're not in school yet, to hard to say what they'll think about it later.

But if you want to avoid confusion, make it a really unusual name, rather than a name that is almost but not quite a common name!









I love the name Taegan. So then do you pronounce it Tay-gan? That's my fav. way, though I hear it Tee-gan more often.


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## caiesmommy (Feb 26, 2007)

Ds is 2.5. His name is .......Myals Caie-Sun(Myals=My All/Miles Davis, jazz musician)

Dd is 4 months. Her name is...Chelsea Sloan Andy(Chelsea b/c dh liked it and I liked the sea part since dd was a force while pregnant, Sloan is Ferris Buller's gf, and my dh grandmother's maiden name, Andy is my Grandfather who passed away)


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## Flower of Bliss (Jun 13, 2006)

My name is Sage. Back in the 80s it was quite uncommon, though I see it much more with kids lately (though still a bit of a hippie name). I loved having an unusual name most of the time. Of course, there are always times you want to blend into the wallpaper and having an unusual name makes that harder, but I'd rather not blend into the wallpaper ALL the time. I do have a more common middle name, which I played with going by for about a week in 4th grade. Haven't considered it since. Everyone always remembers my name. It's a bit hard when I met someone once in passing a few months ago and they remember my name and I don't remember theirs. In HS I "met" a few people that I had known once upon a time as a small child that immediately remembered me, and of course I had no clue who they were. That's my biggest "issue" with an uncommon name. I was teased plenty in grade school, but I can't remember any of it being related to my name.

I was periodically called "Paige" which is/was more common. I was also always amazed when people butchered the spelling of my name or butchered the pronunciation of it when looking at it written. It's an actual word and spelled phonetically.







I do often get jokes about how I must have sisters named Parsley and Thyme







or something similar. However, I ran a tutoring business for many years and my name was quite fitting for that









I have been insistent that our children have uncommon names. Our DD is Azalea and the baby on the way will be Lyra. We're using family names as middle names. DD's middle name is pretty uncommon, but the middle for the baby is much more common.

I've tried to stick to names that you won't hear elsewhere, but that won't make people raise their eyebrows or roll their eyes. We live in a pretty conservative area and while we associate with lots of more hippie types, it's not the norm or terribly socially acceptable in the greater population of the area. I want my kids names to make them stand apart, but not ostracize them, or immediately identify them as coming from a family of "hippies" (or crazy liberal tree huggers, or whatever).


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## poiyt (Jul 6, 2008)

DD has an unusual name...but man how I love it...i actually worry about finding a name for baby on the way that I will love as much as hers. Its Kahlan Amelie (pronounced Ka (like cat) Lin NOT Kay-lin). We get Kaylin all the time...it drives me nuts, because grammatically it would be a short a sound because of the 2 consonents...*sigh*..I still love her name...its beautiful and it suits her..

And for all those people out their who have read the sword of truth series - YES its from the books, no we did not know the author pronounced it differently - and their pronounciation still seems wrong (even in the show!).


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## lil_miss_understood (Jul 19, 2006)

With DS1, I went the "Unusual but has a more common sounding nickname" route. His name's Aristotle, but we call him Aris. Downside: he gets called Aaron and Eric all the time and has to tell people "No. My name is Aristotle. You can call me AriS if you want."
With DS2, we went the "Not terribly common" route.
This one, we're trying for something that fits with them both because we don't want any one of them to feel singled out, iykwim.


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## aprons_and_acorns (Sep 28, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *artgoddess* 
My daughter is only 20 months so who knows if she'll hate it or not. Her name is Quinn. Not so usual for a girl, but easy for people to pronounce and spell. She'll never find a mug with her name on it though.

My nephew is Quinn and he has a few things, including a cup, with his name on them. His mom has an unusual name and never got those things growing up, so she buys them now for him. So you just might find a Quinn mug out there yet.


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## artgoddess (Jun 29, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *aprons_and_acorns* 
My nephew is Quinn and he has a few things, including a cup, with his name on them. His mom has an unusual name and never got those things growing up, so she buys them now for him. So you just might find a Quinn mug out there yet.

Well for now, even if it was blue with dump trucks I'd take it for her.









Fortunately there is so much more out there that can be personalized with ease as compared to when we were young.


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## lil_miss_understood (Jul 19, 2006)

Oh yeah, and for those with kids who complain they can't find their name on a keychain, let them know that those of us with really common names have the same problem... because they're always sold out.


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## liliaceae (May 31, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Raene* 
We're considering a unique name and we'd planned on having a common first name, with a unique middle that they would go by (but have the first to fall back on).

But now we're just thinking it's easier to have the name they'll go by as their first name.

I was in the same boat a few months ago! We decided to just give her the unusual name as her first name, and I'm glad we did. I can't speak to the teasing issue yet though, as she's only 6 weeks old. One thing we do get, is every time someone asks her name, and we tell them, we have to repeat it. But that happens with our son too, whose name is not terribly unusual.

Here's a thread I started a while ago about calling your child by their middle name: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ghlight=middle


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## NYCVeg (Jan 31, 2005)

I know kids with thoroughly "common" names who got teased mercilessly (like the girl named Elizabeth, who got called "******"; or a boy named Benjamin, whose last name started with M--so "BM" became "bowel movement" and things went from there). You can't predict how or who people will tease.

I also have two friends with HIGHLY unusual names, both of whom loved them and neither of whom got teased (both easily pronounced, though, if that makes a difference).

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Amberoxy* 
I have an unusual name and have never liked it. It is Shalonne. I am always asked what nationality it is or if I am Jewish (because of the Jewish word "shalom") or how to spell it. \.

"Shalom" isn't a "Jewish" word; it's a Hebrew word.


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## Channelle (May 14, 2008)

DS is Jordan Andrew, very common though Jordan is getting more common with girls now.

My baby will have an unusual name. If it's a girl were using Fable, completely unusual for a name, but easy to spell, well-known word. Our backup name is Beatrix, again very unusual, but easy to spell and understand.

If its a boy, it will be Wynn. Completely unusual and quite unheard of, but easy to spell and understand. Our backup name is Malcolm, still fairly unusual, but more well-known than the other names.

Oh, I grew up with a very unusual name, which I really liked, but also it was a crazy spelling, that NO one could ever spell right! It made me really dislike my name.


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## SpaceAngel401 (Nov 26, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *JacquelineR* 
Oh yeah, and for those with kids who complain they can't find their name on a keychain, let them know that those of us with really common names have the same problem... because they're always sold out.


This. I bought my cousin's personalized waterbottles for Easter. I had no trouble finding the boys': Hunter and Luke (technically, he is Lucas, but we call him Luke often enough). I couldn't find one for Jenna because it was sold out. I couldn't find one for Joscelynne. So, in the end I got all the kids bottles with fun designs.

I like unusual names. I have a good friend with three kids with very uncommon names. I wasn't sure about the names when I first heard them, but now they just ARE P, D, and X.


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## lilyka (Nov 20, 2001)

lilyka loves her name but she also shortens it to Lily a lot depending on her mood. it has never bothered her having an unusual name. it helps though that there is one other person in town with that name (the girl we stole it from). I htink the worst part is that no one can ever pronounce it right so I wish we had paid more attention to phonetic rules (the correct spelling is Lillica) which would have made it easier on her.


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## Kirsten (Mar 19, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ceinwen* 
My sixteen month old's name is Rue, like the flower.

I think I'd be in the group that would still be giving you a confused look, as I've never heard of a rue flower. If you said Rue McClanahan from the Golden Girls, I'd get it though.

And I absolutely think there are Quinn mugs, etc out there! I think they'll be blue, but I bet they have them!

When I was a kid, I had two classmates named Jeff and FOUR named Scott - in our class alone. Two started going by their last names alone, one went by Scott and the other went by Scotty. The Jeffs both had W initials so they added yet another letter and went by Jeff We and Jeff Wo until we were out of elementary.

But it is hard to predict what will become popular! When I named my first MacKenzie, I thought it was just different enough - until a lot of other people thought the same thing...


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## Three~Little~Birds (Jan 10, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Jojo F.* 
I'm not going to be much help as DD is only 3 months. Her name is not common in the states, you hear it more in the UK.

For us the difficulty is regional. If you live in the NE you know who Big Pappi is and calling a little girl Poppy is ridiculous but, we get mixed reactions. People either love it or hate it.

If she ends up not liking it she can go by her middle name.
.

Ditto! My DD has the same name








I find it polarizing - people either LOVE it, or say things like "what's her real name", or "hmm", or nothing.
We LOVE it though, and I am so glad that we had the confidence to call her the name that we loved and we thought suited her. We also gave her a more common middle name that she can go by if she wants. We were going to do it the other way around but then decided that it would definitely be confusing that way, whereas, it would only potentially be confusing if she decided to go by her middle name, iykwim.


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## Fuamami (Mar 16, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ceinwen* 
You guys need to share what some of these names are - I'm curious!









My six year old has a fairly common name - Zoë (although in my defence it was 'un'common when we named her that







)

My sixteen month old's name is Rue, like the flower.

We get lots of 'Er - you mean Ruby?' or 'Like Kanga & Roo?' or 'What's her whole name?'

I just say 'Rue - like the flower'. So, it's a little different, but I love it. I honestly wish I'd named my older dd something a little wackier...

I always thought this was the beginning of a white sauce, like when you put the flour in the with the fat. I had no idea there was a flower named Rue.

Anyway, my son has an old-fashioned, but not particularly unusual name (I think. I mean everyone's heard of it), but I still get quite a few comments. Apparently, it's just not a name a lot of people like.

My point, I guess, is that you can't please everyone! My name is Sarah, a perennial favorite, so I wanted my kids' names to be a little bit unique.


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## FreeRangeMama (Nov 22, 2001)

All 4 of mine have unique names. None have been teased. Actually, my eldest changed his (unusual) name to a number because his name was "too common"







. Not legally, but he has gone by this number for over 5 years now and aside from kids asking if that is really his name it hasn't been a problem. They just think it is cool and go with it. Some parents have given us a hard time about it (either to our faces or LOUDLY to the people next to them).

As for the rest we have had nothing but compliments. There are occasional problems with spelling, but who cares? Dh has one of the most common names but he spells is the slightly less common way and that is a hassle because people always assume the other spelling. I also have a somewhat common name, but the slightly less common spelling and again it is sort of a pain. Neither of us had cheap, crappy merchandise with our names on it and we survived







.

Names are almost all unique it seems. I know a couple of kids with names that were super popular when I was in school and it seems kind of "weird" in comparison. I think it is so much more wide open now and I always love hearing all the different names out there.


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## aprons_and_acorns (Sep 28, 2004)

Back to the Rue flower, the first time I ever met anyone named Rue (besides Rue McClannahan, bless her heart!) was at a wild foods conference. I met a darling little baby whose parents named her after meadow rue, which looks like this. So that was when I learned about the flower, too. I just really grew to like that name a lot after hearing it for a weekend.


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## fresh_veggie (Jan 27, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *poiyt* 
DD has an unusual name...but man how I love it...i actually worry about finding a name for baby on the way that I will love as much as hers. Its Kahlan Amelie (pronounced Ka (like cat) Lin NOT Kay-lin). We get Kaylin all the time...it drives me nuts, because grammatically it would be a short a sound because of the 2 consonents...*sigh*..I still love her name...its beautiful and it suits her..

And for all those people out their who have read the sword of truth series - YES its from the books, no we did not know the author pronounced it differently - and their pronounciation still seems wrong (even in the show!).


Love the books, love the name







What is Goodkind's pronunciation for Kahlan? I don't even know. I saw one show, but I forgot.


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## trancechylde (Apr 14, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Fuamami* 
I always thought this was the beginning of a white sauce, like when you put the flour in the with the fat. I had no idea there was a flower named Rue.

I think this is a "roux"


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## karemore (Oct 7, 2008)

I haven't read all the way through yet, but if you don't have a lot of patience, don't use an unusual name.

Kids and adults ask other kids their names. If they can't say it, or it's unusual you are going to have to repeat it several times EVERY single time you meet someone new. When moms get pissy about repeating a name, I want to ask her what she thought was going to happen when she chose the name.


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## hookahgirl (May 22, 2005)

AH I dont think it matters any more LOL Name your kid "Jessica" or "James" if you want them to stand out hahaha

My name is Whitney, and I got lots of flak for it in school. Replace the W with any number of letters, S*itney, Cl*tney, T*tney........ahh yess. Its ever worse with my last name!! Not to mention they would ask if I was sisters with Whitney Huston, like that makes ANY sense LOL

I learned to not let it bother me, and would just roll my eyes when someone said one of its rhyming words...like they were so immature LOL

I got and get alot of "Oh Wendy?" "Oh Courtney?" "Oh Britney?" But it doesnt bother me at all, I dont know it any other way!

I did name my kids different names, but nothing out, out there. Im sure DD will still have to spell hers each and everytime, its prety close to a few popular names......


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## mjg013 (Jul 29, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *karemore* 
I haven't read all the way through yet, but if you don't have a lot of patience, don't use an unusual name.

Kids and adults ask other kids their names. If they can't say it, or it's unusual you are going to have to repeat it several times EVERY single time you meet someone new. When moms get pissy about repeating a name, I want to ask her what she thought was going to happen when she chose the name.

The problem with this is that people will mispronounce and misspell your name regardless of what it is or how common or uncommon it is. I have two of the most common names Mary Jane and I have been called Mary Beth, Maryann, Sara Jane, etc. I also have a fairly common last name that is also spelled EXACTLY like it sounds and it is always pronounced wrong or spelled wrong. The same with my maiden name which was also very common. I think it's just that some people aren't good with names period and how much trouble is it really to repeat or spell your name.


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## ThisLove (Jul 5, 2008)

I have a super common name. There were only a few of us that went to school together, but when I hit college and went through sorority rush, I realized how popular it is (Katie). I lived in a small town and just had no clue. Then, I met 30 of them during the first week of college. My real name - Katrina - isn't as popular, but it doesn't fit 'me', kwim?

We chose DS' name because it was different (Calloway Baird). Baird is a family name but I had no idea that Calloway was _also_ a family name when I chose it. I liked it because the breed of horses that I'm involved in has a strong Callaway bloodline ... I was going to use it for a boy or a girl, just swap the spelling. I only know of two others, one's a girl that DH went to middle school with and one's the daughter of a pediatrician. I can't imagine calling him anything other than Calloway, it fits so well! I don't care for nicknames, so I correct family members a lot when they call him Cal. He's not a Cal, he's a CALLOWAY! He's 14 months, so I'm not dealing with friends/classmates yet.

Loving this thread, though. I'm getting some good ideas! I have to find an appropriate name for Onion (Baby #2) and I've been coming up completely blank!


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## katiesk (Nov 6, 2007)

Quote:

we named her Magnolia.
my one year old dd's name is judah magnolia!

some people seem to be put off by dd having a typically 'boy's' name...but i think it sounds more feminine really. but people often think she is a he. especially since she does not dress exclusively in pink!


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## hjdmom24 (Mar 1, 2008)

I haven't read all the way through but here is my experience. All 4 of my kids have unusual names. The older 2 (10 &7) do not like their names at all and keep asking me to change them to Jason and Jake. I remember hating my name (Holly) as a kid and wanting something more original- but now I like it-so it may just be a phase they are going through.I tried to give them all a middle name that was more common so they could go by that when they were older but they don't like that idea either. My daughter gets complimented on her name all the time so I have a feeling she will grow up liking it. The jury is still out on the baby ( who also has an unusual middle name). I ALWAYS have to spell their names but it doesn't bother me. Mostly I get compliments on all their names except by old ladies who like to try to come up with a more common nickname for them-lol.


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## Super Glue Mommy (Jan 4, 2009)

I have an uncommon name. I never got made fun of for my name - but it bothered me that everyone said it wrong and I never felt comfortable speaking up to correct any one and then the one time I did was in spanish and the teacher told me thats how my name was pronounced in spanish so thats how she was going to say it, which I'm not saying is wrong of her, but since I never felt comfortable speaking up before that I havent felt comfortable speaking up afterward either until later in life. I don't like my name, but its no big deal.


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## Doodlebugsmom (Aug 1, 2002)

My dd's name isn't particularly unusual, but the spelling is uncommon. It's "Annelies." Most people in the US (or other English-speaking nations) would probably spell it "Annalise." She's named after Anne Frank, so we didn't want to alter the spelling. So we stuck with the German spelling. I always think that others may think we just made up some crazy spelling for her name, though.


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## aja-belly (Oct 7, 2004)

my kids all 4 have unusual names that are fairly common as words (well, cash is a nickname for cassius). they are easy to pronounce and spell. we still love that we picked the names we did. we gave them all family names that are more common as middle names so they can easily choose to go by that if they want.

jet nicholas
marvel bethany
cassius (cash) daniel
fox patrick


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## Dea (Sep 26, 2006)

DD has a slightly uncommon name... I chose a name that was popular 100 years ago... Beatrix, we call her Trixie. People often mispronounce it, which drives me insane. My name is odd too, Deadra, no one ever says it right.
I was teased a lot, so much... I hoped that DD won't be, we'll just have to make sure she has the skills to deal with it.


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## vegemamato (Jul 4, 2007)

My nearly 15 mos old daughter is Soren, which is constantly commented on but nearly everyone assumes she's a he







Especially if we have her in 'boy' colors. We loved the name, and started calling her by it when we found out I was pregnant. She has some unique existentialist connections too with the philosopher from whom we borrowed the name









Oh, and her initials are my nickname


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## onlyzombiecat (Aug 15, 2004)

Dd's name is uncommon.
One relative refuses to remember how to spell it. Other than that no issues.


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## Maine Mama Doula (Sep 6, 2007)

So funny I came upon this thread - We named our daughter Scarlett Rayne and we call her Rayne







We thought the first name Scarlett, while unusual is "professional" enough if she chooses to use it later in life. She's only 4 months.


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## tinybutterfly (May 31, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Raene* 
How is it? Do they enjoy having uncommon names? Do they get made fun of?

We're considering a unique name and we'd planned on having a common first name, with a unique middle that they would go by (but have the first to fall back on).

But now we're just thinking it's easier to have the name they'll go by as their first name.

Opinions here? Firsthand advice? Thanks!

We gave both of our sons a first name that was very traditional and a middle name that was more unusual.

Ds#1's name has worked out fine. People have mispronounced it, spelled it incorrectly or called him by another similar, more commen name. He's dealt with it.

Ds#2's name seemed unusual at the time and then it turned out a bunch of parents chose that name as he was one of many in grade school with his "unusual" name. He switched to his traditional name at school, but we still call him by his middle name at home. ( And yes I asked him if he wanted us to call him by is first name at home and he said no.)

If I had it all to do over again...I might have used the uncommen name they were going to go by as their first names instead of their middle names. It seems to really mess other people up and confuse them if you go by your middle name. It never occurred to me this would be a problem. My brother goes by his middle name and I don't remember him having issues with it.

Ds#2 wishes he had a more unusual middle name and it hadn't turned out to be a name that so many other kids had. And oddly enough his first name, which is very traditional, is "unusual" here. Go figure.

Good luck!


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## frontierpsych (Jun 11, 2006)

DD was Mackenzie and DS is Brodie, so no unusual names here, but DS's middle name is Avalon, which has gotten us some second takes. All 3 of us (me, DH, DS) have names that people misspell more often than not.

ETA: Kind of a good thing DH curbed my enthusiasm for unusual names-- if he'd have encouraged it I'd probably have ended up with one of those horror baby names you read about-- "Hi, I'm Kati, and this is my son, Farfisa Shortbread Cappuccino Rampage Verde Aftermath"


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## tjjazzy (Jan 18, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ceinwen* 
We get lots of 'Er - you mean Ruby?' or 'Like Kanga & Roo?' or 'What's her whole name?'


we got a lot of that when our ds2, Beau, was born. my mom even said "is that it?" yes, that's it!! i didn't want to name him Beauregard, thank you very much.









our ds1's name (Sawyer) sometimes gets "oh, like the last name" or "did you get that from Lost?"


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## lil_miss_understood (Jul 19, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Dea* 
DD has a slightly uncommon name... I chose a name that was popular 100 years ago... Beatrix, we call her Trixie. People often mispronounce it, which drives me insane. My name is odd too, Deadra, no one ever says it right.
I was teased a lot, so much... I hoped that DD won't be, we'll just have to make sure she has the skills to deal with it.

Is it pronounced similar to Deirdre?


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## AfricanQueen99 (Jun 7, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *vegemamato* 
My nearly 15 mos old daughter is Soren, which is constantly commented on but nearly everyone assumes she's a he







Especially if we have her in 'boy' colors. We loved the name, and started calling her by it when we found out I was pregnant.

Us, too! My daughter - a VERY girly, always wearing pink or a white flower girl dress and pink socks, girl - is Corbin and people will look at her, hear her name and then use male pronouns. I swear to god. It's the weirdest thing. Now, I get that some boys have long, blonde hair and wear dresses/pink clothes, but, seriously, not all masculine names belong to males!


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## jt'smum (Apr 13, 2004)

My DD is Jillian which people almost always say Julian I don't think its that uncommon.

DD #2 is Rhys(reese) and I get thats a boys name ya know.....all the time or they pronounce it Rice.


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## Keeta (Jul 4, 2005)

I have an unusual name (Chessa - it's my full given first name) and although at times growing up I wished it were a little more "normal," it was never for very long. And I think all kids go through a "I wish my name were [something else]" phase. I love it now and almost always get compliments on it.


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## Mum2JocelynAngus (Jun 16, 2006)

I have one of the top 10 names. When I was in grade 4, there were 4 of us in the classroom with the same name. I hated (& still dislike) having such a common name. I also don't like having a name that is very easily shortened, because people that I barely know shorten it which feels like such an invasion to me. My son has a traditional, old-fashioned but currently out of the top 1000 names. My daughter has a name which is much higher on the popularity charts than when we picked it! Although we still haven't met another child with the same name. Her middle name is very unusual - other than my grandmother I have never met anyone with that name (made my dad SO happy that we used that name!







). So I would say go with an unusual name that cannot be easily shortened! And with regards to the "hassle factor", I can't believe how many times I have had to spell my incredibly common first name or my short, spelled-as-it-sounds last name.


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## hanno (Oct 4, 2006)

My son's name, Ion, is common for stuff (a lot of it, like a tv channel and a car, that we didn't know about) but not very common for a name. It always felt like the right name for him even though I sometimes doubted it and felt funny. It suits him perfectly, and he likes it. Grownups want to either call him Ian or say it with a soft I. We joke that will call another son Atom--but we just might. We've heard of a few Zions, but no other Ion's in town.
It is technically his middle name and it does get confusing at the doctor's office and my mom calls him by his first name no matter what I say. She has only met him once so it's no big deal. His first name is Xavier, after my great grandfather, but it is just too common a name right now.


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## Kushali (Sep 17, 2006)

My parents were Mary and John so they gave my sister and I unusual names. My name is Aja, my sister's name is more common but she uses a non-standard spelling. I adore my name. It suits me well. My sister is less happy with her name. I do have a couple pieces of advice though.

I'd also make sure you choose a very unique name. My name doesn't look or sound like any other name so most people don't even try to pronounce or spell it. As a result it doesn't get butchered all that often. My sister's name is similar to several other names and as a result her name is mangled a lot. This is one of the reasons she dislikes it.

Get used to spelling it out for people. A short name is nice here since spelling it out doesn't take very long. I don't buy the "poor dear she'll have to spell out her name for everyone" since many people have to spell out their last name. And folks with common names may end up spelling it out to clarify that they are Craig not Greg or Brian not Ryan.

Get used to people mispronouncing it. I don't bother correcting the pronunciation of my name anymore. Correct them rarely helps and doesn't make a good first impression. If they hang out with me enough they'll figure it out.

Have a good answer for "what nationality is that?" and "how did you come up with that?". It will get asked a lot and having a simple answer that can't be discussed helps a lot. For decades I've been saying "my parents were hippies".

I have a very common middle name and I like it. I use it in publications and occasionally elsewhere. My sister used hers for about a year in her teens and was grateful she had the option.

I wasn't teased as much as you'd think.


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## Treasuremapper (Jul 4, 2004)

I have a really unusual name -- so unusual that I have met fewer than half a dozen people in my life with my name, and I am middle aged. Perhaps another dozen people have told me that they have a relative with my name, but I had not met those people.

I like it! As a kid, I was OK with it, too.


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## Logan's mommy (Jan 19, 2007)

We don't have anything really unusual, just uncommon.

Ds1 (8) is Logan Andrew, which will be gaining in popularity I'm sure, because of the Wolverine movie.

Ds2 (almost 8 months) is Desmond Alexander. We got Desmond from LOST, we couldn't agree on anything else.


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## KatieBonita (Mar 21, 2009)

I have a really unusual name, and don't like it because I'm shy and don't like talking to people. If I was more extroverted I think it'd be fine.
I like names that are unusual, but that have a common nickname. Best of both worlds!


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## orangefoot (Oct 8, 2004)

My eldest has an unusual name and has lived with it for almost 16 years - longer actually because it was the name of my bump.

He says that he is pleased with his name and although he has run-ins every now and then with people who mispronounce it after reading it and not listening to HIM say it, he wouldn't use his second name Leo which would be simpler.


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## Aufilia (Jul 31, 2007)

DD's name is Vivian, which is pretty unusual -- I've never run into anyone in the community with this name except the very elderly. But it has not been a problem so far. She's only 3, but usually people comment very positively on her name. I felt like we were definitely in a good place with an unusual name when my mother, a teacher, reported that the teachers loved it.... you know teachers see a lot of names go through! Since it's old-fashioned rather than just funky, people almost always spell it correctly.

My DH's name is common-sounding but spelled oddly. He hated his name as a kid but is now very proud of it.


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## Alathia (Nov 18, 2005)

my youngest is named Albert. not unusual to say the least, but I got a TON of "well that's an old name on a young baby" when he was born and we announced the name. I don't really care, it's not a unqeek name and we love it.


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## eepster (Sep 20, 2006)

DS has a pretty unique name, but it is easily shortened to a nice simply nick name that he goes by (Timmy.) Since no one would ever guess his full name from his nickname, it is a nice way to keep his identity somewhat more private when we give it out.

My college BF went by his middle name, and it was a pain. It was alway just wierd how people who got his name off forms would call him by his first name which never used in a fakely familiar manner.

My name is Jennifer, I was born in the very very early '70s. Since my parent didn't have access to birth records, and didn't tend to follow pop culture, the _thought_ Jennifer was an extremely unusual name (they didn't know a single adult named Jennifer







.) So I suffered from playground whiplash. I was not only not the only Jennifer in my class at school (there were 5,) I was not even the only Jennifer _C_. So we were Jennifer C1 and Jennifer C2. The slot for Jennifer on the keychain rack was _always_ empty.

I read an article about how naming trends happen, and it has happened over and over that hoards of parents suddenly all latch on to the same "unique" name. Do not assume a name is uncommon without checking for trends. The Social security administration has a website that helps track name trends. The names that are most popular today were unheard of 20 years ago. Like Madison as a girls name, in the movie "Splash" it was actually a joke that she decided to call herself Madison after see the street name.


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## innle (Mar 16, 2007)

My own name has an unusual spelling, and while I love it, it is a pain. Having to spell it all the time is a little annoying, but it is part of my routine now whenever I'm giving out my details! If I had less patience than I do, I would hate it by now.

That said ... I do really love it. And it's nice sometimes, to have a name that's a bit unusual, that's not the normal spelling. (No disrespect to the normal spelling, of course!)


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## calpurnia (Sep 26, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Alathia* 
my youngest is named Albert. not unusual to say the least, but I got a TON of "well that's an old name on a young baby" when he was born and we announced the name. I don't really care, it's not a unqeek name and we love it.









i know an albert! his parents always get "oh... is that a family name?". i have to say it took a while but it totally grew on me & now i love it!


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## mouthcave (Oct 9, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hookahgirl* 
Not to mention they would ask if I was sisters with Whitney Huston, like that makes ANY sense LOL


Haha! My name is Martina and I remember being asked if I was related to Tina Turner!


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## steelmagnolia9 (May 4, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *eepster* 
My name is Jennifer, I was born in the very very early '70s. Since my parent didn't have access to birth records, and didn't tend to follow pop culture, the _thought_ Jennifer was an extremely unusual name (they didn't know a single adult named Jennifer







.) So I suffered from playground whiplash. I was not only not the only Jennifer in my class at school (there were 5,) I was not even the only Jennifer _C_. So we were Jennifer C1 and Jennifer C2. The slot for Jennifer on the keychain rack was _always_ empty.

Maybe this is why I like uncommon names. My name is Jessica and there were always at least 2 Jessica's in my class, and I wasn't the only Jessica C. I became Jessica C1 in the 4th grade and it followed me.


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## mommyto3girls (May 3, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Flower of Bliss* 
My name is Sage. Back in the 80s it was quite uncommon, though I see it much more with kids lately *(though still a bit of a hippie name).* I loved having an unusual name most of the time. Of course, there are always times you want to blend into the wallpaper and having an unusual name makes that harder, but I'd rather not blend into the wallpaper ALL the time. ).

My dd is Sage, when I chose her name, I had not heard of any other's named Sage. We now know/have met 5 or 6 Sage's between the ages of 3-7 (only one a boy) and a 18 year old named Sage at our church (universal Unitarian, very librel/open) And I agree, they fall into the area of "crunchy" families!


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## rightkindofme (Apr 14, 2008)

My daughter is Shanna (rhymes with banana) Francesca. I think it is awesome. Shanna has not been in the top 1000 names in 12 years and it never got above the 400's.







Francesca is pretty much always in the top 1000, but the highest it has gotten was 353 in the last 20 years. For the past few years it has been in the 400's.

My name is Krissy. I don't think of it as being unusual but everyone wants to put a 't' in there. I'm not Kristy! And for spelling I've gotten: Chrissy, Chrissi, Chrisi, Chrissee, Krissee, and Krisee. And of course add a 't' into all of those variations.

We want to use Orion Gabriel for a boy child. Orion has gotten much more popular in the last twenty years but that means it went from being in the 900's to being in the 500's. Gabriel, however, is always in the top 100. It's the most popular name we like. I love love love the name.

For another girl we've thought about Callidora which has never been in the top 1000 names. However we have friends who say that we shouldn't use it because of Dora the Explorer. We are tv free and our kids are unlikely to know much about Dora. We would probably shorten it to Calli when she is small anyway. (The friend who is pushing this the hardest has a kid who is obsessed with Dora. She watches hours and hours of Dora every day and she has Dora EVERYTHING. I think it's nuts.)


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## Snuzzmom (Feb 6, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *frontierpsych* 
DD was Mackenzie and DS is Brodie, so no unusual names here, but DS's middle name is Avalon, which has gotten us some second takes. All 3 of us (me, DH, DS) have names that people misspell more often than not.l

At this point, DD-to-be will either be "Avalon" or "Arden."







Unusual, but not weird, and spelled just like they sound.


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## Okapi (Jul 11, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Amberoxy* 
My parents did not give me any middle name at all so I had no choice as to what name I went by.

It's funny you say this - my parents didn't give me and my brothers middle names specifically because they figured if we ended up not liking the names they gave us, we could add a middle name and go by that.


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## octobermom (Aug 31, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *honeybee* 
Speaking of constantly having to correct people...

My mother's name is Diana. This is not an unusual name, and you'd think after Princess Diana, it would be pretty easy to remember. But, there are still MULTIPLE people who constantly call her Diane even when she continually corrects them every time they say it. So you can't win for losing.


My name is Deanna and I spent my entire child hood correcting the Dianes and dianna or deana deane.. It wasn't a huge thing except I was REALLY shy and hated having to do it.
My DD is Cecilia about as traditional Catholic as one can get but depending on where we are gets diffrent results. Around here Heavy Catholic Hispanic area they all reconginize and can say cecilia and there are a handfull in her school (none in her class) before we moved people would act like they'd NEVER heard the name or ask if we named her after the "song"
My mothers name is Azeneth its bibical as well but she never met another with her name.

Deanna


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## MamaKickyPants (Sep 21, 2008)

My cousins are named Aspen and Yarrow. I've heard the odd other Yarrow, but never, ever an Aspen. Aspen would care less what ppl thought of her name - that's her personality. Yarrow ALWAYS has to spell it, and say, something like - 'Yarrow rhymes with marrow', and I think she gets a little annoyed by that sometimes, but it is HER name - we call her Yarr (rhymes with 'there') for short.


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## kriket (Nov 25, 2007)

nak

ds is named sirius. like the star, the satellite radio, harry potters god father...take your pick.

90% of people say sigh-rus or cirrius









delashenequa people can say, jay'son is perfectly 'normal' but the name of a star... too hard.

doesn't matter what you name a kid, people will mess it up


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## eepster (Sep 20, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rightkindofme* 
My daughter is Shanna (rhymes with banana)

Funny story;

When I was in college in NJ many of the students had heavy jersey accents. In one class I had there was this professor who had a classic harvard accent.

At the beginning of the semester, the professor was reading off thhe roll, and came to "Anna." The student pipes up "it's *AA*nn*AA.*" The prof repeats back "_ah_nn_ah._" The student responds "*AA*nn*AA* like b*AA*n*AA*na." So the prof repeats back "_ah_nn_ah_ like b_ah_n_ah_na."

Finally after a short debate on how to pronounce "banana," the student finally says "You can say banana however you like, but my name is *AA*nn*AA.*"


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## alexsam (May 10, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *artgoddess* 
My daughter is only 20 months so who knows if she'll hate it or not. Her name is Quinn. Not so usual for a girl, but easy for people to pronounce and spell. She'll never find a mug with her name on it though.


Don't be so sure! My son has *2 girls* in his pre-school class named Quinn!


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## calpurnia (Sep 26, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *eepster* 
Funny story;

When I was in college in NJ many of the students had heavy jersey accents. In one class I had there was this professor who had a classic harvard accent.

At the beginning of the semester, the professor was reading off thhe roll, and came to "Anna." The student pipes up "it's *AA*nn*AA.*" The prof repeats back "_ah_nn_ah._" The student responds "*AA*nn*AA* like b*AA*n*AA*na." So the prof repeats back "_ah_nn_ah_ like b_ah_n_ah_na."

Finally after a short debate on how to pronounce "banana," the student finally says "You can say banana however you like, but my name is *AA*nn*AA.*"

eepster - i thought the same - which pronounciation of banana??


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## foreverinbluejeans (Jun 21, 2004)

My name was Gail Linn and it people usually thought it was Gail. Gai was pronounced Gay. In the 1950's gay did not mean homosexual, or at least my midwestern parents didn't know it. When I was in my 20's I changed it to Gail. My sister's name is Melodee.

I gave my 3 children common names.


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## atom'smama (Mar 26, 2006)

hanno- we do have a son named Atom!! we gave him a common middle name just in case he doesn't like it. I love it and I really like Ion too...maybe if we have another...


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