I'm a teacher so popularity is definitely a factor to me, if not actually major concern. It gets old teaching literally five different Megan's... I just don't want my kid to have to deal with that.
That being said, there is a difference between popular and trendy. Popular = classic, timeless, enduring. Trendy = super associated with one era/cultural phenomenon. I get much more nervous about trendy names than popular.
Exactly. For example, William has been in the Top 20 for over 100 years. Contrast that with Justin, which peaked at #7 in 88 and has been slowly declining ever since.
Or Jessica, which was #1 in 88. It dropped out of the Top 10 in 2001 and is dropping quickly, where the lowest Elizabeth has been since 1900 is #26 in the forties.
That and I never had to go by Elizabeth Last Initial because there are so many nicknames for it. I was in a class with three girls named Elizabeth once - one Lizzie, one Liz and one Beth and those are just the more common nicknames. I also know Elizabeth's who go by Betsy, Liza, Eliza, Libby and my uncle calls me Ebbie (don't know where that came from).
Give your kid a name with a long list of nicknames and they never need to worry about being called first name - last initial.
Names are super important to me. Names have "power", for lack of a better word. (Nominative determinism etc.)
I'm REALLY happy that they chose Charlotte over Alice. I figured that they would, seeing as it honours both his dad and her mom. I just don't like Alice. I couldn't tell you why, I just don't.
DH and I don't want kids, but we picked names fairly early in our relationship because I have a thing about names being important. And I'm not gonna lie, I totally used the baby name discussion as a test - luckily for us, we both like classic names more than trendy ones.
So we've chosen Caroline Edith Rose, and Jonathan Archer (-). The third name (or second middle name?) would be either James or DH's first name. Since we're not actually having kids, it's kinda a moot point anyway. But we're definitely set on Jonathan Archer because Star Trek.
H and I already have a boy's name and a girl's name picked out, even though we're not having kids for a bit yet. It's fun to talk about and think about. We both really like Charlotte, maybe for a second girl, and I was super disappointed when I heard that's the royal baby's name. I don't like crazy youneeque names, but I like ones that aren't so common there are two or three in every class, and I'm afraid Charlotte will now get crazy popular.
When we were coming up for names for DS (before we knew he would be a DS) we had come up with David James. I really loved it. That Christmas we went to look at the light display in Battle Creek with DH's brother and SIL who had not started their family yet. As they were asking us if we had been thinking of names, she ended the sentence with, "Please don't tell me you picked David James - I have loved that name since I was a child." She had NO idea we had selected it so DH and I kept our mouths shut and on the way home we decided that if it meant that much to her we would let it go and we went with Michael James. I love his name. Oh, and BIL and SIL ended up having 2 daughters!
I love Cora. I always wanted an Emily but didn't get one. My DD J was always J_____B because she had a popular name and there always at least 2 other J's in her classes. I called her J______B til she got married last year.
One of my granddaughter's is named for most of her great grandparents. Her paternal great grandmother was Josephine and her dad adored her. My first MIL's middle name was Ellen, and then my maiden name because my parents did not have names you wanted to saddle your kids with. Her name is Josie Ellen Mymaidenname Lastname. I love her name and if you had known my first MIL you would know why my DD wanted to use her name. She was such a gem.
When I was in uniform I literally had hundreds of names come across my desk each week. It was common for someone in my section to say "Whoa, his parents are going to get a sucky nursing home" based on the guys name. There were some doozies and you had to feel bad for the guy/girl trying to get through middle school or basic training wih that name.
One time Thorin Oakenshield Lastname's record came across my desk. I remembered it was quite unusual but didn't know the significance. Then, sitting in the movie with DS watching the Hobbit I found out where it came from. Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when his parents were discussing that one!
I LOVE names! DH and I are looking to TTC toward the end of the year but we've had names picked out for probably a few years now. Boys were easy but girls are really hard for us. For boys we have Darren and Elliott. For girls we're still really torn.... DH really wants Emma which I've always loved but I really think it sounds awful with the last name. Decisions! We've agreed though that Ella would be a good compromise and it's also a family name.
I'm a big fan of a classic first name followed by an unusual middle name. My parents did that for both me and my sister. Our middle names are so unusual that you could figure out who I am by Googling it, so in the spirit of anonymity I won't share.
Slightly creepy aside: FI and I chatted online for a few months before our first date and I had told him my middle name for fun. At one point early in the dating process we exchanged last names and he admitted to me that he already knew mine because he had found it my Googling my firstname middlename. I guess I should be glad there isn't anything incriminating about me on the internet! How many of you will admit that during your dating years you'd Google your dates first?
I do remember being in a 4th grade class with five boys, all named "Jim". Three of them had last names that began with the letter "B", so last name initials wouldn't work. They hated it! My name was very unusual, so I never had a problem - that is, until I found out that it wasn't my legal name at all!
I've told FI that our first daughter is going to be named for my Grandma, Anna Belle. If we have another daughter I would want to name her Lucy after my other grandmother. I haven't thought too much about boy names. DH would want the middle name to be Lester after his dad, which I don't like at all but I know it's important to DH.
I've told FI that our first daughter is going to be named for my Grandma, Anna Belle. If we have another daughter I would want to name her Lucy after my other grandmother. I haven't thought too much about boy names. DH would want the middle name to be Lester after his dad, which I don't like at all but I know it's important to DH.
My all time favorite name for a girl is Shoshanna, but FI absolutely hates it and it's become a joke with our friends now. I always refer to our future child as Shoshanna. A name we both love and agree on is Layla (after my favorite song), but I have a feeling his sister might use it as she's currently pregnant with a girl. For a boy we like Jack. We both like Scout and Ripley, but I think when it really comes down to it he won't actually let me use either of those. I love a lot of more unique names and FI is very concerned with what people think so I know he's going to want to go with a more standard, "tamer" name.
For a long time, I loooooooved Coraline (like the Neil Gaiman book). Coraline and William would be a perfect sibset.
Then I liked Rosemary Adelaide, Alys Rebecca, and Grayton William for a sibset. Rosemary, Alys and Grayton are all beaches on 30A and they're beautiful but it's a subtle thing that a lot of people probably wouldn't catch.
And then there's Callie. And Elena. And Cora and Luke and Matthew and Tobias and Silas and Maribelle and Ryan (Fi's name!) and Maura and Jonas and Isaac and Carson and Riley and Della and Nora and Ophelia and Sebastian and Charlotte and Kieran and Sean and Stella and James and Jonathan and Liam and Annette and Eleanor and Seth and Lillian and Catherine and .... In another thread I said I couldn't make enough babies to use up all the names I love. I really truly meant it.
I totally keep a running list of baby names for the future so I don't forget any when the time comes.
I have a few weird choices on there, like River, which is a current fave (I don't get it either). A few other current favorites are Grant, Winnie, Iris, and Brook (the male version).
My all time favorite name for a girl is Shoshanna, but FI absolutely hates it and it's become a joke with our friends now. I always refer to our future child as Shoshanna. A name we both love and agree on is Layla (after my favorite song), but I have a feeling his sister might use it as she's currently pregnant with a girl. For a boy we like Jack. We both like Scout and Ripley, but I think when it really comes down to it he won't actually let me use either of those. I love a lot of more unique names and FI is very concerned with what people think so I know he's going to want to go with a more standard, "tamer" name.
I LOVE THAT. I hope she leaves it for you!
Neither Scout nor Ripley seem to be too out there for a first name, to me, but then I'm pretty out there with some of my choices - I like Seth on a girl. Something else to consider, too, is that they could be middle names; a PP mentioned putting a classic first and something trendier/more out there second.
I am still, to this day, a little bummed that my mom didn't give me a "proper" middle name. She gave me her maiden name, which is cool and all, but then she gave my brother a really neat name without any family connection, and my sisters cool family names, and I just got this last name in a weird spot, and since my mom goes by Mom Smith Jones and then my name is Me Smith Jones, it's just kind of always bothered me. I hate it, and I'm excited to do something about it when I get married.
Oh, and for some reason I HATE Adrian (male), but love Adrienne (female) even though every Adrienne I've ever known has pronounced it exactly the same as Adrian.
David and Bridget are both of our number ones. Names that got vetoed on both sides were Charles and Cassidy (my pics) and Roberta and Summer (his pics).
For a long time, I loooooooved Coraline (like the Neil Gaiman book). Coraline and William would be a perfect sibset.
Then I liked Rosemary Adelaide, Alys Rebecca, and Grayton William for a sibset. Rosemary, Alys and Grayton are all beaches on 30A and they're beautiful but it's a subtle thing that a lot of people probably wouldn't catch.
And then there's Callie. And Elena. And Cora and Luke and Matthew and Tobias and Silas and Maribelle and Ryan (Fi's name!) and Maura and Jonas and Isaac and Carson and Riley and Della and Nora and Ophelia and Sebastian and Charlotte and Kieran and Sean and Stella and James and Jonathan and Liam and Annette and Eleanor and Seth and Lillian and Catherine and .... In another thread I said I couldn't make enough babies to use up all the names I love. I really truly meant it.
I LOVE Sebastian and FI says no
Show him that. It will win him over in a heartbeat.
I'm not super obsessed with any baby names (I still have yet to get baby fever), but I tend to like longer classic names that have common shortenings: like Alexander or Michael for boys, or Michelle for girls.
if we have a boy, I like Alexander, since DH's initials are AJA and so will our son's!
DH and I plan to start TTC the beginning of next year and honestly, we have talked baby names since high school.
Boy names are easier for us. If we have a son, the first son will be James Robert III (after DH and FIL). We want him to go by James. DH goes by Jay and FIL is Jimmy. I have an uncle James I am very close to and DH's grandpa is James. It just works.
If we have another son, he will be Scott Hamilton which is both of my brothers' middle names (and I found out on a thread like this last time, a professional iceskater, who knew?!). If we by chance had a THIRD (!) son, his middle name would be Lane which is my dad's middle name. I'm not sure what a first name would be. We like family names.
If we have a daughter, her name would be Lila Elyse. I just like the name Lila and Elyse is SIL's middle name. That is literally the only girl name we agree on right now. I like Alice, Catherine, and Evelyn. DH doesn't like the latter two because those are his dad's sisters' names and they don't have a good relationship. I always liked Lucy Belle (family name) but DH doesn't.
@julieanne912 My grandmothers name is Genevieve as well. I want it for a middle name. She goes by Genny, so that wouldn't be too much for a kid's name.
@esstee33 Desmond makes me think of the guy from Lost. I liked him
@hellosweetie1015 not baby related at all- is A30 the blue and yellow bumper stickers I am always seeing? FI and I have never been able to figure it out. I have literally not known for years.
I like Leslie Williams (my future last name). Something about the repeating L's is very appealing to me. And she would be named for Leslie Knope (but don't tell FI that).
julieanne912 My grandmothers name is Genevieve as well. I want it for a middle name. She goes by Genny, so that wouldn't be too much for a kid's name.
esstee33 Desmond makes me think of the guy from Lost. I liked him
hellosweetie1015 not baby related at all- is A30 the blue and yellow bumper stickers I am always seeing? FI and I have never been able to figure it out. I have literally not known for years.
I like Leslie Williams (my future last name). Something about the repeating L's is very appealing to me. And she would be named for Leslie Knope (but don't tell FI that).
YES. They are lovely development-restricted beaches between Panama City Beach and Destin, FL. Nothing can be built over 3 stories, and nothing can be built beachside; everything is at least one street away.
The people who get to go there and stay are typically kind of stuck up (PCB and Destin are for the hoi polloi, you know), but I don't hold the clientele against them. They're fantastic beaches.
@julieanne912My grandmothers name is Genevieve as well. I want it for a middle name. She goes by Genny, so that wouldn't be too much for a kid's name.
@esstee33 Desmond makes me think of the guy from Lost. I liked him
@hellosweetie1015 not baby related at all- is A30 the blue and yellow bumper stickers I am always seeing? FI and I have never been able to figure it out. I have literally not known for years.
I like Leslie Williams (my future last name). Something about the repeating L's is very appealing to me. And she would be named for Leslie Knope (but don't tell FI that).
I have a friend names Genevieve and she goes by Gen. It took me awhile to even realized what her name was. I always thought it was Gennifer.
My number one boys name is Carson but a friend named her son that. I feel a little weird using her boy name. Is there some sort of unwritten code about naming you kid if a close friend has also used it? I am thinking not and being silly about it.
Love the royal baby's name! I've always loved Charlotte- it's gotten SO popular in recent years and I'm sure this is only going to increase its profile, but it's just a beautiful classic name on its own merit.
Related question: I think most people prefer picking names for their children that aren't super popular, so do any of you have names you love but you've been disappointed to see get popular lately?
Nope. I've never really understood this concern. I have a popular name, never necessarily trendy, but always toward the top of most common names. It's never upset me or bothered me that lots of people have my name.
I'm not going to not use a name just because others like it too.
My husband and his sister are on the opposite side. They both have extremely trendy names ie had three or four of each in each of their classes. For this reason my husband wants us to stay away from trendy/popular names.
That being said though - we both love Olivia for a girl and will probably stick with it even though it's very popular now. It's the only girl name we've both agreed to and can't seem to stray from it.
FI have a list started, well he started it when I mentioned I liked a name once because it excited him that I was 'coming to the dark side' (I didn't want kids until about a year ago)
So far for a boy we have
Alexander Gordon (Gordon is his dads name)
XXXX Lee (Something with the middle name Lee, as his dad and him both have the middle name Lee)
Girl
Claire or Clara Margaret (Claire is the name of the main character in my favorite book. FI prefers Clara, Margaret is my nanas name and my Mothers middle name)
Amelia Catherine (FI just loves amelia, Catherine is his moms name)
H and I are fairly set on not having kids but have names we like (JIC). If we have a boy, we both love Jack. Family ties on both his mom and dad's side and I have loved the name forever. I also love the name Wyatt but H hates it. We have a few girl names we like, with Lindsay and Audrey at the top of our list.
Re: Baby names
Or Jessica, which was #1 in 88. It dropped out of the Top 10 in 2001 and is dropping quickly, where the lowest Elizabeth has been since 1900 is #26 in the forties.
That and I never had to go by Elizabeth Last Initial because there are so many nicknames for it. I was in a class with three girls named Elizabeth once - one Lizzie, one Liz and one Beth and those are just the more common nicknames. I also know Elizabeth's who go by Betsy, Liza, Eliza, Libby and my uncle calls me Ebbie (don't know where that came from).
I love the new Princess's name!
When we were coming up for names for DS (before we knew he would be a DS) we had come up with David James. I really loved it. That Christmas we went to look at the light display in Battle Creek with DH's brother and SIL who had not started their family yet. As they were asking us if we had been thinking of names, she ended the sentence with, "Please don't tell me you picked David James - I have loved that name since I was a child." She had NO idea we had selected it so DH and I kept our mouths shut and on the way home we decided that if it meant that much to her we would let it go and we went with Michael James. I love his name. Oh, and BIL and SIL ended up having 2 daughters!
I love Cora. I always wanted an Emily but didn't get one. My DD J was always J_____B because she had a popular name and there always at least 2 other J's in her classes. I called her J______B til she got married last year.
One of my granddaughter's is named for most of her great grandparents. Her paternal great grandmother was Josephine and her dad adored her. My first MIL's middle name was Ellen, and then my maiden name because my parents did not have names you wanted to saddle your kids with. Her name is Josie Ellen Mymaidenname Lastname. I love her name and if you had known my first MIL you would know why my DD wanted to use her name. She was such a gem.
When I was in uniform I literally had hundreds of names come across my desk each week. It was common for someone in my section to say "Whoa, his parents are going to get a sucky nursing home" based on the guys name. There were some doozies and you had to feel bad for the guy/girl trying to get through middle school or basic training wih that name.
One time Thorin Oakenshield Lastname's record came across my desk. I remembered it was quite unusual but didn't know the significance. Then, sitting in the movie with DS watching the Hobbit I found out where it came from. Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when his parents were discussing that one!
Slightly creepy aside: FI and I chatted online for a few months before our first date and I had told him my middle name for fun. At one point early in the dating process we exchanged last names and he admitted to me that he already knew mine because he had found it my Googling my firstname middlename. I guess I should be glad there isn't anything incriminating about me on the internet! How many of you will admit that during your dating years you'd Google your dates first?
All time favorites:
Harrison James for a boy (both are family names)
Hallie Jane for a girl
Other favorites:
Poppy (girl)
Blaire(girl)
Ryan (girl)
Abraham (boy)
Hayden (boy)
@jennycolada my son' name is Alexander Michael!
My current favorites are Lillian and Abigail or Benjamin and Nathanial
ETA: I love the name Grace. But it got really popular and sounds weird with my last name. So I guess its out.
@julieanne912 My grandmothers name is Genevieve as well. I want it for a middle name. She goes by Genny, so that wouldn't be too much for a kid's name.
@esstee33 Desmond makes me think of the guy from Lost. I liked him
@hellosweetie1015 not baby related at all- is A30 the blue and yellow bumper stickers I am always seeing? FI and I have never been able to figure it out. I have literally not known for years.
I like Leslie Williams (my future last name). Something about the repeating L's is very appealing to me. And she would be named for Leslie Knope (but don't tell FI that).
I have a friend names Genevieve and she goes by Gen. It took me awhile to even realized what her name was. I always thought it was Gennifer.
My number one boys name is Carson but a friend named her son that. I feel a little weird using her boy name. Is there some sort of unwritten code about naming you kid if a close friend has also used it? I am thinking not and being silly about it.
That being said though - we both love Olivia for a girl and will probably stick with it even though it's very popular now. It's the only girl name we've both agreed to and can't seem to stray from it.
H and I are fairly set on not having kids but have names we like (JIC). If we have a boy, we both love Jack. Family ties on both his mom and dad's side and I have loved the name forever. I also love the name Wyatt but H hates it. We have a few girl names we like, with Lindsay and Audrey at the top of our list.