[Greeneyedmum]

I'm putting this here because it's a general naming thing, not gender specific.

I have a babynames.com poll going. Have for a few months now and while some of the names change a little, they don't change a lot. I've watched Cosmo get further and further disliked and Arthur & Oscar more loved. I see Beatrix getting all the love and Edith suddenly swinging from like to dislike & Ottoline never gets love (she's got a 25 - 51 slide right now).

What I was thinking about, and would love to hear your thoughts as well, folks is this: do you prefer names that people gush over or curl their lip at? My top two, now & forever (I think) are Ottoline and Cosmo. Both lip curlers. my boys are Leo & Simon and got lip curls for at least 15 years before I started hearing people say "wow, cool", even online! Josephine gets love from namenerds online, but only recently started getting "oh, how lovely's out in RL. This past christmas season I was looking for a personalised ornament for her and ran into an old lady namd Josephine, who was thrilled to meet my little one. It was really neat.

So, when you think about naming kids (in the future or now), would you prefer the lip curlers, as I do, or so you prefer them to be loved by all & sundry? And what's your reasoning behind it?

I prefer them to be lip curlers because I love them being the only one in school. Funnily enough, even though my name is incredibly popular for my generation, it's timeless overall and I went to a small parochial school where I was the only Laura in the building until 8th grade (and then the other Laura was a part time art teacher!). Upon reaching high school I found 5 more in my class/year and that was pretty cool too, even though I didn't speak to any of them at all over four years (an occasional hi, how are you, yes, but nothing more). I loved being the only one and my boys did as well. I think my daughter very well might and that's sort of what I am when thinking of the next one.

You?
_________________
~ Lola ~ Proud Mama to Leo, Simon & Josephine! ~ Favorites: Maud, Cecily, Winifred, Rufus, Remy & Cosmo
http://www.babynames.com/namelist/9512562
Check out my blog: http://lolamac.wordpress.com/

[esperanzaloca]

Tricky question Green. I prefer for my kids names to be different and unique, but not kre8ive or younike. I want their names to sound 'normal,' but not be boring. I want people to like my kids' names, but I don't want them to share names with too many other people.
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Wife to loving DH Philip since 06/04/04 Mummy to Lorien Claire (07/17/05) and Brynna Eleanor (02/13/07)

[kbro]

That's tough, I'd hope people like the names but I don't want people to use my names, you know. If too many people dislike the name, feelings could get hurt. I'd like to avoid that but if I really love a name I'll use regardless of what the peanut gallery has to say. I was one of three of my name and somethimes there was confusion but it wasn't a big deal.

[Catriona]

I agree with esperanza, mostly. I was one of like 12 Caties/Katies/Kates/Cates/Caitlins/Katelynns/Catherines/Katherines and every variation under the sun. While I really like my name, it's classic and timeless and will serve me well, I wish it wasn't so popular! For this reason, I'll flip around combos so that the less common name is first, even if it messes up the flow. I also like to pick names that are hard to misspell. I've been called Katie so many times... no one can spell it right, and I suppose it's not a big deal, but I really have come to despise Katherine.

[Nicole]

I'm definitely a fan of the 'lip curlers'... my #1 boys name is Sheldon, which to me is a beautiful and highly underused (it ranks at #954 - my bf and I have a just-for-fun bet going on whether it will still be in the top 1000 next year) name - and I definitely rule out names and/or like them less when I realize how popular they're becoming. Another name I really like is Marin (for a girl - it's not my favorite or anything, but it's on my list) - that was the name of a character in Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening... but recently there was a thread on the Baby Name Wizard site where a lot of people mentioned the name - seems like everybody and their mother is naming their little girl's Marin/Maren all of the sudden, and now I just don't like it as much. I wonder if the Zelda game had anything to do with it? The game came out in '93 - so people who played it then might be having children now...
(on a completely unrelated note, I had no idea the game was that old - I got it ~1999/2000 and it seemed high-tech)

And yeah, I totally agree with Catriona - Nicole was #12 the year I was born, and I was rarely the only one, which is why I think I'm so drawn to uncommon names.

[SophieGray]

That's similar to my list... Maelys just keeps getting less and less votes (she's on around 12!), whilst Ava's nearly on 90! With the boys, Cillian & Rafferty are pretty much hated, whilst Noah just laps up the votes. (kinda over Noah anyway)

Both Matilda & Oliver are pretty popular names, and I've heard Iris thrown around a lot lately (help!), so I don't mind if my kids' names are common, but I wouldn't want them to be overused like Isabella, Emily or Ava. I like heaps of unpopular names, but now, with my kids' names, I'd feel weird throwing in a name which is too obscure.
The only hate I have are 'unique' and 'creative' names & spellings.
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Mother of:
Matilda Poppy Rae
Oliver Sebastian Finn
Iris Emilia Belle

new name list (as of 2nd jan '09):
http://www.babynames.com/namelist/9628970

[Catriona]

Iris in in the 300s and Oliver is out of the top 100, at least. Weirdly, Matilda didn't even seem to be on the top 1000...It's got to be. I did a name search and an M search...then again, it all depends on where you live.

[Greeneyedmum]

I don't know where you are Catriona, those look like Yank numbers to me & Sophie's in Australia, so the popularity here really doesn't reflect what she deals with.

Matilda hasn't ranked in the USA since 1964, when it stood at 946. 1882 was it's high point: 103. I think it's quite a bit higher in Australia. Funny because I would think Waltzing Matilda would turn a lot of folks off it. I suppose not.

Iris, on the other hand, stands at 316 and at it's peak ranked 196.. in 1929. It may yet see those heights again, it's been climbing since 1998.

Oliver makes me smile (it's my brother's second middle name), he looks poised to recapture the numbers he had back in the late 1800's.. top 100. I wouldn't mind, He's better than Ethan & Andrew for me!
_________________
~ Lola ~ Proud Mama to Leo, Simon & Josephine! ~ Favorites: Maud, Cecily, Winifred, Rufus, Remy & Cosmo
http://www.babynames.com/namelist/9512562
Check out my blog: http://lolamac.wordpress.com/

[Catriona]

Ah yes. Eastern US here. Forgot those numbers weren't the be all and end all... Perhaps Australia just has better taste then...but then again they have Taylah...Country differences are really fascinating, aren't they?

[Greeneyedmum]

Country differences fascinate me! I love seeing what's popular & where. Germany in particular is fascinating me, all those L names! L has never been a specatularly popular first letter here in the States and I've always felt a bit excluded when it comes to initals, when you look for ready made initial appliques, L is the most likely normal letter not seen. (Q, X & Z are most likely not found). I always wanted a sweater with my initial on it, ala Laverne as a kid. It never happened. Maybe I should have moved to Germany when I had the chance. *sigh* oh well. If you're interested as well, here's a fun tool: http://www.babynamemap.com/

and you can go into each top 10 and rate the names too! How cool is that!?
_________________
~ Lola ~ Proud Mama to Leo, Simon & Josephine! ~ Favorites: Maud, Cecily, Winifred, Rufus, Remy & Cosmo
http://www.babynames.com/namelist/9512562
Check out my blog: http://lolamac.wordpress.com/

[Catriona]

I was playing with this just the other day, actually. Wow, Sean is the most popular name in Ireland? Fascinating. I'll have to tell my boyfriend that. Whoa, Magnus. #3 in Denmark. Thanks for reminding me to bookmark that.

[Saoirse]

I had thought that *maybe* Liam (my son's name) was a little culture clashy with our Swedish last name, but it turns out that Liam is a really popular name in Sweden too. (See here for top names for boys in Sweden: http://www.scb.se/templates/tableOrChart____225615.asp)

But, on the original post, I would generally prefer lip curlers, but those tend to be the names that make me smile. My dad *still* hates Calypso's name. Sometimes, though, I just don't know. Lilia Rowan has gotten a lot of gushing, to my surprise. (The whole Lily & Lily-like names craze caught me off-guard).

I have to admit that I'm not overly in love with the name Elaina (our child #6), but finding something that my husband and I can agree on is a major hurdle. I loved Beatrix (nn Trixie) for her, which certainly made my husband's lip curl. (It seems to be getting a lot of love lately, at least here.) In retrospect, knowing her personality now, that name would have fit her better. Her middle name (Michelle) was selected purely on the basis of fitting well between her first name and her last name, although she does have an uncle Mike and another uncle with the middle name Michael.

I am somewhat dismayed by the sheer number of girls named Elena/Elaina/Alayna that I am running into-- any one spelling isn't that high on the popularity list, but if you combine all the alternate spellings that are pronounced the same way, there are a lot of them out there. It has turned out to be neither a "gush over" name nor a "lip curler", but more of a name that's so plain that noone thinks twice about it. That was certainly NOT my intention.

[XantheRED]

Sorry this is so long . Good question. I'm somewhere in between. I try to avoid common names because it seems like the same names get used over and over again so that they become forgetful. They also counteract the main purpose of names, which is to distinguish people. I never had too much trouble with the name Amy, except in church where I grew up with two others my same age. It's the fact that it was paired with the most generic nickname ever that always bothered me (Lynn), especially since I grew up with another Amy Lynn. I also dislike the fact that it's got this perpetual nickname feel going on and feels a bit modern and worn out despite it's classic history. But that's another rant for another day.

Sometimes the timeless classics are the best bet though. I'd have much rather been named Amy than my mom's top choice, Crystal (thank God she got talked out of that one -- it's not me at all). But ideally, I like the sort of lip-curlers that on paper scare a person because they seem so unfamilliar, but when you meet one in real life, you grow to love it for it's uniqueness and associate it with the bearer's unique identity. It can take a strong character to pull of an unusual name though. Some people I know that have they're names screamed through the school hallways on a daily basis (a sign that people have embraced they're unusual names) include a Margie (which I think I would have hated had I not encoutered it on a spunky teen), a Vita (ditto to Margie), a Lakin, a Kaveh, a Branford, an Aviva, a Shamlee and much more.

Some names I'm considering that I think fall into this category (curling lips on paper, but lovely hopefully in real life) are...

Esther (If a teen can rock Margie, she can definitely rock Esther. Worse comes to worse there's Essie.)
Delia (I don't know. I'm hoping no one hates this name, but you'd be surprised how confused people can get about anything slightly out of the ordinary.)
Roxanne nn Roxy (A lot of people hate this one for bad associations, but I kind of like the mixed feelings about it. I guess I have something to say about not judging those who may come off a little rough around the edges at first...)

Levi (People don't seem to get that this is not just a jean company, it's a traditional biblical name, hence the name of the founder of the company, Levi Strauss.)
Elek (Hungarian form of Alex.)
Everett
Lennox (it's Shakespearean)

Again, people are often scared about unfamiliarity with something, but they'll get over it quickly most of the time on a real person. Kids get over it faster, so there's normally no need to worry about trouble in school, unless there's a very obvious, overly tempting teasing potential (I had to cross Falk off my list because it sounded too close to a certain curse word...). Hopefully a child will learn to love the uniqueness and care the parents put into their name, which never fails to leave an impression, good or bad. But I think it's a problem though, when the vast majority of people despise the child's name or are confused by it to the point where the child dreads introducing his or herself. Lip-curlers are always a risk. The rewards may include making your child unforgettable though, so to me it's worth avoiding the common names. I just don't want to go over-board. Child comes first.

To Saoirse, have you considered unofficially changing your daughter's name? It's probably easier than you think, but it depends on her age I suppose. My suggestion would be calling her Lena (pronounced LAY-na, which I love) or Ellie (also a fav nn), which you're husband might accept as practical nicknames, but I've seen the more out-there. Apparently my friend's parents decided that she was more suited as a Vita than a Genevieve, so everyone has always called her that, with few people realizing what her real name is. They were right, Genevieve is lovely, but she's a Vita, one of a kind, and full of life as the meaning suggests. I also know a Zack, who recoils when people occasionally discover that his true name is Mark. The story that makes me smile most is my great Uncle Bud, who's true name is Hermann. How did the nickname come about? They just realized right away that he wasn't a Hermann, so they just called him Bud for lack of another name and it stuck with him throughout his whole life. I don't know how old your daughter is, but if you really dislike her name, you may be surprised what her name my evolve into.

[Saoirse]

[FireStar]

For me it depends on the sex of the child.
For girls I like names that are kinda different, but not totally weird, or names that were popular that aren't used so much anymore.
I came up with Katrielle (org. Katriel) and made it more fem. I like that it starts with Kat like a lot of common K names and ends in Elle, which is also kinda common, but together make a nice uncommon name.
I don't like too common of names like Jessica, Madison,Allison, Mary, Elizabeth, Ava,...but right now I like Eden, Audrey, Jaqueline (Not Jackie). Classic, feminine names that don't get so much attention anymore. I also like Desiree, Claudia, Hope, and Bianca. Someimes I like unusual names on girls, or some (not all) different spellings of common names, like Aeryn (Erin).


For boys I mostly like Biblical/Classic names or Celtic names.
I like Caleb, Josiah, Gavriel, Jesse, Riordan, Quinlan, Declan, Connor...nothing too weird. I like names that won't be so common there are five or six in every class (Morgans, and -aden's, Finn's,), but will not be strange on a child as they grow into adults. I like names that have been around a while, but havn't been over used.