Anonymous wrote:NP here (and didn't read the thread).

I'm a teacher - my worst example in HS was a class with 6 Alexanders. Really!

It's fine to use a popular name, but if the name doesn't have several options for nicknames, choose a middle name that does. Give your child some options so that they can choose a different go-by name in school, if it really bothers them and they don't want to be one of many same-named kids.

This is good, practical advice for people who wind up choosing more popular names. I actually think it's very common to give kids these top 10 names and then do a less common nickname. Charlie and Lottie are ones I've heard for Charlotte.

My name is Emily and I was born in 1987. One thing I don't like about my name is that it's common but doesn't lend itself to unique nicknames -- they all just kind of sound like Emily (Em, Emmy, Emma). I went by my first and middle name a lot when I was in school because there were so many Emilies. Luckily, I like my middle name (though it's a common middle name!). It was still inconvenient.

I gave my own DD a name a lot less common than Emily, but I also made sure to choose a name with good nickname options, including some nicknames that are fairly different than her given name, just in case she gets to a certain age and thinks "this doesn't feel like me" or "I want something more original".

But I do want to say that I don't think my parents were being "uncreative" when they named me, even though they gave me a common name that would only get more common. They named me after my mom's favorite poet, and they really loved that Emily is a pretty name that didn't feel super girly or elaborate. I think they, like a lot of 80s parents, were reacting to the Tiffanies, Stephanies, Jennifers, etc. and found themselves draw to simpler names. It turns out a lot of other parents felt the same way. Even though there have been times when I've wished I'd had a less common name, I've never been upset with my parents for it. I think they, like all parents, did what they thought was best.

Anonymous wrote:there is plenty of room between common and unique

someone posted about veronica and vanessa - those names are in that inbetween.

+1

there is plenty of room between common and unique

someone posted about veronica and vanessa - those names are in that inbetween.

I always felt sorry for kids who had unique names when I was a kid. It just wasn't cool, until maybe adulthood

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a not popular name. I wanted a popular name. I was jealous of the Jennifers. I named my kid popular names and they love the names.

+1. My whole life I imagined what it would be like to introduce yourself and not have to repeat yourself or correct people who misheard and assumed that your name is a much more common one that rhymes with yours.

Same. I'm tired of spelling my name to everyone. I named by kids something that cannot be misspelled.

NP here (and didn't read the thread).

I'm a teacher - my worst example in HS was a class with 6 Alexanders. Really!

It's fine to use a popular name, but if the name doesn't have several options for nicknames, choose a middle name that does. Give your child some options so that they can choose a different go-by name in school, if it really bothers them and they don't want to be one of many same-named kids.

Here are the possibilities:
1) you use a popular name and don’t encounter a lot of them out in the wild
2) you use it and it is the name of 4 of her classmates/teammates/etc

On the other end of things, your child’s reaction
1) doesn’t mind sharing a name with others
2) finds this incredibly annoying

You have zero control over any of this

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a not popular name. I wanted a popular name. I was jealous of the Jennifers. I named my kid popular names and they love the names.

+1. My whole life I imagined what it would be like to introduce yourself and not have to repeat yourself or correct people who misheard and assumed that your name is a much more common one that rhymes with yours.

+2.

My next door neighbor who was a sweet old lady never heard my name correctly and after a few times correcting her I gave up. For 10 years she called me a different name that sounds similar to my actual name but is much more popular. I had a teacher in middle school who never could pronounce my name correctly and instead called me by my middle name all school year and I never got used to it bc no one else called me by my middle name. My name was always being misspelled on certificates and forms and mail. Every time I introduced myself I got used to just also spelling my name and explaining it right away bc I knew otherwise they’d ask so I’d preemptively tell them. It gets old having an unusual name.

Was any of this traumatic? No, but annoying yes. I really wanted my name to be Sarah, bc I liked the name but mostly bc I hated having to correct people all the time.

Anonymous wrote:I have a not popular name. I wanted a popular name. I was jealous of the Jennifers. I named my kid popular names and they love the names.

+1. My whole life I imagined what it would be like to introduce yourself and not have to repeat yourself or correct people who misheard and assumed that your name is a much more common one that rhymes with yours.

I have a not popular name. I wanted a popular name. I was jealous of the Jennifers. I named my kid popular names and they love the names.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It just seems that there is no creativity behind a super popular top 5 name.

Why does there need to be creativity in what you name your kid though? That's not a requirement or even necessarily a desirable thing. I have a very "creative" name myself and it causes problems for me and I kind of resent carrying this name which was much more about my parents than it is about me--they picked a name trying to be creative without much thought for how it would be for a kid (me) to actually go through life w/ that name, always explaining it and spelling it and correcting people on how to pronounce it, etc. I'd rather have a common/popular name.

You think you would, you don’t know. The middle ground is the safest bet.

It just depends on what the name is. Middle ground as in not popular but also not unheard of would be good in theory, if the name itself also sounds good, has meaning, etc. If you're just picking a middle ground name to achieve "middle ground" status then it's not so good. That's why the actual name matters. In OP's case, I don't particularly care for the name Charlotte, and that has nothing to do w/ it's popularity. I do love other popular names like Ava and Evelyn. Taste is subjective of course. But to me, just because a name is popular doesn't automatically make it a good name or a bad name. You have the judge the individual name by your own metrics (do you and your spouse like it, does it sound good w your last name, does it have meaning to you)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It just seems that there is no creativity behind a super popular top 5 name.

Why does there need to be creativity in what you name your kid though? That's not a requirement or even necessarily a desirable thing. I have a very "creative" name myself and it causes problems for me and I kind of resent carrying this name which was much more about my parents than it is about me--they picked a name trying to be creative without much thought for how it would be for a kid (me) to actually go through life w/ that name, always explaining it and spelling it and correcting people on how to pronounce it, etc. I'd rather have a common/popular name.

You think you would, you don’t know. The middle ground is the safest bet.

I guess. All I know is that I'd like to not have to have a 5 minute conversation about my name every time I introduce myself. And I'd also like to not be so easy to find in an online search.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It just seems that there is no creativity behind a super popular top 5 name.

Why does there need to be creativity in what you name your kid though? That's not a requirement or even necessarily a desirable thing. I have a very "creative" name myself and it causes problems for me and I kind of resent carrying this name which was much more about my parents than it is about me--they picked a name trying to be creative without much thought for how it would be for a kid (me) to actually go through life w/ that name, always explaining it and spelling it and correcting people on how to pronounce it, etc. I'd rather have a common/popular name.

You think you would, you don’t know. The middle ground is the safest bet.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It just seems that there is no creativity behind a super popular top 5 name.

So what.

Give me a name I love any day over how YOU FEEL about creativity.

The point! I, I, I, I…. It’s SOMEBODY ELSE’S name! The moral thing to do is to play the odds.

-DP, don’t care about the creativity behind a name.

What do you mean "play the odds" I don't get what that means in the context of choosing a name for your child.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It just seems that there is no creativity behind a super popular top 5 name.

So what.

Give me a name I love any day over how YOU FEEL about creativity.

The point! I, I, I, I…. It’s SOMEBODY ELSE’S name! The moral thing to do is to play the odds.

-DP, don’t care about the creativity behind a name.