My name is [name_f]Aurora[/name_f]. It’s pretty popular on here, but I’ve still seen a lot of people say it’s ugly, too weird, too hard to spell/pronounce, or that everyone will associate it with Sleeping Beauty. So here’s my take on those. “Ugly” is subjective, so unless everyone is saying it, it’s probably safe to ignore. “Too weird” is kind of meaningless, so unless they have something productive to say about how it might impact the kid’s life, I wouldn’t worry about it.
People really do have trouble saying and spelling my name, and sure, always having to spell it out only to have them get it wrong anyway is annoying, but it’s honestly not that big of a deal. Here’s the thing, everyone’s name gets spelled wrong. I know a [name_u]Kimberly[/name_u] who always gets [name_f]Kimberley[/name_f], and think of all the people named [name_f]Sara/name_f, [name_u]Jo/name_un, [name_f]Meg/name_fan, Rach(a)el, or [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f]/[name_f]Kaitlyn[/name_f]/[name_f]Katelyn[/name_f]. At least once someone has my name down, they won’t mix it up with their other friend with the same name but a different spelling.
The Sleeping Beauty thing is legitimately baffling to me. [name_f]Every[/name_f] time people talk about the name [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] in the abstract, people insist that every person she ever meets will comment on it, but it’s only happened a handful of times in my life. No, what I always get is, “Is your last name Borealis?” It…gets old. But it doesn’t make me hate my name.
On the general criticisms of unusual names: I hated it as a kid. I hated that all the other kids could get personalized pencils and cups and necklaces and bike license plates and I couldn’t. I hated that every person who met me commented on how unusual it was. I hated that I never saw it in a book or heard it on TV (and I’ve still only seen it a few times). But then it grew on me, and now it’s just me. And I’ve gotten (very) used to people commenting on it, and I hear “[name_m]How[/name_m] pretty!” at least as often as “That’s different!”
Now, all of that is specific to my own experience, but I think it’s a good look at some of the criticisms unusual names get in general. Not every [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] (or [name_m]Atticus[/name_m] or [name_u]Paisley[/name_u]) will grow up to like their names, but neither will every [name_f]Emma[/name_f] or [name_m]Jacob[/name_m], and having an uncommon name gives you a kind of ownership of it that people with common names don’t have. In general, I would say consider people’s input if they have specific criticisms, like that the name sets itself up to be teased, has an obvious negative association, won’t age well, or is egregiously difficult to pronounce or spell, but it should just be a point to consider, not an instant veto, unless it’s really bad (and if it hadn’t occurred to you until they mentioned it, it likely isn’t). Sure, it may be hard to imagine a president being named [name_f]Maisie[/name_f], but there’s literally a senator named [name_f]Mazie[/name_f] right now, and who knows how people will perceive it fifty years from now.
