I’m stuck between some very bold and not-so-bold names. [name]Just[/name] curious - [name]Do[/name] you wish you went with a bolder name choice…or did you name your child something out-there and wish you had chosen a more mainstream name? I would love to hear the name you picked/wish you had picked. Thanks!
I’m not pregnant yet, but from what I’ve heard on the boards a lot of moms wish they’d gone bolder or stuck to a favorite that ended up being vetoed. Honestly, the best rule seems to be: don’t be afraid to choose the name that you love. I’m interested to see the responses to this post!
I named my daughter [name]Claire[/name] over [name]Katherine[/name] ([name]Kate[/name]) since I knew a lot of [name]Jack[/name] and [name]Kate[/name] sibset’s and thought it was too expected. My daughter is so more [name]Kate[/name] than [name]Claire[/name] so I wish I went with what I loved and not worried about anything else.
We named our last baby [name]James[/name]. It’s very mainstream, but also a safe choice. However, he never felt like an [name]James[/name] to us, so we have now changed his name to the more unusual and bold [name]Malachi[/name]. I think you should go with the name you like the most, obviously. We didn’t, because we couldn’t agree and when he was born we still hadn’t decided a name and we got stressed just thinking about it, so we went with [name]James[/name], just to “get it over with”. I’ve never regretted the other kids’s names though ([name]Melina[/name] & [name]Jasper[/name]).
Giving this a bump – I’d love to see more responses.
I picked the name I loved best and that felt most like it was the right one for him. It was far more common & mainstream than I had originally told myself I wanted, but it’s still perfect for him, and I have no regrets. I did wrestle with concerns over its popularity while I was pregnant, but my fears turned out to be groundless, so I’m really glad I didn’t talk myself out of my favorite name.
My boys have quite popular names, DS2s is top 10, though we are yet to meet another. I don’t regret it for a second as I love their names more now than I did when they were born.
I love the names we hsve picked for this baby. [name]Both[/name] boy and girl names aren’t anywhere near as popular. So no, we go with names we love regardless of where they are on any list.
I knew I wanted a name for my daughter that was pretty, but would make it unusual for her to run into another girl with the same name. Also did not want her to be picked on for it. So, I would say a different name, without being “too out there”
I knew from age 5 that I wanted to name my son [name]Isaac[/name], and when I met my husband and found out [name]Isaac[/name] is his Confirmation name, I took it as a sign. Years later, while I was on the ultrasound table after we found out we were having a boy, I hugged my tummy and turned with tears in my eyes to my husband and said “Finally, our little [name]Isaac[/name].” He says, “Yeeeah, about that. I kind of hate that name.” WHAAAAA?! We had agreed on it on like our 3rd date!
A few nights later I had a dream that my baby introduced himself to me as [name]Gideon[/name], and when I told my husband about it his eyes got all welled up this time! So I knew I was out-voted.
As for [name]Sylvie[/name], I’ve loved that name since 8th grade French class and luckily, my husband “didn’t mind” it.
My daughter wishes her name was not [name]Maya[/name]…I almost named her [name]Jessa[/name]…but she is 6 and I love her name…I never liked [name]Molly[/name] either…so bored with it…just bored
I have two older brothers with VERY common and recognizable names (both top 20 for their birth years, I can’t believe they aren’t higher, though!). My mom has said she regretted those choices, but at the time had no way to know they were so popular with current babies. I’m not so sure I believe her, as I’m looking at their SSA list histories and they were pretty stable since 1950.
I’m the youngest, and they gave me a pretty uncommon name. They didn’t set out with that goal (other choices on the list were [name]Katie[/name] and [name]Laura[/name]… in the 1980s, ha), it just happened. She doesn’t seem to have much opinion on how unusual my name is or isn’t, and doesn’t remember whether or not it bothered her that it wasn’t easily pronounceable. Obviously, nearly 30 years later, she’s not too worried about it.
After growing up in this situation, I strongly prefer for my children to have less-common names; the more unusual the better. Nearly all of my top girls names are outside of the top 1000, though my boys list is a little more mainstream. Picking favorite names is important, but I care less about picking something that [i]I[/i] love, and more about picking something that I would love to have… with the hope that if I’d love to have it myself, so would my child. It will be a million times more impactful on their life than mine, after all.
I named my son [name]Ethan[/name] - 17 years ago, so it wasn’t mega popular then. He’s never had one in his class (1 other in the entire school in a different grade) and he liked that. I wasn’t really looking to be adventurous, just wanted a name I liked, and my taste in names is for the most part pretty mainstream. He’s happy with his name, feels it’s not too common (in his age group) and not too weird. When I told him [name]Ethan[/name] went down to #7 he was pleased, fewer people sharing his name.
My older daughter is named [name]Delaney[/name] [name]Brooke[/name]. [name]Delaney[/name] was not even a runner for FN (it was a mn combo…[name]Allison[/name] [name]Delaney[/name]). We didn’t have a set name picked…and when she was born…she just looked like she needed to be named something “different”. [name]Delaney[/name] popped in my head as her fn and that was it. I love her name and I think it suits her perfectly.
My second daughter is named [name]Ryley[/name] [name]Kate[/name]. [name]Ryley[/name] was the name SO wanted for [name]Delaney[/name] (but it didn’t feel right for her)…so when we found out we were having another girl he got his way with [name]Ryley[/name]. Her name is spelled with the double “y” because I liked the way her name looked as a whole that way. [name]Riley[/name] [name]Kate[/name] just didn’t look right to me…(I’m weird I know)…I do wonder if that is going to be a problem for her later on. I also wonder if sharing a name with boys will bother her. But all in all, her name suits her and I like it too.
I think I made the right choices with their names, but I feel like if I were to have a third daughter…I’ll have to stay away from anything too girly and feminine. And anything too unisex for a boy.
I don’t have kids yet, but…
I would rather give my kid a bold name that I love and regret it than a mainstream name that I don’t love as much and regret it. Since some of my favorites are kind of out there, I feel like it’s better to have one bold name and one mainstream name to balance it out. That way if my kid ended up hating their bold name, they would always have the mainstream name to fall back on.
I don’t have kids yet, either, but right now, I would much rather give a timeless, classic, yet familiar name that will grow with my child than a unique name that would be too much for my child to bear. I was painfully shy as a child, and, knowing my family’s genes, I can see my own biological children to be very shy, as well. And while I wouldn’t mind having a biological child or two of my own, most of my children will be adopted, and I can imagine that they’ll be worried about fitting in, as well, as having a fairly familiar, classic, timeless name will suit them best, too. As long as the name isn’t trendy and made-up, I don’t think I would honestly regret using a popular name.
It’s not like I’m planning on giving my children top 10 names, and I like an uncommon name as much as the next [name]Berry[/name], but I think I do appreciate the popular names more than most Berries do. I would be perfectly content using top 100 names for all of my kids, if that’s what it came down to.
I have a very classic name that was popular in the late 70s-early 80s, I even have the standard mn of [name]Elizabeth[/name]. I’ve met two people with my exact same name and you know what? IT WAS AWESOME! Each time we were both excited! 
I love my name, it’s simple but pretty, I’ve always had a few other girls with my fn in my school but it never mattered, we all stood out for different reasons, accomplishments, personality traits, etc… I never had any jealousy or sadness about my name because my name doesn’t make me who I am.
So I say bold or boring, go with what your heart tells you.
These responses are great! Keep them coming! It’s also interesting to hear from some of you who had names picked out and then changed them once you saw your child. Looks like I’ll be going with a few ideas for names instead of just one.
Wish I had gone bolder for the boys. I love their first names, but they are a bit popular and trendy (didn’t know that with DS1). And their middle names are a bit bland. I don’t regret their names, they’re a good and suit them, but now I’m a name geek I know I could do better. [name]Love[/name] DD’s name though.
I absolutely think you need more than one name, I could never be 100% sure until I meet him/her. It took me 12 hours to name my daughter and felt rushed to do so. Also it freaks me out a little when people monogram things with the name or name their baby registry “[name]Jacob[/name] [name]Harry[/name]'s registry” before the birth…I could just never be that sure or what if god forbid something goes wrong?
I don’t really regret naming my third daughter [name]Emma[/name] I really love the name but now that she is 6 and her true personality has shown up it doesn’t really "fit’ her. To me it was a girly girl name and she is FAR from that!! But then again I am not really sure what name does “fit” her to the t! 