has anyone ever taken your name? how did you feel about that?
I had [name_u]Avery[/name_u], [name_f]Maeva[/name_f],[name_u]Harper[/name_u],[name_u]Hadley[/name_u], [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] no boy names taken yet
The name wasn’t technically taken from me, as I had not really spoken to many people about it, but it was a name that I was first considering for a girl when I found out I was pregnant. The name was [name_f]Margot[/name_f] and my sister-in-law ended up using it as her daughter’s middle name. I was bummed at first, but now I think it totally suits little [name_f]Alice[/name_f]. It also helps that I am expecting a boy, so I am too busy trying to find a perfect name for him to spend time mourning the loss of a name.
It is a stinky situation when your name gets took though 
[name_f]Glad[/name_f] your boy names are safe thus far!
My first cousin and I were pregnant at the same time. I told her I would be using “[name_m]Abel[/name_m]” for a boy, as that was my husband’s grandfather’s name. As soon as she realized I was having a girl, she named her son [name_m]Abel[/name_m]. I was slightly annoyed, but mostly because it is a family name, and my husband may want to use it in the future while I do not want two [name_m]Abel[/name_m]'s close in age in the same family.
Doesn’t count beside I’m not sure I’d actually use it, i never claimed it, and my sister will be having kids before me anyway, but i love [name_f]Catherine[/name_f] and my sister claimed [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] for herself. But i have others i like better that she thinks are bizarre so I’m good.
I wouldn’t say she “took my name” since she had no idea I loved it so much, but my husband’s cousin named her now two-year-old daughter [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f]. Bummed I can’t use it.
This is the reason I keep my favorites and the more unique ones to myself. There were several that I liked that my friends ended up using, but my favorites are still safe. I’m quite a bit more eclectic than my friends anyway, so they’re tending to stick to named like [name_u]James[/name_u], [name_m]Matthew[/name_m], [name_m]Brody[/name_m], etc. and I’m not sure they’d even know that my favorites exist (not for a few months, at least!).
I have had names that I loved used by others but wouldn’t consider them taken as I have no more claim to any name than any other. I did want to name a son [name_m]Daniel[/name_m] after my father but my sister named her daughter (4 years older than my son) [name_f]Danielle[/name_f]. It didn’t up being a big deal, I was going to use [name_m]Daniel[/name_m] as a middle but it didn’t work as well with the first name we picked so I used my Dad’s middle name as my son’s middle name instead. It is perfect.
Luckily, I can find many names to love so I was never disappointed one someone else picked a name I might have used.
The only situation I can fault someone else for taking a name is when it is a fairly unusual name and you have told the person you want to use. The poster her said her sister-in-law used [name_m]Abel[/name_m] after she mentioned wanting to use it because it was a family name on her husbands side is this kind of situation. It just seems mean to do that to someone else.
I do not have children yet, but always thought I would tell people the name we chose, mostly because I would be too excited to keep it a secret. Then I started talking with friends and reading things on nameberry and I’ve totally changed my mind; I am going to keep the name 100% secret until the future babies are born! My good friend who is due in 2 weeks said her brother in law and his wife blatantly stole a name they were throwing around a few years ago. Totally not cool. Now I am not going to even risk it; I’m keeping my favorites between my husband and I!
I’ve never had a name technically stolen from me, but my brother and [name_m]SIL[/name_m] used [name_m]Boaz[/name_m]. I [name_f]LOVE[/name_f] his name, and we were considering it for our son, but we never told anyone. I was sad at first, but I’m actually glad that it happened now, because I couldn’t picture my [name_m]Silas[/name_m] with any other name, and I feel the same way about [name_m]Boaz[/name_m]. 
My cousin named her daughter [name_f]Emilia[/name_f]. It used to be my favorite name.
I don’t have a child yet but I definitely worry about sharing our names with anyone. My husband and I love the names we already have picked and even though my family tends to be a bit more conservative with names then we are, I still have a fear that someone will take them.