What do you do when you love a name but have a strong association of someone or something. Not even a negative association, but simply reminds you of that thing right off the bat.
For example I really like a name but I know an “influencer” that named their baby this. So I automatically think of that baby.
Do you think some names are worth working through that association?
I guess it’s tough. Because on the one hand you want to find a name that’s unique, but on the other hand it’s impossible to find a name that checks all the boxes and no one else has.
I would say it depends on how far this influencer reaches. Celebrity baby names are much more common knowledge these days and harder to separate from the association.
As for influencers, they’re less commonly known. It also depends on how many people in your circle know the influencer and follow them and how much time there will be between this person having a baby and you having a baby.
I think some names, if you really love them are worth working through the association
If I love the name enough, I’ll generally work through the association (unless it’s to a genuinely, evil, awful person/thing/idea)
If it’s not a negative association, I feel like you’d easily get over it once the baby was born. Obviously you’re going to hear a name and think of the baby first, and then the influencer’s!
I think an association would fade over time.
I have previously known someone with my daughter’s name and it wasn’t a negative association at all but I was worried about it. Now she’s been here for 5 months, it doesn’t even occur to me. Once that name belongs to your child that’s all you see (at least that’s how it worked for me).
I believe that, if you really love a name and you use it for your child, the other association will disappear and the name will be just linked to your own child.
If you love the name enough, you probably have other more positive associations with it that would override the secondary association that you’re concerned about.
Ultimately, your child’s name will associate to you as your child. You’ll use your child’s name so much more than almost anything else (!) that it will automatically take you to back to your child, and not to this other person with the same name. Unless, of course, you are so tied to that influencer and are such a strong follower that you’re seeing the name all the time every day from her. Then I’d be concerned about the name choice.
I almost didn’t name my son the name I wanted to because of a bad association. My husband at the time (now ex) said I should not let one person control such an important decision. He was 100% correct. I am glad we went with the name we really wanted, instead of second choice. My son also fits his name much better than the other name. If you truly, deeply love a name and feel connected to it use it. You could regret not using it. Plus a name becomes that person, it’s no longer just a name or connected to this or that person. It is that little bundle of love you are holding.