I wouldn’t say I’m possessive of any names, but I do find the sudden interest in [name_m]Calloway[/name_m] as a given name a bit annoying. [name_m]Callaway[/name_m] is a family surname for me, and it always felt like a hidden gem to me.
[name_m]Wesley[/name_m]. Whenever I meet a [name_m]Wesley[/name_m] I’m like “gosh darn it do not ruin this for me!”
Also I’m currently in beauty school and basically being adult bullied by a girl, and her last name is a name I love as a first name and I’m sooo annoyed by that.
I am, but mainly the ones I’m afraid it’ll mean I probably shouldn’t use it then. So like… [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], because [name_f]Isabella[/name_f]/[name_f]Isabel[/name_f]/etc. are all very popular, and [name_u]Avery[/name_u], because it’s rabidly popular for a girl and reasonably so for a boy. [name_m]Casper[/name_m], not so much, because it’s not popular enough for me to worry about it, and I don’t know many people who would like that style of name, if that makes sense.
But in the sense that [name_f]Izzie[/name_f] is talking about, getting frustrated with comments by others regarding the name, I’d definitely say [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], because it’s popular, as I said, and lots of Berries seem to think that’s a bad thing. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve posted a thread like “[name_f]Do[/name_f] you prefer [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] or [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f]?” and I get responses like, “[name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] is ugly because it’s popular. Use [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] [name_f]Grace[/name_f] instead.” or “Ugh, if I hear another [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], I’ll just scream! What about [name_f]Isadora[/name_f] or [name_f]Isabeau[/name_f]?” Obviously, I’m not asking about [name_f]Isadora[/name_f] or [name_f]Isabeau[/name_f], and I don’t want to put [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] in the mn spot. She’s my favorite girls’ name. [name_m]Just[/name_m] lay off. lol. ([name_f]Izzie[/name_f] I feel you!)
I also get the same way about unisex names on boys. I love [name_u]Bailey[/name_u], [name_u]Rowan[/name_u], [name_u]Avery[/name_u], [name_u]Addison[/name_u], [name_u]Harper[/name_u], [name_u]Auden[/name_u], [name_u]Emerson[/name_u], etc., etc. on a boy, and I’m sick of Nameberry spouting feminism and then telling me I can’t use my beloved family name [name_u]Avery[/name_u]. It’s such a double-standard, and [name_u]Avery[/name_u] is so cute on a boy. Sad face. I don’t care if others want to use unisex names on girls, but at least don’t shame me for wanting to use a family name I love. ([name_u]Avery[/name_u]'s the only family name, but I uber love him.)
ETA: @sarahmeganc - Same! Any time I meet someone with a name on my list, I’m just like, “Ooooh, you better be a nice person, I swear.” lol. Luckily, it’s pretty much worked out well, but I’d been to the point where I was considering [name_f]Calista[/name_f] and [name_u]Eloise[/name_u] pretty strongly as FNs, but then they were totally destroyed by people I know.
[name_m]Just[/name_m] [name_u]Jude[/name_u]. Which sucks, as my SO doesn’t like [name_u]Jude[/name_u] so I don’t need to be possessive over him when there’s the high likelihood I’ll never be able to have my own [name_u]Jude[/name_u].
If I ever have a little girl I want to name her [name_u]Simone[/name_u] so I am praying to God no one in my circle ever uses it. I’ll be heart broken.
Of course we’re all terrified of posting, worried someone is gonna steal our favorites!
In all honesty, I’m super territorial over my name combinations - most are listed in my signature. I love handpicking each name that flows well and has significant, personal meaning.
[name_f]Lola[/name_f] [name_f]Rebecca[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is my all-time favorite for my first girl; [name_f]Rebecca[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] for my mom (her name is [name_f]Rebecca[/name_f] and she loves roses above all else), and [name_f]Lola[/name_f] because it flows well and is super girly and easy on the tongue.
For my boy, I have been obsessed with [name_u]Wren[/name_u] [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] [name_m]Eoin[/name_m] for the longest time. My mom and I share love for the tiny wren birds, and [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] [name_m]Eoin[/name_m] (pronounced o-wen) are names that I’ve been name-crushing on that add a little bit of British-seriousness to an already playful first name.
I really like short and cute first names that are easy to say and by adding two middle names, I get to play around a little more with other favorites I might have never used on their own.
My favourite name [name_f]Sienna[/name_f]. We want to use it on our daughter so bad, but whilst we’re having trouble conceiving everybody else is getting pregnant and having girls! I’m so scared of it being used. [name_m]Even[/name_m] though we can still use it I just dont think it’ll be the same if someone else does first!
Also [name_u]Everly[/name_u]. I love how she’s kind of new and trendy but still has a sweet feminine feel to it and doesn’t look made up. I’d love to use this on a second daughter but I don’t think DH will let me!
I love the name [name_f]Sienna[/name_f] - one way to be unique is to spell it the traditional way of “[name_f]Siena[/name_f]”. I visited [name_f]Siena[/name_f], [name_f]Italy[/name_f] before and was charmed by its incredible beauty. Wishing all the love to you and your future [name_f]Sienna[/name_f] 
You’re definitely not the only one because I get posessive of names with a lot of personal meaning and wouldn’t want them to get popular. Concerning the boy’s, I get very posessive of the name [name_m]Wes[/name_m] and some girl names I see as mine are: [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f], [name_u]Lynn[/name_u], [name_f]Nadezhda[/name_f], [name_u]Pen[/name_u], [name_u]Quinn[/name_u], [name_f]Clover[/name_f], [name_u]June[/name_u], [name_u]Dakota[/name_u], Morana, [name_u]Raven[/name_u], Desislava and [name_u]Tristen[/name_u]
Ok, having read the posts so far I now know I’m not the only one that gets territorial about my names, but there is one difference.
I’m a writer and when I named all my characters their names were nowhere near the top of any baby-naming list, but now it seems that just about every single one of those names has moved up to a popularity that makes me feel anxious.
[name_m]Ben[/name_m], [name_u]Dylan[/name_u], [name_m]Bodhi[/name_m], [name_m]Malachi[/name_m], [name_u]Rhys[/name_u], [name_u]Jaime[/name_u], [name_f]Bonnie[/name_f], [name_m]Gideon[/name_m] and the list goes on and on.
Now if people read my stuff their going to think that I just went through the top names and used them. I hate that!!!
[name_f]Olivia[/name_f], [name_f]Victoria[/name_f], [name_f]Aria[/name_f], just to name a few. They’re so popular, now 
Maybe more of protective then being possessive. While don’t want to use something that’s too popular, if liked it enough still would. Using Leona as an example. Needed a name for a character and found Leona in a baby name book. The name suited the character perfectly. Then heard of Leona Helmsley afterward. Back when not many wanted to use the name cause of her. So thought it would be safe for a long time, seems to be coming back though. (it’s cool, it is a nice name and should be used) Now get accused of getting the name from League of Legends. Can honestly say I’ve never heard of the game, when named my character Leona. So no, didn’t steal the name from them. Even though know of League of Legends now, she will be keeping her name. added this- Used Leona in 1997, and looks like Leona in League of Legends was created July 13th, 2011?.
Oh! Forgot: [name_f]Isabella[/name_f]. I most definitely would name a daughter [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] if it were not so popular.
I’m definitely that way with [name_f]Clara[/name_f]! It was my great-grandmother’s name, and I have wanted to use it for my future daughter for YEARS. I feel like all of a sudden it’s become really, really popular (plus a bunch of lower-level celebs have used it in the last 2-ish years), so I really hope that by the time I have a baby that it’s calmed down a bit. It’s number 99 right now according to the Social Security list.
My name is [name_f]Emily[/name_f] and I’ve always had at least one other [name_f]Emily[/name_f] in my class, and I just don’t want my future daughter to have to go by “[name_f]Clara[/name_f] R” or some whack nickname.
I love that other people love [name_f]Clara[/name_f], but I really don’t want it to get more popular than it already is.
Oh YEAH!!!
It is probably really disturbing how secretive and protective I am of “my names”. I only like and keep names so rare hardly a soul has ever thought to use it. They are mine for sure. I get so upset ever seeing my names out and about.
Names are my thing. Its my one true passion
I felt this way about [name_u]Eloise[/name_u] and [name_f]Madeline[/name_f] for a long time. I fell in love with both names as a small child thanks to books. For the longest (like second grade through high school), I was convinced I was going to name my daughters [name_u]Eloise[/name_u] and [name_f]Madeline[/name_f]. I still love both names, and I would still use [name_u]Eloise[/name_u], but I have calmed down about these now.
I have developed similar (but far less intense) feelings about [name_f]Cora[/name_f], [name_f]Willa[/name_f], [name_f]Ingrid[/name_f], [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f], [name_m]Julian[/name_m], [name_m]Fletcher[/name_m], [name_u]Rowan[/name_u] and [name_u]Sawyer[/name_u] since then.
You are definitely not alone! I’m always a little possessive over whatever name is my favorite. I’m somewhat fickle in the names I like, but a few that I’ve hoarded over the years are [name_m]Asher[/name_m], Milja, [name_f]Ilona[/name_f], [name_m]Bodhi[/name_m], [name_u]Salem[/name_u], [name_f]Luna[/name_f], and [name_u]Winter[/name_u]. I’ve let most of them go and even suggested some of them to family, but there are still a few that are too dear to me.
However I’ve been especially possessive over the name [name_f]Mabelle[/name_f], which is the name of my late great grandmother. I’d love to use it as a middle name for my daughter, so every time a family member is pregnant I have a little anxiety over it.
I have a few I’m possessive of. I don’t really care if anyone outside of my circle uses them because their popularity (or lack of it) doesn’t bother me, but I would be bothered if someone close to me used one of my favorite names. Not because it would be “name-stealing” or whatever, but because it just wouldn’t feel right for my child to have the same name as the kid of a close friend or family.
Most of my family and friends have very different naming styles than me though so I don’t think it’ll ever be an issue. But I still try not to mention my favorite names in front of them, just in case. That way if someone does use a name I love then it’s obviously just a really cool name and I didn’t contribute to my favorite name being used by someone else.
I’m protective over [name_f]Lily[/name_f] which is odd because both my cousin and an old high school bully have used the name but it’s the one name I continually come back too so I will use it despite it already being used.
I’m possessive over my children names! It’s probably because I don’t want them getting popular haha 