Looking for advice.
[name]Do[/name] you rule out all names of people you know/knew?
What about names close to a persons name you didn’t necessarily like?
My husband and I really like [name]Madelyn[/name]. But it is close to Madalina which was the name of a person whom I don’t particulaly like. However she is no longer in my life. I don’t want to rule out [name]Madelyn[/name], but I don’t want to have name regrets either…
Not sure what to do, I hate to think of letting some stupid petty chick rule out a name I like.
I did rule out names based on knowing/disliking someone else with it. I didn’t want to be reminded of that person every time I said my sweet babies name. But I think it is just similar, not the exact same, your little bundle will erase all reminders of someone you’d like to forget.
I rule out names of people I have a bad association with because, even though that person may not be in my life anymore, I still think of that person when I hear the name. However, if it is just similar to the name of a bad association, I’d be more lenient with it. (as long as it’s not just one letter away from it or something like that)
I don’t rule out the names of everyone we know - that would be a lot of nice names, and several on our short list, that we couldn’t use! We did rule out family names at three generations or less old, and any names either of us has a strong dislike for or a strong negative personal association. However, I knew a girl named [name]Abby[/name] when I was in school. We were great friends until high school, when we had a horrible fight and never patched things up. For the longest time I couldn’t get around my disgust of the name because she was all I could think of. Now, [name]Abigail[/name] is our #1 girl’s name, and I can barely remember any bad feelings about the name because I associate it with our baby, not a girl I knew 20 years ago.
And if you’ll call your daughter by a nn, then that’s even more distance between the bad association. [name]Don[/name]'t short change yourself on a name if you really love it. Sit on it for a while before making a final decision. You may come to find the more you think about your baby as [name]Madelyn[/name], the more the name will become distinct and distance itself from any negative associations you may have with similar-sounding names.
I think it depends on the impact. If you cant think about that person or that name without feelings of anger, resentment, etc… bubbling up, then I’d vote a big old DONT USE IT. 
Example, the name of a friendship gone sour during college that still bothers me a lot-- OUT. The name of a student in one of my classes 2 years ago that gave me a lot of trouble at the time – IN. The name of a girl I didnt particularly like in high school, but am totally over – IN. The names of exes-- OUT. I think you need to think about your own tolerance/feelings and take it more or less case by case.
I think it’s a totally personal decision, and I agree with the previous poster that it depends on the degree of emotion associated with the name.
I will rule out names of those I’m close to, including good friends and immediate family. Acquaintances and other associates are a different story. I think it depends on the nature of one’s relationship with them. I’m currently struggling over using the name of a neighbor’s daughter. It’s my favorite name at the moment, but I’m having a hard time knowing that another little girl on our street has the same name (all the children on our block know and play with each other).
It’s a difficult balancing act, because as others have mentioned, ruling out the names of everyone you know (and/or dislike) may mean tossing out a lot of nice names.