Yesterday, I had an awesome conversation with a man in his 60s named [name_m]Marvin[/name_m]. He is on his second career, working as a 5th grade teacher in a low-income area, after working 30 years for a phone company. Any way, he was telling me how big a shame it is that parents are naming their kids made up names–that you can always tell what the parents will be like when parent-teacher conference time comes from the moment you look at the class roster at the beginning of the year. He also talked about a study he’d heard about that said corporate [name_u]America[/name_u] will throw your application out just based on the weirdness of your name and that because of this, adults have been changing their name.
This concerns me because the types of names I like are–I like to think–familiar but uncommon such as [name_f]Lyra[/name_f], [name_u]Juniper[/name_u], [name_u]Valentine[/name_u], [name_m]Frederick[/name_m], [name_m]Edmund[/name_m]. These names are serious contenders on my husband and my lists for future children. Over the last 5 years, my tastes have gotten more and more adventurous. I know that names have become more and more diverse over the years but my fear is that I will forever be caught on the crux of timeless vs. personalized. [name_f]My[/name_f] tastes have evolved from taking timeless names and using uncommon nicknames, such as [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] nn [name_f]Libbie[/name_f] and [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] nn [name_f]Maisie[/name_f], to using uncommon names with adventurous nicknames like [name_u]Juniper[/name_u] nn [name_f]Juno[/name_f] and [name_m]Frederick[/name_m] nn [name_m]Fritz[/name_m].
Sorry–this is a lot of information. The point is that I’m afraid in my enthusiasm for names, I am losing sight of the fact that a person will have to live with my decision their entire lives. Are my naming ideas already too “out there”? I would really appreciate any insights you have to offer on whether this should be a concern and especially on whether I’m already on my way to going too far. Thanks so much for your patience.
I don’t think your naming choices are too out there. Yes, I am aware that a lot of my favourite names are a bit loopy, but from a analytical point of view, I don’t think a lot of your favourite names are out there at all. [name_m]Frederick[/name_m] is a perfectly acceptable classic, along the lines of [name_m]Robert[/name_m] and [name_m]Stephen[/name_m]. [name_m]Fritz[/name_m] is a legitimate nickname, and it isn’t as though the nickname will be going on on the resumé anyway, so I wouldn’t worry about that, as [name_f]Maisie[/name_f] for [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], and [name_f]Libby[/name_f] for [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] are also perfectly fine nicknames, and they won’t be going on the resumé. Those nicknames are more common than you think. [name_m]Edmund[/name_m] is a perfectly familiar name: not as common as [name_m]Edward[/name_m], but just as familiar and legitimate. [name_f]Lyra[/name_f] is another perfectly legitimate name.
[name_u]Juniper[/name_u] is a little more out there, simply because of the fact that juniper berries make gin, which is most peoples only association with that, as is [name_m]Atlas[/name_m], just because most people don’t think of the [name_m]Titan[/name_m] (not a great association). They think of the book. I still think they are fine names, but they are more ‘out there’ than your other choices. I think everything else is absolutely fine. Good luck!
I have friends who work in corporate environments, and a lot of those jobs are through the people you know. [name_f]My[/name_f] sister has a weird name and she has worked at over a dozen major corporations as a graphic designer. A woman I know named Morticia - full on goth girl - works in an elite high tech company in Silicon [name_f]Valley[/name_f]. I’ve done a fair amount of college and career advising so the hardest part is breaking into an industry; internships and networking are the way to go. Memorable names are good. Names perceived as lower class are bad.
Some of the names you have in your signature are a little name-nerdy for the general public - [name_m]Tavish[/name_m], [name_m]Rupert[/name_m], Montag, [name_m]Atlas[/name_m], [name_f]Rhiannon[/name_f], [name_f]Juno[/name_f]. I love these names, btw. But with name-nerd names you just never know how the employers will react.
[name_m]Just[/name_m] wanted to comment on the name [name_f]Rhiannon[/name_f] and being a name-nerd name. [name_f]My[/name_f] best friend’s name is [name_f]Rhiannon[/name_f], and no one ever bats an eyelid at it. Occasionally she’ll get the people who don’t hear/read it properly and say [name_f]Rhiana[/name_f], but she just corrects them and carry on. She loves her name, but it’s not too different or out there. It’s respectable and lovely.