Have you ever got a weird reaction when you talk about names with other people? My family is pretty tolerant, but the other night I was talking about names and my Mom jokes, “Should I be worried that my teen is so interested in names?” I told her it was because I was researching names for characters. It’s true, but also because I love names! 
[name]Do[/name] people think it’s weird that you like names so much? Tell your story!
I’ve had that exact same thing happen to me from my mom, even what she said! It’s because I research character names, too, but I also just love names.
A name-nerd example was when we were watching women’s gymnastics the other night, saw [name]Jordyn[/name] and [name]McKayla[/name] and was like, “Their parents spelled their names wrong! What’s wrong with [name]Jordan[/name] and [name]Michaela[/name]?” I think my mom now officially thinks I’m nuts!
Not weird at all! I’ve been obsessed with names since I was 12, maybe even before that. I would have a new list/theme every week haha. I’ve even gotten my younger sisters (they’re twins) into names. We have what we call “[name]Baby[/name] Name Conferences” to discuss new names we’ve found. Also because of my obsesssion I’ve pretty much got all my future babies’ names squared away 
i think it’s a useful obsession! haha
They don’t tell it to my face, but I’m pretty positive my friends and family thinks I’m crazy. I do what you guys do though! Look at character names!
It doesn’t really help the fact that I write Sci-Fi/Futuristic names, so I’m always talking about weird names that I love. Like, [name]Sylver[/name]/[name]Silver[/name] ([name]Sylvie[/name] for short) or Novalee. I think the weirdest name that I would use in the future maybe (this is a BIG maybe) is Saggitarria.
I’ve gotten my little twin sisters into it too! They don’t search up names, but they’re starting to get into writing and ask me for names for there characters. [name]One[/name] of them is REALLY set on [name]Winter[/name] for a girl and [name]Darren[/name] for a boy. They other one like [name]Julie[/name] and [name]Joshua[/name]. I personally prefer [name]Scarlett[/name] and [name]Anthony[/name] myself.
[name]Silver[/name] and [name]Scarlett[/name] are both awesome- maybe even as a sibset? The only time my family got into names was when we were actually naming a baby, my little sister. My taste in names seems a bit strange to my family, who all have names that were top 10 when they were born, except my afore-mentioned little sister and (maybe) my dad. I said that I loved [name]Zipporah[/name] and [name]August[/name], and got two reactions: zippy-it-ti-do-dah, zippy-it-ti-day, and old man. Sigh. [name]Zipporah[/name] shall be my guilty-pleasure name, but I love [name]August[/name] too much. Then again, by the time I’m ready to have kids, my taste might have changed. But I’ll probably still be a name-nerd; I’ve always loved names (I used to make up names when I was a little kid) and I will always be one.
lol, my mom’s told me to stop asking her about names. Many times. My sisters give me weird looks all the time, and quite a few times I’ve been told, “Please don’t name your kid that!” I think they honestly think I’d like to use any name I say that I like. Obviously that wouldn’t happen.
My mom freaked out the day I told her I liked [name]Willow[/name] [name]Beatrix[/name] for a girl. She said [name]Beatrix[/name] was way too old fashioned and my daughter would hate me for life, haha. I honestly wish my family knew how popular or up-and-coming the names that I like are, haha (well, with the exception of possibly [name]Agnes[/name], lol).
Oh, well. At least [name]Asher[/name]'s gotten my one sister’s 100% stamp of approval.
I Tottaly agree! I’m not sure 10 years from now how I might feel about it, my hudsband might think I’m crazy. Haha.
I think [name]Zipporah[/name] is lovely. I’ve always felt a little iffy about [name]August[/name] though. It seems like a girl name to me… /awk
@ashthedreamer I agree with you on [name]Agnes[/name]. Ick. 
People think I’m nuts when I tell them I’m a name-nerd. They either tell me I’m too young to be thinking about baby names (I tell them its just names in general) or give me a strange look and say ‘You mean like names for people?’ Some people actually don’t like me because I am a name-nerd but my friends just take it in their stride.
My husband listens to me talk to him about all my favorite names for our future children, and he tries to show interest but I know he gets bored and doesn’t care like I do.
My mother thinks I am weird and thinks that I want another child because I am talking about names, which I do but she is the type that only thinks people should have one or two children. She gets scared that I want to have ten kids because I mention tons of names.
People have asked me if I’m pregnant,completely seriously,many times. As if I might not have mentioned it before I started discussing names.
My OH rolls his eyes at me and doesn’t “get” it. He’s not into names at all. We’d have children called [name]Michael[/name] and [name]Ruth[/name] is he had his way. Which he won’t,because I hate those names!
I share my name nerdiness with my Mum,we have developed freakishly similar tastes in names!
My Mum gets it, my sister gets it, my friends get it - some of them even consider it like a party trick, lol - some people just don’t understand why someone would look in to names so much if they’re not pregnant.
I certainly don’t mention it to guys (specifically the guy I’m kind of seeing) because I don’t want them to think that I am baby crazy… I might be actually baby crazy, but they don’t need to know and I love names regardless of my level of infant-related-insanity because I love words and I love people…so words for people are doubly awesome.
Thinking back, I suspect I started loving names before I was 10. I would play pretend and make up a pretend name for myself. By 12 I was writing name lists and inventing names, right through my teens I wrote, rewrote lists of names.
I was always very private about my obsession because I thought people would think I was weird.
But to me names are so linked to identity and imagination and I am very much a people person.
I don’t think many people know of my obsessions with names. [name]Even[/name] after I had my last child I would write names out and think about names and at that time we were not planning to have any more children!!
My kids know, and my daughter is very interested in names too (maybe caught it off me?). Her tastes are a bit different though.
I think I get a free pass because I’m a writer, so people know/ assume I’m thinking about character names. Although, now that my husband and I have been married a few years, I have to be more careful- people are starting to ask, “Is this for a book or a baby?”
My sister thinks I’m totally weird and I’m pretty sure my mother is worried she’s going to be grandmother based on how much I ask her opinion on names. She doesn’t understand the fascination unless you’re expecting or something. Plus she likes names like [name]Jayden[/name] and [name]Kaylee[/name] and absolutely hates the name [name]James[/name] so we don’t exactly see eye to eye on most things. Only my friends seem to get it and share my name-nerdiness
I used to get those sorts of reactions from my parents when I was in my teens. Now that I’m approaching my 30s (and still childless, with no potential for them in sight), they have come to accept that it’s just a hobby of mine. I’ve even got my mom and sister bringing me interesting or odd names from things that they’ve heard on the news, etc. I even have gotten dad to indulge in some name conversations (my greatest accomplishment!).
I think a bigger part of being a name nerd is knowing when to regular the nerdiness — but one of the greatest joys ever is discovering another name nerd among strangers.
I keep quiet about it most of the time.
However, I do insist on calling my nieces rabbit [name]Clover[/name] as opposed to the horrifically dull “bun-bun” that they chose.
Seriously! Who wouldn’t prefer to have a rabbit named something lovely like [name]Clover[/name] over “bun-bun”? No one in their right mind as far as I’m concerned.
That’s how my cousin’s kitty is! They named her [name]Pepper[/name], because she’s black and white but she tottaly looks like a [name]Lucetta[/name]. Everyone really likes it, but there’s a mix of what peope call her.
My mom occasionally gives me looks or says something about it, but by now she’s accepted it. She is perennially worried about me because she thinks I’m far too young for kids. My friends think it’s pretty weird, except when I use my obsession for my characters or to tell them the history of their names. Then it’s a fun party trick.
This is more or less an internet activity for me in terms of really discussing names with anyone else, unless someone else brings it up. I’ve discovered over the years that people think names are an “odd” interest for a guy to have. It seems more acceptable for girls/women to think about these things in a futuristic maternal sense, but for some reason not guys, even though they form one half of the parental relationship.
I think this is the association most people make to having an interest in names. But talking about a book doesn’t mean I am going to be an author right. I just think some people don’t understand other people can just have a fascination with names.