Spin-off - Popular Named child

[HM]

The thread about naming children with the same names as family members made me think of when you name your child and the name happens to be one of the most popular the year they were born.

This happened to my son. I always knew I wanted a boy named Christopher, ever since I found out that would have been my name if I'd been born a boy. Luckily my husband really liked it too. So, Christopher it was.

So when he gets to elementary school we find out that there are 8 boys in his grade named Christopher. And they all wanted to be call Chris (we'd hoped he wanted to use his full name but he didn't). Luckily there were a lot of classes for each grade and there were rarely more than 2-3 in one class. His 5th grade year he had 5 of them in his classroom- Chris H, Chris G, Chris D, Chris W, and Chris B.

Anyone else have this problem? Did you know you were using a popular name or were you caught of guard?

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

We wanted names that were different, but not TOO different, if you know what I mean! We chose Aidan. This was over 15 years ago. There were very few Aidans at the time. We actually got a few sideways looks when we told people the name we'd chosen. Fast forward a few years and it's one of the most popular out there. Couldn't go anywhere without hearing another mom calling for her Aidan. I think it's dying down a bit, but there's a HUGE group of Aidans a few years younger than my son. We like to think we were trendsetters!

 

[Dawnlight]

We did not have this problem as none of our kids' names are popular in the US. It could have been an issue with a few of the names had we stayed in dh's country, though they are not extremely popular there either.

 

[jdb in AZ]

My niece named her daughters Hannah and Olivia, thinking they were very unusual. Not any more.

And we all know how popular Caitlyn has become. That's my grand daughter's name -- I do wish Bruce had chosen something different. Or at least spelled it differently.

 

[JanaDee]

We picked DS's name before we were even engaged or pregnant. lol It was before the internet, so other than knowing people with the same name, we had no other way to gauge popularity. I think it was the top boys name the year he was born, and he had 2 other kids in his class with the same name. He went by the shortened version, another went with the long, given name and another went by a shortened version of his last name, so no confusion whatsoever.

DD was named after her paternal grandmother, who was born in the early 1900's, but it is a beautiful, feminine common name. She is the only one with that name in school, k-12, which is astounding to me.

 

[SEA333]

My kids' names are traditionally timeless - not the most popular like Emily and Michael, but certainly names that have been used for centuries and in many different parts of the Western Civilization, and spelled how they are supposed to be, too LOL

All three use both their long name (all are 3-4 syllables long) and their shortened nickname, although my DD's shortened name is based off of the end of her name instead of the beginning which is traditionally used. Because of this, hers is casted into the "pop-culture" bracket of names, and because it rhymes with another very popular family of names that is popular for girls between the ages of 8-12, everywhere she goes, we seem to hear her name. We wanted the short version of her name, but with the middle initial, her initials would have spelled EGG, so we went with the long version and now she is GGG.

DS15 usually has one or two kids with the same name in his grade/team. DS9 usually has 1-2 in his class, so he has been '"A"- last name' for the past 4 years. He hates it, but oh well. We didn't even live in this state at the time, so how were we to know that everyone in this school district would pick traditional names like Robert, Michael, Jason, and Alexander???!! LOL Where we came from, everyone was choosing popculture (at the time) names like Zane, Cade, and Hayden for their boys.

 

[cabanafrau]

We tried to pick distinct, not incredibly common but not strange names for our daughters since our last name is so common. DH literally went to school as one of a handful of others with his same first and last name. I am currently battling with a collection agency trying to collect a debt from someone with my name.

 

[mamamary]

We have a boy and a girl and just went with names that we like. My son's name is on the more popular side and when he graduated high school a few weeks ago i think there were just two other boys with the name. My daughter's name is more popular than not but there has never been another one in her grade or I believe even in her school which is sorta odd.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

DH and I wanted a traditional-but-not-popular name for our son. We chose Joshua many years ago. We saw that it was ranked 25th in 2014, so we felt "safe." However, it seems like the name is suddenly popping up everywhere! We're actually hoping that it won't have a resurgence in the next few years!

 

[ashmarie06]

I was an Ashley born in 1987. I was one of like 10 or 11 in my 4th grade class (all of the teachers, not just one) and it was a small school. I have decided when I have kids i want to do more old fashioned names but names that are also classics like Lucy and Jack!

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

I've liked the name "Emma" since I was a young kid, and now it's become one of the most popular girl names as of recent. Sigh. I'm going to use it anyway, because I find it to be very pretty.

On the other hand, things change. The year I was born, Kristen (my name) was around #50 in popularity. Now it was like #800 in 2014

 

[SEA333]

I've liked the name "Emma" since I was a young kid, and now it's become one of the most popular girl names as of recent. Sigh. I'm going to use it anyway, because I find it to be very pretty.

On the other hand, things change. The year I was born, Kristen (my name) was around #50 in popularity. Now it was like #800 in 2014

Haha...Emma has been in the top 10 for about 20 years. It is pretty. My DD's shortened version of her name is similar to Emma - there is an Emma or something similar everywhere we go.

 

[Minnesota!]

When we named our kids, their names were in the 60's for popularity and I did not know of any other kids with their names. Both are now in the top 10 or so, and they are everywhere. In their grades, though, they are the only ones. Small school, though, so even 4 other kids with the same name sprinkled throughout is a lot

If we ever had another boy, I would go with Josiah or Xavier...both of which, I am confident, will not be in the Top 10.

Girl - Cora, Josephine, or Cecelia...again, I don't see them in the Top 10.

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

Haha...Emma has been in the top 10 for about 20 years. It is pretty. My DD's shortened version of her name is similar to Emma - there is an Emma or something similar everywhere we go.

True! Noticed it was #1 for 2014, as well. Very popular name! It's odd though. I live in South Florida, so I usually don't meet any Emma's where I live

I'm definitely one of the people that wants to have a kid who will always be able to find a keychain with their name on it. Emma will do! haha.

 

[E&Cmom]

I am the mom of an " Emma" born in 2003 so right after Rachel of Friends named her daughter Emma. I had no clue the popularity of it when I named her. It was a pretty classic name that I always liked. Funny enough due to the cultural makeup of our school she is the only Emma in her school. Dance school is another story. My youngest name was more popular when I was growing up then now.

I was the only one with my name ( Eva) growing up all through school . Funny enough it is more popular now.

 

[bjscheel]

I thought Rachel would be a less popular name in 1998, but there are quite a few Rachels in DD's small school. One other in her grade. Last year there were about 5 of them in choir. Most of the Rachels have the last initial H, which is kind of odd.

 

[tvguy]

We saddled our daughter with the name Hillary. She was born 7 months before Bill Clinton announced he was running for President, and we picked the name over a year before that. So she will spend her entire life pointing out that we picked the name before anyone.......except a few in Arkansas.......and maybe a few hardcore Watergate buffs....had ever heard of Hillary Rodham Clinton. My mom didn't like the name, she thought it was a boy's name.

 

[Jaime4004]

We wanted names that were different, but not TOO different, if you know what I mean! We chose Aidan. This was over 15 years ago. There were very few Aidans at the time. We actually got a few sideways looks when we told people the name we'd chosen. Fast forward a few years and it's one of the most popular out there. Couldn't go anywhere without hearing another mom calling for her Aidan. I think it's dying down a bit, but there's a HUGE group of Aidans a few years younger than my son. We like to think we were trendsetters!

That is my 10 yr old's name also. When I named him, I didn't know any other Aidans. My mother's response to the name was, (and i'll never forget it), "I have never heard of that name. Ever." Said in a way that sounded like she hated it. If only I recorded that... because you can't walk anywhere now without an Aidan around. Last year, he was one of 3 Aidan's (all spelled differently) with the same last initial, in the same class!

 

[Christine]

My kids' names are somewhat normal but not wildly popular. My DD didn't have one other girl in her graduating class with the same name (although, usually ONE class per year had someone with her name). My son's name is a tad bit more popular.

 

[aprilgail]

We wanted names that were different, but not TOO different, if you know what I mean! We chose Aidan. This was over 15 years ago. There were very few Aidans at the time. We actually got a few sideways looks when we told people the name we'd chosen. Fast forward a few years and it's one of the most popular out there. Couldn't go anywhere without hearing another mom calling for her Aidan. I think it's dying down a bit, but there's a HUGE group of Aidans a few years younger than my son. We like to think we were trendsetters!

Everywhere you turn now there is a Aidan, Cadan, Haydan, Jaydan, Braydan-very popular names.