https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 17 Apr 2026 22:23:40 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names/page/2#post-1637138 Thu, 15 May 2014 15:09:56 +0000 birdofafeather 1637138@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i guess we're just drawn to unique names. my husband has a name where people know immediately who someone is talking about if they say his name and my name is a super popular name where i went by my last name a lot! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names/page/2#post-1636654 Thu, 15 May 2014 13:14:22 +0000 mfa_lady 1636654@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Corduroy: never even considers the bit about how it changes even more for women! Such a good point. </p> <p>@2PeasinaPod: Alexanders unite!! :happy: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names/page/2#post-1636559 Thu, 15 May 2014 12:59:35 +0000 2PeasinaPod 1636559@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira: &amp; @mfa_lady: Alexander is a family name here too! So classic and solid (even more solid since we're Russian...classic Russian name). I was a little sad when my brother used it for his son's middle name. Though I can't imagine our LO with any other name but his own. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names/page/2#post-1636515 Thu, 15 May 2014 12:52:50 +0000 Corduroy 1636515@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@jmarionsmith: This! We also have a very common last name. On top of that DH has the most popular name of his birth year. He hates it and refuses to give his kids common name. Everyone in is family is perpetually hounded by debt collectors trying to track down other people by their names.</p> <p>On the other hand, I have an uncommon last first name and maiden name. I felt like I kept my identity when I got married and took DH's name (not that I had to). I have five friends named Jessica that got married in the last few years. I cannot keep them straight with their new names. That convinced me that I want an uncommon name for a girl. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636319 Thu, 15 May 2014 12:11:16 +0000 mfa_lady 1636319@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: Love that! </p> <p>@PurplePeony: That sounds tricky! Sounds like you guys found a great option, though. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636303 Thu, 15 May 2014 12:08:58 +0000 PurplePeony 1636303@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The most important thing for DH and me in choosing a name is that it sounds good in both English and his first language. This automatically rules out most of the popular names. The only one that could really work would be Aidan (but with a different, more unusual spelling) and I have to admit, I shied away from it due to its popularity. DH doesn't like the name at all, though, so it was never a contender. If a really popular name met our criteria and we really loved it, though, we'd still go for it. There are just SO FEW names out there that work for us, it limits how picky we can be with popularity. Fortunately, DD's name is mid-400s so we didn't have to worry about it this time around. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636250 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:58:34 +0000 catlady 1636250@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My husband's name has been super popular forever and he doesn't love that. My name was only ever really used for a few years around the time I was born (it was the name of a character on a tv show at that time) and everyone always spells it incorrectly or confuses it with a similar male name. We didn't want either of those scenarios for LO, so we chose a name for LO that's in the top 200. It's classic, everyone has heard of it, but it's not everywhere right now. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636222 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:52:27 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1636222@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mfa_lady: you got it dude! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636208 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:49:08 +0000 mfa_lady 1636208@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LuLu Mom: State is a really good point, too! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636203 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:47:28 +0000 mfa_lady 1636203@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Torchwood: Hippie names forever!!! I can tell you're going to rock out the baby naming. :grin: </p> <p>@MRSJX3: Totally agree. Classic = yes. Trendy = notsomuch.</p> <p>@Mrs. Jump Rope: You know, in your circles is a really good point. That could actually be the push I needed to not completely disregard some of the classic, non-family names that I love (in my case, mostly girl names). Thanks, lady!</p> <p>@septca: That's a great point. Pronunciation is huge!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636198 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:46:24 +0000 LuLu Mom 1636198@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I normally don't look at top 20 for our state. Nationally I don't really care about, but state I do. If I loved it I would use it, but I dread the name &amp; letter of school. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636194 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:45:17 +0000 mfa_lady 1636194@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrs. wagon: Robert is one of our family names, too!</p> <p>@nana87: Noah has been huge in the last few years! My BFF is determined to name a son that one day. :)</p> <p>@stargal: That's a good point. How do we REALLY know what the next trends are? I guess you can just tell if some things are classic...because they've been around for a gazillion years! I like unique names, too, though. It seems like all the people on this thread who have unique names love it!</p> <p>@grizz: Ugh. Don't blame you!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636181 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:42:30 +0000 mfa_lady 1636181@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Cole: That interview story is nuts!! </p> <p>@Dandelion: Consensus seems to be that classic is okay. That makes me happy! :)</p> <p>@swurlygurl: I actually know a couple of people with the same first/middle as me, too! Which is weird, because I never thought of it as super common. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636171 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:40:43 +0000 septca 1636171@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mfa_lady: I have a Biblical name that is always (for the last 50 years at least) recognizable/common but never "popular." Honestly, it's really nice - people automatically know how to pronounce and spell (most of the time) my name, but it's never like I am Jessica A. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636166 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:39:57 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1636166@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We didn't want trendy names, but wanted something different and uncommon in our circles. </p> <p>It was truly unintentional, but both names made their way into the top 20 (top 10 even, I think!) which is kind of annoying since we were purposefully avoiding that. </p> <p>The names are still unique in our circles, though! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636159 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:38:18 +0000 MRSJX3 1636159@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree with a lot of PP's. I love classic. I don't love trendy. There is a big difference. I grew up as Elizabeth B. and it never bothered me. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636152 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:36:55 +0000 Torchwood 1636152@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Part of it is just that I'm like @littlebug and feel the need to be different on things. I've always been that way, and DH is less into it, but mostly agrees. And our last name is Smith. DH has a super common name (it was in the top 5 from the 70's all the way up to 2001), so he was always one of MANY with his same first and last name. There were three in our dorm building alone, and it wasn't a huge dorm or a large school. My name is pretty common, so since marrying him and taking his name I've been in more or less the same boat. So, since we're saddling this kid with a common last name, the least we can do is give them *some* uniqueness on the rest of it.</p> <p>Also, I'm an atheist in a fundamentalist evangelical Christian family. All the younger kids in the family have biblical names, so that really turns me off on anything biblical, which a lot of "classic" names are.</p> <p>And I'm just kind of a hippie, so all my favorites are just kind of weird. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636103 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:28:09 +0000 Boheme 1636103@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My husband and I were both known as First Name, Last Initial all through school and it sucked. We wanted to avoid that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636089 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:24:58 +0000 stargal 1636089@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I just like different names.and a lot of the top names are nice and i actually love a lot of them but I feel that when we look back they will turn into the Jennifer's/Ashley's of our kids generation. Our parents must of thought those were beautiful names too and thus are popular. I jussy like unique names. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636088 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:24:41 +0000 nana87 1636088@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My name wasn't top 10 in my birth year (it was in the top 50) and there were 3 of us Anna's in my elementary school class (plus an Ann) and one of my college roommates was also an anna... So I wanted less common names for our lo. That sai, there are some classic but popular names I love that I'd still consider-- like Noah was on our boy name list... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636083 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:22:42 +0000 mrs. wagon 1636083@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I like classic names, but I did try to steer clear of anything that was too popular for the same reasons as many others-- didn't want my kids to grow up with the same name as many people in their class. Luckily for us, Wagon Sr.'s name is classic but not popular right now! We meet a TON of Robs, Bobs, etc. our age and older, but Wagon Jr. is the only kid Robert we know! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636074 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:20:32 +0000 swurlygurl 1636074@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Well, my name was SO common, first middle &amp; last, that I hated it growing up. Still a little bit scarred from it... haha. I had 2 BEST friends with the same first/middle, my first college roommate had the same first/middle, and then many other kids in all my classes had at least the same first.</p> <p>So, I just want to avoid that fate for my kids. It is kinda fun to have *one* friend have the same name as you, but not half your class!!</p> <p>It is nice that I'm not easily google-able though! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636064 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:17:28 +0000 Dandelion 1636064@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>D's name is always in the top ten. But it's not trendy...just classic. M's name isn't top ten but also classic. S was the only one of them that had a unique name...but only unique for nowadays. It was pretty popular in the 80's and 90's. But we liked it and liked that she would have probably been the only girl in her class with that name, even though everyone is familiar with the name. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636060 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:16:57 +0000 Cole 1636060@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For me, I seem to avoid the name of just about anyone I have ever known with very few exceptions. Teaching and working as a nanny means I have met a lot of Jacks, Lilys, Olivias etc. Plus we both have top 10 names from when we were born and did the initial thing or forced nickname. </p> <p>Adding to the mess is the fact that our last name is crazy common, like top 150 in the US so if you have a common name you are literally one of hundreds. Both my husband and I constantly receive email meant for people with our names. He even got an interview meant for someone else that could have us moving abroad soon. (He told them he was the wrong guy and they liked him enough anyway to send him on in the process.) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636027 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:06:41 +0000 mfa_lady 1636027@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs.Panda: I totally forgot about the last initial phenomenon before starting this thread. The pits!</p> <p>@snowjewelz: I know a Karah--it's cool because it's known name but with a unique (but not totally wacky) spelling. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636019 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:04:06 +0000 snowjewelz 1636019@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mfa_lady: Makes our job harder :sad: If we have a girl we're gonna name her Kara. In my life I have not seen it has a common name, but def not weird. We just have no ideas for boys so I'm kinda just hoping we'd have a girl for now, lol </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636003 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:00:11 +0000 Mrs.Panda 1636003@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@oliviaoblivia: LMAO @ it's literally Joe</p> <p>I just don't want the whole "Jennifer T. and Jennifer P. and Jennifer R." No thank you. I was the only one who had my name and was genuinely surprised when someone had my name. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1636000 Thu, 15 May 2014 11:00:01 +0000 mfa_lady 1636000@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@snowjewelz: Love that. Not common, not weird. Good plan! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1635997 Thu, 15 May 2014 10:59:37 +0000 mfa_lady 1635997@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@septca: Totally agree! Not being able to recognize the decade they were born in by their name could be a good rule...which, for us, isn't a huge deal because my husband does NOT do trendy. Hahaha. </p> <p>@2PeasinaPod: Makes total sense! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-steer-clear-of-toppopular-names#post-1635993 Thu, 15 May 2014 10:58:38 +0000 snowjewelz 1635993@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have a unique name so I don't know what it feels like to have a classic or common name! I def want to pick something middle of the road for our kids; not common, but not weird. </p>