Children's Names

My oldest is Braeden. It was not even in the top 100 when he was born, now it's #36 or something. We call him Brady for short. It's very helpful at the park. Not too many Brady's out there. My second is Graham. I had never heard another person with that name under the age of 40 until last week when an old high school friend of mine had his second son and named him Graham. It's not embarrassing. It just means we all have good taste!

When I was in school I was one of FIVE K.'s in my class. It never bothered me one bit. If he's picky and doesn't like it, have him go by his middle name or a nickname instead, but let him choose if he does that or not!

hi N.,
let me say that i did the same as you in naming my children. joshua, jeremy and stacy. after hearing others with the same names over the years i have never heard any of them complain about their names whatsoever. they are now 26, 23 and 20 years old. so long as you think nothing of it they're likely not to think anything of it either. take care.

They are great names, don't even think about it. Who cares what other people named their kid. They are your kids and they have names you like.

What's done is done. I grew up with the name R. and hated it my whole life I always wanted to be a common name even when I was really young. I used to say call me Lori. What's even worse I just found out about a month ago that my mom really wanted to name me Julia. Now I'm really ticked. But there is nothing I can do about it. I named my son Jack (after my grandfather) and a year later a family member on my husbands side named her son the same. My daughter is Natalie and not too common yet but I'm sure it will come around. The thing that drives me most crazy with her name is when people pronounce it like nadley. One thing you could try is nick names to separate your boys from others with the same name.I think we always want what we don't have but we live with it anyway. So cheer up your kids would probably be unhappy no matter what. One more note, my son Jack gets upset because they call him Jack S. Try saying it real fast.

N.,

I found that naming my daughter was one of the hardest choices I ever had to make. There are so many things that you have to take into account except that you don't even know them yet. But I tried. I picked something that I liked. The point is that we tried. We didn't knowingly give them horrible names. Plus, almost every kid (mostly girls) question their parents' naming choice at some point or another. Kids grow into their names. One day you'll look at them and realize that their name fits them perfectly.

Think of it this way: those parents all have the same great taste you do. LOL! Honestly, I wouldn't be too concerned or spend too much time/energy worrying about something so trivial. I really don't see how having a "common" name is going to affect the outcome of their lives, or "change" them as people. Besides, there are so many other things to expend your energy worrying about - like education, teaching them good manners and and giving them all the love in the world possible!!! You remind me of myself, in that I often worry about things that I have no control over and can't do anything about. At times, I really have to concentrate on trying not to obsess about those kinds of things and just "let it go." Best wishes to you!

Same thing happened to me. They won't hate their names, but it is frustrating trying to be original and then years later, so was everyone else. Those parents probably feel the same way you do...lol

Why would you be embarassed that you gave your kids normal names? If they feel too many people have the same name later on they can always go by something else (my brother's name is david and he goes by daid). Just be glad your hormones weren't kicking in so crazy that you named your kid radio science or mojo crimefighter, which I think are actual celebrity baby names.

i think that can go either way i have only herd my sons name one other time and never my daughters there names are zane and zondra i actually had somebody ask me if that was my daughters real name but i also have a caleb and a kyle very popular names i honestly dont think it will be a big deal thats there names theyve lived with them since the day they were born hope thats some help and atleast with common names you dont have to have everybody say i dont like that name im never calling her that and so on

Wow, lots of responses on this one! HA! Well just to chime in ... I have a unique name and like someone else suggested there were times when I loved it and times when I hated it. I loved it when I was complimented on it (like I had something to do with the choice) and hated it when I couldn't find anything in the cheap dime stores that had my name on it (like those little keychains or license plates -- hey I was 7 at the time). I did however ADORE when one day there was another M. in my class ... oh it was like my long lost twin. We would ask each other silly questions like ... what is YOUR favorite food -- as if to discover some unknown link between us.

Now fast-forward to my son, benjamin, who is now 4. He has a fairly common name ... easy to pronounce. He shares his name with another classmate. And, true enough to my experience, he LOVES that they share the same name. I see him going through that "lost-twin" experience with the other Ben and I just chuckle to myself.

With my new little girl. I named her Giada (pronounced Jah-dah) it is Italian for Jade. I know she will have the same trials as me ... mispronunciation, people saying "could you say that again" when you are first introduced, but hopefully she will come to the same conclusion as I did about my name: it was specifically picked just for me by my mother ... and that can never be wrong or regretted.

Your boys, who probably won't put near the thought into it as we are ... will be perfectly fine with them.

cheers!
M.

Hi N., I know exactly what your saying my daughter's name is Serenity and I never heard it before and when she was born they came out with the 'serenity' underpants for bladder control and I found out when she started school that some of the parents have met a couple of other girls named Serenity. I also thought that I was being unique and it turned out not as unique as I thought, It's frustrating but hang in there, there could be worse things. Sincerely, S. A

Hi N.,

Yes, I am in the same boat as you and let me tell you...I guess thats just the way it has to be. When I was pregnant with my first, I knew I was going to name my son Joshua (sorry..he he) and I didn't hear it so much because I didn't have children yet, but there was no doubt in my mind that was my fav boy name. Then after he was born I was hearing it a lot. For our daughter I wanted Madison, but my husbands cousin just had a Madison and I didn't want two Madisons in the family close in age so we decided on Emily which I think is a beautiful name and yet so common, but I searched and searched for other names and my husband and I could not agree on ANYTHING but Emily. My 3rd child we named Noah and I thought this one is not so common, but sure enough after we named him we hear it a lot now and to make matters worse I have a very young cousin who got pregnant in High School and I went to her shower and everything..her Mother is my God Mother and they all new my new little bundle of joy was Noah and she never said a word about naming her baby boy Noah until after she had him...she named him NOAH too!!! ...so now we have two Noah's in the family very close in age, but they moved away so I don't see them often. It frustrated me that she would actually name her child the same name as mine being her 1st cousin and all, but I had to remember she was just a child too so what are ya gonna do?? Now we are planning a fourth and I like Ava and I am hearing SOOO many Ava's and I'm bummed about it, but it seems like if a name is pretty or cute thats just what happens....

I've even got one better....I named my daughter "mason" but...I spelled it MAICYN so that it would look feminine...so there i was...unique and feminine.
when my daughter was about three...there was another mom that went to our daycare center, who got pregnant. She had a girl...guess what she named her? spelling and all! and we have a few set of mutual friends, so every once in a while I am in the same room listening to someone compliment her on how unique and pretty her daughters name is!!! ugh...
sorry...had to get that out...been holding it in for years!
anyway...there are always going to be kids with the same name...always...but your child is unique, so it makes them "that" Aiden, ya know? There were at least 3 other K.'s in my classes growing up, one was even a boy, but I never felt lumped in with them, I was just me.

I thought I had picked a wonderful, unique name for my daughter back in 1987...Ashley. Delivery time comes and there are 7 Ashley's in the nursery! 7!! I was so bummed. But, I wasn't going to change my name choice. I liked the name and it "fit" her. 22 years later, she doesn't mind that she has a more common name and it still fits her. When my youngest was born we decided to not stress about the unique name and just go with a traditional name...Michael. There are 3 other Michaels in our immediate family so it makes family gatherings interesting. (My brother and brother-in-law frequently think I'm yelling at them to stop doing something!) Go back to all of the reasons you picked those names and cherish everything that is unique about "your" Aiden and "your" Joshua. They may have the same name as some other kids but they will always be your unique little boys!

You're worrying needlessly. 1. They're already named 2. Unless you want to go through legal mumbo jumbo there's nothing you can do. 3. You don't know how the kids will react at this stage.

I CAN identify to an extent. I lived OVERSEAS and when I named my oldest Jeremy, well good grief! It came out Yeremy (Sweden) and he was referred to by grandparents by his middle name which was way easier. But I figured there weren't going to be any other Jeremys around. But then we moved back to the states. There were about 3 others! Just in his class! And my middle son, Reuben,....I won't go into how the Swedes were so inept with that. But by golly there were no other kids named Reuben! Move to the states there's another one or two at his school.
You just can't win it. I actually believe I might've with my youngest, Gabriel. Not 100% sure tho.
Realize, tho that the kids don't give a rip. You can always refer to them by pet names (and I don't mean like what you name the animals; more affectionate names) My oldest goes by Poke, with me. Youngest is Cake or Percy (after the Thomas/Tank Engine character), middle son-Goob. And it's just as identifiable, it's personal, and they know it as well.

N.,

My husband and I picked a common name for our son, David, but an unusual middle name after my favorite Great-Uncle. Because of this he will always have a unique name that is his to tell other people about or not - it is his choice.

By the way, most boys don't seem to care one way or another about their names, but most girls hate their names at one point or another during their school careers. However, if you obsess about your sons' names and your sons accidentally over-hear you, it could cause some self-esteem issues. Don't worry about calling your boys by their names in public, each child knows the sound of their own parent's voice regardless of whether their own name is a common one or not.

-C..

You are so silly!! My oldest son's name is Mitchell, old and strange, but he's 19 and could care less. My youngest we named Raymond after his grandpa, no one has ever made fun of him and it suits him. Then I have a Travis, popular, still no problems. And then I have Theron, pronounced "thayeron", he is named for my ex husbands best friend who was killed. Very different, but we love it and so does he. Now maybe if you had named your child Apple or Huckleberry you might have a problem, but you picked great names.

I wouldn't worry about it! There are always names that tend to get "used" more during certain periods of time. My name is M. and, when I was in school, there were a ton of Michelles and Jennifers in all of my classes. I don't hate my name because of it. I like both names, Aiden and Joshua, and, I think that your kids will be perfectly happy with their names when they get older. I have a one year old son named Maxwell. I thought that was kind of unique when I picked it and, now, I hear the name Max everywhere. It's okay, he is how own unique little dude, regardless of who else may share his name.

:-D

I wouldn't worry too much about it. I looked for unusual names for my kids...
My oldest (just turned 18), I named Maddison, which at the time was only listed as a boy's name in ALL the baby books. Now it's everywhere! She hated her name for a while (around 7 or 8 years old), because she thought it was weird and wanted to be named Brittney... but then I explained to her how I came up with that name, why I loved it so much, and why that was the name I chose for her.

My little one I named Melodie just because I didn't know anyone with that name, and now we're running into Melody's everywhere!
I think that no matter what names you choose, you're going to run into that situation. When the boys question their names, just tell them WHY you picked the names you picked and what that meant to you. They'll see their names as special because it came from you!

I always hated my name (H.) growing up, and always swore that I would change it when I was old enough, but hey, I'm used to it now! I grew up with 2 neighbor friends also being named H., and now I don't see that name anywhere!

I wouldn't worry about it too much. My 10 year old is named Jake. Just Jake -- not Jacob. He was born a year or so before Jacob became the #1 boys name. So he has lots of other Jake's in his school. My 2nd boy is named Nicholas. There are also a million Nicholas' but I just really always liked that name. We joke that he will probably always be known as "Nick S." since there is usually atleast one or two other Nicks in his class. He even signed my Mother's Day card "Nick S."! We named our third son Mitchell hoping it was somewhat unique. We don't hear it as much but there are a few in his school too. I guess there is no way to know what will work and what won't. Don't worry about your boys hating their names... they would probably hate it more if it was something really unusual anyway. Good luck!

All I have to say is My name is Jennifer, I hung out with a group of 7 girls, 5 of us were named Jennifer... no Joke.
It was fun though, people thought we were kidding when we told them our names... the boys will be fine.

N.,
I wouldn't really worry about it. I agree with another piece of advice you got, The car example, I swear no one had a Sebring untill I got mine, lol. Its just your more aware now. Also, I have the most common name of the mid-80's A.... I graduated with 7 of us. Everywhere I go I have to give my SSN even at the Vet when taking my dog we have to double check becuase there is someone with my same first, middle and last name. lol. I think everyone goes through the "i want to change my name" phase. I did in like middle school. Don't sweat it, and certanly dont be embarassed. We named our little girl Madelyn, and Im sure by the time she is 3-4 I will be hearing it alll over the place.

Have a great weekend!!!

Hi there,
I named my son Tyler and often wondered if I made the right decision, but I know that God knew what his name was going to be long before I chose it. There is so much behind a name and both are beautiful, strong names. You should never feel embarrassed because their names are a big part of who they are. At least you didn't give them crazy names. They are not likely to ever be picked on because of the names they have, so they will thank you for that.

I named my first daughter Emma. I knew I would name her that after my great grandmother when I was a little girl. I then named my twins Jack and Addison. Jack was after my husband's grandfather and Addie just because we liked the name. Then came Addison from Grey's anatomy. I hear their names all the time!!! Emma has two other girls with the same name in her preschool. I wouldn't change their names for anything. All of their names are special to us. You named your children what they are for a reason. Who cares what other people name their children?

Most kids love common names and don't like to have an unusual name. 2 of my grandsons have names that became very popular after they had them - Mitchell and Jacob. Jacob even became the #1 most popular boys' name - who would've thought? I have a less common name and have always disliked it and wished I had a popular name, and I'm in my 60's! In fact, I never use my full legal name unless I have no choice. My grandson had 3 kids in his class with the same name and it really helped him feel included when he moved to that school.

My kids are Andrew, Elizabeth and Emily. I love that there names are regular. We call Elizabeth, Libby. Andrew is Andrew, not Andy or Drew. And Emily also uses her middle name. She is Emily Kate to separate her from other all the other Emilys. I grew up with a common name, K., and sometimes I liked it and sometimes I didn't. If you can tell your kids why you named them and how much you loved the names you picked for them they will love them too. Elizabeth and Emily Kate were named after a great grandma (First and middle) Andrew was a name we loved and his middle name is his father's first. I love your boy's names (Joshua was on our list too!) Just help them be proud of who they are!!!

K.

N., stop beating yourself up, this is better than if they had really strange or embarrassing names! I was born in 1968 when the name J. was popluar, my 2 best friends growing up were also J.'s, 3 other good friends were J.'s, there was even another J. down the street with the same first, middle and last name as me. Anyway, to this day I am still good friends with most of the J.'s that have been in my life forever and we just go by last names. My maiden name is Schwartz so even though I and my friend's have been married forever, we just call each other by our maiden last names...no biggie. My brother Steve and hubby is Mike, of course they also have many friends with the same name and again, we just call all of the Steve's and Mike's by their last name as well.
All I can say is they will be grateful you didn't name them something really funky. Lighten up on yourself!

I named my twelve year old daughter, Kiana. I now hear Kiana quite often but spelled different ways. My son's name is Niko. It's not so popular in the states but pretty popular in Europe. I'm expecting to hear that name more in the near future. Your kids have very nice names, popular or not. Be proud that you chose such great names :) They names that are popular now will not be popular in the future. FOr example, R. was a popular name in the 60's and 70's, yet you hardly hear it now. :)

I think everyone is in the same boat. It's just like when you buy a car. You pick out a car you like, thinking its sporty or whatever and you have not seen too many of that model on the road, and lo and behold the minute you drive it off the lot, I swear everyone driving on the road is driving the same exact model. I think your sense of awareness is just heightened because it's something of yours personally and you think no one else would share your same exact likes. I have four children and chose names that I liked and thought were unique and did not hear many people using the name but you wouldn't believe how many Todd's or Torey's or Tobi's or Tonya's I see and hear. Have a great day.
V.

Just to put your mind at ease a little, I have a unique name, and people could never pronounce nor spell it. M. doesn't seem that odd or hard to spell/pronounce, but it usually came out Mar-Duh and I got so sick of correcting people that I became ashamed of it. At this point in life I've made my peace and just deal with it. I'm an artist so it makes me on paper like I'm latino (actually I'm half German, and with a German last name my mom thought she was doing our family a favor naming us kids after the Sound of Music) or some ethnicity, so that helps my portfolio stand out a bit on first glance. But I don't think I would've been upset to have a more common name.

I thought picking Emily would be a good compromise for my daughter. An easy to spell and pronounce name that wasn't over used. HA! It was the most popular name for the last 4 years... Oops. :) I'm just glad its a more classic name, not a Tiffany or Jennifer that kind of dates you to the 80's or something, or the Madison, Jordan names that are pretty gender neutral, but very popular these days. The thing is, you've got to like the name yourself, and who cares if half the world has it. In Russia there are only about 5 girls names out there, so everyone just gets used to it. Besides kids tend to want to fit in rather then stick out like a sore thumb in school. So I'll guess that your kids will be glad to have a more common name rather then a really unique one. :) I guess you've got good taste too, if everyone else is picking it.

I have four kids and NEVER feel embarrassed when I hear someone else saying their names in public and you shouldn't either. Don't ever let your kids know you feel embarrassed because then they might someone interpret that as being that you are embarrassed of them which could be devastating for them.