What do you think about what we call our kids?

[WheatenLover]

I've never met anyone who has my first name. I like it that way. It's nothing strange. What I didn't like was not having a middle name. My dad said girls got their middle name when they married. Sure enough, both my sister and I decided to use our maiden names as our middle names. At some point, I am going to change my last name back to my maiden name.

I named my daughter Olivia in the mid-90s. I thought it was an unusual name that was likeable, since everyone except my OB hated Octavia.. When she was still in the baby carriage, I took the kids to the playground. There were 3 Olivias there, and one of them had the same middle name as my daughter. My daughter's best friend in middle school was also named Olivia. She has never taken a class in which she was the only Olivia, unless there were only 1-3 girls in it.

 

[Warrigal]

My grandma had a couple friends named Hortence and Gertrude. Popular names a long time ago.

Gertrude is my middle name given to me in honour of my maternal grandmother who died not long before I was born. I hated it, especially at the start of each school year when the roll was drawn up and the full names were read out. The boys had a field day with cries of "Dirty Gertie". Another class mate was similarly embarrassed. His middle name was Septimus which means 'the seventh son'.

I have come to accept my middle name now that I am older, make that old, because it has been part of me all my life and apparently my grandmother was a wonderful woman.

 

[WheatenLover]

Is your screen name your real name? It reminds me of the Val approach

What I meant by misspellings is when they are just plain inaccurate, like SHANNEN or SHANNAN, DANIAL, JUSTEN. KEVON, etc.

I have to spell my names (first and last) every time. My last name is short and common. But not here, in PA, I guess.

Misspelling a name means the person will have to constantly spell it, and get used to other people spelling it wrong (ie, correctly).

 

[WheatenLover]

at my age, I don't know if it would be worth it but I literally cannot stand my name.

It would be worth it, simply because you dislike it so much.

 

[WheatenLover]

You can call me ........anything, i'll answer.

Can we call you Al?

 

[Warrigal]

I have to spell my names (first and last) every time. My last name is short and common. But not here, in PA, I guess.

Misspelling a name means the person will have to constantly spell it, and get used to other people spelling it wrong (ie, correctly).

My husband is a case in point. His mother named him Lynsay because apparently she wanted a girl (Lynette) and we are forever having to spell it out. One of my aunts was given the name Hermoine. According to Grandmother it was intentional but I think she just misspelled Hermione.

As a school teacher I disliked names that had variations in spelling. Even Catharine / Katharine would trick me up when it came to report writing. I decided to give my own children simple names with the most common spelling - Susan and David. If they wanted to be famous they would have to earn a name for themselves for their achievements, not for having an unusual name. They usually go by Sue and Dave. It suits both their personalities.

 

[JaniceM]

All the Stacy's & Tracy's -- girls and boys -- are now grownups! I used to wonder how it would be when they grew up and became somebodies, but it's absolutely Fine!

And if they were from the West coast in the 1980s, all names had to end with "i"- even if they didn't...
Staci
Traci
Kathi
Missi

 

[Lavinia]

When my father was a kid, in the 20's and 30's he had a bunch of sisters, and the popular names back then were Elizabeth , Margaret, Gwen, Mary and all the flower names.. Lily, Iris, Rose etc..

The boys names were strong names, Robert, (Bert).. Charles, Alan, Ron.. etc..

My mum was the same in her family in the 30's and 40's.. John, Kenneth, Bob, Jan, Elizabeth etc..

I haven't got a particularly unusual name but it wasn't a popular name in the 50's so I went through all of my school years and not one other girl had the same name.. so I always hated it..

Since 2020.. these have been the most popular girls names in the UK. Incredibly the full list is 100 names and STILL my name is not on the list after nearly 70 years..

• Olivia
• Amelia
• Isla
• Ava
• Mia
• Ivy
• Lily
• Isabella
• Rosie
• Sophia
• Grace
• Freya
• Willow
• Florence
• Emily
• Ella
• Poppy
• Evie
• Elsie
• Charlotte

..and the 20 most popular boys names

• Oliver
• George
• Arthur
• Noah
• Muhammad
• Leo
• Oscar
• Harry
• Archie
• Jack
• Henry
• Charlie
• Freddie
• Theodore
• Thomas
• Finley
• Theo
• Alfie
• Jacob
• William

My name is not on that list either (Lavinia is not my real name, but it does mean something to me). When I was at school it seemed that Susan was the most popular name.

 

[hollydolly]

My name is not on that list either (Lavinia is not my real name, but it does mean something to me). When I was at school it seemed that Susan was the most popular name.

yep but my name isn't even on the top 100....look..this is the next 80 names on the list...is your real name on there ?

21. Zoe

22. Millie

23. Rosie

24. Layla

25. Isabelle

26. Zara

27. Fatima

28. Harper

29. Nur

30. Charlotte

31. Esme

32. Florence

33. Maryam

34. Poppy

35. Sienna


36. Sophie


37. Aisha


38. Emilia


39. Willow


40. Emma


41. Evelyn


42. Eliana


43. Maisie


44. Alice


45. Chloe


46. Erin


47. Hallie


48. Mila


49. Phoebe


50. Lyla


51. Ada


52. Lottie


53. Ellie


54. Matilda


55. Molly


56. Ruby


57. Ayla


58. Sarah


59. Maddison


60. Aaliyah


61. Aurora


62. Maeve


63. Bella


64. Nova


65. Robyn


66. Arabella


67. Eva


68. Lucy


69. Eden


70. Gracie


71. Jessica


72. Amaya


73. Anna


74. Leah


75. Violet


76. Eleanor


77. Maria


78. Olive


79. Orla


80. Abigail


81. Eliza


82. Rose


83. Talia


84. Elizabeth


85. Gianna


86. Holly


87. Imogen


88. Nancy


89. Annabelle


90. Hazel


91. Margot


92. Raya


93. Bonnie


94. Nina


95. Nora


96. Penelope


97. Scarlett


98. Anaya


99. Delilah


100. Iris

 

[JaniceM]

When I was in school, kids had average names and also went by their given names. With the exception of two Debbies, Bobby, and Buddy, they didn't go by shortened versions or nicknames. It wasn't til the end of elementary school that teachers started calling Richard "Dick," Steven "Steve," etc. I recall one morning the teacher asked if "Terry" was coming to school that day.. nobody knew who she meant til she clarified "Theresa"! because nobody ever called her Terry!

 

[caroln]

I had a daughter born in the 70's and I didn't name her Jennifer, in fact I dodn't know anyone who has a daughter named Jennifer.. My best friend is called Jennifer ( jen) but she was born in the 60's ..and I had a great Aunt Jennifer who was born in 1915

You do now! I named my daughter Jennifer...born 1974. The timeline fits right in with what JaniceM said.

 

[OneEyedDiva]

I read about an Australian couple who's child's name was so ridiculous and unpronounceable that a judge ordered it changed. If I recall correctly, it was a series of letters. And the couple wasn't Black @jimintoronto Neither are the ones below. But as Jaheim sung in Fabulous..yes "name our kids some funny names" (and he was referencing Black culture).
Some celebrities give their children weird names. Elon Musk: Exa Dark Sideræl, Bear Grylls: Huckleberry, Shannon Sossoman: Audio, Mark Silverstein (screen writer): Cricket

​

 

[hollydolly]

You do now! I named my daughter Jennifer...born 1974. The timeline fits right in with what JaniceM said.

LOL..but I don't know her... ..and my DD was born in the mid 70's too.. and not one of her friends was named Jennifer... as I say most jennifers I know were born in the 60's.. might have been something to do with the Beatles song..

 

[JaniceM]

yep but my name isn't even on the top 100....look..this is the next 80 names on the list...is your real name on there ?

21. Zoe

22. Millie

23. Rosie

24. Layla

25. Isabelle

26. Zara

27. Fatima

28. Harper

29. Nur

30. Charlotte

31. Esme

32. Florence

33. Maryam

34. Poppy

35. Sienna


36. Sophie


37. Aisha


38. Emilia


39. Willow


40. Emma


41. Evelyn


42. Eliana


43. Maisie


44. Alice


45. Chloe


46. Erin


47. Hallie


48. Mila


49. Phoebe


50. Lyla


51. Ada


52. Lottie


53. Ellie


54. Matilda


55. Molly


56. Ruby


57. Ayla


58. Sarah


59. Maddison


60. Aaliyah


61. Aurora


62. Maeve


63. Bella


64. Nova


65. Robyn


66. Arabella


67. Eva


68. Lucy


69. Eden


70. Gracie


71. Jessica


72. Amaya

Trying to draw from memory- in the past, wasn't "Joyce" considered a popular first name for boys in the UK?

 

[JaniceM]

I've never met anyone who has my first name. I like it that way. It's nothing strange. What I didn't like was not having a middle name. My dad said girls got their middle name when they married. Sure enough, both my sister and I decided to use our maiden names as our middle names. At some point, I am going to change my last name back to my maiden name.

I named my daughter Olivia in the mid-90s. I thought it was an unusual name that was likeable, since everyone except my OB hated Octavia.. When she was still in the baby carriage, I took the kids to the playground. There were 3 Olivias there, and one of them had the same middle name as my daughter. My daughter's best friend in middle school was also named Olivia. She has never taken a class in which she was the only Olivia, unless there were only 1-3 girls in it.

In the distant past, what you said about your father is essentially the only approach I heard.. actually, that girls dropped their middle names when they married, and used their maiden names as their middle names. It was kinda surprising to find many people didn't do it that way.

 

[JaniceM]

LOL..but I don't know her... ..and my DD was born in the mid 70's too.. and not one of her friends was named Jennifer... as I say most jennifers I know were born in the 60's.. might have been something to do with the Beatles song..

What Beatles song???

Prior to Love Story, the only Jennifer I knew was girl who was a couple of grades behind me in school, so she would've been born in the late 1950s.

 

[Gary O']

My grandma had a couple friends named Hortence and Gertrude

Ah yes
Little baby Hortence
Why not
Wonder what her nickname and reputation came to be.......

As for me
Gramma called me Picklepuss

Kinda glad that didn't stick

 

[Colleen]

My birth name was Mary Kay. When I was adopted at 3 yo, my name was changed to Colleen Kay I've been screwed up ever since .

 

[hollydolly]

What Beatles song???

Prior to Love Story, the only Jennifer I knew was girl who was a couple of grades behind me in school, so she would've been born in the late 1950s.

Jennifer Eccles

Not Beatles sorry... Hollies 1967

 

[JaniceM]

Ah yes
Little baby Hortence
Why not
Wonder what her nickname and reputation came to be.......

As for me
Gramma called me Picklepuss

Kinda glad that didn't stick

Sometimes, though, little kids' nicknames do stick.. and follow them throughout adult life.. my kids, for example, but I won't say what the nicknames are!

 

[fuzzybuddy]

• Oliver
• 
  
• Muhammad
• 
  
• Finley

Got to admit there's one name on this list for the most given male names in the UK that I just can't see the Royal Family calling their heirs. It's Finley.

 

[Jack Frost]

Is your screen name your real name? It reminds me of the Val approach

What I meant by misspellings is when they are just plain inaccurate, like SHANNEN or SHANNAN, DANIAL, JUSTEN. KEVON, etc.

Is your name "average" or "unique"; not following the flow.

 

[hollydolly]

Got to admit there's one name on this list for the most given male names in the UK that I just can't see the Royal Family calling their heirs. It's Finley.

Am I missing something.. why wouldn't they call a child Finley ? I mean apart from the fact that generally they call their kids after their ancestors...

 

[hollydolly]

Trying to draw from memory- in the past, wasn't "Joyce" considered a popular first name for boys in the UK?

..again way back at the beginning of the last century...

 

[hollydolly]

When I was in school, kids had average names and also went by their given names. With the exception of two Debbies, Bobby, and Buddy, they didn't go by shortened versions or nicknames. It wasn't til the end of elementary school that teachers started calling Richard "Dick," Steven "Steve," etc. I recall one morning the teacher asked if "Terry" was coming to school that day.. nobody knew who she meant til she clarified "Theresa"! because nobody ever called her Terry!

I think pretty much everyone's names are shortened here.. if they can be..

However there's the reverse where people have reported being called something that's not their name.. for example.. a Teacher, will rename a child called Kim..''Kimberley'' .. when in fact that child was Christened Kim.. .. or someone called Jackie will be renamed Jaqueline by a teacher..when in fact their name is not a shortened version of a popular name.. ..or Jim.. may be called James, when in fact that's not their name.. it's actually Jim..and not James