Have you ever wished you'd chosen different names for your kids?

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GeorgiaXplant

Well-known Member
Location
Georgia
Did you choose a name that you really liked and discover much later that it was a name that was so en vogue that there were multiple students in their classes with the same name?

Or that it was a nice name where you lived at the time but moved to a different part of the country where there were waaaaay too many other kids with the same name?

Or maybe a name that seemed "normal" to you at the time but that others cannot/will not pronounce or spell correctly?

Or, heck, maybe your own name is one that you have always disliked?

Mine is unusual (and to most Americans unpronounceable) so my kids have normal names that people can spell and pronounce and that weren't (and aren't) trendy. Also, at the time they were born in the early 60s, the Catholic Church still required that baptismal names were names of saints so right off the bat, all the cutesy names were off the table, even had we been so inclined.
 

considered different kids
ones I really liked
nice ones
ones that at least seem normal

....trying to not recall their names

sorry, you got me goin' there
work with me
I have reasons why I live in the woods

I have great grandkids, however

not greatgrandkids (yet), but really great grandkids (my money's on them)
 
Myself and siblings all have unusual names. We wished, when younger, that our parents had not done this to us. When older, we got many comments on how interesting the names were.
I always thought is was terrible to name kids using what was in vogue. There was a time that a teacher would ask in class for 'Tiffany' or 'Dawn' to answer a question, and at least 3 hands would go up. I think it's a disservice to use trendy names for your child.
 

reminds me of something I put together in another life;

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I wanted to call my daughter one name, I lost and she was called what her father wanted. her name is nice, but it's not what I would have preferred which is not unusual in any way but not too common either.

growing up, I was the only one in the whole school with my name and everyone knew me..even if I didn't know them including the teachers, so i could never get away with anything. I hated it.

Conversely in my class alone of 35 kids there was 3 Linda's, 2 Pamela, 3 Ann's and 2 Evelyns..
 
My husband wanted our daughter to be named Christina which is almost my name ...Christine. She's always been called Tina and I never liked that but she told me she does so that's all that matters.

My son is named the very popular Michael but Ive always called him Mickey. Only my family calls him that.

I have a few nieces with different names, nothing too bad but not a name I would pick. One niece just had a baby in August and they named her Margaux...I think the spelling on that may be a problem in school but who knows.

All my grandsons have common names. :)
 
hollydolly said:
growing up, I was the only one in the whole school with my name and everyone knew me..even if I didn't know them including the teachers, so i could never get away with anything. I hated it.
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Growing up, I was the only one in the whole town (population about 15,000) with my name so, yeah, everybody knew me even though they couldn't spell it or pronounce it. Frosting on that particular cake was that my last name was shared by a very large extended family that also lived in our town, so even though people couldn't/wouldn't pronounce my given name, they'd refer to me as "that ______ girl, the Filipino one." Nope. Not Filipino. We lived in Hawaii during the war and came back Stateside in November so I was very tan...and most folks had no idea that there was a difference between the Philippines and any other Pacific island.
 
My daughter has an unusual name.....she's only met one person in 47 years who has that name. She likes it.

My granddaughter has a name that was very popular the year she was born. There were three of them in her kindergarten class.

My great-granddaughter has a short traditional name. It will remain to see how many of the same name are in her class.

I have a less-than-common spelling of a common name. My mother got my middle name from an obituary in the paper. I think the old lady and I are the only two in the world who have the name...LOL. I always wanted to be "Esmeralda", for some reason.

I'll answer to "Hey you! Yes, you!".
 
One must be VERY careful when considering what to name their kid.

Kids like to tease children with "unusual" names, especially what their initials might spell.

Some girl]s like to have a small necklace made up of their initials. THINK about it !

I'd stay away from "unisex" names Like "Lynn", for example.

I have a friend who named his daughter Katherine Marie Allen.
 
The hubby wanted names for our kids that couldn't be changed. My Husbands name is Ronald. Some call him Ron,others Ronnie and I don't think he liked that. We named my son Roy and my daughter Wendy. The only problem we had and still do on occasion is mixing my son's name up with my husbands. They both have the same middle name so mail does get mixed up because people don't take the time to notice there is a difference in the first name.
 
I painstakingly went through every child's name book and didn't find a name I like. Finally...the T.V. guide. My son was named after Troy Donahue. I'd name him that again but it's a moot point anyway. He changed his name to an Islamic one when he became Muslim. It took some getting used to. But then I did the same thing when a few years later I accepted Islam. I still like his original name but never cal him by it.
 
My children have fairly ordinary names although they were less common when they were born. I lost the battle of names with our elder daughter, but she seems quite happy as her name is used in many European countries. Scottish names like Iain and Eilidh are naturally quite common here, and every other boy seems to be an Alexander. . I've never cared for my own name, but it could be worse - however my middle name is, guess what - Alexander.
 
My first and third girls have very uncommon names that later on became a bit trendy. One still is,the other not so much. Second daughter we just couldn`t come up with a name (hubby was asking all the nurses what their names were but Dorothy and Ida and Evelyn just didn`t cut it lol) so since we each had a sister with an EXTREMELY popular name in the 40s and 50s (Linda),we named her for our sisters. She never went to school with another Linda. Our son is a Jr.,and we would never,ever do that again. Lots of reasons,but it is confusing to this day. He and hubby are now always referred to as "Big W and Little W-even though Little W is several inches taller than Big W lol. Oh,and when daughter #3 was born,we gave her the W name as a middle name,thinking she would be our last. It is definitely a boys name,but she LOVES it.
 
rkunsaw said:
the names are okay but I often wish I'd chosen different kids.
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That's pretty much how I feel. It was awful getting a divorce and then raising a kid whose personality incorporated so many of his father's worst traits. He was a better person overall than his father, just irritating as hell at times. A few years ago he was attacked at an ATM and has permanent brain damage. Oddly, the most irritating traits came to the forefront. He's a good guy but in order to be around him you have to understand and accept that you will never be right about anything. No matter how trivial, you will always be wrong.

Anyway, he loves his name. It's a good old solid biblical name.
 
Our kids were born back in the late 50's - early 60's. We never disagreed with the names, just tossed a few back and forth and made our choices. Valerie, Nancy, Scott, and Lori. All fairly common as far as I could see, and none named for the latest "crush" in some TV drama.
 
I thought we gave our daughter a nice name but she just says "Thanks mom for the stripper's name". She has talked about having it legally changed so she'll be taken more seriously out in the business world. If she does change it she is planning on having her maiden name changed to her new first name. She hasn't mentioned it in the last month or two. I will honor her decision but it will be hard to get used to calling her something else. Maybe I'll just call her "hey you".
 
Capt Lightning said:
My children have fairly ordinary names although they were less common when they were born. I lost the battle of names with our elder daughter, but she seems quite happy as her name is used in many European countries. Scottish names like Iain and Eilidh are naturally quite common here, and every other boy seems to be an Alexander. . I've never cared for my own name, but it could be worse - however my middle name is, guess what - Alexander.
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When I was growing up in Scotland , the boys names were usually jim or jimmy ..Billy, Alan, Donald, or Duncan....quite a few of those in our school...
 
My Mother had never picked a name for me until I was born. She lost my twin when she was in her 3rd month and never expected me to survive. When I finally was born she asked the nurse her name and the nurse said Barbara. So my Mom named me Barbara ann. All through school there were many Barbara's in my class but I was the only Barbara ann. I named my son John after his Dad and my Daughter Stephanie. One of my grandson is also named John.
 


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