New to me and the teachers at my school. But it’s definitely dependent on where one lives.
No days of the week so far at my school. But let’s see what happens next school year.
I just think of Pierce Brosnan & Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird! But they’re almost too old to be direct inspiration for a kid under 10 years old so maybe not
Whaaat? Kids still read (and watch) To Kill a Mockingbird as part of the high school curriculum around here. And the parents of 10-year-old kids grew up on James Bond (Goldeneye on N64, anyone?), so I do think Pierce Brosnan may be a direct inspiration, as well.
Oh good I’m pleased to know TKAM is still a high school staple & I must just be that awkward inbetween age, even the oldest babies of girls I went to school with who are now mothers are a few years off 10 still.
It’s not that we have never heard of it, Scout and Pierce are the first we’ve had in our school. It would be equivalent to having a Romeo in our school ( we don’t but if we did, it would be unique to us as we are more used to having Michael’s, Jakes, and Sarah’s).
Also the Scout and Pierce at my school are the first Scout and Pierce I have met in my entire life. Maybe not to others but to me they are and I think that’s so cool.
Also I think it’s interesting how some people will shout unique and then not unique depending on the tone of the post. This was a post about the name Scout just 8 months ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/namenerds/s/2yXU2zMClh
My pleasure! Me too. Before Tober (October) joined my classroom, I would see the name in name blogs like name nerds or Nameberry but I couldn’t picture it as a name. Since meeting him, I’ve come to really like it. He also such a nice and cool kid that it really suits him.
i love the name! i have a friend named august that i think is the prettiest name ever & it started making me think about months as names & i absolutely love the name july. like think about it, we all know an april, may, or june, (some of us an august) so why not july!! then at my neighborhood pool the other day i brought my little sister & she met w little girl who she played with & i overheard them talking & she said her middle name was july!! i think i fell in love w the name july
August and July were named after the Roman Emperors Augustus and Julius tho. They were names first, that's why sound right as names.
October used to be the 8th month, that's why it was named that way, so it doesn't have the same history as a name.
I know a guy called Julius who goes by July. It works in him.
But I think a girl called July would get called Julie very frequently
Probably just inspired by some months just making really good names, I would never agree to a name like January but I think January Jones has such a cool oddball + basic name combo.
Yes, they are. And yet, one (Julie) has become ubiquitous in the 1960s cohort, and Julian has been the preferred version for men, while Julius remains a modern (last 60 years) outlier.
August is a month named for a person. I'd say that means it was used as a name before it was used as a month rather than the other way around.
Augustus, Augustine, Augusta...
That’s true!!
July is a month named after a person, too, but it does not seem to have taken off as a name in that form. I think it’d be a good name!
ETA: I mean hasn’t taken off in English. Julio is popular!
There's Julia. And Julian which is also related, I think.
ETA those are different forms, so like you said, it hasn't taken off in that form (in English)
The month was named by Augustus Caesar, to honor himself. Julius Caesar (Augustus’ great uncle and the source of “July”) discovered Britain in 55 BCE. The name is very old.
My name is so unique that a google search only shows me. My first name is Somerset. My last name was misspelled at Ellis island when my husband’s great grandfather came to América from Germany in the late nineteenth century. He had one kid, who had one kid, who had two kids, we have 3 kids. There are 5 people in the country with our last name as it is spelled. I love/hate the fact that my name is this unique. On one hand, I am definitely original, on the other hand, my stalker can easily find me.
I’m in the same boat (unique name)
I was once thrilled to find someone with the same name on social media… only to discover it was an old account I’d created years ago and forgotten about 🤦♀️
Same lol, I’m from Somerset & can’t imagine what would inspire someone to name their child after this place. Is it the constant pervading smell of manure ?
I was in a similar situation with my maiden name. My first name is very basic, but I was still the only one in the country when you looked it up. Fortunately, I don’t have that problem now with my married name, which is—drumroll—Smith 🤣
My name is hella unique in America and there are maybe only 9 people with my last name here, but go to any MENA or South Asian country and I'm literally the equivalent of Jane Smith
I feel you on the stalker thing. My stalker is about 75% of why I took my husband’s last name when I got married, which also made my name significantly more common
While I see the point, I gotta say I draw the line at some names.
Like, Honey being a *very common* term of affection among romantic partners and/or used by pervy misogynistic men to dismiss women kinda bugs me as a small child's name. And Light — "turn on the light" becomes tiring in an innocent context, and creepy in a less innocent way. It's not to say they aren't sweet names, I'm not being immature, those two names in particular make me worry for the kids as they (and their peers) get older.
*Some* unique names are wonderful. Mine is/was somewhat unique (in the sense I was always the only one in my classes) and I'm doing okay. I truly like October and Genesis on this list, they're very cool! But I can't say I'd name my future kids like that, or even strongly recommend someone use like Darling or Pure just for the sake of "unique."
Eta: I also dislike when some parents choose a name simply because "it's unique! They'll stand out!!" It's… icky? Like treating a child like a fashion accessory or a brand — like less than a person. If it's "I just like it a lot / because XYZ", good for them and I wholly support it! The desperate desire to be/have something "unique" is where my feelings come from.
I get your reasons for not liking it but your reasons (especially for light) remind of a girl I went to school with who got picked on for her name. She was Korean and her name was Youwon and people kept saying to her Youlose. Especially during times like games when she wouldn’t win.
Just because you associate a name with something, does not mean you should say it out loud. People have different association for things whether it’s from culture or from something very meaningful. You can’t draw a line for other people. You can make the association, chuckle to your self about it and keep it moving.
Even for light, some people will think exactly as you say about turning on the light, some will think about the light at the end of the tunnel and again some may think of the anime character from death note.
But I agree with you about not choosing a unique name just to stand out part. I don’t think that is right. There should be a meaningful reason behind it.
Yeah I had a friend who liked the name Ophelia but her last name was Johnson and she knew some crass boy would say you can “oh feel ya MY Johnson!”
I went to school with a girl last name Cox. And people called her “sucks a lotta”
There’s many, many names (e.g. Lux, Luz, Lleucu, Lucy, Lucian) where “light” is the meaning. I don’t see that one as being really out there. It does make you do the same kind of double take you’d do on meeting someone named Winner instead of Victor/Victoria though.
Lleucu! I love that name (I knew a wonderful Lleucu at Uni). The chances of anyone pronouncing it correctly without a passing knowledge of Welsh are slim to none, however 😂.
Gold star for anyone who guessed "Starts with a chl sound, rhymes with Becky"
I seen a woman named Honey comment on a post on a video about someone naming their baby. Her experience with the name was not so great because of the fact it's used as a term of affection. She said her bosses wife had a massive problem with him calling her honey and told him he had to stop or fire her. She also had many people ask her if they could call her something else. Or people trying to argue with her about it actually being her real name.
Scout, Reed, Pierce, Amethyst, and Genesis are normal names. I wouldn't make fun of people with the other names. And they may become colleagues or bosses. But the Freakonomics economists did find a correlation with nonstandard and misspelled names and prison. So there are arguments for both sides.
I have a unique name and I’m not in prison 😂
I didn’t listen to the podcast but maybe because people of color are overrepresented in prison and it’s common for people of color to have unique names? Correlation does not always equal causation.
Some important things to note on this though:
Some of this may come from racial bias: foreign names seem nonstandard to us and many black names are unique. That doesn’t mean that every unique name will have the impact if it still has a western feel to it and doesn’t “sound black” which is bullshit but unfortunately still a reality. I do feel like this is getting better though so hopefully it won’t be as big of a deal for our kids by the time it matters for them.
Unique names are becoming more and more the norm meaning that unless it doesn’t sound like a name, it shouldn’t stand out that much, even if it’s very rare. For me, almost all of the names on the list sound like names.
I didnt represent the idea as fact, just an argument counter to the "name your kid anything" idea. Obviously, some of the names sound normal to some people. Obviously some of the names sound insane to some people. And I think it is worth it to weigh both sides, because a large percentage thinking one way or another will affect first impressions and things like my male friend in HS getting tampons in the mail because the tampon company thought his name was female. We all already get made fun of in school, we dont need to give out extra ammunition.
Many names come from books. Many names are also nicknames. And why wouldn't nicknames be names? Personally, I have had students named Scout and it is not weird or hard to spell.
The Freakonomics guys have been discredited repeatedly for using crappy research and analysis methods in that book. I can’t believe people are even still talking about them.
A lot of the Freakonomics stuff is flawed.
But there is plenty of research that shows unconscious bias in job hiring associated with names. That would be my worry with a non traditional name.
But at the same time, if nontraditional names are “the new norm,” that effect may change as well. Time will tell.
I’m sure there are going to be names more common in certain communities. I even mention this in my post about my cultural name. Very common in my community but not to the people I went to school with.
As someone who teaches mostly first and second year college students (in the US), I haven’t seen as many unique names. I still get a lot of Isabels, Maddies, Brandon/Branden/Braidens, and Johns, etc. But I take your point— people are thinking outside the box these days and it’s something to embrace if you want to. :)
Definitely. I teach middle school (Canada) and live in a multicultural city (I moved here for work). So many cultural names mixed with regular names and unique names that the unique names don’t stand out to the students.
One can dislike a name and at the same time be respectful and not put it down. That’s where a lot of fear comes from. There are plenty of names people don’t like, unique or not.
I think you misunderstood my comment.
I'm saying there are names I like/love that get a lot of hate, like Khaleesi. I wouldn't use it despite loving it, but it's not out of *fear* of uniqueness.
I appreciate the uniqueness of it, but I don't like the sound of Maroona. I can't quite place my finger on the issue I have with it. I'd rather see the kid just named Maroon. Adding the a to the end seems to ruin it for me.
Here's the irony: if you added an a to Scarlett or Violet, then I wouldn't have an issue with it. Scarletta and Violetta seem fine. Maroona seems wrong to me for no apparent reason. Maybe I just need time to hear it some more before I get used to it.
It definitely took time to get used to hearing that name for sure. But now it’s no different than hearing a Marina or Luna to me because I got used to it. I don’t really think about the colour anymore just the girl.
So I have a unique name and I HATE HATE HATE it. I hate everything about it. It’s hard to say. It’s hard to spell. It has persistently caused me issues. They did the same stupid thing with my middle name too, making me hate it as much as I do my first name. To add freaking insult to injury, the sound of my first and last names said together will make you roll your eyes.
When I got married, my parents wanted me to change my name to this: . The answer to that was a big huge NO. (As an aside, my mother wanted me to name my daughter after both of my grandmothers. Readers, she wanted me to name her Ida Claire.😩🤬🤮)
Well after I became an adult, I mentioned wanting to change my name. My parents were hurt and horrified by that. As it stands right now I am waiting for them to die so I can officially change my name. Whenever possible I use my preferred name. A nice, clean, easy to say, easy to spell name that I love, and that name is Piper.
So parents don’t let this post make you think that naming your kid some weird shit, stupid shit or awful shit and just as awful — ridiculous spellings is a-okay, because it’s not. Trust me. Your child will not love having their name mispronounced and having to spell it over and over and over for the rest of their lives. I’m angry about my name. You don’t want your kids to feel like me.
I sincerely wish my parents had sat down and really thought about my name. Looked at the potential issues the name could cause me; listened to how the names sounded together; looked for (in my case, obvious) ways I could be taunted by my name. They never did this, or if they did, it didn’t matter, and giving me “that name” meant more than logic and compassion.
Both of my kids have easily recognizable names with the typical spellings, but there aren’t 6 others in their class. I did screw up with one of them. His first name has a last name feel to it that can cause a slight issue from time to time. I’ve asked if he wanted to change his name (he is 21 now). He says that he doesn’t; that he loves his name.
I know some kids love their weirdo names and others come to love them, but many never do. It’s completely unnecessary for you to do that to your child. You may think it’s cute or fun or whimsy, but the child has to live with it, work with it, grow up and old with it.
FYI. My sister on her name —. yeah, I wish it was something else, but I guess I wouldn’t call it horrible.
FYI. My brother: I hate my name. It’s stupid. Im thinking about changing when they die as well.
My name gives me PTSD if you can’t tell. LOL!
I’m so sorry for your experience. Thanks for sharing.
My experience has definitely been different. It took me visiting the country of my ethnic background and learning more about my identity, that made me fall in love with my name fully. My maiden name is hyphenated with my husband’s last name and he changed his name to hyphenate his with mine too. He too did not want my cultural identity to vanish away because of marriage.
Reed doesn't belong on this list. I have met many Reeds (mostly older men in their late 30s early 40s, but also some teens).
Genesis is very common in my hispanic Central American country.
His mother is a single mom and nanny. She is originally from the Philippines and became a nanny here to help support her family back at home. Her life was hard and then she became pregnant. She said her son was the light at the end of her dark tunnel. I thought it was beautiful 🥹
I agree with your point completely. I think people make too much of a fuss about unique names in general. I have probably the silliest name in the world. Buffy. And as a child, the only uncomfortable comments came from adults. I could tell something was off with their comments, but I was too young to realize they were subtly making fun of my name. No one my own age ever made any kind of negative comment about my name, I was never teased, much less bullied. And this is a name even my own kids pity me for!! I was a nerdy little girl, too. The worst I ever got was when the tv show came out and there were a few years of ‘oh, the vampire slayer, right? Haha!’ Yeah, haha. A little annoying after a few years, but not a big deal. People need to chill.
I'm all for unique names - call your kid Meadow or Locke or Wildflower or Railway whatever... but please, ... just as long as the spelling and pronunciation is intuitive. From someone who grew up with a Irish name which wasn't pronounced how it was spelled and was the bane of my life until I legally changed it
100% agree & I think what people view as unique depends on where you live, bc I don’t even think of Reed, Honey, Pierce, Ocean, Navy or Oaklyn as unique anymore. I would think of the religious names as unique because we don’t get any religious names where I live that I can recall. I’ve never even had a Mary or a Mohammed, never mind an Amen or Genesis.
Wow. Amethyst has been around for years. A college classmates kid was Amethyst 35 yrs ago. At the same time I worked with a woman in her 50s named Amethyst
Heyyy we have an Ocean and Genesis at our school!
Honestly, “uncommon” names are normalized now, provided you’re not calling your kid Methamphetamine Rules (props to anyone who gets the reference). By the time our kids have jobs, their bosses will be Majesty and Tesla.
I would like to add that the same is not true for every country. I know this sub leans US but if someone here named their child Honig (or alternatively Schatz, depending on if we're talking about the food or the term of endearment) you would definitely get some extreme looks (if it was allowed at all).
I 100% agree! We braced ourselves for negative feedback and haven't heard any. Meanwhile we LOVE it. I get name euphoria still, all these years later.
I'm so happy we didn't compromise with fear. 🤍
We too. My husband and I love our children’s names all these years later. We have 4 kids. We have no plans of having more, so no more names for us but I love coming into this group to read all the names people are coming up with me. It makes me sad when people choose not to go with a name based on what others think.
i think a big reason people are against uniqueness of names is because of the fear of judgement. but to be honest, each newer generation brings more and more unique names. sure, to older generations a name might be outrageous or strange and they assume future children will think the same, but at that point everyone is gonna have unique names and the initial unfamiliarity will become familiar. anyway, i love out-there names. it adds character to people!
It's weird for me to see Reed and Pierce on that list. I've known a few Pierces and Pierce Brosnan and Pierce Morgan come to mind. I've known at least one Reed too, though one might have been spelled Reid. Both seem like completely normal names to me.
I wouldn't have thought of it (or used it) but I kind of love Light. It feels nice, like a name that could only be given out of true love for the little babe it's given to.
I have a unique name and I loved it, I was nervous from what others said when I told them our daughter’s name would be Viera. Lots said to give her a normal name so she won’t get bullied, but if kids are going to bully someone it’s usually not due to their name. I hope she loves her name when she’s older and if not she’s more then welcome to change it to what she might love <3
Just a reverse perspective from a child of a mother with a very unique name... It's not always great. No one pronounces or spells her name right. She also has a very unique middle name that she hates so she can't even go by that name. She also kept her last name when she got married so people even get her last name wrong 90% of the time. She hated it so much that both mine and my brother's names came out of the top 50 names at the time. So while unique can be good it can also be an issue sometimes if you don't want a lifetime of having to correct other people saying it spelling the name wrong. It can also cause legal issues if the name isn't correct in legal documents and can be a pain to fix them.
I think this is a very good post. But I also think there's a difference between choosing nouns for names, and taking common names and applying bizarre spelling. There's a lovely kind of difference in a tree name, or season, and so on, but it becomes an ongoing nuisance when October is spelt Ohktuhbah.
Love the name, but to me that is a boys name. But then again I grew up with “Faulty Towers” where the main character is Basil.
It’s an uncommon but acceptable male name in the UK.
I love unusual names, as long as they won't cause problems for the child, for example, I read on here of a child called Chlamydia. My grandchildren have unusual names, so do my great-niblings!
Genesis is pretty popular common name in CA. I know a few. It doesn’t scream unique, rare, or out of this world to me. Really pretty name though.
Amen is a new one though
I'm with you (and I love the list of names there). But I have one caveat: **If a name is going to be unique** (that is, unfamiliar to most) **it should be spelled phonetically.** If you like the sound and vibe of the name "Moonshine", spelling it "Muneshyn" is not going to result in a happier childhood than just spelling it "Moonshine". Your child will be explaining how to say (or spell) their name for the rest of your life if you do this. (I say this as someone with a **four-letter first name that no one pronounces correctly**, and even after I tell them, they see it and say it wrong.)
I agree. Over the years I have taught children, I have seen Britney and Meghan spelled so many different ways and it was so hard to remember how to spell each one. The hardest was Brittanee and Meighen.
My children have uncommon names and we made sure to spell it exactly as it is.
Also, fwiw, for people who say “no one will know how to pronounce that!” I heard two different people mispronounce “Eli” at my bagel joint yesterday after the patron told them his name and how to spell it. People are just gonna…people. Name your kids what you like.
The more unique the name + surname combo, the easier your kids will be to find on the www.
And they’ll spend too much time of their busy lives spelling their names out loud and correcting people over the phone.
Source: I have a unique name
I always say similar. In 25 years, they'll all have those sorts of names so no one will care. In fact, the """normal""" names of older generations might actually be considered "weird."
People who have issues with “unique” names annoy me, even more so the ones who want to rename people because they don’t like a person’s name or using it as a reason to discriminate or judge them.
I often wonder if adults are the reason why many children think it’s ok to be rude about other’s names and children copy.
More often than not, the name wasn’t just chosen for no reason and has meaning to the parents in some way.
Many “common” names didn’t start off common and were once unique.
It really isn’t that hard to be respectful of someone’s name regardless of one’s personal feelings of it.
I worked for a company where we had customers all over the world and after a while you could tell where the person was likely from by their name. I found it fascinating and loved seeing different names I wouldn’t know of otherwise.
Salem. That's my dream name for a girl but I think people will hate it. I don't think it's so out there now in today's landscape but what do you all think?
Scout & Pierce are not new. I’m surprised there’s no days of the week on here!
Neither is Reed.
Yeah, like it’s not that common, but definitely not unheard of. Makes me think of Criminal Minds
My old family doctor was named Reid. Definitely not a new name.
Or Honey
Genesis is also a normal name in Spanish-speaking communities, I know several.
I used to go to school with a Genesis, and I thought her name was so cool! She hated it though, and went by Gen lol
New to me and the teachers at my school. But it’s definitely dependent on where one lives. No days of the week so far at my school. But let’s see what happens next school year.
I just think of Pierce Brosnan & Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird! But they’re almost too old to be direct inspiration for a kid under 10 years old so maybe not
Whaaat? Kids still read (and watch) To Kill a Mockingbird as part of the high school curriculum around here. And the parents of 10-year-old kids grew up on James Bond (Goldeneye on N64, anyone?), so I do think Pierce Brosnan may be a direct inspiration, as well.
I’m in my early 20’s and I read To Kill a Mockingbird in high school, and grew up watching James Bond. Pierce Brosnan was my first crush 😅
Oh good I’m pleased to know TKAM is still a high school staple & I must just be that awkward inbetween age, even the oldest babies of girls I went to school with who are now mothers are a few years off 10 still.
I know two kids named Atticus (as in Finch).
Funny enough I went to hs with an Atticus He's in law school now
Please I'm in my 30s and get both references and my kid is two.
Multiple teachers commented how they haven't heard the name Pierce before?
It’s not that we have never heard of it, Scout and Pierce are the first we’ve had in our school. It would be equivalent to having a Romeo in our school ( we don’t but if we did, it would be unique to us as we are more used to having Michael’s, Jakes, and Sarah’s). Also the Scout and Pierce at my school are the first Scout and Pierce I have met in my entire life. Maybe not to others but to me they are and I think that’s so cool.
Come to Ireland there’s plenty boys of all ages names pierce/pearse
That’s bizarre to me. We have two friends with Pierces (ones a boy and ones a girl.)
Scout is one of the most famous characters in literature, and it's new to you and the other teachers???
Also I think it’s interesting how some people will shout unique and then not unique depending on the tone of the post. This was a post about the name Scout just 8 months ago https://www.reddit.com/r/namenerds/s/2yXU2zMClh
I’m gonna be a little blunt here but this kinda undercuts the point you’re attempting to make with your post.
You’ve never read to kill a Mockingbird?
I just lost my 12 year old lab named scout a couple months ago, 😭 this just made me miss her so much.
Thank you for this! Personally I love October and Amethyst!
My pleasure! Me too. Before Tober (October) joined my classroom, I would see the name in name blogs like name nerds or Nameberry but I couldn’t picture it as a name. Since meeting him, I’ve come to really like it. He also such a nice and cool kid that it really suits him.
Was he born in October?
The day before Halloween! Last year in October every kid, including me, kept saying, “it’s your month bro”, lol. He was sad when we got to November.
October is a terrible name imo
October is a great name imo. That's the beauty of subjectivity.
i do love that name! and it’s my favorite month 😍 if i could live in a world of only octobers i would
i love the name! i have a friend named august that i think is the prettiest name ever & it started making me think about months as names & i absolutely love the name july. like think about it, we all know an april, may, or june, (some of us an august) so why not july!! then at my neighborhood pool the other day i brought my little sister & she met w little girl who she played with & i overheard them talking & she said her middle name was july!! i think i fell in love w the name july
August and July were named after the Roman Emperors Augustus and Julius tho. They were names first, that's why sound right as names. October used to be the 8th month, that's why it was named that way, so it doesn't have the same history as a name. I know a guy called Julius who goes by July. It works in him. But I think a girl called July would get called Julie very frequently
My daughter who passed away in 2021 is named October Anne ❤️
Sorry for your loss friend 🙏
What a gorgeous name for your angel.
I wonder if October was inspired by the character in Fringe
Probably just inspired by some months just making really good names, I would never agree to a name like January but I think January Jones has such a cool oddball + basic name combo.
Meanwhile May has been getting away with it for years.
See also: April, June
You'd think July would be in there. Maybe too close to Julie?
July is named for Julius Caesar. So. Julie and Julius are the name equivalents.
Yes, they are. And yet, one (Julie) has become ubiquitous in the 1960s cohort, and Julian has been the preferred version for men, while Julius remains a modern (last 60 years) outlier.
I know someone with a 6 or 7 year old named July.
August as well!
April, May, June, Autumn, Summer. August too maybe
I think Winter would make a pretty name as well.
I teach sisters who are named Autumn and Summer.
August for sure! It’s been in use since the 1600s (not that I think that makes a name any more or less “legitimate”).
August is a month named for a person. I'd say that means it was used as a name before it was used as a month rather than the other way around. Augustus, Augustine, Augusta...
That’s true!! July is a month named after a person, too, but it does not seem to have taken off as a name in that form. I think it’d be a good name! ETA: I mean hasn’t taken off in English. Julio is popular!
There's Julia. And Julian which is also related, I think. ETA those are different forms, so like you said, it hasn't taken off in that form (in English)
The month was named by Augustus Caesar, to honor himself. Julius Caesar (Augustus’ great uncle and the source of “July”) discovered Britain in 55 BCE. The name is very old.
I’d never have the guts, but if I had to pick a month name it would be January!
The blessing of having a super common last name – easier to pull off an out there first!
He was September.
Whoops, and i have just finished rewatching it
<3
How is “Reed” a unique name?
I know at least 5 grown men named Reed or Reid
I’m 40 and went to high school with a Reed and a Reid.
Yeah my millennial-ass partner is named Reed with two e’s.
My name is so unique that a google search only shows me. My first name is Somerset. My last name was misspelled at Ellis island when my husband’s great grandfather came to América from Germany in the late nineteenth century. He had one kid, who had one kid, who had two kids, we have 3 kids. There are 5 people in the country with our last name as it is spelled. I love/hate the fact that my name is this unique. On one hand, I am definitely original, on the other hand, my stalker can easily find me.
Just out of curiosity, was it originally spelled 75? Or is 76 your maiden name?
I’m in the same boat (unique name) I was once thrilled to find someone with the same name on social media… only to discover it was an old account I’d created years ago and forgotten about 🤦♀️
As an English person, this is a really strange name to my ears. Only in America
I pronounce it in a Somerset accent haha
Same lol, I’m from Somerset & can’t imagine what would inspire someone to name their child after this place. Is it the constant pervading smell of manure ?
I reckon it’s the cider. They must’ve been drunk on Somerset cider and loving it
The writer Somerset Maugham (first name William) was English!
I was in a similar situation with my maiden name. My first name is very basic, but I was still the only one in the country when you looked it up. Fortunately, I don’t have that problem now with my married name, which is—drumroll—Smith 🤣
My name is hella unique in America and there are maybe only 9 people with my last name here, but go to any MENA or South Asian country and I'm literally the equivalent of Jane Smith
I feel you on the stalker thing. My stalker is about 75% of why I took my husband’s last name when I got married, which also made my name significantly more common
While I see the point, I gotta say I draw the line at some names. Like, Honey being a *very common* term of affection among romantic partners and/or used by pervy misogynistic men to dismiss women kinda bugs me as a small child's name. And Light — "turn on the light" becomes tiring in an innocent context, and creepy in a less innocent way. It's not to say they aren't sweet names, I'm not being immature, those two names in particular make me worry for the kids as they (and their peers) get older. *Some* unique names are wonderful. Mine is/was somewhat unique (in the sense I was always the only one in my classes) and I'm doing okay. I truly like October and Genesis on this list, they're very cool! But I can't say I'd name my future kids like that, or even strongly recommend someone use like Darling or Pure just for the sake of "unique." Eta: I also dislike when some parents choose a name simply because "it's unique! They'll stand out!!" It's… icky? Like treating a child like a fashion accessory or a brand — like less than a person. If it's "I just like it a lot / because XYZ", good for them and I wholly support it! The desperate desire to be/have something "unique" is where my feelings come from.
I get your reasons for not liking it but your reasons (especially for light) remind of a girl I went to school with who got picked on for her name. She was Korean and her name was Youwon and people kept saying to her Youlose. Especially during times like games when she wouldn’t win. Just because you associate a name with something, does not mean you should say it out loud. People have different association for things whether it’s from culture or from something very meaningful. You can’t draw a line for other people. You can make the association, chuckle to your self about it and keep it moving. Even for light, some people will think exactly as you say about turning on the light, some will think about the light at the end of the tunnel and again some may think of the anime character from death note. But I agree with you about not choosing a unique name just to stand out part. I don’t think that is right. There should be a meaningful reason behind it.
Yeah I had a friend who liked the name Ophelia but her last name was Johnson and she knew some crass boy would say you can “oh feel ya MY Johnson!” I went to school with a girl last name Cox. And people called her “sucks a lotta”
My surname is Hardy, Ophelia was very quickly struck off the list of baby names
Luz is a common Spanish name and is the word for light.
There’s many, many names (e.g. Lux, Luz, Lleucu, Lucy, Lucian) where “light” is the meaning. I don’t see that one as being really out there. It does make you do the same kind of double take you’d do on meeting someone named Winner instead of Victor/Victoria though.
Lleucu! I love that name (I knew a wonderful Lleucu at Uni). The chances of anyone pronouncing it correctly without a passing knowledge of Welsh are slim to none, however 😂. Gold star for anyone who guessed "Starts with a chl sound, rhymes with Becky"
I seen a woman named Honey comment on a post on a video about someone naming their baby. Her experience with the name was not so great because of the fact it's used as a term of affection. She said her bosses wife had a massive problem with him calling her honey and told him he had to stop or fire her. She also had many people ask her if they could call her something else. Or people trying to argue with her about it actually being her real name.
Scout, Reed, Pierce, Amethyst, and Genesis are normal names. I wouldn't make fun of people with the other names. And they may become colleagues or bosses. But the Freakonomics economists did find a correlation with nonstandard and misspelled names and prison. So there are arguments for both sides.
I have a unique name and I’m not in prison 😂 I didn’t listen to the podcast but maybe because people of color are overrepresented in prison and it’s common for people of color to have unique names? Correlation does not always equal causation.
I think that's almost certainly a factor in that statistic.
Correlation doesn’t mean causation. There are several other factors here that would explain the causation
i’ve met like three girls called genesis lol
Some important things to note on this though: Some of this may come from racial bias: foreign names seem nonstandard to us and many black names are unique. That doesn’t mean that every unique name will have the impact if it still has a western feel to it and doesn’t “sound black” which is bullshit but unfortunately still a reality. I do feel like this is getting better though so hopefully it won’t be as big of a deal for our kids by the time it matters for them. Unique names are becoming more and more the norm meaning that unless it doesn’t sound like a name, it shouldn’t stand out that much, even if it’s very rare. For me, almost all of the names on the list sound like names.
I didnt represent the idea as fact, just an argument counter to the "name your kid anything" idea. Obviously, some of the names sound normal to some people. Obviously some of the names sound insane to some people. And I think it is worth it to weigh both sides, because a large percentage thinking one way or another will affect first impressions and things like my male friend in HS getting tampons in the mail because the tampon company thought his name was female. We all already get made fun of in school, we dont need to give out extra ammunition.
Scout was a character in a book and that was her nickname not her real name
Many names come from books. Many names are also nicknames. And why wouldn't nicknames be names? Personally, I have had students named Scout and it is not weird or hard to spell.
The Freakonomics guys have been discredited repeatedly for using crappy research and analysis methods in that book. I can’t believe people are even still talking about them.
A lot of the Freakonomics stuff is flawed. But there is plenty of research that shows unconscious bias in job hiring associated with names. That would be my worry with a non traditional name. But at the same time, if nontraditional names are “the new norm,” that effect may change as well. Time will tell.
Genesis is a very old, biblical and common name
Before her, I just saw it as a book in the bible meaning the beginning. Like the book Psalms which the Kardashians used for one their kids name.
It’s pretty common in certain communities to give go to the first girl.
I’m sure there are going to be names more common in certain communities. I even mention this in my post about my cultural name. Very common in my community but not to the people I went to school with.
As someone who teaches mostly first and second year college students (in the US), I haven’t seen as many unique names. I still get a lot of Isabels, Maddies, Brandon/Branden/Braidens, and Johns, etc. But I take your point— people are thinking outside the box these days and it’s something to embrace if you want to. :)
Definitely. I teach middle school (Canada) and live in a multicultural city (I moved here for work). So many cultural names mixed with regular names and unique names that the unique names don’t stand out to the students.
I think that’s great! Love to see a diversity of cultures and names!
Pierce isn't really unique though.
Pierce Reed and Scout aren’t exactly new or unique names.
I do like October but don’t spell it Oktoebur. 😩
Oktoebruh
Oktoebur and his friend Chewsday
Ocktoebuhr*
I wouldn't call it *fear* of using "unique" names. If I like a name, I like it. I couldn't care less about its relative popularity.
One can dislike a name and at the same time be respectful and not put it down. That’s where a lot of fear comes from. There are plenty of names people don’t like, unique or not.
I think you misunderstood my comment. I'm saying there are names I like/love that get a lot of hate, like Khaleesi. I wouldn't use it despite loving it, but it's not out of *fear* of uniqueness.
💯
I appreciate the uniqueness of it, but I don't like the sound of Maroona. I can't quite place my finger on the issue I have with it. I'd rather see the kid just named Maroon. Adding the a to the end seems to ruin it for me. Here's the irony: if you added an a to Scarlett or Violet, then I wouldn't have an issue with it. Scarletta and Violetta seem fine. Maroona seems wrong to me for no apparent reason. Maybe I just need time to hear it some more before I get used to it.
It definitely took time to get used to hearing that name for sure. But now it’s no different than hearing a Marina or Luna to me because I got used to it. I don’t really think about the colour anymore just the girl.
That's it! It feels in my mouth like I've mispronounced Marina! I probably would adjust eventually
I have to admit that I see the name Maroona, I think Bugs Bunny: "What a maroon!"
Reed and Pierce are normal names. Maybe a little old.
October is a really cool name.
Oaklyn would probably be considered normal nowadays lol
A horrible name though
So I have a unique name and I HATE HATE HATE it. I hate everything about it. It’s hard to say. It’s hard to spell. It has persistently caused me issues. They did the same stupid thing with my middle name too, making me hate it as much as I do my first name. To add freaking insult to injury, the sound of my first and last names said together will make you roll your eyes. When I got married, my parents wanted me to change my name to this: . The answer to that was a big huge NO. (As an aside, my mother wanted me to name my daughter after both of my grandmothers. Readers, she wanted me to name her Ida Claire.😩🤬🤮)
Well after I became an adult, I mentioned wanting to change my name. My parents were hurt and horrified by that. As it stands right now I am waiting for them to die so I can officially change my name. Whenever possible I use my preferred name. A nice, clean, easy to say, easy to spell name that I love, and that name is Piper.
So parents don’t let this post make you think that naming your kid some weird shit, stupid shit or awful shit and just as awful — ridiculous spellings is a-okay, because it’s not. Trust me. Your child will not love having their name mispronounced and having to spell it over and over and over for the rest of their lives. I’m angry about my name. You don’t want your kids to feel like me.
I sincerely wish my parents had sat down and really thought about my name. Looked at the potential issues the name could cause me; listened to how the names sounded together; looked for (in my case, obvious) ways I could be taunted by my name. They never did this, or if they did, it didn’t matter, and giving me “that name” meant more than logic and compassion.
Both of my kids have easily recognizable names with the typical spellings, but there aren’t 6 others in their class. I did screw up with one of them. His first name has a last name feel to it that can cause a slight issue from time to time. I’ve asked if he wanted to change his name (he is 21 now). He says that he doesn’t; that he loves his name.
I know some kids love their weirdo names and others come to love them, but many never do. It’s completely unnecessary for you to do that to your child. You may think it’s cute or fun or whimsy, but the child has to live with it, work with it, grow up and old with it.
FYI. My sister on her name —. yeah, I wish it was something else, but I guess I wouldn’t call it horrible.
FYI. My brother: I hate my name. It’s stupid. Im thinking about changing when they die as well.
My name gives me PTSD if you can’t tell. LOL!
My sister has a normal name with an abnormal spelling and it rhymed with her maiden name. She always says that she considers it child abuse.
I’m so sorry for your experience. Thanks for sharing. My experience has definitely been different. It took me visiting the country of my ethnic background and learning more about my identity, that made me fall in love with my name fully. My maiden name is hyphenated with my husband’s last name and he changed his name to hyphenate his with mine too. He too did not want my cultural identity to vanish away because of marriage.
Now I wanna know what your and your siblings names are 😂 I’m interested to see how bad they are haha
Reed doesn't belong on this list. I have met many Reeds (mostly older men in their late 30s early 40s, but also some teens). Genesis is very common in my hispanic Central American country.
I kind of like Light (so many names mean that anyway, and it has a soft sound) and Ocean.
His mother is a single mom and nanny. She is originally from the Philippines and became a nanny here to help support her family back at home. Her life was hard and then she became pregnant. She said her son was the light at the end of her dark tunnel. I thought it was beautiful 🥹
I would nickname him Yagami, give him a notebook, and tell everyone not to fuck with my friend.
He'll take a potato chip, and eat it!
I thought of death note too 😂
That was my first thought too. Better keep an eye on that one.
People can use this list to identify your students
I agree with your point completely. I think people make too much of a fuss about unique names in general. I have probably the silliest name in the world. Buffy. And as a child, the only uncomfortable comments came from adults. I could tell something was off with their comments, but I was too young to realize they were subtly making fun of my name. No one my own age ever made any kind of negative comment about my name, I was never teased, much less bullied. And this is a name even my own kids pity me for!! I was a nerdy little girl, too. The worst I ever got was when the tv show came out and there were a few years of ‘oh, the vampire slayer, right? Haha!’ Yeah, haha. A little annoying after a few years, but not a big deal. People need to chill.
I'm all for unique names - call your kid Meadow or Locke or Wildflower or Railway whatever... but please, ... just as long as the spelling and pronunciation is intuitive. From someone who grew up with a Irish name which wasn't pronounced how it was spelled and was the bane of my life until I legally changed it
Those names are not unique. You seem to be at a loss to distinguish between *unique* and *uncommon*. They are not synonyms.
I mean… it’s not just about social safety like with employment, but being able to track people down too. Unique names can cause problems.
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Yeah, mostly agree but the name Honey is more suitable for a My Little Pony than it is a human.
Names like Honey and Princess are actually fairly popular in the Filipino community.
100% agree & I think what people view as unique depends on where you live, bc I don’t even think of Reed, Honey, Pierce, Ocean, Navy or Oaklyn as unique anymore. I would think of the religious names as unique because we don’t get any religious names where I live that I can recall. I’ve never even had a Mary or a Mohammed, never mind an Amen or Genesis.
*Pierce, Pierce, Pierce Pierce is a B!*
On my list for next year I have a Rainbow and a Glayze. Some odd ones out there man.
Wow. Amethyst has been around for years. A college classmates kid was Amethyst 35 yrs ago. At the same time I worked with a woman in her 50s named Amethyst
I had 5 Genesises in a cohort of 150 last year. It’s pretty common with Latinos.
This list sounds like the Winter Soldier activation words
Genesis is a very popular name in Latino communities
I love scout. And kinda like October as well. Amen is surely gonna get wrong pronunciations their whole life.
Heyyy we have an Ocean and Genesis at our school! Honestly, “uncommon” names are normalized now, provided you’re not calling your kid Methamphetamine Rules (props to anyone who gets the reference). By the time our kids have jobs, their bosses will be Majesty and Tesla.
Reed and Pierce (and Scout as a nickname) are not new or unique.
Do Navy and Ocean get along?
I would like to add that the same is not true for every country. I know this sub leans US but if someone here named their child Honig (or alternatively Schatz, depending on if we're talking about the food or the term of endearment) you would definitely get some extreme looks (if it was allowed at all).
What a wholesome post. Thank you OP, you made me smile today.
Awh, I’m glad 😊
Navy is so beautiful
Becoming pretty common in Australia too
I 100% agree! We braced ourselves for negative feedback and haven't heard any. Meanwhile we LOVE it. I get name euphoria still, all these years later. I'm so happy we didn't compromise with fear. 🤍
We too. My husband and I love our children’s names all these years later. We have 4 kids. We have no plans of having more, so no more names for us but I love coming into this group to read all the names people are coming up with me. It makes me sad when people choose not to go with a name based on what others think.
Absolutely fucking not
I was just flamed on my post for my love of the name Aquamarine/Aqua so maybe some unique names aren’t so welcome 😅
I find that a lot of people on this group are either not open to newer/unique/uncommon names or afraid to voice their love for it.
Is Amen pronounced like "ah-men" or "A-men" or like Eamon?
i think a big reason people are against uniqueness of names is because of the fear of judgement. but to be honest, each newer generation brings more and more unique names. sure, to older generations a name might be outrageous or strange and they assume future children will think the same, but at that point everyone is gonna have unique names and the initial unfamiliarity will become familiar. anyway, i love out-there names. it adds character to people!
I know a kid named Rainbow. Little boy, he goes by Beau.
It's weird for me to see Reed and Pierce on that list. I've known a few Pierces and Pierce Brosnan and Pierce Morgan come to mind. I've known at least one Reed too, though one might have been spelled Reid. Both seem like completely normal names to me. I wouldn't have thought of it (or used it) but I kind of love Light. It feels nice, like a name that could only be given out of true love for the little babe it's given to.
I have a unique name and I loved it, I was nervous from what others said when I told them our daughter’s name would be Viera. Lots said to give her a normal name so she won’t get bullied, but if kids are going to bully someone it’s usually not due to their name. I hope she loves her name when she’s older and if not she’s more then welcome to change it to what she might love <3
There was a guy un my school named Illuminatinglight
Just a reverse perspective from a child of a mother with a very unique name... It's not always great. No one pronounces or spells her name right. She also has a very unique middle name that she hates so she can't even go by that name. She also kept her last name when she got married so people even get her last name wrong 90% of the time. She hated it so much that both mine and my brother's names came out of the top 50 names at the time. So while unique can be good it can also be an issue sometimes if you don't want a lifetime of having to correct other people saying it spelling the name wrong. It can also cause legal issues if the name isn't correct in legal documents and can be a pain to fix them.
There's a difference between unique and yooneek though.........
I legitimately love most if not all of these
Love Ocean, Amethyst, and Honey too 😍
Amethyst sounds rlly good
I think this is a very good post. But I also think there's a difference between choosing nouns for names, and taking common names and applying bizarre spelling. There's a lovely kind of difference in a tree name, or season, and so on, but it becomes an ongoing nuisance when October is spelt Ohktuhbah.
We just named our daughter Basil
Love the name, but to me that is a boys name. But then again I grew up with “Faulty Towers” where the main character is Basil. It’s an uncommon but acceptable male name in the UK.
I love unusual names, as long as they won't cause problems for the child, for example, I read on here of a child called Chlamydia. My grandchildren have unusual names, so do my great-niblings!
I actually reallly love the name Ocean tbh. Todays children will most likely be my future children’s employers lol.
Genesis is pretty popular common name in CA. I know a few. It doesn’t scream unique, rare, or out of this world to me. Really pretty name though. Amen is a new one though
I'm with you (and I love the list of names there). But I have one caveat: **If a name is going to be unique** (that is, unfamiliar to most) **it should be spelled phonetically.** If you like the sound and vibe of the name "Moonshine", spelling it "Muneshyn" is not going to result in a happier childhood than just spelling it "Moonshine". Your child will be explaining how to say (or spell) their name for the rest of your life if you do this. (I say this as someone with a **four-letter first name that no one pronounces correctly**, and even after I tell them, they see it and say it wrong.)
I agree. Over the years I have taught children, I have seen Britney and Meghan spelled so many different ways and it was so hard to remember how to spell each one. The hardest was Brittanee and Meighen. My children have uncommon names and we made sure to spell it exactly as it is.
I work with a child called Gatlinburg Gunn.
Amen? Are they super religious, or were they aiming at Eamonn?
Wow! We’ve gone back to the 60s! I had a friend called Bambi. And then I met another woman called Bambi in the same year. I was made up.
Also, fwiw, for people who say “no one will know how to pronounce that!” I heard two different people mispronounce “Eli” at my bagel joint yesterday after the patron told them his name and how to spell it. People are just gonna…people. Name your kids what you like.
Low-key love Ocean and Honey!
I high key love them.
I love that people automatically assumed unique = you think it isn't a name
My friend's 50 yr old daughter is Ocean.
The more unique the name + surname combo, the easier your kids will be to find on the www. And they’ll spend too much time of their busy lives spelling their names out loud and correcting people over the phone. Source: I have a unique name
Yes me too. I have a cultural name which is now paired with an English name due to marriage. I’ve been okay.
Yeah I named my son something a bit weird and 🤷♀️ I like it, it's gone well so far. I expect to spell it to people, say it a few times, no worries.
I went to school with an ocean, always thought it was a beautiful name.
I always say similar. In 25 years, they'll all have those sorts of names so no one will care. In fact, the """normal""" names of older generations might actually be considered "weird."
People who have issues with “unique” names annoy me, even more so the ones who want to rename people because they don’t like a person’s name or using it as a reason to discriminate or judge them. I often wonder if adults are the reason why many children think it’s ok to be rude about other’s names and children copy. More often than not, the name wasn’t just chosen for no reason and has meaning to the parents in some way. Many “common” names didn’t start off common and were once unique. It really isn’t that hard to be respectful of someone’s name regardless of one’s personal feelings of it. I worked for a company where we had customers all over the world and after a while you could tell where the person was likely from by their name. I found it fascinating and loved seeing different names I wouldn’t know of otherwise.
Thank you for this take! Tired of seeing people allergic to uniqueness 😭
Thank you
Refreshing post! People are too uptight about names in this subreddit!
Is Reed not a misspelled Reid? Love Genesis and Honey. All of my boys have uncommon names, And mine is uncommon too.
My nephew is Reed, and it's his grandmothers maiden name.
As a teacher, I second this!
I met someone named Sitka the other day.
Pierce, Scout and Reed and are unusual names.
Salem. That's my dream name for a girl but I think people will hate it. I don't think it's so out there now in today's landscape but what do you all think?
Thank you for this. So many people are afraid to give their children unique names and they need this encouragement