The Thing about Names
April 3, 2008
3mamasboys
When I was pregnant with my first child, I became obsessed with naming him. My ultimate goal was to find him a name that wasn’t completely “out there”, but a name that would not be shared by anyone else in his school. Meaning was also important to me. I decided to name him Aidan, which means “fire.” This, I could already tell, would summarize his personality, as his required “ten kick counts an hour” were more like “four hundred kick counts an hour.”
At the time, the name “Aidan” was #222 on the Social Security’s list of most popular baby names.
In 2006, the SS Administration’s website indicates that “Aidan” is now the #44 name. On www.babynames.com, it is listed the NUMBER ONE name for 2007. It makes me want to vomit.
The same thing has happened (although to a lesser extent), with my other two children, Tristan and Rylan. I never meant for their names to be trendy. I wanted them to be unique. I had never heard of any of my children’s names used in my personal life. In fact, all three names came from a character or an actor I had seen on television.
You have no idea how enraged I am that in 20 years, Aidan will just be another “Bill” or “John”.
And so, I have decided that with this next baby, I must choose something that cannot be found on the top 1000 Baby Names list for the last 15 years. I kid you not. It will be found.
I have a good idea of the (unisex) name that I’ve been whispering over and over to myself these last few days. I’m just afraid to type it out here, not so much over fear of criticism, but mostly for fear of everyone (once again!) stealing my name choice.
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1.
baby names | April 4, 2008 at 1:46 pm
It happen to me also, you can never know what will the future hold.
2.
itsnotmurray | April 6, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I wholly support that plan!!!
3.
Jess | April 9, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Oh, honey! My mother named me Jessica in 1979. She thought it was “unique”. At least she didn’t name me Jennifer. I’ll forgive her for that. That I sat with 3 other Jessica’s and 5 other Jennifer’s…. well….
It’s your baby- name them whatever you would like!
I am not a fan of “unique” names- my father has a VERY unique name (I’ve never met or heard of anyone else having his name in my entire life) and he HATED it growing up. He swears that teachers and others treat you differently- and not in a good way.
Find a name that fits your child- and don’t worry about the top 1000 names or what anyone else thinks. If the name happens to be on that list- who cares?
4.
3mamasboys | April 9, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Jess,
Just because you’re my friend doesn’t mean I agree with you.
The name that fits my child is a unique name, because that is what I prefer. Common names are boring. I despised being “Rachel L” every year because my parents couldn’t give me a name that was as unique as I was.
Normal is boring.
5.
Jess | April 9, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Damn, R! You ARE pregnant. I SAID “name your bay whatever you would like!” and “don’t care what other people think”!
So DON’T go jumpin’ all over me, Mama!
Normal isn’t boring. It’s just normal.
I don’t think ANYONE chooses their kids name on the basis that it’s “normal”. They may have other reasons, you know.
SHEEESH!