Naming Your Baby
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When my mom named my brother Joshua back in 1972 she swore it was considered an odd boy name. Nobody else had this name, and she was proud to bestow upon my brother a unique name that would not be common whatsoever. We all know how this turned out because if you walk through any mall or play area you’ll hear “Joshua, get over here!” or “Joshua, come to Mommy!” several times. Joshua is a common name nowadays, much to my mom’s chagrin.
When I named my babies I wanted to give them unique names too, but I didn’t want to go so far as to give them names that people would never be able to pronounce. I have a relatively unique name (Tamsen) and have always enjoyed the uncommon nature of my name. I also didn’t want my kids to have several friends with her same name. I want them to enjoy the fun that comes with a unique name.
My daughter is named Monet (pronounced Mo-nay, just like the famous Impressionist painter) and my son is named Abram (pronounced Ay-brum). There aren’t any other kids with their same names in any of the playgroups we attend. I did have to correct the attendant at the gym daycare who kept calling my daughter “Mo-nett” and plenty of people seem to think my son’s name is “Abraham,” but other than that I take great delight in telling people my children’s names.
If you plan on naming your baby something unique just know that you can’t get upset if people mispronounce their names. I just politely correct the pronunciation, but I understand that I can’t expect people to automatically know how to correctly pronounce a name they may have never seen before. I’m not snooty about it, and you shouldn’t be either.
Tags: Baby Names, popular names, unique names
Rachel says...
I totally agree with you, Tamsen. My mom named my brother Cody in 1979, and had only heard it one other time. Now, it is a named given to both boys and girls, and PLENTY of them! I also gave my children unique names also. Don’t get me wrong, I love some of the more common names, but I just wanted my children to enjoy being the one of the few with their names. I have heard my oldest daughter’s name (Khylen) a few times, same with my son’s (Laithan), but my youngest daughter’s name I haven’t ever heard on anyone else but her. Ok, and my mom’s family, because it is my mom’s maiden name, only spelled a little differently. Her name is Ensley. I love all three of my children’s names, and hope they grow up liking them also! My kids have also had a few mispronunciations, and plenty of mispellings (don’t ask me WHY I put that h in Khy’s name!!!!), but overall, I think they are relatively easy to figure out.
Trish says...
A very unique name was very important to me too, wanted nothing in the top 100 for either gender. But I didn’t want her to have to spell and pronounce it for people all the time since her last name, Gruswitz, is hard enough. My husband just wanted it to be a biblical name- which was hard for me because the pretty ones are too common. We found a perfect name that wasn’t even in the top 1000 (though was in the top 25 a hundred years ago)
“Olive”
MrsH says...
My daughter’s first name is Sabine…I thought it was unique but simple enough that people wouldn’t have a hard time pronouncing it like they did mine (don’t ask)….you guessed it, they still do…It’s Sah-Been but for some people it becomes Sah-Byne.
Jay says...
My mother gave me a unique name as well. It is also butchered but nonetheless, I love it. She thinks she stole it from her best friend when they were in high school but the friend doesn’t remember ever hearing it! Go figure…anyway, my name is Jaisette (jay-set) and I have yet to find my name on any personalized coffee mug, key chain or magnet in any souvenir shop. My nickname, Jay, I see all the time. Though Jay is more of a guy’s name than a girl.
delish says...
well am sort of sure that my son’s generation would know Rubeus from the Harry Potter books… what I am worried about is his second name (Iakob), which people often mistake for Lakob
and i don’t want my kids to have common names either… but i also don’t want to cause future problems for them in case all their legal documents end up with misspelled names
Janay says...
I think giving your child a unique name is something special you do for your child. It shows how much trouble you went through to find the perfect name for them. Two of my daughters have unique names. Erris (pronounced heiress) and Avea (pronounced Ah-vey-ah). I will be using Irelyn if I have another girl in the future. I love unique names. By the way I love Khylen, what a pretty name!