What is the down side of growing up with a very popular name?

My given name was one of the most popular given to girls born in the 1970s. Here's why I hated it:





1. Whenever someone calls your name, your head swivels. Call out "Jen" in a crowded shopping mall on a Saturday. Everyone looks. Imagine your entire childhood, every playground or playing field or school assembly, having LOTS of heads swivel when your name is called.





2. It's one thing to share your name with one other person by chance. But when your name is very, very popular, you know that this experience will be repeated in every setting, forever, including the workplace. I remember one of my first jobs, where we worked on commission. If all the customer remembered was that Michelle helped them, odds of the right clerk getting the credit was 50/50 - there were two.





3. Instead of Amy, you're Amy G. Or if there's an Amy Gibson and an Amy Gordon, then you're Tall Amy or Blonde Amy. So your name isn't your name - it's your given name plus some tag to keep you straight.





4. If your first AND last names are common - Heather Smith, say, or Emily Johnson - odds are good that you'll meet someone with the same first AND last name. And that's just disorienting.





Lastly, and most importantly, for some kids, having a name that blends in is simply irritating. My own mother had a quite exotic family name that didn't suit her - she's serious and quiet, tailored and efficient. And so choosing a very common name seemed like a good idea. But her daughter - that would be - turned out dramatic and spotlight-loving. I could've worn any name - from Hepzibah to Callisto, and been perfectly pleased to stand out.





You don't know what kind of child you're going to get, and so I think most parents are well advised to strike a balance. Choose an exotic name - like Cascata or Ariadne - that shortens to a user-friendly nickname - like Cassie or Addie. Or choose something that is classic, but underused - Beatrice or Cordelia, for example.





For me, I legally changed my name. My mother remains baffled by my hearty dislike of my given name, but I never understood how she couldn't love her unusual moniker.





And so, yes, don't name your daughter born in 2008 Emily, Hannah or Ava. Great names, but who wants to be one in a crowd?

What is the down side of growing up with a very popular name?
You get over it. Sure there will be a couple of kids in your class with the same name, but as you get older you develop your own identity and it really doesn't matter.





My daughter's name was around number 7 on the popularity chart when she was born and she has never had anyone in her class with the same name.
Reply:Oh to be a Jessica in the 1980's.


1. Feeling like you're always one of a few, never just one. One year I was on a softball team with four other Jessica's (we ended up as: JD, JJ, Jess, Jessie and Jessica).


2. Constantly turning your head when someone says your name, even though they're not talking to you.


3. Or, consequently, starting to ignore it when someone says your name because more than half the time they're not talking to you anyways (I do this...drives my friends nuts when they are actually talking to me).


4. Always needing to use your last name or initial to identify "which one you are".


5. Having a name that is indicitive of when you were born. Names like Jessica, Brooke, Laura and Amanda all scream "I was born in the 1980s!" While names like Emma, Madison, Ava and Hannah all scream "I was born in the late 90's/early 2000s!"


6. Having nicknames forced upon you. People automatically shorten my name. Most call me Jess, others call me Jessie and it makes me feel like a little kid. Jessica does not seem like a grown up name to me and those nicknames are even worse. People use the nickname they're used to for the other two or three people they know with your name.


7. Having an automatic response of "which one?" when a teacher is handing back assignments/tests by name.





Basically I hate my name. I always have and I wish my parents had of chose something less trendy (rather than the top ranked name for the decade...) I promised myself a long time ago that I'd never give any of my kids trendy names and, though I haven't had any yet, I plan on sticking to that!
Reply:several people in your class with the same name
Reply:Nothing at all. Theres more of a downside of growing up with a name that is " different ". Some parents name their baby strange things which I feel is to get attention for themselves ( they like people to question them on their picking that name ), or they think it sounds " cute " to have a baby with such a " cute " name. They fail to realize that although they have their reasons for naming they that that their babies will grow up and may not want the attention that that certain name will bring. They would rather " fit in " then be different.
Reply:my sons name is connor, and where we lived when he was born we didnt know anyone with the same name!!


then we moved to wales and now hes in school there are 3 other connors, so they have to call them by thier full name in order to get the right one!





so today we went to a birthday party and most of the kid in his class were there and i called connor...all 4 turned around, i was like no MY connor!! it gets quite confusing!





now my name, i dont know anyone who has the same name as me, but im on the other end of the spectrum, noone can say my name or spell it properly so everyone resorts to calling me sarah which is again quite annoying but ive had it for so long i just go with it. my name is saera and its pronounced sigh rah but noone gets it right so i give up lol!!





now im pregnant again we are chosing names that are nice but not so common.
Reply:There will be several people in your class with that name, and you will definetely be known as Sarah M, or Sarah S. Also, when rumors get started and people only mention Sarah, who knows which Sarah they mean. But who cares if it's a people name. People have survived centuries with popular, beautiful names and turned out just fine. I personally love my popular name and wouldn't change it for the world. I don't have to correct anyone on how to say my name or spell it. I don't have to go into job interviews and have the interview smirk at my application and wonder why in the heck my parents named me "Sunshine" or gave me some weird name smelling that they can't even pronounce because they wanted me to be different.
Reply:Of course at school is the hardest time with a popular name lets say your name is mike someone says mike and 200 mikes look it gets confusing.And especially when the teacher is calling roll and you might have a really mean teacher like if he calls mike and there is 3 mikes in the class and one of the others says here 1.its confusing and 2.sometimes the teacher will get mad and kind of yell at them
Reply:the only thing i can think up is you would have the same name as maybe 2 - 3 people in your class
Reply:Being know as Emily A, Emily B, Emily C
Reply:I can answer that. My screenname is not my real name. I grew up with the #1 most popular girl's name at the time. The upsides were that everyone could spell and recognize my name. The downsides were that:





1) I was never the only one in my class


2) People always used to shorten my name or call my by the nickname that they call their OTHER friend/cousin/sibling who has my name


3) There is no sense of PERSONAL identity from your name, since so many people share it (not that it's so bad that you have to find an identity elsewhere)


4) Tons of famous people have my name (since it was popular when I was born, this is a recent development as those girls are similar in age to me) but you get associated with those celebrities, good or bad


5) My parents don't have a great "how we chose your name" story. They picked my name because it was "pretty and simple", according to them. My friends who have unique names all have great stories about their names origin
Reply:Like you are not special anymore. That's why my family have outrageous mind blowing in your face way out there off the wall names!
Reply:Having 3 or 4 kids in your class with the same name.


Being known as number 1, 2, 3, or 4


Getting confused with another child of the same name who did something wrong.


If the same first and last name, getting bad grades because the teacher can't tell your write apart from other child.
Reply:It could get confusing, especially in classroom settings. I have a common name, Katherine, and go by the common nickname, Katie. Problem is, several other Katherine's, Kaitlin's, and Kathleen's in my class choose to go by "Katie" too. A lot of times, after having raised my hand to answer a question, and the teacher goes "Yes, Katie?" I find myself speaking in unison with another Katie, who thought the teacher called on her or vice versa, and it's quite embarrassing. Though, I have to say, our teacher could lessen the confusion by also calling on us using our last name initials (eg: Katie A, Katie B, Katie C, etc) but, alas, they don't seem to want to do that.








Also, when somebody calls out "Katie!", whether it be in the hallways or walking down the street, you find yourself looking towards the source of the voice and start to wonder "Who is this person and why the hell are they calling me?" Then the said person will start to approach you, waving and smiling, and so you'll begin wave and smile back, only to see them move right past you and to the girl who was walking ahead of you the whole damn time. :
Reply:|I am amanda and every were you go (when i was growing up) had that name. In class someone said amanda and 3 or 4 people truned. ahhh i hated back then. Now its not so bad and i like my name all though i go by mandie
Reply:Yes, Madison A, Madison B, Madison C etc. Also, there is not much special individuality to that name. My parents just picked my name out of thin air, and I would rather have a very unique name as opposed to my name, which has no family meaning. My sister's names are named after family members and I do find myself jealous. Once there were 5 Sarah's in my class! Sarah B, Sarah C, Sarah M, Sarah P and Sarah P. We called one Sarah P. just Sarah.





Whenever the teacher says "Sarah", you get 5 different "HERE!"s. I think a different name would be my preferance!