Being Pregnant
Unique Baby Names – Cool Or Cruel?
We decided on a name for our little man!
Picking out a name for our little man has been quite across the board, from exciting and fun to down right frustrating. With our last name being Brown, we automatically knew there were certain things we could not call him: Charlie, James and Leroy were out from the beginning. Plus we knew pretty much any really popular name was out due to the risk that he’d end up being one of three Mike Browns in his class. We knew it needed to be a strong, unique name and we went with something no one would have suspected.
Ok, ok. It’s not one of those “you must be joking” names like Soup. On a scale of 1-10, I’d say it’s about a 4 on the uniqueness scale and that’s only because it’s not really heard too often. We’ve had this name picked out for our little man even before we knew we were having a boy. My husband was the one that thought of it and I admit while I thought it was really cool and totally an “us” name, I wasn’t sold on it at first. We thought we’d use it as his middle name and come up with something else for what he’d go by. But pretty soon we began affectionately calling the bump by name and it just felt so right. We have told our closest family members and some of our friends and the reactions are all across the board. Some love it, some hate it, some think it’s adorable, some ask us if we’re being serious.
We love the name dearly and at first part of me worried because it IS such a unique, defining name, that what if he gets made fun of… or what if like people have said, it just doesn’t suit him. I’m pretty sure I have a good idea about this little man growing inside me. I know he’s been practicing yoga in the womb, stretching his little feet out into my sides and that he’s a night owl like his dad. I know what songs to play that really make him move. And I know he really likes to hear his dad’s voice. I feel like the name we’ve picked totally suits him. And it suits us, too.
We’re keeping his name under wraps for now. I know, I know… cruel! Considering my due date is just a mere 11 days away, it’s just a matter of time before we reveal it. But I’m not good at keeping secrets, so here’s a hint: his name starts with the letter W!
What do you think about unique names? Fun and cool or are you setting your kid up to be teased?
{photo by me}
Baby Names Gone Wild: The line between creative and crackpot!
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20 Comments
Kersey commented on May 06 11 at 11:52 amI have never met anyone with my name (Kersey – pronounced Ker-zee) it’s was my great, great Aunt’s maiden name, and I love it! I was never really teased for it either, everyone seems to just think it’s a rad name. I also love names that are classic names that aren’t used that often. And I dislike names that are completely made up.
Annika commented on May 06 11 at 12:10 pmI am guessing Walter, an old-school name but a lovely one. It’s the name of Anne of Green Gables’ dreamy son. On the unusual name front, I ended up with Annika which is quite common in Germanic-speaking nations but not here. My siblings have similarly uncommon names for the States. Reason? Our mom is a German immigrant and my parents wanted us to have names that are (approximately) pronounced similarly in English and German. It’s occasionally irritating to have to correct spelling/pronunciation, but on the other hand, when I hear my name called out somewhere I am 99.99% positive that it means me and not some other Annika, which is nice.
Abby commented on May 06 11 at 1:33 pmThe last name trap, ugh! I was suprised at how that changed everything. With a last name of Norman we had to nix everything with the nor sound. Lorna, Nora, Eleanor. We liked them all, all are out. And speaking of unusual names. We have settled on Priscilla. I think she will end up being Rilla or Scilla. We love it, but I am expecting some negative reaction.
Katy E commented on May 06 11 at 2:29 pmOur first son is Declan and we dearly love his name… as do all of his grandmothers. Our second son, who is due any time but will be here at the very latest on the 25th, we have decided to name him Aengus (or Angus… we haven’t hashed out whether we want to go with the irish spelling or the anglicized version). We love the name and it definitely suits him based on the “great strength” he’s exhibited in utero. Once again, the grandmothers all love it and the grandfathers all think it’s a little too weird.
Abby@AppMtn commented on May 06 11 at 5:21 pmIt depends! I hated having an ordinary name, but my mother gave a Top Ten standard because she grew up with an eye-poppingly unusual family name. (She’s not quite one of one, but she comes close – like Kersey, she’s never met another.)
My kids both have family names. My son shares his name with tons of boys (and a few girls, too) while my daughter’s is pretty rare. We chose them to honor loved ones, so it doesn’t much matter where they fall on the popularity scale – though I’ll admit that I’m happier with our daughter’s unusual name than our son’s ordinary one.
Sara commented on May 07 11 at 12:04 pmMy daughter is going to be named Beatrix, which I think is a little far out, still. Her middle name is Rose, which is a little less funky. I’m fully expecting her to choose some random nickname to go by.
Amanda commented on May 07 11 at 11:52 pmWe chose Irish/Celtic names for our children. Our oldest is Saoirse (s-air-sha; means “freedom/liberty”). Our second child, due soon, is yet to be named because we can’t decide quite yet. We have it limited to two names (three in my opinion, but my hubby isn’t on board with my 1st choice name! :) ). We like the uniqueness of the Celtic names but they aren’t so bizarre that we think they’ll hate us later on in life! :)
Suebee commented on May 08 11 at 8:46 amLike you, I’m not revealing our choice for our daughter, either, until the big day. Gotta have some surprise for everyone, right? ;) I went back in time… with my great-grandmother’s name. I did some research, and right now it’s bobbing around 275 in popularity, and was very popular in the 1880s, when my great-grandmother was born. It’s uncommon, but still “normal” and feminine. No funky spelling. *thumbs up*
Meg commented on May 12 11 at 11:23 amMy guess is Weston, that’s my brothers name :)
nicole b. commented on May 12 11 at 11:31 amI like unique names but nothing weird for the sake of being weird. We’re all about old-fashioned, family names at our house. Ones that feel unique, just because you don’t hear them that often anymore. We’ve got some interesting ones to choose from! (though we’re not starting our family for a little while – it’s still fun to talk about it!)
I’m still predicting Wyatt. (It’s a name that’s fairly uncommon.) Other W names I like are Winslow (“Win” for short); Wes; Walt; and the “oddest” one that’s grown on me recently: Wolfgang (“Wolfie” for short). There’s a cute Wolfgang here: http://bleubirdvintage.typepad.com/blog/2011/04/mama-style-featuring-amy-of-thiefbandit.html#comments
I can’t wait to learn your little man’s name; I’ve enjoyed following your journey. xo.
Jaimi commented on May 12 11 at 5:07 pmI predit it’s Wilder.
mellou commented on May 12 11 at 5:53 pmMy guess is also Wyatt :)
Lisa commented on May 12 11 at 7:24 pmWinston. Wyatt. Walter. Warner. Weston. Wyler. Wylde. Can’t wait to find out! Good luck with the birth. X
Q commented on May 12 11 at 10:50 pmI’m putting my money on Wade.
Lelia commented on May 13 11 at 10:43 amJust make sure that whatever you pick, you both can spell it properly! My mom was totally out when I was born, and my dad was the one left up to actually naming me and he didn’t have a clue how to spell what they had chosen just moments before. Needless to say, with an unintentionally misspelled, somewhat rare name, I’ve done a lot of explaining in my life. It has, however, inspired my little family in the names of our children. While our kids names aren’t misspelled, we opted for alternative spellings like Jihl instead of Jill and Jaxon instead of Jackson.
Catriona commented on May 13 11 at 9:12 pmIf you really think it’s right, then go for it. I will say one thing which is that (obviously) my name is Catriona, pronounced like Katrina. The slightly unusual spelling, although being… well… Unusual and unique, is a MASSIVE pain to have. I need to spell it out every time someone asks my name, and it is pronounced wrong 99% of the time, which gets boring very quickly. I love unique names and I’m all for them, but be considerate to your future child when it comes to the spelling! It really can be a pain! Best of luck :)
Amy commented on May 16 11 at 12:05 pmI love unique names, but also worried about longevity, pronounceability, general acceptance as it’s not my name I was picking, etc. We picked middle names that were unique (Snow and Wren, both girls) and could stand in as last names…for when our kids are famous:)
Diana commented on May 19 11 at 8:02 pmI like unique names but yes, “Soup” is ridiculous (sorry Soup!)
I’m excited for you if your little guy’s name will be Walter! I love that name and I got excited when you said it started with a “W”.
Marie commented on May 31 11 at 12:16 amWe had the same reaction to our name choice for our boy, Aengus. Some love it and some really don’t. I didn’t want to be cruel, but I didn’t want an overly popular name either- I love that he’s one of a kind without being a “soup”. Good for you for going with what works for your family, and congrats!
Celeste commented on Aug 09 11 at 9:59 amI love rare,unusual names. Not weird,bizarre-what were you thinking?-names. We’re expecting a boy,in January and we found a unused Danish name (my husband is Danish and we live in Denmark) which we absolutely love. Of course,the other Danes,for the most part,don’t like it,but then most Danes seem to be quite conservative. It’s not weird,by far,it’s a legitimate Danish name,just for some reason not used. I’ve never wanted to name my child a boring,everyday name. That much I always knew. Even better,it’s a name that can be pronounced the same by my American family and Danish family,no difference in the sound. Also,it was important that it was a name he could grow with,be any kind of boy and man and live anywhere in the world with this name,stand out,in a good way,and also have people be able to say the name with out problem. Can’t believe we actually found a name that has all of this,but we did!
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