Mainstream

[reclaimeddreams.livejournal.com]

Ok. So.

How come when names become popular and 'mainstream' such as Aiden and Elijah, everyone who previously liked them suddenly goes 'Eww. They're so mainstream.'? I mean, seriously? I've liked the name Aidan since I was a little girl. And I almost named my eldest son Elijah before it became a fad, becuase I loved it so much.

I don't think that I should have to compromise the tastes that I have in the names that I choose for my children simply because everyone thinks I'm only choosing it becase it's mainstream. Which wouldn't be the case at all.

I've seen people who LOVE the name Aidan. And then, they find out that everyone's naming their son or daughter a variant spelling on the name - and suddenly the name's not so appealing. What the heck? I mean, if you liked the name before - why don't you like it now? Can somebody please explain that to me?

Comments

[tryyingtoevolve.livejournal.com]

See, I don't see how Elijah is really THAT popular. It's only #29, which is a far cry from Aiden/Aidan, which when you add the spellings together far surpasses even Jacob, and that's not even including all the variations of Jayden, Kayden, Brayden, Zayden, Tayden, etc. etc. etc.

I don't mind 'main stream' names like Elijah, Emily, Hannah, Ethan, Matthew, William, John, etc., but I dislike the trendy ones that are suddenly SO popular after never having been around - like Aidan, Brayden, etc. Aidan is the only one I can tolerate, because it's an actual name that wasn't made up.

I think the problem is that people don't want their kids to fit into some 'mold' with the other kids, and have people assume things and be like, "Oh, did your mom watch Sex and the City a lot?" or something like that because of the time period in which the name was popular. It's like all the boys named Dylan in the 90s because of Beverley Hills 9021, or all the girls currently being named Neveah because of this (http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/5-18-2006-96595.asp).

I think it's one thing to go with a 'main stream' name if it's a classic, timeless name that has been around for generations and isn't going to fall out of popularity almost immediately and leave a generation of Neveahs or Zaydens looking weird, but I think most parents want to avoid that.

Then again, there are also the parents who are absolutely obsessed with making sure their child 'sticks out' and doesn't have the same name as anyone else. But I think the sticking out is better left to personalities, so it's the kid's choice. Instead of having them be the only Gfgigjgjgiog in their Kindergarten class and sticking out so obviously, let them stick out as a Henry or a Ryan and make that choice for their themselves.

I don't know if I really answered you, but my theory on the popularity/mainstream of names is that classic/popular=okay; trendy/popular=not okay.

Aidan is somewhere between the two, because while it started the naming trend of adding a letter to the beginning of the name and calling it 'unique', it is a classic name with a lot of history, it just wasn't popular in the US until the mid to late 90s, and then it sky rocketed after Sex and the City.

[reclaimeddreams.livejournal.com]

That was actually really well worded. Thank you for the comment.

My idea is that I chose Aidan as a name to possibly use with my last child - or possibly the child I'll have in a few years because it's a European name. Like Cael, or Donovan - it's commonly used in Ireland and Scotland, which is where my ancestors are from. And I believe that choosing a name because of it's heritage and how it's going to affect your child in the long run is really important. To me.

I think, moreso, that it would upset me if I named my son Aidan, and then in the longrun somebody assumed it was because it was a mainstream name along the way. That wouldn't be the reasoning at all.

I guess I just hate the assumptions that people would make.

Also - I don't like the idea that somebody would choose to not name their child something simply because everyone else is doing it. Personally, if I'd had that named picked out long before it became a trend, I'd be amused that other people wanted to use it. (What I did became a trend, essentially.)

[tryyingtoevolve.livejournal.com]

I agree that it's really important to choose a name that means something, and I don't think that a name being trendy necessarily means that you should ever ever ever use it. My favorite names range from the not-in-top-1000 ones like Thatcher, Harriet, and Louisa, to the mega popular Emily, to the popular-but-not-horribly-so Elliot, Catherine, and Juliet. I think if the name means something to you, you don't mind the popular/unpopularity of it, and it's not going to cause your child harm when it comes to applying for jobs or being taken seriously as an adult (for example, naming your kid Ahlyzybethe is probably not a great idea), then it's an individual choice and other people should keep their mouths shut. I think people in this community are just pointing out their own biases and saying, "I don't think it's a great idea to name your kid something that practically every other kid in the world is being named right now." But really, when it comes down to it, all of the Jennifers and Ashleys of the 80s weren't horribly scarred (I was one of seven Lindsays in my high school class and I am perfectly okay with my name), so it's really not that big of a deal if you don't mind the popularity of it.

If you want to use Aidan, I'd suggest (a) make sure that you spell it as Aidan and not as Ayddin or any of the other variations that ARE trendy and will make you look like you ARE fitting into the trends; (b) give a middle name that's more unique and not fitting into the trends of today (ie, don't name him Aidan Jacob and expect him to be able to use his middle name if he doesn't like the popularity of his name); and (c) ignore the comments other people make. Eventually people will get over it; by the time the kids were in kindergarten, people had stopped commenting on all of the Jessicas, Ashleys, Lindsays, and Jennifers of the 70s and 80s, so the comments and assumptions will probably be short lived.