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.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

If a name that I like suddenly becomes extremely popular, it's not that I stop liking it, it's that I personally don't want to use it anymore.

I like a lot of really popular names: Michael, Matthew, Andrew, William, Joseph, Emily, Emma, Ava, Elizabeth, Natalie, etc. I even like Aidan. But especially when you've got names like Aidan or Ava, that suddenly spike in popularity, it makes some people think twice, because a) now there's a really good chance that Aidan will constantly have other Aidans in his class/sports team/workplace and a lot of people don't want that, and b) if a name suddenly shoots up in popularity, there's a good chance that it will fall again, and the kid will be stuck with the 2000s equivalent of what Jennifer and Stacey were to the 80s.

So I don't think it's an issue of not liking the names anymore, just an issue of not wanting to use them. Of course, some people get sick of names that they once liked, if they hear them over and over again.

[spikes-sexkitty.livejournal.com]

i can say personally, i liked the names Aiden & Caden for a long time growing up. they were names from my family tree - the irish side - and i'd never really heard of anyone with them other than an actor (Aiden Quinn). but now that i've reached the time and age in my life when i can start having children, ppl have picked up on them and butchered it to be 'yoo-neek' & 'kree-8-yv' and it is ANNOYING. so yea, i won't use them. mostly b/c growing up i had friends like me, who had names that weren't so common in our classes, and then friends who had at least 4-6 other girls in our class/grade with the same name. and they hated it. they wished they had something to make them differentiated.

when i was 19 i made my list of names. (before i foudn this site) and Caden Asher was my absolute #1 favorite! until i did research and saw how many ppl had that name or a derivitive thereof. and i don't want my kid growing up in school where when the teacher calls out: 'Caden!', five boys have to respond: 'which one?' when my son is being spoken to i want him to know it. ya know?

but that's just me. maybe i'm partial b/c of growing up with a not-so-common name that i liked that feeling and wish my kids to know it. so yes, popularity and common-ness of a name does infulence my choice in using a name.

[quite-rosie.livejournal.com]

You don't have to compromise your taste. It is a choice.

Some people want to give their children unique names. They don't want their child to go to kinder and be one of 5 Aidens.

But, if that doesn't bother you then YAY you can use Aiden! Which by the way, I think it is a nice name. But to be honest, it has lost its appeal to *me* since it has become so popular.

[quiteoutofplace.livejournal.com]

If this was in reference to the post I made earlier, I apologize, I didn't mean to offend people who like that name. I don't dislike the -ayden names because they're popular, I just dislike them. I named my son Adrian even though it's becoming more popular every year and already knew other little kids named Adrian, because I've loved the name my whole life. I also intend to use the name Avery for my next son, for the same reason, even though it seems every other kid, boy or girl, has that name now. As the other's have said, obviously don't let other people's dislike or overuse of a name discourage you. There'll always be someone who doesn't like it.

[drunkontea.livejournal.com]

I love the names Aiden and Addison, but would be hesitant to use them becuase I don't want my child to be one of 4 or 5 Aiden/Addisons in his/her class. It doesn't mean that I like those names any less because of popularity though.

[cxtxc.livejournal.com]

I think it's funny and ironic that the individual people who want their kids name to be "different" and not mainstream, collectively make up a group of people who are trendy themselves. I mean, if we're talking "indie" names - Atticus, Thatcher., Sawyer and the rest of those off-the-wall names are very trendy. You've probably noticed they're extremely popular in this community. None of it really matters in the end, though. Everyone should name their kid whatever in the hell they want.

[mrsduryee.livejournal.com]

A lot of the appeal of a name is hinged on the fact that it is not common or heard often. When a nae becomes mainstream, it means people have heard of it before. I like to have people think the names I like are a bit unique - not because they're strange but because they're not common.

Aiden has always sounded like a girl's name to me. So that's why I don't like it... but Elijah is lovely and I really don't think it's that common.

[imyourrapunzel.livejournal.com]

It doesn't make me dislike the name, I just get tired of hearing it.

[sweatydog.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't use it because I grew up with a name in the top 5 the year I was born and its really awful to have five other people with your name in your class. But my favorite names are becoming popular and if they are still popular when I do have children and I still like them I'm going to use them.

[jesus--suburbia.livejournal.com]

My top 4 boys names:
Michael
Christopher
James
Daniel

I obviously do not care about popularity.

[xpaniic.livejournal.com]

I still like the names once they become popular, I just don't want to use it as much as I did before it was popular. My name is Jennifer and all through school I had to be called something different so when the teachers called on us we knew which one it was. My best friends name was even Jennifer and everyone called us Jennifer A. and Jennifer G.

[kandeekiss.livejournal.com]

I've loved the name Brayden for YEARS. Since way before the Aiden trend. Had my first been a boy, I would have surely used it.

Now after seeing the Aiden trend (Aiden, Jaden, Brayden, Hayden, Caden, etc), I won't use it. I still LOVE it. The fact that it's trendy doesn't make me like it any less... but I was born in '85, when Amanda was the 3rd most popular name, and I, at one point, had 5 Amanda's (including me), in one of my classes. I don't want that for my kids, because I personally hated it.

[gidget1012.livejournal.com]

My biggest complaint is the new funky spellings of common names. If you like a name, use it. I feel it looks ignorant to use a messed up or phonetic spelling for names that already exist. I can understand spellings from different languages and cultures, but to just make up your own spelling to be unique is stupid.

Among my friends having children, I have noticed that most of them use their own experiences with their own names as the basis for naming their children. My name is Bridget. Not hard or all that uncommon, but believe it or not, I have to spell it out for just about everyone. My kid will have a classic name that everyone knows how to spell. LOL

[kimberpotamus.livejournal.com]

I generally like odds names but if those names suddenly became popular it wouldn't change how I felt about those names. But in 2005 (the year I graduated), there were 8 girls named Jessica, 5 girls named Danielle and 12 boys called Luke, in my graduating class. Among other multiply names.