Newbie to the Group + Name Dilemma

[crista.livejournal.com]

I've been lurking in here for a few weeks now but today I am having crazy pregnant lady obsession with names and I'm fairly sure if I go over this with my friends again they are going to start blocking my IMs. So I pose my current dilemma to the group in hopes y'all can either talk some sense into me or soothe my worries.

We're 5 months pregnant and have yet to find out gender. So far husband and I have a name if "Bean" is a boy, Benjamin Michael, which are family names for both of us. The issue comes in with a girl name. For various reasons I never saw kids in my future so until we became pregnant I had not given them much thought, or paid much attention to naming trends. That being said as long as I can remember I've randomly had dreams that I'd eventually have a daughter named Madison. (I know, I know! Hear me out.) I never mentioned this to my husband, and literally days before we found out that we were pregnant we both had baby girl named Madison dreams. He's really set on using it as a girls name, he utterly adores it, and I was all about this too until I learned just how popular it is. Honestly, I had no idea.

As my username suggests, my first name is Crista, and I've always enjoyed having a not incredibly common name without it being "out there". Was never teased about my name, the only problem I've ever had is people putting a K or H in there. So my goal was to find something equally as uncommon but not crazy the offspring. I know neither Benjamin or Michael are remotely uncommon, but Ben is incredibly special to my husband and Michael is my beloved deceased Father's name. I know he'd be utterly tickled that we use it for a middle name. Also, something in my brain says that we're having a girl so I'm not worried about it.

So I'm torn. Really torn. Part of me says to just go with Madison popular or not because thus far it is the ONLY girls name we're remotely on the same page about and because I'm just hippie enough that a lifetime of repeated dreams means something to me. The other part of me gags at uber trendy name.

This has probably become TL;DR but one last thing is Anne is written in stone for a femme middle name. It's my middle, Mom's middle, Grandma's middle, Great Grandma's Middle and Great Great Grandma's middle. As each one of us are/were pretty awesome ladies (if I do say so myself) I'm not budging on that.

TIA, sorry I'm so long winded =)

Comments

[hollis1975.livejournal.com]

benjamin michael is a lovely name.

have you ever considered micaela anne? ( its pronounced MEEK-EYE-ELLA not MAH-KAY-LA) but madison is nice too.

[lind-saay.livejournal.com]

I would be wary of using Micaela as EVERYONE will still say it Michaela.

[crista.livejournal.com]

I went through a few female versions of Michael, and then my Sister gave birth 6 weeks ago to a Michaela. I was a wee bit sad since even if people said it incorrectly I thought that spelling *Micaela* was quite pretty.

[peke.livejournal.com]

Benjamin is one of the two boys names we're considering, so I'm somewhat biased when I say I love it.

I'm a firm believer in the fact that dreams do have some sort of meaning/importance, so if you like the name Madison, go for it.

[crista.livejournal.com]

We probably will go with Madison, every other femme name one likes the other gags at, and I do put a lot of stock in the repeated dreams. I think some of my 'Oh no!' comes from the fact that a number of my friends really wrinkled their noses when I mentioned it.

[peke.livejournal.com]

My partner and I are like that, there were very few names we could agree on!

We've also had people turn their noses up at our name choices, either because it's not what they'd choose or because the only way we're planning on carrying on family traditions is via middle names. I've just laughed at them and told them to have their own kids and then they can decide on names, what we choose is nothing to do with them.

[crista.livejournal.com]

Heh, that would normally be my response but for some reason I am really sensitive on this naming thing. I don't really get it since in just about every other aspect I'm a very "I'm gonna do it how I want to do it" type of person.

Hormones. Everything is the hormones.

[catean.livejournal.com]

Nose-wrinkling is the worst! I won't be telling anyone our name till after the baby is born for that reason.

I love Madison--the reason it's trendy is because it's a good name and a lot of people like it.

[crista.livejournal.com]

It is the worst! Even more so from one of my best friends as her 'unhappy face' is fairly epic. She says if we do go with Madison she will just forever call the baby "Bean".

There are very few names I wrinkle my nose at, I have no doubt yours is utterly wonderful.

[eeangel44.livejournal.com]

If you like it, go for it... I looked and you are from Virginia.. and it's ranked number 4 there.. but only 450 some girls were named that, so it's not THAT oommon. Honestly, I hardly know any Madison's myself. And the one's I do are spread out from age 17 to age 2. However, if popular/common is going to bother you, don't. Here are some other names that aren't as popular...

Marlow
Marin
Linden
Larkin
Jillian
Ellery
Sloane

[crista.livejournal.com]

Marlow, Sloane and Larkin are beautiful. Ellery also intrigues me but I have no doubt my other half in this process wouldn't approve. He seems to have something against E names.

The popular/common only bothers me on some days. Other days my thoughts are closer to 'Hey, at least it isn't AsheLynne that I'm being crazy over!' *No offense to any and all Ashelynne named folks out there*

[lind-saay.livejournal.com]

Madison is too ehh. I don't know. I just think it sounds like a last name and it's just not a great one. And it IS super popular. Benjamin Michael is great, though.

The thing with Madison is that you need to figure out which is more important to you: using the name Madison or giving your daughter a name that's "different." If you can find a name that isn't super common that you love, I'd say go with that; if you just don't like any as much as you like Madison, use Madison.

Ideas:
Madeline
Avery
Nina
Miriam
Audrey
Naomi
Antonia
Susannah
Norah
Celia

[crista.livejournal.com]

Beyond my nerves on super common names we cannot agree on anything else for a girl. At least so far, I'm only at the half way point so we have a good amount of time to keep throwing names around. I tend to like more names than I dislike (as in the wonderful list you left. I'd be into any one of those minus Susannah and that is only off the list as it was the name of a childhood bully/mean girl.) and so far he only likes Madison.

Though I stand by that if I carry it and have to go through labor, I get to name. =D

[catean.livejournal.com]

What about Madeline? Close to Madison and less popular.

[crista.livejournal.com]

I really, really, really like Madeline. I've grown really attached to the NN Maddie and I think there is something very...I don't know, classically beautiful about the name. Working on warming the husband up to it, he said he wasn't much of a fan in the past but I have my ways with him. =p

[aquilinum.livejournal.com]

Madeline is also incredibly popular — deceptively so, since there are a plethora of spelling variations. It's a generational thing to find certain sounds attractive, and Maddie is probably THE predominant nickname for baby girls born now. Madison is already past its peak and, although still popular, is now on the descent — whereas Madeline and its variants are climbing as people look for other Maddie solutions.


Have you heard of the Baby Name Voyager (http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager#prefix=MAD&ms=false&sw=f&exact=false)?

[crista.livejournal.com]

Ahhhhhh!! *laughs* No I haven't. I have a feeling I'll be playing with it for the rest of my pregnancy though.

[quitmyscene.livejournal.com]

Love Madison, despite its popularity. I was born in 1990 as a Jessica - I see no harm in having a super popular name, as long as you keep it spelled correctly. I never had another Jessica in my classes up until high school, when there would be different classes for each subject and even then, the worst was I was one of three; two of us went by Jess, one Jessica.

I understand wanting something not as popular, but speaking first hand, it's not bad at all - not nearly as awful as some make it seem. I mean, my boyfriend is a Dan, his two best friends are also Dans, and his brother's best friend is a Dan and somehow, even that isn't bad for any of them. Also, even if there are multiple Madisons, for example, they might not all go by Madison.

And as a final note, I don't think trendy is the right word. It's certainly popular, but when I think trendy, I think Jayden/Caden/etc. Madison is a nice name, and it's been in the top 50 (er, 51) since 1994.

[crista.livejournal.com]

Husband said once that if I didn't like how popular it was to throw a Y in there. I believe the best way to sum up my reaction is to imagine a cat who has just tasted something it did not approve of. Some creative spellings are okay, but Madisyn just does not fly with me.

That's nice that it wasn't until HS that you ran into a class with multiple Jessicas. I'm just a little older than you *born in 82* but in my classes from grade school up there were closer to 5-6 each year. Even as a kid I thought that was kinda crazy.

You're also right, trendy wasn't the right term I was looking for. I've never met a Madison nor have any of my friends with kidlets named theirs as such so when I found it that it was popular I made a bit of an O face. (And not that good O face.)

[crista.livejournal.com]

I Love Maisie, Husband hates it. *insert sad face here* Actually I love about half that list, as my problem has more been that I like too many names than cannot find any. Thankfully I have a bit of time to continue being oddly obsessive about this. Which is strange as I'm normally not an obsessive person in the slightest.

Thanks for the Benjamin love as well!

[mela-chan.livejournal.com]

I love Madison, despite it's popularity. As someone else mentioned, just because a name is popular doesn't mean it's overly common - my daughter is a Victoria and for the first two years of school, she was the ONLY Victoria in the school.

My brother is a Benjamin, and I think that's a great name as well (even though not to my particular taste).

[crista.livejournal.com]

You know, Benjamin wasn't to my taste at first either. If it was just me I probably wouldn't have even considered it, but it's really grown on me. Though the love that my husband has for the name probably has helped in that regard. When I gave it the thumbs up he about danced. =)

Oh and Icon Love! We have 4 of the little wriggly guys ourselves.

[mela-chan.livejournal.com]

My mom really loved Benjamin, and fortunately my father agreed. Ben is actually Benjamin Robert Louis. My mom had a lady she knew and loved whose husband was Benjamin, and also thought that Benjamin was my paternal grandfather's middle name. Robert was for my maternal grandfather; it's his middle name (also my father's middle name). When they mentioned they were planning to use "Benjamin Robert" to my father's parents, grandma said "Oh, that's Bob's name!" So the Louis was added after my maternal grandfather (his first name).

We have four as well! They're so much fun.

[crista.livejournal.com]

I adore family history in naming. Maybe not the entire shebang, but at least a little. Since I am pretty sure this will be our only child I'm really hoping for a girl so I can keep the Anne thing going. Hehe, Robert was also in the running for a first name as it was my maternal grandfather too. He passed long before I was born though.

They are so much fun! Our two oldest are getting way up there though. The oldest guy is also the heaviest sleeper of anything living I've seen, so every few days he gives me a mini heart attack that he's passed in the night. I am so not ready for that. =(

[sunshinefleur.livejournal.com]

I'm a Samantha born in 1990, and I was the only Samantha in my graduating class of about 350, so I wouldn't worry about the popularity of the name Madison.
(unless you see a bunch of birth announcements in your area for babies named Madison around the time you're due; then worry. that's what kept my youngest brother from being named Connor in '99, haha.)

I also think Madison is a beautiful name, and Madison Anne is a great combo. (I also adore the nn Maddie.) Benjamin Michael is also quite wonderful.

[crista.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Yeah, if I see a billionty Madison BAs in the say, 6 weeks before the birth and I'm still all about the name we will be going back to the drawing board stat.

Thanks for the name love m'lady =)

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

If you love Madison, go for it. It's a very popular name, yes, but you know that already. You have to decide if your love for the name outweighs your concerns about popularity. If it does, then by all means, name your daughter Madison. You'll probably be happier than if you had decided to name her something else, just because it was less common.

[crista.livejournal.com]

I do like the name and should I not find something that I love more I'm going to do it versus pick out something less popular just because it less popular. You're right, I'd end up disliking the name eventually/having regrets.

I also love your icon.

[kkleigha87.livejournal.com]

Madaleigh or Madaly

[thellamaqueen.livejournal.com]

i have no suggestions for you. lol. but i just wanted to say hi because i love meeting people who share my name. :) we spell it differently (mine is also an unusual spelling of the name - Krysta), and i feel your pain as far as people wanting to add extra letters/start it with the wrong letter all the time!

[crista.livejournal.com]

Ohhh! I'm glad you said ello! I've really only met maybe 4 other Crista/Krysta/Christas in my life. Yay!

For some reason I am perfectly fine with people who put a K instead of a C, but if you spell it Ch? I lose my mind. I have to correct it or I just twitch. I bet folks use an I for you if they get the K right.

We're also both in Fake_LJers, which I really wish would update more often, for I love the lulz.

[pythianlegume7.livejournal.com]

If you really feel like its the right name for your kiddo then absolutely use it. I only feel like it would be a problem if a close friend or relative has a child named Madison. You can keep trying with your husband to see if you can come up with anything you both like better, but otherwise I say go for Madison.

[queenfinn.livejournal.com]

I love Madison. I have issues when people say a name is trendy. Just because some survey says it is popular doesn't mean anything. I graduated with 300 kids, went to college with probably just as many different people, and have watched/dealt with probably around 100 kids for my job. I have met one Madison. My favorite name Emma, which is the most popular, I have yet to meet someone named it. Benjamin is also another of my favorites.

I think if you like the name that is all that matters. Madison Anne sounds lovely.

[solitudete.livejournal.com]

I don't like the name Madison myself, but if your hubbie loves it, you like it (though I understand your worry about it being popular) and you both had baby-girl-named-Madison dreams (which will be a really awesome story to tell your daughter one day), GO FOR IT! :) It seems like all the signs point to yes.

[schexyschteve.livejournal.com]

Benjamin Michael is lovely. Benjamin is my number one for a boy.

Madison is too trendy for me.

What about Addison or Madeline/Madeleine/Madelyn? Very similar but not as popular/trendy.

[maine-girl.livejournal.com]

I don't care much for the name, but with dreams like that, I say USE IT! It sounds like it's meant to be :)

[ochenpryatna.livejournal.com]

I'm fairly sure if I go over this with my friends again they are going to start blocking my IMs. Thought you should know that I LOL'd for real. :)

If you love a name, don't throw it out just because of its popularity. Own your tastes. :) Having a very common-for-my-age-group name myself, I can say with certainty that your child won't be scarred by "sharing" their name.

[azelmaroark.livejournal.com]

I like Benjamin Michael. =)

Madeleine/Madeline >>>>> Madison >>>>>>>>> Madelyn. And as everyone else has pointed out, there are over nine thousand little girls running around with some variation of Mad-{x}. Where I coached (in the south) it was mostly 6-10 year old girls, actually, so it might even be starting to become dated in some areas. But if you're okay with that, I say use it if that's the name you like.

Other suggestions:

Matilda (you could get Maddie/Mattie out of this)
Adelaide (Addie)
Eva
Blythe
Cecilia
Cora
Alice
Aurora
Adair
Genevieve
Shea
Lydia
Cecily
Estelle
Isla

[fleckerbug.livejournal.com]

Maybe the dreams were a warning. ;)

I really don't like Madison. The fact that it is SO DAMNED POPULAR just adds insult to injury. It's also, like yesterday's news.. recently very popular, but it will see a very 2000s name. I also think it sounds bad with Anne.

Madeleine might be a nice alternative.. just as trendy, but a lot prettier. Or you could come up with a girls' name that has 'Ben' in it.

Although I hate it and wouldn't suggest someone ever use it, I also wouldn't let popularity turn me away from a name I absolutely loved.

[penguiny7.livejournal.com]

I love Benjamin Michael! My son's name is Benjamin.

That does seem predetermined that you ought to name your daughter Madison, but I'd reconsider it not because of the popularity, but because it's a boy's name. :/ What about something similar like Matilda or Madeleine? Matilda Anne would be adorable!

[0o-faerie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Madison is really very popular. But since you & your husband both feel so strongly about the name, I'd say use it! It's great to find a name you absolutely love.
And there are other ways to stand out than using an 'out there' name! =)

(great choice of music by the way, hee!)

[krosp.livejournal.com]

I so love Benjamin Michael!

I think you could use Madison. It was very popular recently, and Maddy even more so as there are lots of Madeline (and variants) too. But now it's being overtaken by the Charlottes and Avas, so the enormous group of Madisons and Mikaylas are going to be about 5-10 years older than your baby. If you spell it like that (Madison) and not Madysin or something at least it won't be too trendy.