Your predictions for the future

[chaichilaquiles.livejournal.com]

 So maybe I am being over analytical on the names thing, but when this newest generation grows up, what do you think they will think about their own names and the names around them?  For us, it seems that those of us with the most common names didn't like sharing our names with a lot of other people and the ones with more unique names seemed "cooler". Do you think this will be the case in the future? 

In a recent article from NPR that someone posted previously- an interesting point was made:

 "At the height of the baby boom, nearly 25 percent of all boys and girls had the 10 most popular names. Now, only about 8 percent of all children are given one of the 10 most popular names."

While this may be the case, I am seeing a lot of similar like names. A lot of names ending with en/on/yn for both boys and girls and I wonder if maybe this will "date" them sometime in the distant future? 

Those of you with kids in school already... what opinions do they have about names? What are their favorite names of kids in their classes? Do you think they like the name because the kid is popular or by its own right? Or perhaps the two are even related?

Comments

[duckduckcaboose.livejournal.com]

I am seeing a lot of boys with names like Hudson, Easton, Grayson... but I don't know any two people with kids who have the same names, which is nice.

I don't have kids of my own yet. I only have one first cousin who is married, and his son is named Dylan Chester.

[pleasure-past.livejournal.com]

*shrug* I'm 19. I've been seriously considering legally changing my name to one that is less unique. I know other girls my age with unique names that consider their names part of their identity and would never ever dream of changing them. I don't know that this is really something you can draw generational lines for. Certainly as high schoolers I think most people want to be as unique as possible, but by college I think most people have grown into having their own very unique opinions on their name formed by their own very unique values. I know a girl named Peyton, a girl named Megan, and a girl named Tidenek, and all of them love their names. I also know girls with names of similar "styles" who want to change their names. In fact, Tidenek and I have pretty much the exact same issues and benefits with our names, but we feel dramatically different ways about them. She comes down on the "My name is unique and a part of who I am!" side of the debate, I come down on the "I don't want to be unique; I want people to pronounce my fucking name correctly," side of the debate. It depends on who you are as a person and which parts of you you want to see reflected in your name.

Anyway, I think when all is said and done, you're going to be able to find Jaydens, Williams, and Riads who all feel the exact same way about their names. Will the name "Jayden" date people in a few decades? Maybe. But you know what? The name "Mary" dates people now. This happens. It has always happened, and sometimes its really surprising which names it does and does not happen with. I'm sure no one expected Mary to be one of the most popular girls names in the world for centuries and then to plummet between the 30s and the 70s, without a comeback in sight. Aiden and Haden and Jayden and Kaden could all remain popular into the 2040s for all we know. This is a silly thing to worry about when choosing a name. Making the right choice in this case depends on your ability to predict the future, which is a pointless thing to even attempt. And if you're wrong, who gives a shit? Haden has one Hell of a pampered life if at 50 years old his greatest concern is that people will be able to guess his age from his name.

[chaichilaquiles.livejournal.com]

Haha. Love your comment. Great insight. Thanks!

[raze--the-rose.livejournal.com]

Styles of names may date a kid down the road, just like how people think certain names now sound "old fashioned". I can't say whether those kids will like their names or not; that much at least probably has less to do with generations and more to do with individuals.

My husband and I both have common names (Jennifer and James) and don't want the most popular names for our kids. That said, some of the names we've looked at are rising in popularity, and we've pretty much decided to stick with what we like even if lots of other people also like it by the time we conceive. While I was sometimes annoyed at all the Jennifers in high school and work, part of me always thought it was kinda cool that so many other parents liked the name Jennifer at the same time. *shrug*

I guess by the time I'm in an old folks home "Jennifer" will be the old lady name.

[chaichilaquiles.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've thought the same about my first name, Sarah. I've always hated it though, because I felt like it never fit me and felt that people judged me by it. I go by my middle name now.

[alyssa22.livejournal.com]

I think everything goes in cycles.

My mum grew up in the 50s in a Jewish community and says all her peers with Jewish names were desperately trying to be "Anglo". Those kids gave their children Anglo sounding names. Those children are now giving their kids names like Amos, Noah, Noa, Raphael, Asher, Ezra... more traditional Jewish names.

It's like one generation goes conservative, the next goes a bit different.

Some names really date, though.

I find it bizarre to see Americans calling their kids Kylie these days. Most people in Australia (where I believe it originated -- at least there are a hell of a lot more Kylies here than anywhere else) think of it as a bogan kind of name (bogan = sort of a trailer trash... I guess)

I went to school with so may Kylies it's not funny. It was the bogan name of the 60s, 70s and 80s in Australia. In my year at school there were a couple of Kylies, a Kylea, a Kylee and later on at work a Kyleigh. All equally horrible. Not the girls. The name. But yeah, names like that really date. It's of the same era as Tanya, Donna, Sharon, Debbie, etc in Australia!

Oh, and every single Kylie was a Kylie Ann or Kylie Anne.

[chaichilaquiles.livejournal.com]

Very good point for the times we are living in a "globalized" society where we are all just a little bit closer to one another. I live in Mexico and a neighbor named her daughter "Mildred" and I just couldn't think of a worse name! I know some older names are coming back into style but MILDRED (super old lady name) is not one of them. And because she doesn't know American culture, she doesn't know the connotations that come with it.