Do you ever get this from people?

[mrspizzapoop.livejournal.com]

I was sharing my tentative list of baby names with my best girl friend the other day. She stopped me mid-list and asked me if I was serious about even considering these names. That our child with have to live with it forever and it shouldn't be something hard to spell or pronounce. That the baby should never be named after food items, famous people, or be spelled in a 'special snowflake way', as she put it. I didn't think my names were too out there and I told her I wanted our child to be special and stand out. She said that's fine, but not like a sore thumb. So I'll share my list with you and see if it's so terrible.

Boys- Mason, Aaron, Patrick, Toby, Matteo, Kayo, Theodore
Girls- Erika, Allaunna, Cerah, Rosie, Aubrey, Heather, Issabella

IMO, I think they seem pretty normal.

Comments

[lipsty.livejournal.com]

Personally, I think you've got a mix of perfectly normal and slightly misspelt names there. Why Allauna and Issabella instead of Alana (I'm guessing) and Isabella? Misspelling names doesn't make them unique, it makes them wrong. Most of your choices are nice, though. Nothing 'special snowflake' there!

[politicking.livejournal.com]

I was going to ask about Allauna, too. Is it that you are pronouncing it more like "Ah-Lawn-Ah" rather than "Ah-Lan-Ah"?

[stacyinthecity.livejournal.com]

Most are pretty normal, but I've never heard of Kayo before, or Allaunna, or Cerah. Issabella is a different spelling than I'm used to, but I'm wondering if it might be a different ethnic spelling or pronunciation that you prefer.

[mrspizzapoop.livejournal.com]

Kayo was my Grandfathers name. I like the other spellings because they seem to flow better when I say them. More of a musical quality in my head I guess.

[stacyinthecity.livejournal.com]

I'm not as hard core as other people about unusual names or spelling, but I tend to think that unless there is a very specific reason you want to spell a name differently - for example, as I mentioned maybe Issabella is ethnic, perhaps it should be pronounced "Iss - a - bell - ah" instead of "izz - a - bell - ah" or something, I can understand it. But what is the pronunciation difference between Sara/Sarah/Cerah? Does Cerah have some special significance like Kayo? Or do you just like it better? Because if there is no special significance, just remember that none of her friends or teachers will ever spell it correctly, most people will stumble over saying it the first few times, she will never be able to get anything personalized easily, etc. It is just going to make her life more difficult/annoying for the reason of "it seemed more musical in my head."

[lipsty.livejournal.com]

To soften my comment, I'll add that before I was pregnant, I was set on Kaliadne for a girl and I was mocked by everyone I mentioned it to. Once I had the responsibility of naming an actual person, I reined my choices in a bit :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

My mom thinks my taste is strange. I once asked her if she had heard of Lachlan and she was like "Lakeland? No..." I also told her awhile ago that I liked Archer and she gave me this o.O look. And then she said that the name Mabel would get a little girl teased (which I can't see AT ALL--I think it's adorable) after a family friend named their baby girl Mabel.

HOWEVER, I think it's really helpful to receive some feedback like that! I want to use a baby name that isn't "too out there" so the names we have picked now are much more reasonable, but still unique enough. I think that feedback can be very helpful because if you're a person that wants an "out there" name, that type of reaction should be expected/wanted. But if you're like me, and want something that people have heard of (in the very least), it's also nice to put me back "into place" regarding names.

That said, Mason is like #1 right now in terms of popularity, and Aubrey is super popular too (although I prefer Audrey... Aubrey seems masculine). Aaron, Patrick, & Theodore are standard, too. I do think that some of the spellings are strange, like Allaunna and Issabella. And Cerah and Kayo are very unique and I would probably respond the same way she did about those. Matteo is one of those that is awesome in theory but I think most people around me would be like ... what?!

[lipsty.livejournal.com]

I love Matteo, but I feel like it would just be pretentious for me to use it, being a boring Brit rather than an exotic European!

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

Absolutely. I feel the same way. I'm from Wisconsin... LOL. It would be like "Wow, try hard much?"

[so-there.livejournal.com]

ah, yes, nothing like making your kid special and stand out by giving them the #1 name in the country! isn't Isabella #1 for girls? it's at least in the top 3, I know that.

[fiending.livejournal.com]

I know a Cera (29 years old), but now it just makes me think of Michael Cera.

I know a Launa, so I like Alauna better than the added L and N, and I'd subtract an S in Issabella. Just seems unnecessary to be so repetitive.

Other than that, the names seem normal to me.

To each their own, though. They're not as "out there" as your friend thinks.

[lovetokate.livejournal.com]

I think they are all pretty standard. The only ones that "stand out" to be are Kayo, Allaunna (honestly not sure how to pronounce that) and maybe Cerah (I assume Sarah but just spelled differently?) Idk....your kid, your choice!

[mommyaubrey.livejournal.com]

I think your friends name list must be incredibly boring. There's nothing really that out there on your list. I've never heard Kayo, but I read in the comments that it was your grandfathers name. Allaunna is a little much, I think if you're going to spell it different than Alana, I'd do Alauna. I like Cera, I'd drop the h, but I don't think it really matters, and I'd drop the extra "s" in Issabella. But it's not like they're wayy out there.

[maddiec24.livejournal.com]

Aside from a few unique spellings, your list is *way* tame. Clearly your friend has never been to this comm, or she would know that. *g*

[nobodynomore.livejournal.com]

Agreeing with most of the commenters that are saying your list seems normal. I would stray away from spelling Issabella and Allaunna that way though, just because it doesn't and will never look right to anyone. Plus, Isabella and Alana (assuming Alana is how it is pronounced) are perfectly beautiful & wonderful all on their own. Your child will be special and unique without adding extra letters to their name.

[pleasure-past.livejournal.com]

I agree with your friend about the spelling, but other than that I see nothing wrong with these names.

[jeweledvixen.livejournal.com]

For the most part, your boy's names are ok, although I've never heard of Kayo. It reminds me either of K.O., the boxing term, or mayo.

I'm not sure what Allaunna is supposed to be.

Cerah is just terrible. And I definitely prefer Isabella with one s.

[schexyschteve.livejournal.com]

Allaunna, Cerah, and Issabella are dreadful spellings of Alannah (Alana), Sarah, and Isabella. Unless you pronounce them differently, the misspelled names are going to be said exactly the same as the proper spellings, and your future daughter won't stand out at all.

Otherwise, your list is pretty normal, and not out there at all.

[kitchen-poet.livejournal.com]

I think your friend put it way too harshly, but I can see her point. Some of them are lovely, correctly spelled names like Mason, Matteo, Theodore, etc.

Others, not so much. Cerah makes me think the name is actually Sarah and Allaunna makes me think your intent was Ilana or Alanna. And Issabella just looks spelled wrong. Adding the extra S doesn't make it a unique name, it just guarantees that your child will have to spell out or write down her name every single time someone asks her what her name is. That is the reason I'm not a fan of "kreative" spellings. For instance, I'm a Kathryn, which is a normal, valid name that is only slightly less common than Katherine, but it still means I have to spell out my name every single time, and it does get annoying.

However, your child = your choice. If you and your partner really love a name, you shouldn't have to defend it to friends and family. Out of your list, I really like Theodore, Rosie, and Toby! :)

[ladydreamfire.livejournal.com]

For the boys Kayo is the only one that seems odd to me...I've never seen it before. The rest are completely normal and not hard to spell at all!

The spelling on Allaunna, Cerah, and Issabella (that second s kind of reminds of me of "hisssssss" when I look at it) aren't normal but the names themselves are.

I'm not a fan of "special snowflake spelling" (this cracked me up) either but I like your list. Theodore and Aubrey would be my favorites from it! :)

[so-there.livejournal.com]

there's uncommon names, and there's common names with uncommon spellings. the former is actually, you know, unique. the latter is not only unique (the spelling won't show in speech) but also looks illiterate. I don't mind the less common names on your list so much as the less common spellings of common names. nothing screams "omg you would name your kid that???"*** but I'd definitely go with the most common spelling of the names that are more common.


***except for Mason, because I hate that name. also Heather is outdated by about 3 decades.