Why do women insist on giving their babies the most common names out there?

I mean honestly, don't we have enough freakin' Emmas in the world by now? There are 5 of them in my daughters' class! Do yourself a favor... if you don't want 28 people responding to you when you call your daughter's name, name her something OTHER than Emma, Emily, Hannah, and Madison!

Why do women insist on giving their babies the most common names out there?
I totally agree. Emma has been the most popular name for a couple of years now. I think it is from too many people watching friends (ross and rachels baby) i love interesting names different names!
Reply:I think it's because people were very creative in the 60s through the 80s and now there are adults wishing their parents hadn't named them Dweezil, Rainbow, or Candee with two Es. Traditional names and family names are quite common.





P.S. I like the name Emma. It goes well with Kathryn, my great-great aunt's name which will make a great baby name someday.
Reply:Nither of my Girls have Common names. An i hear ya , I married a Michael , we have like 10 other friends named Michael .. it is F-ing insane !
Reply:WOW YOU ARE AN ANGRY LITTLE MAN !!!!!
Reply:Why can't people name their own kids whatever they want? By the time they grow up and get jobs or whatever that won't be as much as a problem.





My name is very popular for my age and there were like 5 of us in a class but since then I haven't found many with my name.





I think the parents have the right to name then whatever they want.
Reply:Well, it's not just the women who name their children. Fathers are entitled to name them too.





A reason for this may be because many people choose to name their babies after a family member, thus increasing the usage of a name.





My name is Meaghan. Not a particularily common name, but becuase of its Scottish spelling, I could NEVER find anything that spelt it right. Things like name plates, pens, room signs...silly things like that. So, although I LOVE having an uncommon spelling of an uncommon name, it sucked growing up and still bugs me how people can never spell it right.
Reply:I agree with you . . . way too many Emma's in this world.
Reply:Interesting... but is that true of everyone or just simply anglosaxon names...
Reply:it has always been this way and is never going to change. a unique name starts to become popular and all little girls will dream of naming their future daughters that name and then they grow up and debate it and finally just give in and you have another beautiful Hannah...





Let's not leave out the Haileys...and I personally know 3 sets of Hailey/Hannah twins...





i teach prek so i see way too many of the same name go through and some others that are becoming very popular: Summer, Grace, Lilly, Kylie, Olivia, Isabelle...





I must admit though....I desperately wanted to name my child Emily Ann but that was TOO popular so we agreed on Emma Ann (so much better lol) luckily it was a BOY.





Take Care! SD
Reply:Yikes, sounds like you are a little wound up about this. Many women (and men) name their children "common" names for many reasons:





1) It's a family name


2) Because it is COMMON (they won't be ridiculed for having an "odd" name like "Apple")


3) It's a nice name, maybe? Who cares if there are 10 Emma's in the class... they spend the majority of their lives outside of school so it doesn't really matter if there are 10 Emma's in the class. At 18, it doesn't matter.
Reply:I agree but when you want to name the child something different everybody freaks out and criticizes you. I wanted to name my little girl Novah Leigh and everyone freaked on me. Then I wanted to name her Jalyn and again same reaction. I asked peoples opinion on here and I got some pretty rude comments.
Reply:Names go in spurts. During the '70s, Jennifer was the new hot name, along with Amanda. Carol and Michael used to be favorite names back in the '50s. The generation before that one had lots of Walters, Mabels, Clarences, and Marthas. Before that were Emmas, Emilys, and Hannahs. Nowadays, these old-fashioned names are back in style.





Two coworkers just had baby boys - Lucas and Ahbijay.
Reply:WHEN I WENT TO SCHOOL IT WAS JUDY, IN MY SON'S CLASS IT WAS JENNIFER'S. SEEMS IT'S ALWAYS LIKE THAT. I TRIED TO BE DIFFERENT TOO.
Reply:whats wrong with common names i cant stand when people try thinking up names they sound so stupid most the time
Reply:Wow. I second that one!!!! And people questioned me to why I did not choose "normal names" for my kids. My answer was that I don't want to call my child's name on a playground and to see 6 kids w/ the same name turn around.





My son is Gevon and my daughter is Alicia they are not common names but not weird either!!
Reply:heh, when i was in high school the place i used to hang out at was a private barn with ponies and most of my friends were there. among the kids were 3 more with the same name as me.


a dog and a pony there had the same name that we 4 had, we all had some good laughs with the jokes if you can imagine.
Reply:i highly doubt just women come up with common names. people name their children names because they like them. and a lot of times when your name is different you get picked on.
Reply:And the fathers have no input into the naming of a child? The Moms are so exhausted from the whole process of pregnancy, birth, housework, laundry and a full time job, they can't even think of a creative name.
Reply:Why are you so upset?? No name is original, there's always someone out there with your name... so who cares if there are 5 Emma's in your daughters class.. I'm sure they all have their own individual personality.
Reply:WHO CARES! It's not YOUR child, it's someone else's, and many people pick a meaning behind their child's name, or it's something they personally like. Also keep in mind, that for example with myself, I had no idea Ethan would be popular and at the top of the list in 2005... however, it was, but that's what my husband and I chose because we couldn't find another boy name we really liked. There's always going to be one name that a lot of children have... it was Sarah when I was in school. Some Megan's too. Get over it! That's why we have middle and last names as well- I'm sure all those Emma's don't have the same last or middle name... so they ARE unique in their own way! My husband had an input on this too just so you know, we both came to an agreement on the names we both picked out. I personally don't care what others think of what I named my baby... it was up to me and my husband.





YOu are a TERRIBLE person! And YES both my husband and myself went through a baby book, and wrote down names we liked from it... we didn't find out the sex of our baby, so we had 2 names picked out- boy and girl, and you know what? My husband was even the one to suggest middle names after family members! So if you do have kids, I feel bad for them, cause you do not sound like a good person for going crazy like this. My son's middle name is after my husband's uncle- so that was HIS choice, not mine, I just agreed because I liked it and it had meaning! And for our girl name, it would have been after my great-grandmother... so next baby we have, the name will be after one of my family members... my husband and I work VERY well together, but sounds like you have some issues. lol
Reply:Hmmmm.....you need to get a life....for a guy to have so much concern as to what others name their daughters is just a little odd. It would be interesting to know what off the wall name you put on your daughters back...What did you say your name was?...How do you spell your name?....Yeah, that is what I would want to saddle a kid with...to hear those types of questions about a million times in a life time....Originality is in the child not the name.
Reply:Well I think everyone has a choice on whatever they want to name their child. I myself chose a different unique name for our son. I highly doubt I will have to worry about there being another Xander in my son's class.
Reply:acceptance by others????
Reply:i agree to an extent but sometime the names mean something special or are just names the parents love. i know there are a lot of overused names but do you really want people to resort to naming their baby after food or cars?
Reply:They may have done it in honor of a female relative, such as a grandmother or beloved aunt...
Reply:i agree 110% ! i mean when you have 10 kids with the same name in class its a drag and i mean my name is Evie and i dont know anyone else with that name and i love it! i feel that kids tend to like their names better if they dont share it with half of the world! i mean truley! origanal and fun different names are so much more fun!
Reply:Well, from someone who named her daughter Sarah, I think that there are times when you just get stuck on a name. For us, it was the only name my husband and I agreed on. It was also a family name, going back 5 generations.





I do agree with you however that people should branch out and try to find unique names. But sometimes it is hard to find a name that is unique, but "normal" enough that people can still pronounce it and not butcher it! At least when you name your kid Emma, you know people will pronounce it right.
Reply:i like emma!
Reply:Well, my name is Chris, but I haven't had people come up to me asking "There are too many people named Chris!" Although if you ask me, there are too many girls named Britney. Damn that Britney Spears!
Reply:I agree emily is over used... but I love the name Emma... btw-why do you really care?!
Reply:You have to strike a balance between a name the child can live with and one that is original. Plus, some people like Emma. I'll name my kid whatever the hell I want. The only way to get a truly original name is to make something whacked-out and that is just cruel.





So, what are you gonna do? You're gonna meet SOMEONE else who has the name name. Make it something you like.