The great baby name debate is so fun! But it really is quite a debate. Do you prefer popular "top 10" name charts, or vintage names, or family names, or quirky names, or creative unique names that are likely to be one of a kind?
My personal favorite names are classically recognizable, pronounceable, and easy to spell. My favorites are old fashioned names...yet may have fallen slightly out of main stream favor.
I knew that I wanted to name my baby Ella since forever (no no...like FOREVER...before it was a Top 10 phenomenon...before there were Ella's everywhere...I swear.) I have a grandmother Marcella, and a grandmother Eleanor and a little sister Ellen. I knew Ella was the perfect way to honor these women and give my little one the sweetest name imaginable. Obviously, Tommy approved - with the addition of Jane as a middle name. (Jane is a family name in both of our families...so it was going to be perfect....Ella Jane.)
However, the name Ella took off in popularity in recent years. I lit-er-ally know 24 little Ella's. Twentyfour. Or twentyfive...after so many I sorta lose track. The popularity of the name made me rethink the choice. AND to be totally honest, Ella never ever broke the top 5 most popular name category - just think of alllll the Emma's out there, and Isabella's, and Sophia's...such sweet names of course everyone would want to use them!!
As much as I adore Ella...I know that if that's the name I give our girl, she will be in class with multiple Ella's (my name is Jessica, remember, a crazy popular name in the early 80's so there were always 2 or 3 other Jessica's in every class I was ever in!!) Therefore, we will not be naming our little one Ella - but it will be a name I'll always love.
Has this happened to you or anyone you know? Where you loved a name, but found that it had exploded all over the place? Did you care? I know a couple friends who didn't care that it was intensly popular, they loved it and went with it anyway - so that's something to think about too. Am I thinking too much about this!?
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You're not over-thinking it. It's a big deal - NAMING your child! I tend to shy away from popular names, too. I prefer old-fashioned family names. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThis has happened to people I know! I live in a small town, where everyone knows everyone... My neice is named Taylor Lynn and a friend of my brother's from high school wanted to name her daughter Taylor Lynn as well... So she did. There's a great difference in age between the two girls, but it makes the name, although very special to us, seem less special to everyone else because two girls in the same area have the same name.
ReplyDeleteWhat about naming her Ellie? Similar but I don't think quite as popular as Ella and still pulls in the family names? Ultimately you should name her whatever you like and is meaningful to you both.
ReplyDeletemy mind is kind of blown that you know 24 Ellas....I don't even know 24 CHILDREN!! How exactly do you know so many little ones?
ReplyDeletei know that I want my kiddos to have something unique...so that would be incredibly frustrating.
ReplyDeleteBoth Ellie and Ella are very popular now. My friend kind of did a combination thing and went with Ellia. Not too many of those around!
ReplyDeleteOk, so I'm a little older... My husband chose our second daughter's name: Jennifer. Ugh!!! There were a million little Jennifer's at that time and even a baby name book entitled "Naming Your Baby: Beyond Jason and Jennifer." We went with his choice anyway, because I had gotten to name our first daughter. The result? By the time she got to school, there were no more Jennifer's. Apparently everyone felt like I did and no one was using that name. Her name was behind the curve. She's always been the only Jennifer in her class and to top it off, she's SUCH a Jenny. Her name suits her perfectly. So, I say, go with your heart.
ReplyDeleteOooh, and you should check out this website, for fun if nothing else!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.babynamewizard.com/name-voyager
That's too bad your favorite name got so popular! I like the name Marcella though, if you name her that you could call her Ella OR Marcie. How adorable would the nickname Marcie be on a little girl?!
ReplyDeleteI bet that's so annoying! Ben is Maltese and we have a fab surname so I think we'll go for something a bit exotic and unusual. It'd be a shame to waste the opportunity right?!
ReplyDeleteps. I've passed the Versatile Blogger Award on to YOU lady! Not really sure what the title means, but it offers the rather fun opportunity to reveal 7 random things about yourself. Visit my blog for more info! xx
I hated having a unique name growing up. Even to this day it frustrates me that people can't say it right. But I have grown to love my name and sing the song every time I go to karaoke! I even brush it off when people say my name wrong. Sometimes I correct them, sometimes I let it slide. I think it is special having a unique name... I've never met another Kyrie in my life. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I used to really like Charlotte - as in I used to pretend my own name was Charlotte, but now they're all over the place. I do like Jane as a first name ...
ReplyDeleteWell we are having the same debate in our house. Matt wants an "old-fashioned" name, I am rather agreeable, unless I know someone that I dislike with the name or past boyfriend. We went back to our family trees, to find some unique and antique names. We chose our favorite boy and girl names there, which I'd love to share with you...but your last posts explain why I can't divulge :) Plus, we might be over-thinking this, but we are matt and lindsey...plain names, we want kid names that sound good with ours, like a cohessive family. Silly, but its a big decision!!
ReplyDeleteUgh. I hate how common my name is. It's irritating. I hope not to pass that on to my future children. It'd be nice if their names were their own and they didn't have to go by "Andrew A." or "Andy" so that all the Andrew's could be told apart.
ReplyDeleteI love Ella, but you have got to go with your gut on this one. As always I can't wait to see what happens.
ReplyDeletedudette, you have thought so much about little ella from every which way - she's in your heart and your family history - she should be ella. screw the majority.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this one. I was in love with the name Emmaline (Emma for short). No way on Earth I would name any baby of mine that now.
ReplyDelete....aaaannd, there's another Ella in the world! I love the name, but yep it's all-over-the-place:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.peoniesandpolaroids.com/2010/11/introducing.html
i am also amazed you know 24 children, much less 24 ellas! holy crap. ella is a beautiful name, sigh :) i know a couple who recently named their baby girl novella. i think it's cute. you've got ella in there but with a "novel" twist har har. also novel adds a bookish element :) i can't wait to hear what name you really picked!
ReplyDelete