The Baby Name Wizard

I have no idea, but I'd love your reader's help with finalizing my baby's name! Our son is Colin James and we're deciding among Graham, Ian and Quentin for the next son.

I think we're leaning Graham but I fear it's going to keep rising in the rankings. Thoughts?

Huh--thats really interesting!

Another name mystery to me concerns the name Yael (my name) as a boys name on the SSA list....I've never heard of this as a boys name and was surprised to see it cracking the top 1000 on the boys side instead of the girls side--any insights?

remind me to apply early :) (though I doubt Tirzah would make it anyway)

I know there's a Jewish superstition (presumably stronger among Orthodox Jews) about not getting baby stuff until after the baby is born, and it makes sense that similar rules would apply to names. Maybe some couples are even reluctant to decide on a name ahead of time, which would certainly delay the application.

http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/19835/baby-shower-taboo-based-on-sup...

NatalieHastings: I think Graham is a lovely match. Quentin might be a little safer, but Graham isn't so popular that I'd consider it a problem.

Colin and Graham make a great sib set. I don't see Graham becoming uber popular any time soon. It's a handsome name - one of my favorites.

I know the answer! Observant Jews don't announce a boy's name to anyone (not even immediate family) until the baby's bris (ritual circ.) on day 8.

There is also an official baby naming for girls but I don't think the name is kept top secret until then for girls.

Sounds like a blog post we should send to the Freakonomics guys!

@Jenny also: would an 8 day delay really make such a huge difference, you think?

I'm really not sure. That seems so odd. I'll ask my mom in the morning. I was born in a hospital that had a lot of Orthodox Jewish mothers (as well as secular like mine) giving birth there, so maybe she knows something. Also to Yael. I thought that too. I love that name, I have a good friend with that name. And to NatalieHastings, I like Graham with Colin best because I think the others are a little matchy (all ending in -n). And to those who didn't catch my camp list (13-14, counselors 17-20 or so) in the last thread (I just find it interesting) here it is again:

Rachel Mollie
Camryn mn?
Maya mn?
Yael Lee (or Leigh)
Cara mn? (counselor)
Gabrielle "Gabi" mn? (counselor)
Sapir mn? (Israeli counselor)
Allison "Allie" mn? (counselor)
Alison "Ali" Beth
Alaina "Ali" Lauren
Anna mn?
Hanna Lilly (Hanna is pron. to rhyme with Anna or banana, not Donna or fauna)
Hannah Rose
Dana Rose
Alexa Rose (me!)
Carolyn Rose
Carolyn "Callie" Rose
Rebecca mn?
Madalyn "Maddy/ie" mn?
Jamie Elizabeth
Ariel Elana

And, to make it even better, 3 of them had the same ln too!

New baby! A friend has a new baby cousin Madison Justina (with a very Jewish ln, think Greenberg)

I think Jenny also may be on to something. I don't know about everyone else, but it did seem to me that when I was at the hospital, I had nurses breathing down my neck to get the birth cert. all filled out w/ my babies names. I'm imagining that if an Orthodox Jew family wasn't telling even their immediate family the name until the bris, that they weren't filling out the birth cert. w/ the actual name, but maybe just "baby boy."

Just because the name is announced 8 days later at a religious ceremony, doesn't mean the government is informed of the new name right away. I suppose (depending on how overwhelming having a new baby is for the family) that the official name change could take a few weeks to a few months... or even, "Oops! I suppose we should take care of that, now that Menachem is turning 2."

Oh, and my vote is for Graham and Colin. Love it! and popularity wouldn't concern me when comparing it to the other two names.

It's posts like this one that cause me to read your blog first whenever I see it updated on my Google Reader. I love your analysis and thought process Laura. Although I don't have an answer for you on this one, it really gets me thinking...

I agree with Jenny and Bethany. Orthodox Jews don't announce the name for 8 days, so they wouldn't fill out the forms at the hospital. Once they arrive home, their lives are no doubt filled with all the other chaos that surrounds a new arrival. Completing and sending off the forms is probably low on the priority list, and might well wait until the family has settled in a bit, caught up on sleep, etc.

I suspect that you're seeing a combination of two trends: Orthodox Jews don't fill out the forms at the hospital, and anyone of any religion who doesn't fill out the forms at the hospital is as likely to do it 3 months later as 3 days later.

Based on the title I was expecting to read about the naming trends of Star Trek fans. I'm sure that more than a few Trekkies have named their kids Data. And I weep for them.

A few interesting names from a recent newspaper birth announcements section:

These folks are certainly up with current trends:
C3ls3 Nev@eh Wynn (G)
M@ddox K@dyn Ch@nce (B)

Weren't we just talking about Western names?
C0lt Linc0ln (B)

I hadn't seen these spellings before. Hoping that Elihj@ is a typo, though:
Leey@ (G), L0gun (B), Lyz@h (G), Elihj@ (B), Alij@h (B)x2

Mek@den (B)- on with their heads combined with ends with an N, wonder if we'll see more of these

Anderson (G) - I hadn't seen this before, but I could see it following Addison in popularity. Guessing they'll call her Andi?

Others that were new to me, all girls:
Tr0i Prele1gh, Nov@lee, Att@leigh, D0vie, K@ylupe

Both nice names, but an interesting combo:
Ash3r DeW@yne (B)

Bree@nnan1cole R0szelle (G) - Wow, that's a lot of syllables.

And a few sets of twins:
Ch@stelin G@briel and L1zbet G@brielle (G/G)
Z@kary De2n and Ayd1n Z@ne
Ann@lise M@rie and Lyr1c Seren1ty (I actually like both, but wow, what different styles)
Bl@ir Alexandri@ and
Bl@ke Alex@nder (on the other hand...)

This is a great name-detective story, I love it!

Can I pick the brains of the hive mind? We're expecting our first, and as I head into the third trimester it's starting to bother me that I don't have a few more names, just in case the kid doesn't seem like an X or a Y when he or she arrives. (Humor the pregnant lady!)

Top boy candidate right now is Nathaniel, which, in its Biblicalness and not-obscure-but-not-the-most-popular-eitherness seems fairly unobjectionable.

Top girl candidate is Beatrice ("Trixie", when Beatrice is still a lot of name for a very small person). We like that it's an old-fashioned, womanly name that wouldn't be ridiculous on a woman running for political office, but that it also has a nickname appropriate for a tiny child. And this is less important to my husband, but I would really prefer a name that isn't super-popular or about to turn super-popular... Beatrice seems to be having an uptick, but I'm not sure how fast it's going to spread. Finally, I secretly also like the sort of stuffy old-ladiness of it, but I know that sentiment is probably not going to be shared by everyone.

We're set for middle names, and our last name sounds like "Morton". I would love some help!

Disclaimer: I'm not Jewish, I'm not American - this is pure speculation:

a) Laura, do you have enough data to conclude if the "Jewish filing time" is always e.g. 6 months after the birth, or if the filing is done around certain dates only?

b) Does the "Jewish filing time" coincide with a filing time for something else, taxes for instance?

c) In some highly religious circles there is an opposition to legal marriage because being married "in the eyes of [Deity]" ought to be enough. Is it possible there is a similar opposition to "legal" naming? Of course, this doesn't explain why they eventually end up filing anyway, but maybe why there is a gap between the naming ceremony and the filing process?

Laaemma, what about:

Jeremiah
Joel
Reuben
Caleb
Gabriel
Cyrus
Gideon
Isaac
Jared
Jonathan
Simeon

Alice (Ali)
Adele/Adelaide/Adeline (Addy)
Genevieve/Ginevra/Virginia/ (Ginny)
Cordelia (Cori/Delia/Lia)
Frances (Fran/Franny)
Cecelia/Cicely/Celia (CeCe)
Helena (Laney)
Penelope (Penny)
Miranda (Andi)
Evelyn (Evie)
Edith (Edie)
Josephine (Josie)
Millicent (Millie)

I don't have a good answer either but this is such an interesting topic. I was also really interested to hear the rules about naming and the bris. Thanks for all the insights, everyone!

Anything to do maybe with living abroad?

Menachem Mendel Schneerson is the name of the late rebbe (religious leader) of the Chabad Lubavitcher sect of Hasidic Judaism and I assume that a large portion of the little Menachems and Mendels out there are named for the Rebbe. I don't know what the Chabad practice is for filing paperwork on names, but you could easily find out from someone at Chabad.org or your local Chabad rabbi, there is one in every major city around the world.

That's fascinating - I can't add anything else, but I imagine that the general sense - if you wait 8 days, why not 3 months? - is on track.

And I'd echo the support for Colin and Graham - a nice sibset!

I think this is a question for Jewish baby/family/life expert Anita Diamant, who I believe lives in your neck of the woods...good luck!

Neat ideas Laura!

NatalieHastings-I like Colin with all of your choices but Graham is not my favorite name. I pick Quentin.

Yael-Could this be similar to the name Kyle for a boy? I ask because I have seen Cael(pron Kyle I'm guessing) and I'm not exactly sure how you would say Yael. Is it like Yale? or more like Ya-el?

A Rose-I did notice your list earlier. What struck me as interesting was the preponderence of Rose as a mn and "Ali" as a first name.

Sarah smile-WOW! what a list that is! Celse-hmm wonder how they are pronouncing that? and Blair/Blake is a bit too matchy for me. Also Chastelin? SOOOO NMS!

Laaemma-Um you will invariably get stuck with either an XX or an XY you know that don't you? (LOL!) I love Trixie or Nathaniel for names. They are classic w/o being uber-popular in my neck of the woods. I like sarah smile's ideas too and will second Gabriel, Gideon, and Jeremiah. For girls, Genevieve. (omg, just realized those all start with J sound) Also might I suggest Victoria (Vicky/Tori), Benjamin, Joel, Sebastian, Naomi, Samuel.

Great comments, everyone! I had thought about the Lubavitcher Rebbe for Menachem in particular, which was one of the reasons I looked at a broader range of names that might be used by Modern Orthodox and others. I wish there were enough data to compare with contemporary Hebrew/Israeli names.

I like the hypothesis a couple of you laid out that combines religious and practical considerations. If you don't believe in giving the government a name until the bris or naming ceremony, then suddenly the time pressure disappears. Busy new parents might not have a chance to get around to it for months.

Anybody know of other cultures that might follow a similar pattern?

sarah smile: I have seen the name Dovie before (thank you Anne of Green Gables books), but I always said it Doe-vee. But, I gather it is more like Dove-ee? Anyone know for sure? (I like Doe-vee a lot, the other nsm)

Another Graham proponent-- I like this a lot. Ian and Quentin are good though too.

Laaemma: Trixie is adorable, and I think would be cool as she grows through all stages!

Laaemma: I like the above suggestions and also like Bea for a nickname for Beatrice. My sister and her husband are about 6 months along and have decided for sure baby will be Beatrix. Daddy likes Trixie and Mommy likes Bea for nn.

that's crazy! i'm not qualified to add any conjectures, but everyone's thoughts are really interesting... it does seem reasonable that if you don't fill out forms at the hospital, it would be easy to put it off for awhile...

natalie hastings,
i like all of your choices! i agree that graham and colin are excellent together, and i don't think graham will become terribly popular. i also agree that the /m/ ending sounds better than another name with an /n/ ending (speaking of which, i agree with whoever on the last thread said that similar endings bother them more than alliterative beginnings. me too. kayden brendan bothers me much more as a name than gus gibson). anyway, as i say, you can't really go wrong, as all of your choices are good ones. i prefer quentin over ian, but that's just me.

laaemma,
i definitely do not think beatrice is going to take off anytime soon; i think a lot of people still think of it as "old" as you mentioned (not that this should stop you!). i slightly prefer beatrix--to me it has the same heft as beatrice, but with a little more spunk.
other fusty old lady names that might work:

agatha (aggie)
adelaide (addie or della)
theodora (thea or dora)
dorothea (thea or dora)
frieda (or frida or freda--i think there are multiple spellings for this)
harriet (hattie, which i love)
alice (allie or elsie)
augusta (gussie, also adorable)
sylvia (sylvia)
edith (edie, also love it)

(i don't think of some of those--like alice, adelaide, and sylvia--as old lady names, but i know many, if not most, people do)

beatrice is a fine choice though, and if the only thing that is bothering you is popularity, then i wouldn't sweat it.

as for nathaniel...
maybe gabriel, reuben, thomas, peter, or joel...?

my instinct is to pronounce cael like "cale", but that's just because i went to a school with a cale (it's just like the first syllable of caleb, in case it isn't clear). but i can also see how cael might be like "kyle."

also, zoerhenne, do you pronounce gabriel and gideon with the /j/ sound?

and sarah smile, i just realized that i repeated a lot of your name suggestions--sorry!

I'm six and a half months along with twin boys. We've had names picked out for the last two months. Tonight my husband says,

"What are we naming the kids again? Thomas and what?"

"Edward," I replied.

"Edward?"

"Yeah."

"I don't like Edward."

"What do you mean, you don't like Edward?"

"Ehhhh, I just don't like it."

"But you liked it before...?"

"I don't remember talking about Edward."

"But...but...GAAAAAH!"

Now I get to start from scratch. Again. We've got Alexander (Xander), Nathaniel (Nathan), and Thomas (Tommy) to work from. Last name is one syllable that sounds like Mull.

Before Edward we toyed with Gabriel, and tonight we talked about Benjamin, but I'm just not psyched about anything but Edward. Probably because I've been calling them Thomas and Edward (or Tommy and Teddy) for two months. GAHHHH. Excuse me while I go bang my head on something.

LAURA! Do you have any stunning, fascinating twin-name research or commentary with which to entertain a very cranky, very pregnant woman banging her head against a brick wall (coughHUSBANDcough) trying to name twins? I'd love to read a blog on it. :P

Orthodox Jews can be pretty casual about filing marriage licenses, being that the religious marriage is perceived to be the 'real' one, with the civil one just being useful for things like taxes. My husband and I forgot our civil license entirely at our wedding - we'd gotten it, but neglected to have the rabbi sign it (we were busy!) I have Orthodox friends who've civilly married their fiances early when it was convenient (eg to get out of a requirement to live on campus in college, even though they weren't 'really' marrying for another several months), or who've only dealt with it years later, when it was necessary for insurance purposes. I've never discussed filing for SSNs with other Orthodox Jews, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were a similarly casual approach of only bothering when it was necessary, or when one got around to it, rather than making it a high priority like most American parents seem to do.

There is definitely an idea of not telling other people the name before you name the baby, which is true for both boys and girls. The reason you might not be aware of the custom for girls is that most Orthodox Jewish girls are named earlier, as there's no need to wait for the circumcision on the eighth day as there is for boys. That said, I (female) was only named on my seventh day of life, which I don't think is at all unusual, although more than that is seen as a bit odd. I have NEVER had anyone Orthodox tell me the name of their baby before they named it, and it's very unusual to even inform others of the gender before birth, if you know (most of my friends and relatives choose not to find out). Being Orthodox myself, OJs make up the overwhelming majority of my social circle, so I am not talking about just a few cases here. I actually find the common American practice of referring to your future baby by name while it's still in utero very strange, although I realize that this is just my own cultural biases showing.

And Yael is pronounced 'Yah-el.' It's a very common Hebrew name. To me, Dovie is a childish nickname for Dov, a common boy's name, which is why I found the female Dovie very funny in Anne of Windy Poplars. The Jewish boy's name is pronounced like the past tense of 'dive', but I've never been sure how to pronounce the girl's name.

Laura, I don't know that 'the broader range of namest hat might be used by Modern Orthodox and others' shows up in the data. While Moshe, Chaya, Chana, etc. are certainly common enough in the Modern Orthodox community, probably the majority of children with those names are ultra-Orthodox, where naming patterns are both more traditional and restricted to a relatively narrow list. I've looked, and you don't see even the very common MO names on the top 1000 list, as there aren't enough of us. Even if you had data on Israeli names, that would only be somewhat relevant, as non ultra-Orthodox Israelis are much more avant garde in naming trends than American Orthodox Jews, and only a few Israeli names get to be at all popular here, usually ten or twenty years after they get popular in Israel.

gilab--that's all fascinating! thanks for the inside scoop. :]

melissam--ha! that's very funny (although i'm sure you weren't laughing). honestly, i like all of the names you mentioned--alexander, nathaniel, thomas, gabriel, and benjamin. i think i like alexander and benjamin together (xander and benji?). i also like thomas and gabriel together. but honestly, i think they all match well (except not nathaniel and gabriel--the endings are too similar for me). twins, though, how exciting! :] i remember you mentioning it a while back, but i'd forgotten...

NatalieHastings--I prefer Graham with Colin.

Laaemma--I love Beatrice (although I also prefer Beatrix), and Nathaniel is a nice choice for a boy (lots of nn possibilities).

MelissaM--I like Thomas and Gabriel. Tom and Gabe sound great together.

GilaB--Thanks for the detail. I figured it might be something to do with a lower level of concern about civil paperwork, and was pleased to see that confirmed.

MelissaM- another vote for Thomas and Gabriel, although I also love Nathaniel, Alexander and Benjamin. So sorry your husband has 'baby brain';)!

NatalieHastings--I *love* Graham, and I think it sounds awesome with Colin--this would definitely be my pick. Ian and Quentin are only ok for me (and I don't love Quentin with Colin because they both start with the K sound, 2 syllables, and end with the "in" sound--too similar for me).

Laeema--add me to the list that prefers Beatrix, but I think Beatrice and Nathaniel are both nice choices.

MelissaM--Oh, Tommy and Teddy *are* cute. Husbands, alway causing trouble, huh? Well, Gabriel is the best for me off your remaining list, to go with Thomas. Have you given any thought to Peter, Paul, William, or Charles? I think all would go wonderfully with Thomas, as well. I used to love Alexander, but it seems too saturated for me now--I do still love Alistair, if that does anything for you.

emilyrae-No, I do not pronounce Gideon or Gabriel with a J sound. I should've said G/J earlier but didn't feel like making the correction after the fact before. So the above names start the same as goat, gather, garage, etc.

MelissaM-that is too bad that your dh is not on board with you, but I'm sure it will work out in the long run. Thomas and Alexander is my vote though I do rather like all the combos.

GilaB-thanks for the insight!

ah, hyz...alistair! i have a serious love affair with that name.

zoerhenne, okay, i thought you didn't! i mean...yes. you know so much about names, and so i thought such a thing would be very, very unlikely, but wanted to check, just in case. after all, gabriel is a much nicer sound than jabriel. i wouldn't want anyone to be in the dark about it. :]

emilyrae:

Regarding the elemental spirits in the last post, feel free to consider Cora an ondine. It's mythology, what works for you is best!

(I tend to use mythology to get a feel for what sort of names, hopes, and fears a parent has for a child. Sort of an "If you were a ___, what kind would you be?" sort of exercise.)

MelissaM:

Your husband's sudden dislike of Edward wouldn't have anything to do with the recent death of Edward Kennedy, would it?

Laaemma - I love Beatrice and am seriously considering it as a middle name for my next child. When it was still in first name contention, before my husband said no, the nn Trixie was one of my favorite things about the name.

Here are some alternatives:

Eloise (ellie)

Winnifred (Whinnie)

Mathilda (Millie or Tillie)

Antonia (Toni/Annie)

Calliope (Calli)

Slightly off topic - I met a woman, Tillie, at church the other day whose full name is Mathilda. I told her I was considering it for a mn of my child and she got a pained look on her face before saying, "Oh please don't do that to her!" She's in her 70s and is still mad at her parents!

As a point of interest related to Jewish naming--I have a friend who is very observant and who did absolutely nothing baby-related before the birth; they did not know the gender, did not work on the nursery, and did not name the baby until she was born. They ended up naming her Naomi--I have always thought that was a beautiful name.
Of topic, I could use some advice: what do you do with an intense feeling of name regret? My husband and I agreed on our son's name almost immediately. Even thought the name we chose was popular, it had meaning for us and we both loved it. We became pregnant with our daughter just a year later, and we just couldn't agree on anything. We eventually picked a name we both liked, but neither one of us loved. And although I had no idea at the time, the name is growing in popularity at an alarming rate. If I loved the name that would be one thing, but I'm afraid my daughter will be stuck with a date stamped name because I was negligent with my social security charts! :) Any advice or insights?

After the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, died in 1993, adherents of Chabad, or Lubavitch, have been naming their sons in droves after him. I'm certain that's where the spurt is coming from. Why it didn't chart until 2003 is unknown, but I'm sure that's what it is. Of every Lubavitch family I meet with young kids, at least 1 of their boys is named Menachem.

Zoerhenne, I'm guessing Celse might be Kelsey? Interesting to hear all the stories about Dovie - I had never seen that one before. I actually quite like the name Dove, like the bird, so I wouldn't mind Dovie as a nickname. Wasn't there someone here a few months ago who wanted to use Lovie and we were trying to brainstorm alternatives for her? We should have thought of that then. Ch@stelin is also nms, and was actually one of the surprises for me - were they trying to add an n to Chastity? Or just put together sounds they liked? It just doesn't quite 'work' as a name for me.

And as others have said, Yael doesn't rhyme with Kyle - it's yah-EL. Which I love, but would never use as a first name since Yale just isn't that appealing and I would get tired of correcting folks.

@zoerhenne: All 5 of us with the middle name Rose were named after a great-grandmother. I remember in the last post, someone said that Rose would have been a good choice, but might not seem Jewish enough. To me, Rose is a more Jewish name than Sarah is. And that was just my bunk. In our unit (about 50 or so girls) there are 6 Ali/Allie/Alys. An Allison, an Alison, an Alaina, an Alyssa, an Alexandra, and another who I'm not sure about. It's a common name at our camp.

@laaemma: I'm gonna go against the crowd and say I like Beatrice more than Beatrix, I do LOVE Trixie as a nn and Bea, but Trixie (it reminds me of a pixie, which your daughter will probably like) and Nathaniel is great. I typed Nathaniel and Beatrice into Nymbler and got:
Cordelia
Benjamin
John
Oliver
Caroline
Fredrick
Marion (g)
Viola
Diana
Susana
Victoria
Joseph
Bertram
Marina
Simon

@MelissaM: I agree Thomas and Gabriel (Tom and Gabe) are great! Henry also goes well with Thomas, if you're looking for names like that.

For Sophie-

Can you just call your daughter by her middle name or another nickname that you like? I know some people who are known by a name that's not technically on their birth certificate at all- for example a woman known as Quit@ who was born a Nicole.

sarah smile,
actually, if i recall, someone wanted to name their child "lovely."

@Sophie: Many members on my dad's side of the family and my maternal grandmother go exclusively by their middle names, some even have it on all legal forms excluding their birth certificates, why not call her by her mn. Or, there was a girl at camp who's name is Rebecca, but goes by P'nut at camp.

Sophie - Have you given any thought of a name that you and your husband DO love? If you two have and found a name and your little girl's not too old, I'd say you go ahead and get it officially changed. However, if you two can't find a name that you love, you might as well stick with what you have. I really like PJ's suggestions, using "nicknames" that have nothing to do with the birthname whatsoever.

@ MelissaM: What about Theodore? Then you still have Tommy & Teddy. I also know of several women who got their way name-wise on the day of birth while the hubs were overcome w/gratitude & emotion ;)

@ Sophie: My paternal grandpa was known as Charlie for as long as anyone living can recall but it has no relation to his given fn or mn. Then he named his second son (my dad) after himself (given name) and my dad grew up hating his name horribly and changed it legally at 18.

I don't know if that story helps or hurts you or has much correlation at all, but if you & your hub have equal regret I'd say change it asap, whether legally or by using mn or nn of any choosing!

@ GilaB: Thanks for the insight - I love to expand my cultural awareness!

I've noticed the changes in data between years before; even though in most cases the rankings and percentages don't change much I notice the updates with an increase in the number of babies with a particular name. I've even noticed occassional changes to the data from lists of years and decades past (such as the year I was born, 1985). Which leads me to a question: If someone legally changes their first name (for whatever reason), does that get reflected in the stats? If not, then those must be people who (or whose parents) have not had anything done goverment-related that requires a SSN (including taxes) until they got SSNs as adults recently (i.e. in the past few years). (I know that someone immigrating to the U.S. and obtaining a SSN doesn't change the stats, since it mentions on the site that it's restricted to births in the U.S.)

The statement about Orthodox Jews waiting to obtain a SSN for their babies seemed strange at first to me, since even they would need a number to claim their children on their taxes.

Laura asked if anyone knew of any other cultures that follow the delayed naming and registering pattern..I would suggest non-observant,crazy busy chefs are a possible group to investigate.:) I have direct info on two who left the hospital with "Baby Boy" and it is now four days old, no name in sight and Dad working a double!

@Sophie: I would say it depends on how old your daughter is. I remember at my son's 4 mo dr appt, the dr said his name and he looked at her...so he knew his name at 4 mo old. That said, the idea of using her middle name is very common. Also, I went through a phase where I really didn't like my son's name (due mostly to its popularity) and wished we had gone with one of our other options. So I would also say it depends on how long you have felt this way. As a Jennifer, though I've given my parents loads of crap about my name choice, on a daily basis it really does not bother me.