Celebrities aren't the only ones giving their babies unusual names. Compared with decades ago, parents are choosing less common names for kids, which could suggest an emphasis on uniqueness and individualism, according to new research.
Essentially, today's kids (and later adults) will stand out from classmates. For instance, in the 1950s, the average first-grade class of 30 children would have had at least one boy named James (top name in 1950), while in 2013, six classes will be necessary to find only one Jacob, even though that was the most common boys' name in 2007.
The researchers suspect the uptick of unusual baby names could be a sign of a change in culture from one that applauded fitting in to today's emphasis on being unique and standing out. When taken too far, however, this individualism could also lead to narcissism, according to study researcher Jean Twenge, of San Diego State University.
I think it is an indication of our culture becoming more narcissistic," Twenge said.
Past research has shown that back in the 1950s parents placed a lot of importance on a child being obedient, which has gone way down. "Parenting has become more permissive and more child-focused and [parents] are much more reluctant to be authority figures," Twenge said.
Parents Choosing More Unusual Baby Names Now - Yahoo! News
This is one of my pet peeves. It annoys me to no end when people stick apostrophes in the middle of a first name.
Anyone disagree with this?
I have a friend who has twin boys and a daughter 18 months younger than her brothers.
The boys both have normal names......Johnathan and Jason.
Her daughter's name is D'Anne, pronounced like Dee-Anne.
I've never particularly cared for the way she spelled her daughter's name, but to each their own I suppose.
I have a sister with a boy's name. It's the maiden name of one of the grandmothers in our family, so there's a good reason why she's running around with a strange name.
As a child her name drove her crazy to the point she tried to "change her name" in fouth grade, insisting family members, teachers and peers call her by her middle name (which is a common girls name). Didn't work. Nobody made the switch, so she was stuck with what she got at birth.
She's a little bit younger than me (I'm 47), and through the years her first name has helped her AND hindered her. She's gotten jobs because people remembered her out of a large pool of applicants as "that girl with the boys name".
OTOH, dating was always tough for her (until she met her husband), because it took a *really* strong guy, willing to put up with no-end of guys ribbing, name calling and poking fun by his buddies about 'Hey, you and Joe gonna be making out tonight?" to huge roars of laughter.
I learned from my sister's experience. My daughter is the only female out of my parents 5 grandchildren, and she has a *very* feminie name, which I purposefully selected after watching my sister deal with the harsh realities of being "blessed" with her unconventional name.
My $1.50 is this: Don't do this to your child, if you really love them. Don't name your daughter Joe or Mary John, or something else along those lines. Don't name your son Dana or Tracy either. Don't do that to them.
My sister, even in middle age, would still tell you it's a PITA to be a "Girl named Joe" (not her actual name). It's caused hasseles with health insurance, credit reports, bills, medical records, etc etc etc etc.....the list is endless.
