Name Trends

Traditional or Inventive?

February 18, 2008

My Name is Earl star Jason Lee is infamous for naming his son Pilot Inspektor. Hollywood or mainstream, it seems to be a trend to give offspring unusual and inventive names. But some parents are still sticking with the old tried and true traditional monikers.

Which is your preference?

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20 Comments

yeokr 4 years 36 weeks

i was always against traditional names when i was younger but now i prefer them, although i am more likely to go with surnames and family names. i am originally from mississippi and always disliked double names for girls but now i like them if done a certain way. i like traditional girl names paired with surnames or boy names. ultimately my favorite names that are also family names are ruby, lily, greer, mack, scott, stuart but paired with traditional favorites like margaret or miriam: margaret scott, stuart greer... i like being different from others - my name is spelled kaitie, which i have always had to correct (it comes from kaitlin), but i like those different names to reflect something personal.

yeokr 4 years 36 weeks

i was always against traditional names when i was younger but now i prefer them, although i am more likely to go with surnames and family names. i am originally from mississippi and always disliked double names for girls but now i like them if done a certain way. i like traditional girl names paired with surnames or boy names. ultimately my favorite names that are also family names are ruby, lily, greer, mack, scott, stuart but paired with traditional favorites like margaret or miriam: margaret scott, stuart greer...i like being different from others - my name is spelled kaitie, which i have always had to correct (it comes from kaitlin), but i like those different names to reflect something personal.

milosmommy 5 years 13 weeks

We went with traditional but uncommon I guess. Being that my husband and I have such common names (Jennifer & Michael) we wanted our son to not have to be 1 of 10 of the same name in his class like us.

jennifer76 5 years 13 weeks

I've never been a fan of the "creative" spellings. Or the completely made up names - I had friends who named their baby a mash up of their names Stacy + Brandon = Stabron. Weird name. My son has a very traditional name. My daughter has a traditional French name because my husband and I took French together in college for years and that meant something to us. But, in this part of the country nobody has ever heard of it. Most people seem to think we made it up. :? Guess you just can't win, might as well go with something that you like... 8)

jennifer76 5 years 13 weeks

I've never been a fan of the "creative" spellings. Or the completely made up names - I had friends who named their baby a mash up of their names Stacy + Brandon = Stabron. Weird name.My son has a very traditional name. My daughter has a traditional French name because my husband and I took French together in college for years and that meant something to us. But, in this part of the country nobody has ever heard of it. Most people seem to think we made it up. :? Guess you just can't win, might as well go with something that you like... 8)

kikidawn 5 years 13 weeks

I love Traditional names... I also love 'modern' names like Emerson for a girl. (That was my Great-Grandma's maiden name :))Kellys, I love the name Charlotte... very beautiful!!Referencing what lickety split was saying... Just because your name is spelled the common way doesn't mean you won't have to spell it *Every* time you give someone your name. My name is Crystal... which is the accepted way to spell the name 'right' (it's even in the freaking dictionary that way! lol) but people misspell it all the time! (Yes, I'm bitter :P) I am *always* having to say "With a 'C' not a 'K'... no 'H'... and a 'Y'... So just b/c your name is spelled 'right' doesn't mean it will always be spelled 'right'. Sorry... it's a rant I have all the time... I hate it when people misspell my name ;)

kikidawn 5 years 13 weeks

I love Traditional names... I also love 'modern' names like Emerson for a girl. (That was my Great-Grandma's maiden name :)) Kellys, I love the name Charlotte... very beautiful!! Referencing what lickety split was saying... Just because your name is spelled the common way doesn't mean you won't have to spell it *Every* time you give someone your name. My name is Crystal... which is the accepted way to spell the name 'right' (it's even in the freaking dictionary that way! lol) but people misspell it all the time! (Yes, I'm bitter :P) I am *always* having to say "With a 'C' not a 'K'... no 'H'... and a 'Y'... So just b/c your name is spelled 'right' doesn't mean it will always be spelled 'right'. Sorry... it's a rant I have all the time... I hate it when people misspell my name ;)

uptown_girl 5 years 13 weeks

I agree with traditional but uncommon. When I have kids (in about 5 years or so) I am thinking Elliott & Margaret as my top boy & girl choices. Elliott is my bf's mother's maiden name, and Margaret is my grandmother's name.

meumitsuki 5 years 13 weeks

Traditional, but not common. My husband and I spend alot of time looking at the meanings of the names. Our daughter's full name means blessed resurrection of light. We hope that brings her good luck.

lickety split 5 years 13 weeks

i always feel sorry for kids with obviously made up names, laquishanita, chandley, that type of thing. those are names of kids i have met btw, not names i made up. and unique spellings are (imho) a bad choice because you spend a lifetime correcting people, forms, credit companines, having computers spit your information back because the clerk typed it the "way it suspossed to be". take it from someone who doesn't have an "e" on the end of valeri. irritating to have to go over it and over it all the freaking time. my middle daughter has 3 olivia's in her class. who would have thought that would happen. you never can tell what names will catch on. we like the traditional and i'm happy we went with those for our kids.

lickety split 5 years 13 weeks

i always feel sorry for kids with obviously made up names, laquishanita, chandley, that type of thing. those are names of kids i have met btw, not names i made up. and unique spellings are (imho) a bad choice because you spend a lifetime correcting people, forms, credit companines, having computers spit your information back because the clerk typed it the "way it suspossed to be". take it from someone who doesn't have an "e" on the end of valeri. irritating to have to go over it and over it all the freaking time.my middle daughter has 3 olivia's in her class. who would have thought that would happen. you never can tell what names will catch on. we like the traditional and i'm happy we went with those for our kids.

RobinFabulous 5 years 13 weeks

My children have traditional, biblical names. Hannah, Jonah, and Rebekah. I used family names for their middle names, but I really wish I had used my maiden name for my son's name. It's very "hip" to do that in this area... I like for names to mean something as well

CaterpillarGirl 5 years 13 weeks

I go for traditional names, names that actually MEAN SOMETHING! either from familial, ancestral, or Sentimental. I have come across in my work so many names that leave me open mouthed and shocked, that people would 1) think thier kids wont get teased 2) think thier kids can SPELL the darn thing and 3) think thier future teachers could pronounce it correctly! Got a call today, someone had named thier kid Biyance, didnt even bother to spell it the same as Beyonce, needed it to be slightly different. I love Robert Smith you dont see me naming my kid Rabert.

CaterpillarGirl 5 years 13 weeks

I go for traditional names, names that actually MEAN SOMETHING! either from familial, ancestral, or Sentimental. I have come across in my work so many names that leave me open mouthed and shocked, that people would 1) think thier kids wont get teased 2) think thier kids can SPELL the darn thing and 3) think thier future teachers could pronounce it correctly!Got a call today, someone had named thier kid Biyance, didnt even bother to spell it the same as Beyonce, needed it to be slightly different. I love Robert Smith you dont see me naming my kid Rabert.

kellys 5 years 13 weeks

for our daughter, we searched for a name that was traditional but uncommon. we wanted something people would recognize, but didn't know a bunch of people with the name, or, more importantly, people who were naming their children the same. i was one of 9 kelly's in my graduating class of only 136, and i wanted her to avoid that, if possible. we went with "charlotte."

kellys 5 years 13 weeks

Ericka 5 years 13 weeks

I like inventive, but not to the point they are SOO off the wall. Like poor Nicholas Cage's kid, Kal-El after some start wars person, or some of the others mentioned.I think Angelina has done inventive right for the most part Zahara and Maddox are just enough off traditional but not ridiculous.

Ericka 5 years 13 weeks

I like inventive, but not to the point they are SOO off the wall. Like poor Nicholas Cage's kid, Kal-El after some start wars person, or some of the others mentioned. I think Angelina has done inventive right for the most part Zahara and Maddox are just enough off traditional but not ridiculous.

faerymagick15 5 years 13 weeks

I like traditional, but I also like inventive names as long as they aren't too "out there" like Pilot Inspektor or Moxie Crimefighter. Even Apple and Moses are a bit too much for me, but traditional names spelled differently can be nice or paired with a unique middle name.

gab6784 5 years 13 weeks

I like more Traditional names mixed with unique ones.

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