Is it better to go for a unique name or something more mainstream. Does it matter?

I was born with the name Leilana, very unique...never met anyone with it, and I have faired ok aside from people mispronouncing it. How do people with more common names fee? People with unique names? Love you imput.

Is it better to go for a unique name or something more mainstream. Does it matter?
I was born in a part of the country where my name was very popular...I HATED it, being called Chelsea C was embarrassing to me! I wanted my own name. When I was 13 years old my family moved to a different part of the country and most people had never heard of my name before...I loved it that way! I was finally the only Chelsea, and thats the way I like it!! On the other hand my husbands name is Leslie...yeah Leslie a girls name. I don't know what his parents were thinking but he hated being called Leslie so in 3rd grade he switched to Brian and when it came to naming our son it was horrible trying to convince him to give him a different name, which I thought was okay as long as it wasn't a girl name, we named him Kaden. I had never even heard of it before 2 days after he was born a friend I hadn't talked to in a long time told me she was naming her baby Caden and then a few weeks later my preachers wife told me her daughter named her baby Caden...we now know probably ten Kadens already, I was so dissapointed that he won't have a name of his own but at least it is spelled differently :)
Reply:I would go with whatever your heart tells you. I have a very common name with at least 20 different spellings to it and i have to keep spelling it out to them. But I do like unusual/unique names. I hope this helps! Good Luck!
Reply:A Rose by any other name is still a Rose...
Reply:My name is a little unique it is Chanteyl, but the correct pronunciation of it is Shen-tall most of the people around here call me Shaun-tell (WRONG!) and i correct them, and now i just settle for people calling me Shan-tell. The next big thing was people spelling it wrong. Not wanting the c trying to put an s, saying that the y doesn't make sense. But, all in all, i do LOVE my name. I feel it gives me a little sense of uniqueness. Like there is no one else like me. And i love that feeling. I won't lie to you though, when i was younger, and just starting school. I did wish that i had a regular name so that i could fit in with all the Ashley's and Brookes and stuff. Especially when we started learning our sounds and learned the CH makes the sound like in "church" but in my name it made the SH sound. I got picked on a litle about that. But as i grew older and discovered that all of the Ashley's and Brookes had a whole lot of other people with the same name as them, and a lot of the times they didn't know when someone was talking to them or someone else, i started feeling special. Like i was just one in a million. And i was, and i still am. No matter how many people tell me that my name is wrong or that it makes no sense, or that my mom must've spelled it wrong (yes, a TEACHER actually told me that) i will always know that my name is unique and part of what makes me me. And i would absolutely incourage people to give their children names with a little pizzaz rather than the names that everyone else is naming their children.
Reply:I love unique names. I am so over hearing people name their kids Emily or Jack. My name is Rhiannon (after the Fleetwood Mac song), and I have not meat many other people who also have this name.





I have 3 sisters whose names are Sheridan, Lindsay %26amp; Kaitie (no, that's not a typo, it's how my dad and step mum spelled it). My best friend's name is Nerina, which I had never heard before I met her.





If I ever have children, I have picked the names Eveysha or Indah for a girl and Zacheriiah or Benedict for a boy.





Go with your heart and don't be afraid to be different!
Reply:I don't think it matters as long as you remeber the baby is going to grow up, and at some point in their life they are going to have to be professional! So you don't want to name the baby something childish.
Reply:If you choose an unusual name it can be both positive and negative for the child. Negative in that people will constantly mispronounce or misspell the name and this will be frustrating. I would suggest a first name that is more traditional and a middle name that reflects your desire for something more unusual. As the child grows then there are options of choosing one or the other according to the personality of the child.
Reply:Always a good conversation starter when you're older if you have a unique name-but like you say as long as you don't mind people getting it wrong sometimes!


I have a plain name, so does my husband. Both of us have nicknames, so we called our daughter Indianna (we live in Australia) which is unusual here, but also gives her the chance of having the shorter version of Indi if she likes.
Reply:I personally don't think it matters. I have a very popular name but I don't mind. I did when I was in High school and there were 14 Amanda's in my grade but the older I got the more I came to enjoy my name. Sometimes unique names aren't always that great. They are misspelled, mispronounced, and sometimes made fun of. Just because I share my name with others doesn't make me less of an individual. The name doesn't make the person, the person makes the person. The only name that is important is the last name because that is your heritage.
Reply:I have a common name, however it is spell differently. I feel that what ever name you give you child, they will like. Just don't give them some thing crazy like diamond or princess. Because the will get picked on at school.
Reply:its a personal choice, I think whatever name a person has, becomes a part of them and therefore has little to do with how they feel. Mispronounciations happen just as much with last names, and so everyone is prone to them growing up. We all feel unique because we are, some of us have unique nicknames to each their own...
Reply:It does not matter if you go with unique name or something more mainstream as long as you like the name. You could go with a more common name and just change the spelling a bit to make it unique. Example: Karen could be Carin; Kathy could be Kathi.
Reply:I gave my daughter a unique name, but not something I made up or a random noun (like Apple or Pilot).


I wanted her to not have to share her name with others in school - if she hears her name, there's no question who is being referred to!
Reply:i like mainstream names with a bit different spelling. i've never met anyone with my spelling. Meghan is a common name or was...but not that spelling, i have to spell it for everyone but ive gotten used to it and i dont care if they misspell it. its not a big deal, but at least ppl can pronounce it!
Reply:I say the unique name is better.have you ever heard the name Hussam it's my name.Whatever it dosn't matter.


But the choice is up to you.
Reply:I have always heard that a child's name should be Unique without being weird. Some guy wanted to name his daughter Metallica. Get real. Don't take a common name and spell it differently to be original. My first name is Micheal due to a mistake made on my birth certificate. I've been called Michelle too many times. And very often "well-meaning" people decide that you mispelled your own name so they correct it for you. I had to get special permission to register for my first semester of college courses because they spelled my name the "normal" way on my student ID.
Reply:unique- your child is one of a kind. let them stand out in a crowd! Congrats!
Reply:i like unique names but i wouldn't name my child that would be hard for people to understand or pronounce. its embarrassing to have to repeat your name. but at the same time i don't think i would name my child something that is super common like Jane or john. its like giving your child the last name smith
Reply:It really depends on the person. I think more than anything, a person will like their name if they know that mom or dad spent alot of time picking a name JUST for them. It is way more meaningful to know you have a name that means something special to your parents, or that is part of your family's heritage than to hear "Oh, well it was a popular name then," or "Well, I just liked the sound of it."





I guess what I'm saying is it is best to pick a name that is special and meaningful whether that name happens to be unique, or if it so common people on here will tell you it's overused! ;-)





BTW, Leilana is a very pretty name. I bet it means something special....
Reply:It really doesn't matter. It's the person that counts and not by their name.
Reply:I think there's room for unique names... and then there are names for which there is no room. I struggle to understand why someone would make up a name for their child, completely ignoring the fact that the poor child will grow up to be an adult who is going to probably resent the daylights out of having to spell and pronounce their name over and over and over again...





Also, names can be unique for many reasons. The sound of the name itself can be unique, or the spelling... or the meaning behind the name. I gave my children pretty simple names, but they're each drawn from both sides of their family... so they have unique meaning...





My dad's name is a made-up name... was misspelled on his birth certificate even... (which caused huge problems when he tried to get a passport several years ago!) He has spent his whole life either pronouncing his name for people, or spelling it repeatedly... or just giving up and saying, "Just call me Pete."
Reply:I think there are pros and cons to both. If you have a unique name people may mispronounce it and if you have a common name there may be a lot of kids with your name in the same class at school. My name is Erin and I love it, but my brother's name is Adrian. When my mom used to introduce us, people sometimes thought I was Adrian (Adrienne) and he was Erin (Aaron). I guess it's the parent's choice. My kids are Sierra and Cade. I tried to pick names that weren't overly common, but names that people would be familiar with and could pronounce. I also like the names Bryce and Bailey. I think you have a really pretty and original name!
Reply:I personally think it's better for a unique name. Not necessarily one that you can just make up, but a name that's not so generic like Sarah or Ashley or Brittany. I have a common name, Amy, and sometimes I do get pretty annoyed with it, so I usually use my middle name, Gemma.
Reply:I have a common name, and I want all my kids to be named with unique names. I don't see anything wrong with a unique name as long as it's not spelled so differently that people don't know what it is supposed to be. I think it is cute to use boy names for girls, such as Dane, Peyton, Micah, Andi, Ryan (spelled Ryen), Kole, and put a dainty middle name with it like Andi Elizabeth, or Micah Claire, Ryan Grace, or Allie Kole... it makes it unique to call them by both names too.. hope I was somewhat helpful, Unique is definately good..
Reply:I think I have a pretty common name ( Dawn ) and I have always hated it a always wished growing up that my parents would have named me something different until one day this really nice old man where I worked asked me if my name was any thing like Delta Dawn and at the time I had never heard of it then I got the song that he was talking about and played it then I finally liked my name. It isn't the same but it is in way way to me. My first daughter that I have I'm naming her Delta Dawn after me and the song.
Reply:Unique is ok as long as it isn't wierd. My daughters name is Jaiden. It fits her well and I like it. My son on the other hand is named Corin, I didn't like it but my ex and I had a deal that he would name the boy and I would name the girl. Well I couldn't change his mind, and I thought it was better than Oliver, so it stayed, but now it just sounds like a girls name. Try the name out on a lot of people and ask for their honest opinion. If most people give you good feedback and you like the name go for it.
Reply:my parents named me elana but its pronounced like alana. Growing up i hated that it was different as i could never find it on a mug, T-shirts, keyrings etc without getting it made especially. plus people mispronouncing it or mis-spelling it drove me crazy. But now where i live and work no one else spells it the same and i like that its different and uncoomon in that respect i named my children riley and lawsen and in their age groups they are not common names and i love it!!
Reply:Go with what feels right to you! I have a common name and yet, I have always wished for an unusual name! I think it is that "what we do not have, we want" human syndrome! So, to me, it really doesn't matter! Common or unique, most likely your child will desire another name anyway. So, choose something that means something to you or, the baby's daddy!
Reply:I like uniques names. If you are worried about ones that people can say there are plenty of names that are unique but not hard on your mouth. Youmight have to dig a lot in the baby name books.
Reply:i would go with a semi unique name. not comon but not like totally weird. My name was unique when i was named it, but now its turned into a trendy name, which is annoying. I hate there being like four people in my grade with the same name as me haha.
Reply:The purpose of a name is to distinguish one person from another. With that in mind, you don't want to stand out too much, or you will be made fun of in school, and possibly not taken seriously as an adult.