[Leigh131313]

So M is in hockey now. He's 4 and I have to tell ya - nothing is cuter than a rink full of 4 year olds. Anyhoo - I've been getting to know the parents and there is one mom that I seem to chat with more than the others. She has two little boys and the youngest one has my current favorite boy name. I actually had a moment early on when I thought - hmm, maybe we shouldn't be friends. LOL!!

Has anyone picked a name even tho they know someone (even if not a close friend/aquaintance) that has or their kids have that name?

Just curious!! I've always felt once you know someone you can't use that name (unless you are naming your kid after that person)

[calee]

I am in the camp that says use whatever name you want. I have friends that get all freaked out when someone "steals" their name, and I just don't think it is a big deal. Your kid is going to have their name for the rest of their life. They probably will NOT be around said individual for the rest of their life, and even if they are, MOST of us have met someone with our same name.

It is just not a dealbreaker for me. There are much more important elements to naming, IMO.

[jp4ga]

We gave our daughter a name that we like, it just so happens that some our friends have a daughter with the same name. Their daughter is 8 and ours is an infant. No big deal. The name fits her.

I am a school teacher and had a horrible time naming both of my children. The names my husband liked where the names of the worst kids in the school, or the school bullly etc. I was hard to find a name that I did not have some kind of experience with either good or bad. So 12 years goes by and I never had a kid in class with my sons name, then last year I got a kid with the same name. Thank God I did not have this boy before I had my son, or my son would not have his name.

[Fran27]

Yup... I always loved the name Christopher, and met a friend (online) 1.5 year ago whose name is Kristopher. We spent a lot of time playing online games together, although we weren't as close anymore when we got the call, but it still felt kinda weird to call our son Christopher, especially as he wasn't very nice at times... But I figured he'd be my son forever and friends come and go anyway... and yup we're not in contact anymore. I used to have a very good friend with the same name 10 years ago too.

[devildogwife]

There's another HLHS baby just a few months younger than Cameron, named Connor. We know his family pretty welll as we always seem to end up in the hospital together at the same time. Plus, our son's have the same surgeon. I really like the name Connor, but I'd feel weird using it now. I'd totally feel like we stole it from them. I think we'll have to use something else for baby #2.

[karla-k]

Some very good friends named their son Josiah. We had had that name picked for a long time. We still named our son Josiah. I said something about using the same name, but DH pointed out that we can't let what other people name their kids decide what we'll name our's.

Turns out, we now know 3 or 4 Josiahs

We also really like the name our friends used for their 2nd son, but when DH brought that name up, I told him NO b/c our friends might think we were totally copying them then!!!

[kittymom]

I probably shouldn't, but I totally let such situations ruin a name for me. I used to love the name Oliver, but then this girl I went to high school with named her baby Oliver. We used to go scrapbooking at the same place, so we'd run into each other now and then, but I haven't seen her in two years now. I shouldn't let it bother me, and yet it does. We've picked out a boy and girl name - both pretty unpopular in general - yet I'm so nervous I'm going to meet someone with our chosen names before we get our baby!

[aallen25]

I am totally weird about names. I refuse to use any name that already belongs to a relative or friend/friend's child...unless of course you're naming your child after a certain person. Also, when I hear a name I like the first thing I do is go to the soc. sec. website and see where it has ranked for the past few years. If it is too high of a ranking I won't use it...like I said, I'm weird about names.

[devildogwife]

Originally Posted by aallen25

Also, when I hear a name I like the first thing I do is go to the soc. sec. website and see where it has ranked for the past few years. If it is too high of a ranking I won't use it...like I said, I'm weird about names.

I do that too!

[Stormster]

You guys we picked what we THOUGHT were original (not being used much NOW at least) first and middle names. BOTH are in the top three this year!

So yes I highly suggest checking that list.

[nikkianni]

Originally Posted by aallen25

Also, when I hear a name I like the first thing I do is go to the soc. sec. website and see where it has ranked for the past few years. If it is too high of a ranking I won't use it...

Me too! It's why Jackson is off our boy name list.

[aallen25]

I guess it's not so weird!

[ourdreamcametru]

I like different names although, although our boys have different middle names they go by their first names, Zack and Alex. Zack is a Zackary and Alex is just Alex. We really have not run into too many others with their names, but I think they are pretty common names. With our girl we wanted something that would stand by alone and her not have to use a last initial, I think we got it with Castle LOL. If I really liked a name I wouldn't let it bother me if someone else I knew used it too unless it was a name that truly meant something to them, sort of like Castle does to us. Unique names are off limits I think because that person put a lot of thought into the name

[Fran27]

We named our kids knowing very well that their names would be at the top of the list... Now I almost feel guilty when I give their names! People must think 'oh, HOW original!' and roll their eyes... Ugh!

I've always loved both names though, and that's coming from France where the names are not common at all... I guess I just like more 'traditional' names.

Why do people have the same tastes I do???

[Stormster]

I like traditional names too, esp. for boys.