Uncommon Name | Imamother

amother

Goldenrod

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 2:27 pm

I think it's selfish...why do that to your kid

amother

Eggshell

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 2:39 pm

I would possibly either use a second name or use a nickname.

amother

Molasses

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 2:42 pm

I have an uncommon name and hate it so absoloutely not. It’s so uncommon there’s not a single girl with that name in dd’s school of well over a thousand girls. My family knows that ad meah vaesrim they should not name after me.

amother

Royalblue

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 2:43 pm

I would, and just add a conventional name and call by that. It would still be meaningful to me that the person’s name lives on, even if my child isn’t called that on a regular basis.

amother

Babypink

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 3:00 pm

2 of my kids have uncommon names, named after grandparents. They are not obscure unheard of names, just less common.

amother

Chambray

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 3:26 pm

I love uncommon names. But I would never give a name that's unheard of or sound weird or anything like that. So I guess to me the question is how uncommon and how strange sounding.

Like I would happily give the name Azariah, but not Evilmeredoch

amother

Periwinkle

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 3:29 pm

There's uncommon, like Nechemia or Tzivia - meaning, there probably won't be another in their class, but no-one would raise their eyebrows. Then there's uncommon that 95% of people who hear it go, "What kind of name is that?!"
Which is it?
(Also there are names that are uncommon because they are widely considered to be ugly, and therefore most people won't use the name.)

amother

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 3:33 pm

What about an uncommon Yiddish name? Like Shprintza, Yenta, Genendel, or Zelda? Or Zusha? (I happen to know people with all of those names, and I like them very much! But the names aren't common.)
Or a very uncommon one, like Fradchin?

Brit in Israel

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 3:36 pm

I wish I could but DH is very against it. I would love to call after my grandmother that I was extremely close to.
I mean uncommon / going out of style for this generation where we live, not strange or weird names.
TBH I do understand him, my middle name is slightly more uncommon but not weird and until a few years ago I wouldn't tell anyone it, I was self conscious.

amother

Cobalt

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 3:38 pm

amother OP wrote:

No, No No!
Maybe as a 2nd name.
I have a cousin with one of those names and feel bad for her every day.

amother

Green

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 3:39 pm

Why would you want a common name?
I grew up being Chana P. We also had Chana C, H, S, T and two Chana K’s. I absolutely HATED it.

Give your kid their own name.
I gave mine a different name and lo and behold, in the entire school there are 2, but the other one is in her class and they have the same last initial.

Comptroller

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 3:51 pm

Maybe you can find a variation - like Noya for Yaffa/Shaindy or Simcha for Fradchen. Genendel is probably the russian spelling of hindy - ayala. Shprinze is from esperanza - hope - tikva.

ETA:
Zelda seems to be a female form of Selig - and could be translated Bracha or Simcha

Last edited by Comptroller on Mon, Apr 08 2024, 4:06 pm; edited 2 times in total

amother

Chambray

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 4:00 pm

amother OP wrote:

No way. It's not fair to the child. The only one I would consider is Zelda. It just has a very normal soundingness to it. The others are really bad.

I mean, you would call your child Yenta? Shprintzy? Are you aware of those connotations?

amother

Chambray

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 4:01 pm

If you absolutely must, here's a trick. Give the kid two names. When they're a baby, call them by the weird name, and then let them switch when they get older.

amother

Almond

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 5:26 pm

I only give my kids uncommon names (and I also grew up with an uncommon name). It is great to be unique.

So I would, if it were in Hebrew.

We don't give Yiddish names ourselves, so I wouldn't give a yiddish name, unusual or otherwise, but that might depend on your circle.

amother

Tuberose

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 5:30 pm

Unless I was in a chasidish community I wouldn’t use those names and I happen to have a Yachne and Shprintze to name after but I am not going to.
I would do for example Bracha Yachne or Tova Shprintze and call them the first name. I wouldn’t do that with a typical name I just disliked (like if I didn’t like Rivka or Chaya for whatever personal taste reason). But with certain Yiddish names I don’t think it’s fair to the kid.

Goldengoose

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 5:31 pm

I know yenty's genenendy, shprintzy and zeldy. they are such charming sweet people and I'd have no problem naming that if it was meaningful to me.

I never heard of fradchen. is that a real name?

there's a difference.

amother

Stone

Mon, Apr 08 2024, 5:32 pm

There are certain uncommon names which are common in certain families or communities. My grandfather's name was uncommon but now that he has 20 great-grandsons named after him it's not so uncommon. Plus there are couple of well known people with that name.