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Choosing your baby’s name can be an exciting task, but it’s also one of the most challenging tasks as a parent. The name you pick for your child becomes your child’s first identity. That’s what they will respond to for all their life (or at least until they are old enough to change it if they wish to). Naturally, it’s a high-pressure job, and most parents spend a lot of time crafting the perfect name for their child. The name choosing process usually happens by searching for a name that’s perfect for your little one and also has a profound meaning. It could either be the name of an ancestor, a family name, or simply anything that a parent likes. Some parents also combine their names to form a new name for their baby, which might be great sometimes.
While parents love to choose unique names, so their kids’ names stand out in a multitude of common ones, it’s actually not the best idea. We are not saying it, science is! (1). And we are here to break it down for you. Scroll below as we list down the pros and cons of picking unusual baby names for your child:
Pros Of A Unique Name
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Before we get into why you should be careful about naming your child a rare name, let’s look at some of the pros:
1. Easy To Remember
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A unique name is easy to remember because it stands out from the rest of the common names. It often makes the name more memorable and harder to forget. Imagine your child being the only one with a name so rare that they are the only one in the playground with such a moniker. It’s bound to be remembered by all, friends and teachers alike.
2. Might Start A Trend
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Your little one’s name might start trending all of a sudden, and they might fall in love with their overly unique name. Before you know it, it might even set the trend, and many newborns will be named the same. These are common with celebrity names that seem humorous in the beginning but catch on quickly later.
3. No Struggles For Usernames
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In today’s digital world, your online presence is quite essential. It becomes easy to find a suitable email address or username with unique names while creating your online profiles. So, your child doesn’t have to come up with ridiculous variations of their names. A straightforward one will be most likely available.
4. Great Conversation Starter
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Most often than not, when someone hears a unique name, they are bound to ask you the story behind it. “What made your parents give you this name?”, “How did your parents come up with your name?”, are questions your kids (and even you) will encounter often. So, it makes for great conversation starters with everyone and breaks the ice pretty easily.
Cons Of A Unique Name
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Now that we’ve seen the pros of a rare moniker, let’s go through a list of cons to understand why you should reconsider naming your child something that’s too unique:
1. Mispronunciation Is A Common Problem
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It’ll be common practice for your child to correct someone’s pronunciation of their name. Teachers are bound to say the name wrong in schools and colleges because of how rare it is. It might become draining and quite daunting for your child to keep doing this all their life.
2. Spelling The Name Might Be Hard
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Apart from it being a rare name, if it’s also a long name, it will become difficult for your child and everyone else to spell it. Each time your kid says their name, they will have to spell it out for someone, and that might become a hassle.
3. Hard To Find Name Gifts
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You know those rice grain keychains with your names on them? Those kinds of gifts are almost impossible to find when your child has a unique name. You’ll have to customize the gifts and special order them every time because finding your little one’s name in one of these gifts would be nothing less than a miracle itself.
4. Kids Might Pick On Them
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Children are pretty brutal. They don’t realize how mean they can be to other kids. So, if your kid has a moniker that’s a little too rare, other kids might pick on them and make fun of them. Your child may end up resenting you for giving them such a name. They might even develop issues with their self-confidence growing up with a rare name.
Your intention behind giving your kid a rare name might have been great, but it might not turn out that way. If that’s still a risk you’re willing to take, go ahead and go crazy while choosing the perfect name for your little one. But keep in mind that your kid is the one who has to live with the name, so be aware of the repercussions it may have on them. Do you prefer picking unusual names for your child? Let us know in the comments below!
