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This is a good list! I do disagree with #8 and #9 though... #8: "just another kid among the other 10..." always seemed weird to me. There are tons of notable

by quartz 5y ago

This is a good list! I do disagree with #8 and #9 though... #8: "just another kid among the other 10..." always seemed weird to me. There are tons of notable Peter's, John's, Anne's, and Olivia's in the world. The converse is of course the mistaken idea that a remarkable or unique name makes a remarkable or unique person and at least anecdotally in my life I've seen more young people find difficulty in the attention given to their uncommon name than I have people finding difficulty being unnoticed for having a common one. #9: As parents you actually have a ton of control over nicknames when the child is small. I know a number of Jonathans who don't go by Jon, Joshuas who don't go by Josh, Daniels who don't go by Danny, etc. You 100% can't manage the names people use to TEASE your child (as you addressed in earlier points) but you can teach your child and those around them that initially you and then ultimately your child does have ownership of how their name is used. Agree with the rest of your list, just wanted to give my 2c on those two!

cooperadymas 5y ago
I wish that were remotely true. We continually have to ask people not to shorten our toddler's name from Jacqueline to Jac or JacJac, and I'm pretty confident that once we leave the room they go right back to Jac. I have a somewhat unusual name that's related to a common name. Think Jeremiah. Even though I have that as my email address and sign off as Jeremiah, people frequently reply to me as Jeremy or Jerry or even Jer. Yeah you sort of have ownership of your name, but people are still going to butcher it or abuse it if there's opportunity.
prawn 5y ago
Agree on 9. We have a Fox and a Scout. If they get called Foxy or Scouty, they get politely asked not to early on before it becomes habit. That’s worked without being overbearing.

by quartz 5y ago

cooperadymas 5y ago

I wish that were remotely true. We continually have to ask people not to shorten our toddler's name from Jacqueline to Jac or JacJac, and I'm pretty confident that once we leave the room they go right back to Jac. I have a somewhat unusual name that's related to a common name. Think Jeremiah. Even though I have that as my email address and sign off as Jeremiah, people frequently reply to me as Jeremy or Jerry or even Jer. Yeah you sort of have ownership of your name, but people are still going to butcher it or abuse it if there's opportunity.

prawn 5y ago

Agree on 9. We have a Fox and a Scout. If they get called Foxy or Scouty, they get politely asked not to early on before it becomes habit. That’s worked without being overbearing.