Dont you feel as though someone will use your names?

[~Hestia~]

We don't share names. Not because we're worried someone will use it, more to make it more of a surprise on the day! Everyone knew DS' due date & that he was a boy so this was all we had just between ourselves.
Will be the same for any other kids. Also we didn't want any negative comments because our heart was set on this particular name!

[deletedit]

I/we've chosen all three names at the last minute - the lastest one after he was born - so pretty hard to steal those. My first was named after a (particularly dark and gross) song that was popular at the time on JJJ and was the only name we could agree on.

I had 3 relatives due within 8 weeks of me, all with boys, so not getting the same name as any of them was reasonably important, but unless the one who is still yet to have hers changes her mind, they are all different. I told the names to a friend who is a teacher, she complained all of her classes all have 2-3 boys with each of the three names they've chosen and none of mine so I feel quite happy We told my parents, the ex's sister and a few friends our shortlist and not anyone else.

I'd rather have all the names in my inner circle (friends/relatives/other people we have regular contact with) unique, but we have two cousin Erins now - thankfully one I have seen once in the last 15 years and my daughter has never heard of or she'd get her mixed up with her younger cousin Aeryn. There's only one duplicate name we hit regularly - Jackson. One cousin, the neighbour's grandson, and several kids at playgroup and kindergym. This town is really small so while the kids in the town do tend to have popular names, everyone talks so there's only really duplicates with new people who move to the town with their kids, which is really quite a fascinating bit of social commentary on small towns

[human bean]

I was one of about 7 women in the circles I travel that was having a bub this year, so I was a little worried someone birthing before me might use our name, so I told everyone and their dog what we would call our boy or girl bub in the hopes no one stole it (I think there was method in my madness!) DD was born, and we didn't end up calling her that name anyways

[*Sparklez*]

i know exactly how it feels to have someone steal your name upsetting to say my own sis in law stole in 2 weeks before i gave birth when she gave birth to her daughter i was very upset and angry but i vented on my DH and let it go luckily i had a boy!! but recently on a hospital visit i was talking to some lady and we were discussing names and the name everyone can see from my ticker was revealed to her and i was called up and short time later came back and she was so excited when she told me she had rang her hubby and told him the name and he loved it and now she is gona name her child amali if it is a girl!!! gotta love it...

[~*Kat*~]

Until we know whats cooking this time we haven't been screaming names from the rooftops lol but as we dont choose unique names but not alot of common either I dont mind telling them after we know what name we have chosen. DD's name is Bethany and so far she has not been in daycare or kinder with another Bethany but its not out there for us so this next bub will have a name similar thats is common but not for the age group I hope lol

[deletedit]

I wonder if teachers/childcare workers are more prone to checking for duplicate names first, or at least avoiding the ultra-popular names?

I used to teach at uni, I had some classes that had 4 or 5 each of Matthew and Lisa (this was mid-90s) and it made roll-call hell.

[Shanti]

We didn't tell anyone the name we'd picked for our little girl (we knew she was a girl when I was pg) as we wanted it to be a surprise for everyone to find out what we'd picked and we didn't want anyone's comments on the name we'd chosen as it isn't anyone's business!

Wasn't too worried anyone would use the same name as noone else I knew in my family or close friends was pg at the time anyway.

[meow]

I do! We have very good friend's due to have a boy around the same time our baby is due- and it's very likely their baby will be induced early due to the mother's health complications. So they'll get in before us and as we're such good friend's I know we have similar tastes so they could well steal our boys name!!

I was saying our names are a secret but I'm thinking of mentioning it so I can bags the name

[Rouge]

The only time I ever cared was when someone took a name I loved and butchered it with alternative spelling. It's already an unfamiliar name so I just didn't see the point. But I got over it and I never ended up using the name anyway. Nor will I now.

And I really think that unless you created the name yourself it's hardly intellectual property

The other thing with names is as soon as you pick a name you see it more because it stands out to you because it's familiar. Just like a new car up until you buy a new car you don't see them and then suddenly you see heaps

[Traveller]

I never worried about telling anyone my names because I was using them regardless. When I was about 25 weeks pregnant with the twins I met a woman who is now a good friend. We were chatting for ages then she introduced her daughter Scarlett. I froze for a minute then blurted out "If I'm having a girl she will be Scarlett too!". This was a small village, 900 people only, so 2 Scarletts was a bit strange but in then end they were just known as Big Scarlett and Little Scarlett and it was never a problem.

[nickers]

I feel the same as you do, I like the fact that there are not many ppl with my kids names. I have a girls name in my head if we had another (and a girl) and i dont want to tell anyone for fear of it being used b4 we do!

[luna moth]

I wonder if teachers/childcare workers are more prone to checking for duplicate names first, or at least avoiding the ultra-popular names?

I do, I worry about this all the time, and our boys name (which I am super tightlipped about) is borderline. But we love it, so we're going for it. BUT my SIL is a teacher, and has picked a Top 10 name for her little boy, so I guess it doesn't apply all round.

Someone did use our boys name, a fairly close friend, earlier this year, it was before I was pg, but after our angel EDD, and that upset me soooo much. For a little while, and now I'm over it and have moved on to something else.

I have a close friend due same time as me, and worried that she'll use our boys name. BUT we have a secondary name that I now love so much that I don't mind at all.

[meow]

^ This is me too. I choose unique names to avoid the duplicate names issue. So for my girls name I'm not at all concerned but my boys name is borderline and that's where I get concerned. I may choose another boys name still...

[Lisa]

I only worry because I always seem to be pregnant with one of my sisters! I tell the names hoping they're not the same names as they've chosen for their bubs. Twice now I have been pregnant at the same time as my ex's wife so I do tend to worry about naming my child the same as theirs... but they're into very different names to me thankfully. We have chosen names for this bub and I am worried that they will use the boys name as it is a popular type of name.

[Traveller]

When my sister and I were pregnant at the same time we both were considering using James as a boys name. I wanted it as a middle name and she as a first, so we both agrees that would be ok. In the end it didn't matter as she had a girl. What really annoyed me was my BIL and SIL using my kids names without mentioning it first (they have done this twice now) which I think is rude although it doesn't really matter. It just would have been nice to have been asked first.

[PumpkinZulu]

I'm not worried about it for the future. Our boys name has been picked out for ages, and it's so common and bland () I doubt anyone would want to steal it anyways - Peter Mark Collins. Peter for my Dad who has passed, and Mark for my uncle who is also no longer with us. DF gets to choose the girls name, so no idea what that will be yet lol. I've always loved Isla.

[Jaycee]

The only people I share my names with are you lovely ladies on BB
I don't share them with family or any other friends, as I like the idea of a surprise

[*Beema*]

We don't tell what we are thinking because in the end with DD we didn't use anything that we had on our shortlist and actually named her a week later

This bub we don't even really have any names yet, so nothing to tell bubs will be names once we have met face to face and we can find a name that suits. DD doesn't have a "common" name and we prefer to not use a "Top 10" or similar name as the first names

So we wouldn't know if someone chose the name we wanted to use anyway!