Susie O'Brien on baby names - Adelaide Advertiser

[Glamourcide]

The funny thing is some names you can have 2 or 3 in a class and they aren't that common! This year we had 2 Jaspers start kindy - I have never thought that a common name! We also have 2 Poppy's- again not what I would consider common. Last year I had 2 Luca/Luka s in my class.

I figure it's a generational thing. When I was growing up, there were always plenty of Angelas, Rebeccas, Jessicas and Karlys. Nowadays they're practically unheard of, and 'uncommon' names like Poppy, Cooper and Bailey are a dime a dozen!

[Cranky Kitten]

My own name was a little unusual, a very old-fashioned Irish name that is a feminine version of Brian - I found the problems associated with "different" names or those with tricky spellings/pronunciation is that you will never get called by your actual name. It would almost immediately be shortened, unfortunately for me to a type of very tasty soft cheese.

Ultimately I changed it by deed poll to reverse the positions of my first name and second name (much shorter, easier to pronounce) because I was sick of having my name shortened or mispronounced every time I met someone.

So now when it comes to naming my children, I've leant towards quite traditional names, although DD's father insisted on varying the spelling slightly on Rachelle (pronounced Rachel). I think it stems from not wanting to put them through the constant headache of having to spell their name out or correct people every time their name is mispronounced.