# My "girl" name is becoming trendy. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 25, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525 "2005-01-25T02:53:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/61 "2005-01-25T22:47:27Z")
> [@Kaitlin](#): > > There are many reasons I pronounce “Kaitlin” the way it looks like it should be pronounced in American English (Kate-lin), not least of which is that is what my parents named me. I like the name “Kathleen” a lot but that’s not my name. > > I’ve also heard that it’s pronounced “coith-leen,” which just sounds jarring to me (as does “cot-leen”). There are many things I’m anal about, but the original pronunciation of “Kaitlin” is not one of them. 🙂 Oh, I’m not complaining, I just find it interesting. I got “Kathleen” because it’s my mother’s favorite girl’s name. Nickname Kathi, which is unusual among women my age-most of them got “Kate” or “Katie”. But a few years ago, a friend started calling me Kat, and that stuck, so now I introduce myself as Kat. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/62 "2005-01-25T22:55:14Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > I was named after my grandfather’s middle name, Andrew. It’s a great name, never unusual, and never trendy, always just there in the background. That’s my name, and I like it for the reasons you’ve very adequately described. However, to family I am always “Drew”, which is the short form the Scots prefer over the English “Andy” (which I loathe - car salesmen and drunks call me Andy). Now “Drew” was a fine, strong, slightly unusual male name, and then Drew Barrymore came along, and we were thinking “Hey, she’s got a guys’ name”, and then more female Drews came along, and now I get “but that’s a girls’ name!”. It’s a MAN’S NAME, dammit! I was here first! ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/63 "2005-01-25T23:41:11Z")
We’re naming our sons Vincenzo and Quinn. (We’re gonna call Vincenzo “Vincent,” though. Why not just name him Vincent? Because Vincenzo sounds cooler and it’s the family name.) ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/64 "2005-01-26T00:33:22Z")
All right I’ll spill it. Zoe. The annoying thing is that now we see all these 20 something models and acresses all named Zoe. There is no way they were actually named Zoe. It was the 600th most popular name back when they were named. Makes me so mad. You can do the “Zooey”, but that looks funny to me. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/65 "2005-01-26T00:42:54Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Shows what I know. I didn’t know which was the variant and I always assumed it was the one with one L, not two, since I’ve noticed more Collins than Colins. [Yup](http://www.babynamesworld.com/profile.php?name=Collin). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/66 "2005-01-26T01:08:20Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > All right I’ll spill it. Zoe. The annoying thing is that now we see all these 20 something models and acresses all named Zoe. There is no way they were actually named Zoe. It was the 600th most popular name back when they were named. > > Makes me so mad. > > You can do the “Zooey”, but that looks funny to me. Forgive me for mentioning this, Fiveyearlurker, but I have a sheep called Zoe (although she’s 12 years old now. [Zoe is the one on the right.](http://www.longwood.edu/staff/pedenjh/me/sheep.jpg) ) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/67 "2005-01-26T01:27:27Z")
> [@Ms Boods](#): > > Forgive me for mentioning this, Fiveyearlurker, but I have a sheep called Zoe (although she’s 12 years old now. [Zoe is the one on the right.](http://www.longwood.edu/staff/pedenjh/me/sheep.jpg) ) > > 😃 Well, at least she’s the attractive one of the two. You know, as far as sheep go. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/68 "2005-01-26T01:43:43Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Well, at least she’s the attractive one of the two. You know, as far as sheep go. :eek: 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@Mona\_Lott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lott)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/69 "2005-01-26T02:18:44Z")
When I was in grade school in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Mary was a popular name for girls. One of my sisters is named Mary and so is my favorite aunt. It is not a common name any longer. I like traditional names like Karen and Susan and Linda. I’ve always had a fondness for Margaret Elizabeth as a name for a girl. It wouldn’t work well with a long, hard-to-spell, hard-to-pronounce last name like mine, though. Perhaps it is a good thing that I’ve never had children. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/70 "2005-01-26T08:51:18Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > [Yup](http://www.babynamesworld.com/profile.php?name=Collin). 🙂 Colin it is then. Or maybe Colm. Sounds pretty similar and isn’t anywhere in the top 1,000. The only problem I’ll have then is people thinking I’m a vapid bandwagon jumper. There’s always _some_thing. ---
**Author:** ![Iceland\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@Iceland\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iceland_Blue)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/71 "2005-01-26T12:36:14Z")
> [@An Arky](#): > > We went for uncommon, but not unusual. as of 2003, they’re 431, 72 (boys) and 483 (girl). > > But dang if there ain’t another 431 and 72 in our neighborhood. That’s O.K., though just one other is a kind of validation. > > That would be Bennett, Owen and Janelle Dammit…I thought they were actually called 431, 72 and 483. Now that would be cool.‘Hi I’m 431 Smith’ ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/72 "2005-01-26T13:09:31Z")
My name may have been somewhat trendy in the late 50’s when I was born. Last summer at Disneyland, the girl in the ticket booth made a comment on how rare the name Gail is, and that nobody names their girls that these days. But, this year I have a girl in my fifth grade class named Gayle. (First one ever!) And on the Showtime series, “Huff”, there is a teenage girl named Gayle. Maybe the name Gayle or Gail is on the uprise! ---
**Author:** ![Mystery\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@Mystery\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mystery_Dog)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/73 "2005-01-26T13:30:55Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > All right I’ll spill it. Zoe. Back on the last page, when I said I thought you and I were thinking of the same name, I was wrong. I was thinking of Madeline (or Madeleine, as I’d rather spell it). Zoe’s a good name. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/74 "2005-01-26T14:42:14Z")
> [@Mystery Dog](#): > > Back on the last page, when I said I thought you and I were thinking of the same name, I was wrong. I was thinking of Madeline (or Madeleine, as I’d rather spell it). > > Zoe’s a good name. Madeline, huh? I’ll beat you to it and make a new trend! Zoe’s the first name the woman and I have agreed on. Apparently my other choices are more suitable for “strippers and whores”. ---
**Author:** ![Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Licentious_Ectomorph)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/75 "2005-01-26T15:18:30Z")
When I was growing up, I absolutely _hated_ my name: Brandon. I was convinced I was the only Brandon on the entire planet and my parents were on some heavy mild-altering substances when they came up with it. I didn’t realize it’s an old Irish name, not that it would have mattered 'cause what kid wants to stick out like a sore thumb? I was never really teased about it, but it still bothered me. I don’t think I ever met another Brandon until I reached adulthood. I’ve since met quite a few, and in fact one of my best friends is named Brandon. (It took me a while to break him of the habit of identifying himself as “the other Brandon” when he called me; what, I’m going to get confused?). Nowadays, Brandon seems to be becoming an increasingly popular name for children. It’s routine for me to hear mothers calling out to their Brandons in public. So now I’m kinda proud of it. It’s unusual enough to set me apart, but not so obscure and weird that nobody’s ever heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/76 "2005-01-26T15:43:32Z")
If I were to be birthin’ babies in 2005…John and Sally. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/77 "2005-01-26T15:47:34Z")
> [@Knowed Out](#): > > I visited some friends who had a metaphysical shop at the flea market. They had a stand of bumper stickers, like “Ankh if you love Isis” etc. One sticker was labeled “Kali - A Necessary Evil”. > > Pronounced Kal-ee right? > > This woman saw the sticker and started laughing. She brings her daughter over to see it, and the girl stuck out her lower lip and pouted. Her name was Kali as in Kay-lee. I doubt her mom knew that Kali was the Hindu goddess of murder. Somebody never watched Indiana Jones. And let’s hope her classmates never see it and start calling her Kali-ma. Or is that just the sort of thing I would do? ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/78 "2005-01-26T15:59:42Z")
> [@Twoflower](#): > > That’s my understanding of the derivation … I’m told by reliable sources that the correct Irish pronunciation is cot-leen. > … No, it’s not 🙂 In Irish, Cáit (the equivalent of Kate, although I’m not sure which came first) can have the suvvin “ín” ( or in this case, "lín"meaning “little” to it. so Little Cáit is Cáitlín the fada (acute) over the a and the i serve to elongate the sound, so it’s closer to Cawtleen than Cotleen. It’s really hard for me to type out the sounds, it’s much easier to say them 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/79 "2005-01-26T16:32:41Z")
My parents had my two (much younger than me) siblings in the early 1990s and named them Paul and Susan. Good, solid, common names, everyone can spell and pronounce them, and frickin’ NOBODY their age has the same name. I never was in a class with another Annie either. My sister Nicole however…she was born in the early '80s and she was in classes comprised entirely of kids named Nicole, Kristen and Josh. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525/80 "2005-01-26T16:48:25Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > All right I’ll spill it. Zoe. I’ll give you one guess what our first pick is. Seriously. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-girl-name-is-becoming-trendy/286525.md?page=5)