# Was your name uncommon, but now isn't? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 29, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402 "2004-07-29T04:59:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402/61 "2004-08-09T01:56:30Z")
My first name is Jennifer, and I was born in 1971. I don’t think there was a single class in elementary or middle school where there weren’t at least two other Jennifers other than myself. I had three friends in my little group named Jennifer. I think we ended up with Jen, Jenny, Jennifer B. and Jennifer F. The clincher, though, was in eighth grade, when I was walking down the hall to class and heard someone call my name. I turned around, and the girl who’d said it looked at me with a squinched up expression of disgust and said “euw! Not YOU!” So, that was enough. At the end of eighth grade, when I would be starting at a brand new high school, I decided to change to my middle name. It took a little while, but eventually, I got myself, my friends, and my family trained to it. My mom actually kind of liked it, since she went by her middle name as well. Through all of high school, there was maybe one other girl with my name. I didn’t meet a single namesake through college or for the last ten years since. Until now. At the church I’m visiting, there are two other women by my name, both of them fairly active. Someone calls our name, and all three of us look up, completely puzzled. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402/62 "2004-08-09T02:07:25Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > **Joan** is one of those names that will never make a comeback. > > It peaked in the 1930’s and has moved downward, into fashion oblivion since. > > My best friend in high school was a a **Joan** and I have two other Joan friends. We all pretty much hate our names, too. All of us were the caboose babies of the Baby Boom Train Generation. By the time we all showed up, our respective parents just gave up any individuality and thought into the process. > > However, in my micro circle of life, I don’t really have to identify myself with a first and last name. I just call up and say, " this is **Joan**." and I’m the only one. Like Cher, only not so weird and full of plastic. > thankfully the Britney/Tiffany/Amber naming trend seems to be slowing down. I have a coworker named Joan. Where I work, we have a lot of loud machinery, and she works on two pieces of equipment. One of them is a slipsheet cleaner, which is very old and jams often. When it does, sometimes me or my other coworkers yell out her name. When they do, sometimes I have to listen carefully to see if they’re yelling at me (Joel) or her, because, trying to yell over the machine noise, both names sometimes sound the same to me. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2004, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402/63 "2004-08-09T02:28:39Z")
My own name is dwindling in popularity, so I’m going to chime in with stories about other people 😃 My cousins have a cousin named Michaela(mi-KAY-la), born in the late 70’s. That was a very, very uncommon name around here and growing up she hated the fact that everyone commented on how unusual her name is. In fact, as a child she always vowed to change her name when she grew up. Now, the name Michaela has been reborn as Mikayla and McKayla and is rapidly gaining in popularity every day. I haven’t heard from or seen Michaela in years, but I wonder if she’s grown more comfortable with her name as it has become more popular. Another of my cousins has McKenzie as his middle name, as it was his grandfather’s given name. As previously noted by Miller, McKenzie is becoming very popular as a girl’s name. That will never work for me, McKenzie is too masculine to be a girl’s name! ---
**Author:** ![SamIAm336](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SamIAm336](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamIAm336)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402/64 "2004-08-10T00:19:16Z")
> [@Ms Boods](#): > > I’ll see your name and raise it an ‘O’ – my second name is Dolores after an auntie who died at age 7 in 1925…and people always misspell it (from my perspective! 🙂 ) with the ‘e’. > > I’m not sure I’ve ever met a Dolores outside of a Lori I knew as a wee Boodie… > > : My Parents still call me Lori ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402/65 "2004-08-10T00:53:40Z")
> [@](#): > > **Joan** is one of those names that will never make a comeback. mmmm. . . Depends on whether [Joan of Arcadia](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367345/) becomes a hit or even hangs on for a few seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402/66 "2004-08-10T01:11:19Z")
> [@cazzle](#): > > Another of my cousins has McKenzie as his middle name, as it was his grandfather’s given name. As previously noted by Miller, McKenzie is becoming very popular as a girl’s name. That will never work for me, McKenzie is too masculine to be a girl’s name! And well it should! The prefix Mac- (or Mc-) means “Son of,” after all. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402/67 "2004-08-10T15:46:16Z")
> [@](#): > > Delores > No matter how you spell it, never very common, but not unheard of. I kinda like it this way You must have hated Seinfeld. ---
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402/68 "2004-08-10T16:06:39Z")
There was usually one other Jocelyn, but I can live with that. Working one summer for a theatre company there were two guys named Josh and me (most people call me “Joss”) All three of us would inevitably answer any shouted questions. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402/69 "2004-08-10T16:58:01Z")
Growing up, I never knew another Adrienne, then in college I met some Adrians (boys), and I worked at a place with an Adrienne and an Adrian, and me (Adrienne). haha. Still, it’s not overwhelmingly popular and I kinda like it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402/70 "2004-08-10T17:07:34Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402/71 "2004-08-10T18:19:30Z")
Yeah, trying being an Amy Lynn born in 1980. Not only did I share one of the top ten names at the time, but it seemed every Amy was Amy Lynn(e). ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402/72 "2004-08-10T18:38:00Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > No. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402/73 "2004-08-10T19:02:02Z")
I went through all of school being the only TORIE. Now, I meet tons of little girl Tories. Old people are constantly telling me about their granddaughter, Torie. Victoria seems to be riding the wave of early twentieth century names. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![moonstarssun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@moonstarssun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moonstarssun)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2004, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402/74 "2004-08-10T22:05:54Z")
I’m a Charlotte, born in 1970. I’ve never met anyone with my name, but I found out recently that two people I work with have daughters named Charlotte. I wondered if its use as a character name in Sex in the City and Lost in Translation would cause it to become more popular. ---
**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:** [August 10, 2004, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402/75 "2004-08-10T22:56:45Z")
> [@SamIAm336](#): > > My Parents still call me Lori A friend in grad school found out my second name was Dolores and took to calling me Lolita. I recalled this thread on Saturday whilst I was in a charity shop and overheard a mum shouting at her wee boy, ‘Damien! Damien, you stop that! Put that teddy bear back!’ ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402/76 "2004-08-11T01:42:03Z")
> [@Indygrrl](#): > > Growing up, I never knew another Adrienne, then in college I met some Adrians (boys), and I worked at a place with an Adrienne and an Adrian, and me (Adrienne). haha. > > Still, it’s not overwhelmingly popular and I kinda like it that way. [Rocky]Yo, Adrieeeennnnnne![/Rocky] 😃 (Oh come on, you had to see that one comming :)) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-name-uncommon-but-now-isnt/257402.md?page=3)