I’ve known very few people named Valerie in my life. Of course, one of them had to be in my class at school, so we had to be “Valerie S.” and “Valerie J.” Then people just started calling me Val. Another strange coincidence is that when we moved into our house three years ago, I discovered that I had a new next-door neighbor named Val. I think I know one other Val besides the two I’ve already named.
Last week I went in for a pedicure. When I called for the appointment the woman asked for my name. It’s a very small nail salon, owned and operated by a husband and wife. When my mom and I got there for the appointment, the wife was finishing up with another customer and the husband started on me. When the wife came over, she looked puzzled, and asked me what my name was. I told her “Valerie.” She laughed and explained that the woman she’d just finished giving a manicure to was also named Valerie, and that she’d gotten confused when the woman paid because she had gotten a manicure, and I had made two pedicure appointments.
I’m happy to have a somewhat uncommon, yet not totally unusual name. I’m surprised that it’s not more popular, since I think it’s a great name, but it’s fine with me that it’s not.
I knew no-one with my name when I was a child, even if I counted misspellings. I was born in 1967. Then in the 1980’s there was a popular nighttime soap-opera with a character of the same name. All the little girls named after her are now entering the workforce and driving me crazy.
Delores
No matter how you spell it, never very common, but not unheard of. I kinda like it this way
It’s very startling to go to the store or restaurant and hear shrieks of HANNAH as moms scream for their toddlers and preschoolers. I was born in 68 I never knew another one up until the last few years!
It’s hit about 600 on the top baby names list this past year iirc 
I’m always annoyed that people want to leave off the ‘e’ though. “There’s an ‘e’ on the end darnit!”
Could be worse: they could be sticking it at the front.
Not exactly, but just close enough to annoy me.
In the last few years the name Kayla has become very, very popular.
In case you like to mentally “hear” usernames, I’d just like to make it extremely clear that my name is not Kayla. It’s pronounced exactly the way it looks.
I’ve still only met a couple other Kylas (and they were both my age). But convincing people to pronounce it correctly is a daily event, thanks to the hordes of baby Kaylas.
I rarely meet another Tanya my age - they’re all younger.
Nobody has my name. I was one of a kind for a while.
And then a few years ago the Cubs got a new pitcher. His name was all over the news.
After that baseball season ended, I stopped hearing my name.
Up until about a year ago. And now it’s all over bumper stickers, buttons, the Democratic National Convention…
I’ve only seen my name (spelled that way) a couple times, but it’s always a guy. I’ve never met any other girls with my name.
No one has my name. They may have variations of my name. They may have it as a first and middle name, but I have never met another KathyJo. One word, two caps.
Many thanks to my parents who felt the name “Joseph/Josephine/Josef/Josefa” must be carried into my generation, as it has for the last (known) 8 generations. I would have rather been a “Josephine”. I could groove the name “Josie”. But no, rather I hear “MaryJo? BobbieJo? WhoeverJo?”
Yeah. That’s me.
When I was younger, I was called Kathy. Never liked it. My sister had a Chatty Kathy doll. People thought it was short for Katherine or Kathleen (of which there were many in the early 70’s). When I was in my halcyon days of teenagerdom, I reverted back to my full name. Had to be different. Or difficult, depending on who you ask.
Now I don’t answer to Kathy at all. It just wings past me. Most people call me KJ or Kaje.
When LilMiss was born, we had a few names picked out- Ruby Marie, Magdalene Marie, Rosemari Jean… instead we stuck her with a name that either elderly aunts or dogs have. Sadie. Actually Cassadie. I love that name. After she was born, I couldn’t picture any of those other names attached to her. She should bless her stars she’s a girl- her dad wanted to name her Dag Edmund of she was a boy.
They did until I punched their lights out 
I have a name that is still unique, thank goodness: Corbett. It never cracked the top 1000 names the entire decade when I was born.
But I give my uniqueness another 10 years.
Same thing with me. I was the only “Jack” all the way thru school and college. Its still rare, but I’ll actually hear it once in a while now.
This could make for some very interesting names in the future:
Marries French woman: Hello, I’d like you to meet my son, Latendresse!
Marries English woman: This is my eldest, Doolittle.
Marries Polish woman: This is my boy, Krzywicki.
and so on… 
Logan. Especially since I’m a girl. For years and years I’d never heard of another girl named Logan (and only a few boys). Then I met one when I was about 12… then I met another one… then another one. Now it seems there are quite a few (younger) girls named Logan - and I’ve noticed quite a lot of (again, younger) boys named Logan.
Someone even named their daughter after me… which was kind of flattering.
Well, yeah, exactly.
By the way, I never said I had any intention of keeping this tradition, if I ever get married and have kids, both of which are seeming increasingly unlikely.
My wife, who is a OB nurse, says Jack is the name of the year. Many, many new Jacks in this city.
As for me, Seven is still a hard name to come by.
Sorry for the late reply, but I had to ask someone who knows phonetic writing. No, it’s pronounced more like carLINE. Like Caroline, with the o removed.
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…
The only other person I’ve met with my first name exactly as it’s spelt was a guy…and we shared a mail box in grad school, so it was festive when students and friends left notes just address to us by our first names! When I was about 10, there was a boy in my class whose surname was spelt exactly as my first name, and the teacher used to think it the height of hilarity to mention every third day that I ought to marry David Cxxx and be Cxxx Cxxx. :rolleyes:
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.