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It's because people who use those types of names want to be unique. Conventional names are not good enough for them so they choose these horrible sounding names.
Until Hayden Paniteri (whatever her name is) from Heroes came along, I had never heard of a girl with that name. It's my youngest child's middle name and I don't see it as trendy or unisex, I just like it. I find it funny that a name starts out as a boy name and then it is given to a girl and suddenly it is a girl name.
The one I can think of right now is Hayden, or Jayden...there are boys with these names and they sound more like girls' names to me.
What is the appeal of giving such a name to a little boy?
Hayden IS a boy name.
Quote:
Originally Posted by skahar
Until Hayden Paniteri (whatever her name is) from Heroes came along, I had never heard of a girl with that name. It's my youngest child's middle name and I don't see it as trendy or unisex, I just like it. I find it funny that a name starts out as a boy name and then it is given to a girl and suddenly it is a girl name.
Exactly! Hayden has always been a boy name! Just because people started giving it to girls in the 1990s doesn't make it a girl name now.
I bet the people who get so upset about my opinion are the ones who picked the trendy name or have one themselves.
Yes, because those of us with a name that could be either boy or girl had a say in the matter.....
Anywho... I've always considered Hayden a boys name - my husbands cousin named their son that many years ago.
I love some surnames that can be first names - Thomas for one. Taylor. It's a great way of continuing on a family name on the other side of the family.
I don't think people are doing it to be "different" or unique given that these names AREN'T different -- realistically these kids are going to be in classrooms filled with lots of other kids with similar names. They probably heard these names a lot from friends and from other kids and parents and like the sound of them. Tastes change, and many people don't want a name that sounds like it's dated. Very few names are true classics, (or "conventional") and that's fine. I think the trend towards last-name-like names is a trend back towards an attempt at more classic names, but with an updated twist. Older-sounding names like Henry, Emma, etc. are also in vogue lately, so the return to names that sound, well, very un-70s or un-80s (which is when many of today's parents were born) seems to fit the broader pattern.
Names change, and gender associations change. If you look at names popular 100, even 50 years ago, there are differences. Many names either become unisex or else veer one way or the other. Leslie and Carol, for example.
As far as gender identification, I don't think a unisex name is going to hurt anyone. People figure it out. I wouldn't saddle my kid with a name that was very traditionally known as being from the opposite gender, but I don't think that's the case with last name as first names. They seem, to me, as truly unisex, even if I personally consider some more feminine or masculine than others.
I know someone who chose Hayden (an old English boy's name) because they liked Aidan, but Aidan/Aiden has become ridiculously popular the last 5-6 years. They just liked that sound, and were tired of the current traditional names you commonly see now like Robert/John/etc. They had also considered Braeden. I think parents sometimes just want to be unique, it's a personal decision. It's all cyclical, what might be a girl's name now will some day be a boy's name I'm sure. It doesn't bother me unless it's near impossible to pronounce, or has another meaning like "Apple" does.
I know someone who chose Hayden (an old English boy's name) because they liked Aidan, but Aidan/Aiden has become ridiculously popular the last 5-6 years. They just liked that sound, and were tired of the current traditional names you commonly see now like Robert/John/etc. They had also considered Braeden. I think parents sometimes just want to be unique, it's a personal decision. It's all cyclical, what might be a girl's name now will some day be a boy's name I'm sure. It doesn't bother me unless it's near impossible to pronounce, or has another meaning like "Apple" does.
That's exactly what I said. Its the drive to be different in most cases.
That's exactly what I said. Its the drive to be different in most cases.
Or they like how the name sounds.
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