I read this a while ago (scroll down into section II for the graphs) which conducted a survey to see how happy people were with their names. The consensus seems to be that, for the most part, people just want names that don’t annoy them constantly. Very common names rank lower than less common names, until the names become very uncommon. More normal or traditional names rank higher than more modern or creative names.
The conclusion I drew was that people want a normal name spelled a normal way, that is not too common. Why? Because if your name is too common, you are always confused with other people (cue saying “Michael” in a crowded room and having 5 people turn towards you). But if your name is too uncommon, people will constantly mis-spell and mispronounce it, so you will constantly either be correcting people or having to ignore it. If you have a common name with a unique spelling, then people will always misspell your name unless you spell it out for them. And of course, if you are named after a sci fi character or a name that rhymes with your twin, you will probably be bullied for it in middle school.
So if you are naming a kid, your best bet is to look through the current common baby names and pick one somewhere between 100 and 1000 most popular, after eliminating weird spellings or names that can easily be turned into mean nicknames. Bonus points if you can tie the name into your cultural heritage or you have an admirable anscestor to name your kid after.
A simple safe bet is to choose a name from a related language.
For example, Renato is common in Portuguese but not in Spanish, however no Spanish speaking person is going to misspell it (and to this example, I doubt anyone speaking a European language would)
I have friends with really common names, like Mike and Robert Jones common. They don’t want to change it, but it has been a tremendous pain in their asses. It’s annoying to be the 3rd person in your class with the same first name, but imagine having a high school class with someone who has the same first and last name.
I read this a while ago (scroll down into section II for the graphs) which conducted a survey to see how happy people were with their names. The consensus seems to be that, for the most part, people just want names that don’t annoy them constantly. Very common names rank lower than less common names, until the names become very uncommon. More normal or traditional names rank higher than more modern or creative names.
The conclusion I drew was that people want a normal name spelled a normal way, that is not too common. Why? Because if your name is too common, you are always confused with other people (cue saying “Michael” in a crowded room and having 5 people turn towards you). But if your name is too uncommon, people will constantly mis-spell and mispronounce it, so you will constantly either be correcting people or having to ignore it. If you have a common name with a unique spelling, then people will always misspell your name unless you spell it out for them. And of course, if you are named after a sci fi character or a name that rhymes with your twin, you will probably be bullied for it in middle school.
So if you are naming a kid, your best bet is to look through the current common baby names and pick one somewhere between 100 and 1000 most popular, after eliminating weird spellings or names that can easily be turned into mean nicknames. Bonus points if you can tie the name into your cultural heritage or you have an admirable anscestor to name your kid after.
A simple safe bet is to choose a name from a related language.
For example, Renato is common in Portuguese but not in Spanish, however no Spanish speaking person is going to misspell it (and to this example, I doubt anyone speaking a European language would)
I have a first name that’s been in use for a couple thousand years now. I’m happy with it. They’re classics for a reason.
I have friends with really common names, like Mike and Robert Jones common. They don’t want to change it, but it has been a tremendous pain in their asses. It’s annoying to be the 3rd person in your class with the same first name, but imagine having a high school class with someone who has the same first and last name.