[Our man in washington]

I was born to two very liberal parents in the sixties. They wanted to give me an obscure name so they picked Jason.

That didn’t work out as planned...

When I was in kindergarten and first grade, I remember people saying “what was that name again? Did you say Justin? Could spell it?”

By the time I was in seventh grade, I never had that problem again. I decided I liked having a common name.

I gave my son a common name that people would know and could spell. My son is not my possession. It’s not right to use him to prove that I’m arty or sophisticated or whatever.

[Wyrd bið ful aræd]

My parents did the name thing with very common names (for me and my seven siblings). I find myself wishing I had a more uncommon name. You can only hear “Joe” so many times before it gets bland.

[DLfromthedesert]

My son was born in 1972. His name is Seth. It was very uncommon at the time; now I hear that name all the time.

[workerbee]

My son is not my possession. It’s not right to use him to prove that I’m arty or sophisticated or whatever.

This is a great point. I definitely think there's a line between "unique" and "what are your parents' trying to prove?"