When you name something, or someone, is it important that the name is unique?

I nick named my brother inlaws dog (FABIO) and it took this dog looks like a black wolf really good looking dog but really ,really stupid they all laughed but we all call the dog Fabio.

In my family there are very few names shared among many many people. My grandmother, my mother, two cousins and I all have the same name. It’s a pain.
As far as the importance of the name being unique? Nah. I know who I am.

No. Bearing a unique (one of a kind, unduplicated, totally exceptional) name would be a pain. Even special spellings and pronunciations are a pain. People are always going to get them wrong, so the person will be constantly correcting and explaining.

My name is unusual (not unique), and I run into this constantly: either let people slaughter it aloud and on paper or say it and spell it over and over and over.

I know two women who have to correct just about everybody who mentions their names or speaks to them in a group, and kids who are going to be saddled all their lives with divergent spellings. Why set traps and trigger annoyances with a kid’s name—getting them off on the wrong foot everywhere they go? Let their specialness come from their personality and their achievements; it doesn’t have to be on their birth certificates.

This question reminded me of this.

I think that a person should have a significant name, something that will make them them. It gets stupid if everyone gets named Bob and Jenna. It gets too far sometimes, though. I love my name, because it’s rare and I’m usually the only one with my name. But it gets pretty ridiculous sometimes, when people start calling their kids Hashtag, Sixteen, or Frankie Bon-Bon (actual names). Just use the already existing names, but not name every child the same.

btw, your pets’ names are awesome.

For some reason beyond my understanding, I have fought desperately my entire adult life to resist the compulsion to annoint a child or pet in my household with the name “TUGBOAT”. Fortunately I have been aided considerably in this resistance by the mother of the children and owners of the pets under consideration.

I do like names that are uncommon and even a little unique, but not boganishly unique. By which I mean taking a fairly common name and giving it an obscure spelling.

Anfernee = Anthony
Jorja = Georgia
Nevaeh = Heaven backwards
Rybekkah = Rebecca
Shiraz = yes after the wine.
Chardonnay = yes after the wine.

None of my kids has a unique name. And while I’ve tried to be unique with pet names, I’ve usually found other people have named their pets the same thing – so my name wasn’t unique at all.

It’s good to have some significance or meaning in a name.

I named our red Hawaiian outrigger canoe (Model name is “Tempest” = a violent wind storm) “Ula ‘uno” which is Hawaiian for red storm. .

I named one brown Siamese cat Rocky because he blended in with the rock in our garden.

Named another cat Happy because he’s so lovable and friendly that he makes everyone happy.

I named another cat Maui because he has an island of dark fur surrounded by a sea of white fur on his back. Also on his stomach he has an island shaped like Molokai. On his face I see Oahu am there’s a big island of dark fur. But Maui stands out the best.

Check Facebook. There are no unique names.

^Pardon me. “Less prominent names.”