When I was a kid, Whitney was not amongst the names represented on any rack of pre-personalized kid gear. I was being raised right alongside my cousin Xan (yes, that is her full name), and as you can imagine, she also couldn’t find her name when we went to pick out souvenirs from the gift shop at the Grand Canyon or at Venice Beach. The advent of iron-on shirts with lettering, available at the mall, was revolutionary for us. We felt validated.
I still see name-emblazoned knickknacks at toy stores and postcard stands, and my own kids names, Julian and Scarlett are sometimes there, sometimes not. But does this matter anymore? With the birth of home printers and DIY kits, seeing one’s name in print is not nearly as unusual as it once was.
Here are some things that recently made me think this issue is on it’s way out.
1) This bedroom door sign from Melissa and Doug. I bought it for a friend of Julian’s named Xoxa. (I was so excited that the alphabet stickers that came with the sign had two X’s, I thought Xoxa probably doesn’t get the chance to spell her name with a standard set of stickers very often.)
2) Everything on PaperCoterie.com, Land of Nod, and LL Bean among other custom print vendors and monogrammers. From growth charts and wall hangings to backpacks and towels, you can order your child’s name on everything you buy. Named your kid Scarlet instead of Scarlett? No problem. You’re the boss. I’ll take two Ts, though.
3. My own printer. Make your own name labels to stick on everything or order from a place like Mabel’s Labels. With a sticker sheet full of your kid’s name, every lunchbox and water bottle becomes personalized.
Cry no more, Declan. Your cup has your name on it.
Do y’all agree? If your kid isn’t represented in every gift shop across America, that’s ok, right? Were you influenced by a concern that your child’s name wouldn’t be found on a keychain?
With a name like Doreen, I could almost never find my name on souvenirs, and when I was a kid that mattered to me because my friends and other family members could. But in naming our child, DH and I excluded all names ranked in the top 200 automatically, in part because I learned to love having a less common name. I don’t know if she will mind being unable to find her name, but I hope we can raise her to appreciate its uniqueness in a sea of predictability… And if not, she can pick a nickname, ha!
I actually did think about that when naming my daughter. I wanted something uncommon but was afraid she would never see her name on keychains, in books, etc. I loved finding my name as a kid. However, she isn’t even a year old yet and has more personalized stuff than I have owned in my entire life! Ahhh, ‘technology’.
I never thought about it…but my daughter Stella’s name is completely absent from the name stamped items readily available. My name, Leslie, was usually offered when I was young…I’m working on building a little creativity and character for Stella.
My name was never available, ever. I often received souveniers with Alisha, Eliza, or Alisa from my family travelling family members and friends. I, too, learned to relish having a unique name, though.
We are considering names right now as we are expecting twins in November. I’m still on the fence about picking unique names vs. common names. Maybe one of each?
Only these last 10 years have I started to see stuff with my name (Jocelyn) on it. When I was younger, I was always disappointed when I could never find my name. I’m not so worried about it now for DD b/c we can personalize almost anything with her name..but if we go to a store and don’t find it..we’ll just explain she’s unique 🙂
I could find my name, always misspelled. I was disappointed, I did feel left out, and I think that was even one of my considerations when naming my own daughter, I wanted something that she would be able to find at least sometimes. I thought it was something classic and would be everywhere, but about half of the time it’s not there.
I went to middle school with a girl named Xan in the 1970s. I only remember that because I was recently searching my middle school yearbook for Jennifers (a conversation I’ve already forgotten the details of) and came across Xan Evans. It seems like a cool name, now. I have no recollection what I thought of it at the time.
My name was common, but the spelling was not…and while it bothered me when I was younger, I got over it. Now with technology allowing almost anything to be customized…I didn’t worry about naming my girls uncommon names.
The whole personalized souvenir thing was a really big deal to me when I was a little girl but I very rarely found stuff with my name on it in stores. I remember twirling racks of key chains and tiny license plates hoping with all my might that a Wendy might be found in the lower right hand corner of the rack. My full name, Wendolyn? Ha! Forget it!
I always loved having a unique name though, so when it was time to name my boys there was never any question that they would not have “license plate” names. (Not that there’s anything wrong with license plate names!) That being said, I’ve gone out of my way to personalize some things for my kids using my crafty skills. It’s fun for me and it gives them a sense of ownership and pride in their names.
We picked our daughter’s name because we like it. It also happened to be uncommon. Not being able to find that crappy overpriced junk was just a bonus I was looking forward too, haha. Unfortunately for me her name is becoming more common. I don’t think this alone is really something majorly important when picking you child’s identity.
We thought about it, but didn’t consider it – if that makes sense. I do love the things you can put their name on for their rooms, school supplies, etc. She doesn’t currently have any though. I am not sure how I feel about backpacks/diaper bags with kids’ names on them. Will someone walking by pretend to know them? Will it make it easier for strangers to pretend not to be strangers?
I have one of the most common names of the seventies and can still find mini license plates and keychains with my name on it. I wanted “easy to say, easy to spell, yet uncommon” names for my boys. Lucky for iron-on printer paper and Zazzle.
I am a Whitney, too!! I grew up in the 1980’s and found it painful that nothing ever had my name on it! Unfortunately, my son Bridger is in for the same with his unique name. 🙂