I have been trying to come up with valid advantages to naming your child something unusual. There are some pros, but I'm not sure that they outweigh the cons, but I suppose that's for you to decide.

You might name your child something unusual and your child may just embrace the challenge of an unusual name. Does anyone happen to remember one of the Real World seasons where one of the girls was named Piggy? This wasn't a nickname either. Her parents actually named this poor girl Piggy. But, she embraced it. I remember saying, "That's horrible," when I saw her name pop up on the screen. My brother was next to me and said, "Why is that horrible? Her parents did her a favor. With a name like Piggy, she has to be fit her whole life or she'll always be made fun of." I suppose he had a point. Nonetheless, please don't name your child Piggy. In fact, just stay away from all animal names altogether. I see very little good coming from that.

Two of my closest guy friends (who are also my cousins) have somewhat unusual names. Bryce and Raife. Bryce isn't quite as unusual as Raife. We always tease him and say that there are probably only two people in the world with the name Raife. Neither of these boys have ever had any trouble dealing with their names. In fact, I think Raife has probably benefited from it because he has proven to be unforgettable in the minds of most females. Maybe that has more to do with his baby face and sparkly blue eyes than his name though.

Another pro of having an unusual name is that it is works well if your child grows up to be a celebrity. Naming your baby boy Justice might seem like a bad idea, but if his dream is to be an actor, it may end up being perfect. It might even get some agents to perk up when they see such a dramatic name on a resume. Of course, it's hard to tell if he'll want to be an actor when he's a newborn. Good luck with that.

In my opinion, girls seem to handle unusual names much better than boys. Names like Angel, Hope, Faith, Charity, Echo, Ember, and Dream have a good chance of being accepted by your little girl and your community. When she's little, people will love the sweetness and innocence associated with the name and as she grows older, they will appreciate the beauty and elegance of the name. Nowadays, you have to try pretty hard to name you little girl something that will truly damage her self-esteem.

And finally the most obvious pro is probably exactly what you were hoping for in naming your child something unusual. Your child will be different. Your child will be remembered and will feel special just like their name implies. Your child will love the uniqueness of their name and and feel proud of the choice you made.

Visit the link below to read Part One: The Cons.