Kym writes:
Hubby and I are expecting our sixth child, a girl, sometime this October. We are calling her Marigold – a name I’ve loved since the sixth grade and a name that hubby has grown to love, too. It has take me (not hubby) a good while to grow brave enough to use this name, because I’m sure there will be raised eyebrows and chatter behind our backs, but the name has finally solidified for me and to us, our daughter is already Marigold. There is no other name I love (except for the names we’ve already given our other daughters.) Now, my only concern is that I was told there is a new NBC show premiering in September in which there is a girl named….you guessed it….Marigold. I’ve confirmed this; it is true. I am a tad worried that there will be a huge influx of Marigolds being born in the next few years, not to mention how many will think we named our October daughter after the girl in the September show. It’s rather bumming me and I need some input. Will this very uncommon name become a huge hit?
No.
…I suppose I shouldn’t be so definite. Violet, after all, has done quite a journey up the ranks recently. But I still say no for Marigold: I think it’s a charming name, it’s on my own list, and I think it’s more likely to stay unusual—if not QUITE as unusual as before.
I think there will be at least a little jump from the show, because many people who have never even heard of the name Marigold will now suddenly have it brought to their attention—but I think there will be a lot of people who HAVE heard of it who will say “Oh, shoot; well, now that it’s in a show I don’t want to use it anymore.” I also think that if the show is a success, you will have to deal with the occasional or even frequent “Oh, like the show?” But you will say, “No, we chose the name before the show came out,” and that will be the end of it. And maybe the show will tank and it won’t even be an issue at all.
Keep in mind, of course, that many a person has made many a prediction that looks very, very silly later on. “Oh, computers will never take off!” “Television is just a fad!” “Madison? That’s the perfect ha-ha name for the crazy mermaid to choose, since no one would ever ACTUALLY use it!” There IS the risk that the time is absolutely ripe for a name like Marigold (books and TV shows often tap into incoming trends, rather than being the cause of them), and that the show will rocket it to the top. I’d put my money on a small spike that works in your favor by giving the name a pleasing normality/familiarity that keeps people from acting like you named your daughter Tulip or Hydrangea—but I could easily be absolutely wrong.
It sounds like it doesn’t really matter, though, if your daughter is already Marigold to both of you. It’s too bad about the show, but it doesn’t seem like you’d want to change her name on the off-chance that it will be a serious problem.
Let’s have a poll over to the right to collect others’ predictions. [Poll closed; see results below.]
Name update! Kym writes:
Well, here she is…our little flower, Marigold! Not one person has made any association with “that” TV series yet, and I’d say a good 98% of the people who hear her name absolutely LOVE it. So that makes for a happy momma (though I’d be happy regardless). Marigold was born in October and after choosing her name, we learned that the flower for the month of October is….the marigold! Fancy that. 🙂
Thanks all for your comments!
