Typical, or Unique?

William Shakespeare immortally stated: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". And yet, the baby-name book business is a multi-million dollar business and parents pour over countless names before settling on the right one.

Some people are named after someone the parents knew.

Some people are named arbitrarily.

Some parents give names as a cruel joke (see the late Texan Philanthropist Ima Hogg)

Some people are named after characters in books, songs, tv shows or movies.

And for all the time that parents put into finding a name, so many people end up with the same name.

I recently read the book Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. In one of the chapters, the authors examined patterns in the names which parents give their offspring. I highly recommend the book, but be forewarned, you may not be a fan of how your name is analyzed.

Sorry for getting off on a tangent, back to my main point:

What do you think? Stick with a classic name (Elizabeth, John, etc), a more recently popular name (Tyler, Alyssa, Madison, Ryan), or a made up name (Britlyn Laurenne, for example).

And is a name that important? A deal breaker with friends and significant others?

Are we that shallow? Or is a name more important than Shakespeare supposed?