Anyone with a unique moniker can avoid this article, but if you were a girl named Jennifer, Sarah, Amy, Melissa or any form of the word Chris you CAN relate to this.  Everyone wants to be special and unique but when you enter this world with a common name you have a strike against you.  Or do you?  Here are some ways that having a common name can be a blessing and also a lesson in why WHO you are is not determined by WHAT you are named. 

I have often thought that having a common name is kind of like being a secret agent.  Since there are so many Jennifer's in the US (over 1.4 million to be exact ) it is easy to "blend".  In fact according to the Social Security Administration between the years of 1970 and 1984 Jennifer was the number one name given to all baby girls born in the US.  And because there are a lot of us it tends to mean that you can't really put a "type" to someone named Jennifer.  You have probably known some good ones and some bad ones but my guess is that you have known more than one and possibly referred to them as Jennifer Last Name because you had to keep them straight. 

To all of us, the "Common Named in America," . . . .  UNITE!  Here are some things you can embrace as you navigate finding your unique identity with an ordinary name.

• You will always find your name in the "personalized" area in the souvenir section of tourist traps while on vacation.  Whether it be a coffee mug, a key chain, bookmark or lanyard there is bound to be a "one of a kind"  trinket with your name on it.  I have mini personalized license plates, street signs and my favorite pink elastic belt with Jennifer repeatedly written around it . Take that Apple, River and Opal. . . and while you are at it you will have to pick up the #1 Kid keychain because they just don't have your name.

• You will try at some point to have a nickname.  My dad thought that after I was born I would go by JJ . . . While I have NEVER been called that I went through my Jenny phase, then there was a brief stint with Jenna, back to Jennifer and now Jen.  Bottom line people love the nickname.  I have learned that if you have three syllables in your first name people will want to shorten it.  Michael becomes Mike, Elizabeth becomes Liz and Christina becomes Chris.  People are lazy and they want fewer syllables.  Here is where the common named can unite and allow or not allow a nickname.  You define it, you own it.  Think J Lo, think P Diddy, Puff Daddy, Sean Puffy Combs, The artist formerly known as Prince.  They defined it, they owned it and you can too.

• The best times to "change" your name is generally in a transition period.  New school = new name, new town = new name, new job= opportunity to go by something new.  If you are not sure of your possible new  alias  I offer you the coffee house sampler method of name selection.  Here is how it works.  When the barista asks the name for your double tall extra hot latte tell them your "new name" are you ashamed picking up coffee for "Guinevere?" Than it is probably not a good choice . . Wanna be a "Jenni". . .  here's your chance. Something about having a barista shout out "Americano for JJ" makes it real.  Try it out.

• You get to name your pets and your children.  As someone with a plain name, chances are you won't have a dog named Rover or a child named something in the top ten names of their birth year.    Any expectant mom who has spent hours agonizing over names can relate. My kids are number 77 and 239 on their list of popular names respectively. But even with my clever naming conventions number 239 went into his preschool class of 12 with TWO other kids named the same thing . . . So yah. . .that didn't work I guess which leads me to the final point.

• Although names DO mean something they do not necessarily define you. What people call you is not as important as what we are called to do in this world.  Yes there is only one Oprah and one  Sting, they are unique.  But what truly matters is the same thing that has always mattered and it is not dependent on your naming convention.  When my parents held me as a newborn babe I am sure they didn't say  "I hope our Jennifer is just like the other 1.4 million." Nope, I am sure they knew that there would be no one just like me.  No one knows the journey we will go on through life but know that yours will be uniquely your own.

Embrace who you are, know your strengths and your areas for growth and love them both. Understand what you want to become, it is never too late to dream and make plans.  Make strides to be kind, show love and leave the world a better place, you will never regret this.  There may be hundreds of thousands of people out there with your same name but there is only one you.  Go introduce yourself, the world is waiting.