Could you ever find your name on those souvenir magnets or bicycle license plates? There are pros and cons to common names.
When my parents chose the name “Breana,” they were looking for something unique.
At the beginning of 1994, it was unique.
At the end of 1994, it was #27 on the lists of popular baby names. Of course, it was soundly beaten out by Jessica and Ashley (shoutout to all the Jessicas and Ashleys who had an initial tacked to the end of their name for their entire elementary school experience).
Of course, the spelling of my name helped me stand out a bit, even if there were a few Briannas and Breannas in my life growing up. And my maiden name is fairly unique.
Then I married a Johnson. Ha! Do you know how many Breana Johnsons there are on Facebook? Go ahead. Look it up. I promise you won’t find me.
However, as any good freelance writer would, I made sure to stay at the top of Google for my name despite its commonality. This worked for about eight years, until someone named Breana Johnson lit her boyfriend on fire.
Yup. That’s right. “Texas Woman Charged with Murder After Setting Boyfriend on Fire.” I’m not going to link it here, because I would like to eventually beat her in Google rankings again. And also because it’s a pretty disturbing story.
Someone told me I need to do something more memorable than human arson, which is good advice, but I’m not really sure how to follow that act. I am, however, open to suggestion that do not involve murder or fire.
Now I’m curious to know the top hit for your name. Google your name and tell me what you find in the comments!
Breana Johnson 