How popular are these names?

[StellaLuna82]

Hi,

We do not live in the UK right now but are planning to return sometime in the next few years.
I'm curious to know how popular these names are in the UK at the moment. Parents with children at school age- are these names cropping up all over the place? Also hoped of giving my child an unusual name. Love all three equally.

Scarlet Rose
Ruby Joan (Joan a family name)
Astrid (not sure on a middle name here yet)

Also, which do you prefer from these three?

Thanks in advance. :)

[afreshstartplease]

Astrid I know none
Scarlet I have met a small handful under 5
Ruby was very popular a few years back but does seem to have died down now

[afreshstartplease]

Probably prefer ruby

Did have scarlet on a shortlist for dd but a friend said it sounded hard and I've gone off it ever since

Astrid is nice too but not my cup of tea iykwim

[Findingthisdifficult1234]

I think Scarlet Rose is the prettiest name out of your choices.
I don't know of any Scarlets x

[pilates]

Ruby

[patienceisvirtuous]

Ruby is a very cool name (ignoring it's overuse a few years back)

[SanityClause]

DD1 is 15, and there was a Scarlett at her nursery, but I haven't heard of many others.

Ruby was very popular a few years ago. It was very unusual when DD1 was little, (she knew one from a toddler group) then all of a sudden, it was everywhere, I think inspired by that song by the Kaiser Chiefs.

I have never met an Astrid, but I love the name. My mother bought dolls for us and made them brides' dresses one Christmas, when DSis and I were small. My sister's was fair haired and called Astrid; mine had dark hair, and was called Lola.

[fancyacupoftea]

In the list from the Office for National Statistics of girls names registered in 2013, Ruby is #11, Scarlett is #17 (Scarlet #180) and Astrid is #626.
You're much better using this as an indicator than children who are in school at the moment because name trends have changed so much!

(Scarlett is my choice out of those by the way)

[ThinkIveBeenHacked]

Astrid is the rarest, then Scarlet, then Ruby probably the most popular.

Rose is a very popular Middle Name (but quite uncommon for a first name).

Id go for Scarlet Rose, however I really like Astrid, and would alliterate, and have Astrid Aurora.

Ruby is lovely, however I dont like Joan.

[Lunastarfish]

I know 3 under 10 called Scarlett and 6 under 5 called Ruby!

I don't know any Astrids.

[Sophronia]

I know 3 Scarlets and 2 Rubys, don't know any Astrids. Astrid is my favourite of the three.

[DuploChaos]

Lots of Scarlets and Rubys. Rose (along with May/Mae/Mai) seem to be the go to middle names for girls.

Astrid is not my cup of tea either but it's cropped up a lot on here lately so may be due for a surge in popularity..

[JakeyBurd]

You don't say which part of the UK you are planning to live in, and the names vary a lot. fancyacupoftea quoted you the stats for England and Wales, but in Scotland they ranked as follows:

Ruby #24 (198 babies)
Scarlett #82 (61)
Astrid #347 (11)
Scarlet #559 (6)

Five more Scarlets of various spelling, including 2 Scarlett-Rose. Hope that helps!

[StellaLuna82]

Thanks for the replies. I really thought Scarlet and Ruby were more popular than that. Back to the drawing board of choosing! ;)

[ToffeeCaramel]

Astrid fits your unusual criteria, but Scarlett and Ruby definitely aren't considered unusual.

[PenguinsandtheTantrumofDoom]

Scarlet and Ruby are totally not unusual I'm afraid. Joan is cool. Rose is a very common middle name (but lovely).

Astrid I would consider unusual, don't know where it comes on the ONS list.