I was just wondering...since the 2010 stats have been released would you now go with a different name??

Underused does not have to mean "weird" or "strange" .

Because sometimes they are lovely classic, traditional names that people tend to like rather than weird strange names that noone has heard of ;)

Wouldn't life be more interesting and wouldn't it be easier to remember people if we all chose different names? Why are so many of choosing names that are already used by thousands of others.... given that there are indeed lots of names outside of the top 100 or so.

So to answer the OP, yes it would put me off .

emsies, my dd has Sophie as a middle name. Her first name is just outside the top 100 but has been creeping up the charts recently .

BUt Sophie's mummy - if you really have a Sophie hasn't it been in the top 5 the last few years ;) (I love the name btw)

The rankings are not really an accurate guide though. I have an unusual name that was not very common in the 80's and would no doubt have appearared very low down the list. But I did a Saturday morning drama group and there were 4 of us

shoobidoo My children are not that popular according to the stats (one at 120, one in the two hundreds, one in the four hundreds and one in the eight hundreds) , but it has been said on MN before that they will date horribly, which is a shame as I chose them because I thought they were classics! My theory is that if you know somebody in all age groups with the name then it is classic, and my dc fit that bill!
I don't think names like William, Benjamin and James will date though, despite their popularity, but names like Olivia and Oliver will.

I'd be put off if a name was in the top 10 (probably even top 50) because these names 1) will date more than less popular ones and 2) I'd rather my child didn't have to share his/her name with several others (talking from experience here too). Agree that the point of naming is to identify a person.

Given that the whole point of naming someone or something is to IDENTIFY him/her, then yes, I would avoid names that are already used by thousands of other little children. I too was one of 3 in my year and hated having been known as little xx.

There are so, so many lovely names to choose from outside the top100 or even top250. Good luck!

I think if you trully love a name, you won't mind. However, we named our 1st son with an unusual name (at the time) and now there are 3 of the same names in his little toddler group so I'm not too happy about that, so much so that I'm thinking of changing his name. haha

DS1's name has gone down in popularity, he's in the 100s, and am happy about that and DS2's, due in 7 weeks, name has gone down in popularity, albeit, by only 1 place, but am pleased. I do definitely think I would reconsider the name choice if it went up in popularity!

I'd much rather a name in the top 50 than a really "odd" name like some of the ones that spring up on lists here...!!

Our daughters name is in the top 10 and we chose it at the last minute having preferred more unusual names but I'm really glad she has it as its a "classic traditional name" which is important to me and for her employability in the future. However we haven't met any other babies or toddlers in our area with the name!

I'm not that keen on Jack as a name but bizarrely still yet to meet one locally. Lots of Nathans and Reubens and Zacs here.

sorry to be a technophone - but can anyone point me in the right direction of the full list? i can see the top 100, but not any further down.

thanks in advance

You can't win, DD1 was very popular, but it was a family name I was sticking with.
DD2 was supposed to be rarer, I only knew one 4 years older. Then on of the staff at nursery and one of the teachers at school used it and suddenly they have appeared everywhere.

I am totally put off by the lists. I have three children and with the exception of one, who appears in the the 'top' lists (Charlie - boy) I prefer to choose names that whilst not too unusual, aren't common.

I have two DS's with fairly popular names (around the number 20 mark in the list) but it didn't put me off as I wanted them to have traditional solid names. Thta said, I don't think I would have picked a name in the top 5 or so for the fact there my be several in a class.

With my DD however we chose a name that doesn't appear in the top 100. I don't know why but I felt that we could be a bit more "different" with a girls name???

I was surprised to find that our boys name was not on the list at all , and there were only 12 born with the same name as a potential dd.
However our other 4 dc all have their names within the top 1000, top ranking being eldest ds at 120.
I don't think I would use a name in the top 20, but only because we know other people (or lots of other people) with the same names. If I didn't know somebody called Samuel, for example, we would probably use it (if we liked it enough!)
I couldn't believe our boys name was not there, it is a fabby name, and would still use it if it was the number 1 name.

I've crossed a couple of names off our shortlist for DC2 because they're in the top 50 or so. I don't like James/Thomas/Jack type names anyway, I find them quite dull, and when there are hundreds of thousands of names out there it can't be that difficult to find something unusual without being ridiculous or 'kre8tiv'.

It doesn't matter to me which year the names were popular though. If a name was popular in the 1940s (eg John) but isn't used so much now, it would still put me off as there are a lot of people with the name around, they are just older men rather than other babies.

Thanks MamaLazarou, not much change I think.

Tuschinkski, Reuben is number 71 on the list (931 babies called Reuben in 2010).

I would definitely reconsider on a name if I found out it was top 100. Yes, I am weird. My name is really bloody common and I have always hated being one of many. When we meet new people, they never remember my name, but everyone remembers my son's because it is so unusual. The trick is to get something rare but not wacky, IMO, so everyone can spell and pronounce it but it's unusual enough to be memorable.

I can't open the other link. Can someone tell me where Reuben comes in the charts, how many there are etc? Thanks

I've been thinking about this a bit, and here are my thoughts for what it's worth!!
If you choose a girls name which is popular now, but has never been in the past, it may well become a 'sharon' or 'patricia' of the future. I wouldn't choose a top 20 name because I wouldn't want my childrens names to date e.g. for girls 'sharon' is a 70s name, 'patricia' is a 50s name etc. Having said that, some names really will stand the test of time, as they have been consistently popular e.g. james, william and thomas, or something like Louise, Emily or Elizabeth perhaps for girls, although I think there are fewer truly timeless girls names.