Poppy, has it risen to #5 in popularity?

I only know of one Poppy. It's a lovely name.

There are 2 Poppy's in my NCT group!

I have never met anyone that I can remember that didn't suit their name.

I use a diminutive of my first name that is normally used by older people, so when I've written or emailed people in the past, they've usually commented 'ooh we were expecting someone older.'

This pathetic act of ego stroking never fails to delight me.

Therefore I would recommend giving your children names that were fashionable about thirty or forty years ago. So here's to a new generation of Baby Kevins and baby Pauls, baby Donnas and baby Sarahs.

Funny how fashions for names changes - neither of my daughters names are in the top 100 but they are not unusual or deliberately quirky - my youngest is Polly and the only one I know in her age group, though there are plenty of Holly's and Molly's, Milly's and Poppy's - weird.

My son's name is in the top 10 now but a decade ago when I named him it was not even in the top 100. Choose a name that means something to you and your family and try not to leave them open to cruel nicknames and you will be fine.

Good luck.

It will be the name of thousands of adult women in about 18 years time.

Well said DoctorBrownBear

Poppy is a lovely name it is very popular here too though (Berkshire) you can't always predict how popular a name will be in your area though. 2 of my dc have popular names and yet neither has another of the same name in their school. DS2 is William and in a large grammar school and yet no other William in his year (there must be in the school though) and dd1 is Lucy and in a junior school of several hundred she is the only Lucy, but the other names which were on the short list, India, Freya and Darcie there are at least 2 of each and Grace is exceptionally popular with one in each yr3 and yr 2 class! Poppy there are 3 that I know of in our primary school.

LOL at Andrew C Hunt. .. they say that people grow into their names. I have never met anyone that I can remember that didn't suit their name.

Nothing wrong with josephine but it is a rather old fashioned name. I think it is more like a name for someone over the age of 40. Bunty is just awful and cruel.

What's wrong with Josephine?? Can't see how that would get anyone bullied!

Yes from the age of 9 to 16, that child named Bunty will be known to all and sundry at school as Cunty.

I went to University with someone called Andrew C. HUNT. Which was apt because he was a cunt of tbe highest order.

My DD is called poppy. I don't very often hear of others round here (NW). I think it is a lovely name as are alot of the popular names, hence why they are poular. I think judging by this section, an awful lot of MN people resort to naming their children with awful names in an attempt to be 'different'. I would prefer to go with a name I love and not be swayed by lists or rankings. I think tgere are some that would sniff at any name that was in the top 100, yet would be happy to saddle their child with a name that will get them bullied as soon as thwy start school. I read of a bunty yesterday and everyone was saying 'oh yar lurverly' WHAT it rhymes with cunty for a start. . I have just read a post on how josephine is a beautiful name... WHAT.. also considering all of names that are so popular on here.. where are they all in real life? I go to 2 groups a week, regularly go to play centres and browse the signing in list and listen at the park and theme park, yet never here any of the cool MN names being used in public. So yes you get alot of threads bashing names purely because they are popular but so what. I think you should go with a name that u love and not worry about rankings and what others think.

Poppy is a lovely name so I'm not surprised it's so popular.

I know 4 Poppy's under the age of 4.
I am in Cheshire.

I know 4 Poppy's under the age of 4.
I am in Cheshire.

yes curlew, I tend to think that it is a pets' name and a little girls' name (our cat was already named Poppy when we got her).

I can't imagine a sturdy wench in her 40s named Poppy.

It's not a name for an adult woman anyway- consider yourself having had a lucky escape.....

I know 4 Poppies - 2 under 2, 1 aged 12 and 1 aged 30.

But yes, I think it's very popular in pockets and pretty popular in general.

I doubt it will climb from 13th to 5th though.

Ha! Our ten years old cat Poppy is ahead of the the curve in the name stakes. I would tell her but she's asleep all curled up on my feet.

I don't know, but I have a 2 year old Poppy. I have loved the name for years and years and DS1 would have been a Poppy 17 years ago, had he not been a boy!

It's pure coincidence that the name was so popular by the time we came to use it, but then I do have form for that. I chose the name Jack for my first born son when I was about 9 or 10 (30 years ago!) - again, it was pure coincidence that it was mega popular when my Jack was born!

As you can see, I've never let popularity put me off a name .

It's probably not ONS data. Poppy was 13th last year.

Nothing wrong with a popular name of course.

The full list of all baby names from 2012, ranked by popularity is here:

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/baby-names--england-and-wales/2012/rtd-baby-names--girls--2012.xls

One of my DD's is Poppy. I'd never met another Poppy and I had no idea that the name was so high on the list (especially in my area) until we'd already named her. I did have a moment of panic about choosing such a popular name. However, DD is 3 now and she is the only Poppy at her nursery. Iris was our second choice of name and I still sometimes think that Iris would have suited her more!

Poppy often gets a little spike in numbers in November.

I don't know how Bounty amass their stats (post-natal ward interviews?) or what intervals they publish.

ONS is all birth registrations (with their exact spellings) for the whole year, and it takes until the middle of the year (at least) to publish the data.

I don't know any Poppy's, I like it was on our list but we decided on Matilda. I always thought Poppy was a very middle class name up until a few years ago then it became mainstream.
Every book my dd(aged 1) seems to own feature a Poppy, Sam & Poppy on the farm, numerous princess Poppy's, Poppy cat, horses named Poppy etc so I think dd would love a little Poppy sister as she's so familiar with the name already!!!