DH has chosen a really popular name. Tell me it doesn't matter?

Isla is beautiful, love it. As others have said, name popularity seems to work on a local level, so it may be that you never come across another Isla throughout childhood/school etc. Where we live, there are a zillion Isobels and Isabellas, and every other boy is called Harry - but I have never met an Olivia or a Ruby and I only know Jacks who are teenagers. I have come across one Isla, she would have been about 2 in 2004 so that would make her about 12 now I suppose. I thought it was a lovely name then and it still sounds very lovely now.

We didn't really care how popular a name was - and when I was expecting DC1 I was constantly reading about people called the name we had chosen if the baby was a girl, we considered changing it for about 3 seconds - what was more important was obvious spelling (I spent my childhood having to spell out my name), did it go with our surname and was it a nice name.

No idea where our children's names come in the chart and occasionally when they have been there (dc3 never) I have been quite pleased.

Pick a name because you like it. Don't dismiss a name because the baker is called it who annoyed you last week. This is your child and a name you will be saying for the rest of your life. When your child is 10 you won't care how many others have the name and won't even remember the baker but you might still regret not using the name.

Couple of points... it's top ten at the moment, but the list is ever changing... and as someone else said, it's also nationally... Not locally.

Our DD was born in January and her name was apparently the most popular in that year. We still (3 years on) have yet to meet another who will be in her school year and I know a lot of 3 year olds locally.

I say if DH is so pleased then just do it.

Isla is trendy-popular, I think, rather than always-top-ten-popular. Like Ruby was a few years ago.

I have a DS with a very popular name, and although we know lots of them it's looking unlikely that he will have another in his class, whereas theoretically less popular other son will be one of three I think, distinguished by nicknames. You just can't tell what will be popular where you are.

I'm a teacher and have one class with four Jacks and three Harrys! That gets confusing. We also have two pupils in the same year with exactly the same name as they have a common surname paired with a popular Christian name. It's worth trying to think outside the top ten just to hopefully avoid that, I think.

I think Isla is a really lovely name.

I have a popular name and I would rather have an unusual name, but my name was popular for years and years and it is still popular today, Isla may be popular right now but I wouldn't have thought she would know tons of girls/women with the same name as she grows up as it isn't one of those names which has been hovering in the top 10 for years and keeps raising and falling.

My dp has an unusal name and his best friend also has the same name, I guess there is no way of avoiding name clashes (or matches maybe!) unless you make up a new name.

I love Isla and don't know any baby Islas. But how about Elsa or Iola (eye- oh-la) instead?

Isla is a lovely name and I don't know of one around here so your fears of it being everywhere could be unfounded depending where you live I suppose.

My DSs are called Jack, Harry and Charlie. I slightly regret Jack as it was the no 1 name for every year for 13 years starting with the year he was born! But still many less Jacks than there were Davids in the 50s, 60s and 70s. My ex was called Dave! I still love Harry as a name and it really suits him. Charlie had to have a name that was 'as good' as the other two. I never for a moment thought that when they were teenagers all their names would be in the top 5!

TBH, it's only on MN that anyone every says anything negative about their names. All three boys like their names and none get teased about them.

I know of not a single Isla and it's a very pretty name.

These things are very localised. I have never met an Isla and think its a beautiful name.

it really doesn't matter.

both my DC have super popular names, because we needed names that worked in both DH's and my languages. DS is the only one in his year, but there are two (similar names to) Vaclavs and two (similar names to) Ryan, despite DS's name being number 1 boys name the year he was born. He loves it though, it means we see his name written down a lot, it's easy for him to spell and write it, and nobody ever pronounces it incorrectly (unlike our surname).

Isla is a wonderful name, and if DH's language could pronounce it, we'd have used it for DD!!

What about Iona as an alternative? They seem very similar to me but Iona is far less popular here.

It's lovely. I don't know any Isla's. Apart from I think one of the Queen's great granddaughters is one.

It is a nice name, it doesn't matter if it is popular.

You don't have to 'suck it up', he doesn't get to make the decision on his own regardless of your preferences

Isla is lovely name

Another one who had a rare name that bizarrely became ridiculously common within 12 months of dc's birth. As a result I feel I've been tricked by the name, and another time would go for something more common at the start and more classic. I love Isla, I'm in Scotland and the only Islas that I know are both spelt that way.

My 2 both have names in the top 20 and I do not think it matters :)

I meant to add, it doesn't matter to me how popular his name is now. I still love it! it's popular because it's a great name, just like Isla.

I adore Isla! it's top of the list if DC2 is a girl.

when I named DS 4 years ago I thought his name was quite unusual. I have met 5 under the age of 5! 3 of them are in his nursery.

use Isla, it's gorgeous!

Ds1 had the number 1 name when he was born 8 years ago (still top 5 I think), but we live in a very mixed area so there is a huge variety of names. He is the only one in his Junior school, and I know one in Y1 and one in Nursery.

I think it's a lovely name too. There is only one round here that I know of.

Not sure I'd spell it differently. I did meet an Isla who spellt it Iyla or something (can't remember) and I just thought it was a bit weird.

I had this exact dilemma with Jacob in the end we went with it cos we both love it and it suits him, we have a very common surname too so he could end up being in a class with someone with exactly the same name!