The Popularity of a Name

My first name was very popular in the 80s and 90s, I think it's making a comeback too...

When I was at primary school, there was 4 others that had the same first name and we were in the same class from nursery to year 6. Secondary school, there was about 15 of my name in my year- thankfully they weren't in my class!!

If you like the name, then use it!

I've just had a look at the top five UK baby names for boys and girls last year. My DD was born just over a year ago and I have spent about five days per week for most of that time going to various baby groups and have only met one girl and one boy whose names are in the top five.

I suspect that certain names that are popular where I live wouldn't be at all in different parts of the country and vice versa but even so, thousands of babies are born each year and it is still a very small percentage that are given the top names.

My daughters name was just within the top 50 however it must have been popular locally because there are 3 in her year. I had never met anyone with her name before she was born, so was surprised when she started school.

What about Maryanne/ Marianne if you like Mary?

I don't think Chloe is over popular or faddish.

Having dealt with a 9 year old dd whose 3 good friends all have the same name (as do 2 other girls in the class!) I am a fan of non top 10 names..

It also seems a shame to me for someone to reject a name they truly love in favour of one they like less, just because lots of other people like the first name too.

I would advise trying to find a name you love that's not in the top 20. Not necessarily a faddy or made-up name, just something that you don't hear every day.

There are so many lovely names in the world that it seems a shame to me to just choose one from a pre-approved list.

My DCs have very popular names especially from what I have read on this board! Top 30 and been popular a while (not when they were born but we all say that!) They're coming up to yr5 and yr3 now and still the only ones in the school and nursery with those names. What I'm trying to say is, you just never know how things will turn out so go with the name you love. That's what I did.

I don't think it matters really...I have a very well known but never top 10 name (like Victoria). There was only one of me in my year but in my work (150 people) there's 6 of us all of different ages.

So about 1 baby in every 200 was called Chloe in your state in 2015. It'll probably be more popular in some parts of your state than others, but you're still unlikely to be falling over Chloe's among your child's peers.

I'm in the UK, so not up to speed with Australian name trends, but I don't think Chloe would be considered faddish in the UK. It's pretty well established over here.

Are you in the US or Canada? That makes a difference. The U.K. has a much denser distribution of its population in comparison.

Definitely avoid the popular faddish top ten names IMO. I have one. Dull. There are lots of great " normal " names outside the top 10 - its not a choice between Eve or moon unit.

Swap lily Amelia Eve or grace all overdone with say -off top of head - Tess Mary Miranda and Zoe.

DS has a top 10 name whereas DD has a name outside of top 100.

Sometimes popularity is a good thing.... I mean a lot of classic names are never out of the top 10?

I'd also add that your child might be the only X in their class at primary, but once they reach secondary school the intake could increase to four or six classes. I teach secondary in a reasonably small school (four-form entry, ie 120 kids per year). I teach two classes with multiple Jacks, and there are four Jack Smiths on roll.

I think that on the whole it doesn't matter that much - but if the name is Jack, then I'd reconsider, especially if you have a common surname. It has been top 3 since 1994, and according the names.darkgreener there have been 7000-9000 Jacks born every year since 1995. It has been popular for so long that there is a whole generation of them, the oldest of whom are now twenty. Once those boys leave school and start mixing in mixed-age groups like workplaces, they will encounter a lot of other Jacks. Lovely name but so common, and still really popular - I know three under 2.

I don't think popularity should put you off if you really feel the name is right for you. Honestly, you say it a thousand times over the course of a year - hundreds of times a day! It's often the first and last name on your lips every morning and every evening...therefore the love of the name is more important to consider. Will you regret it if you don't use it? Do you both love another name as much? Does it feel right? Can you imagine using a different name?

I have a Jack. Very common name but it suits him and we knew it instantly. He is a handsome boy and needed something short and simple. He struggles at school (with his work) and I think an unusual name would make things harder still for him later on. Plus for two years in a row he was the ONLY Jack in his school. Even now there is only one other (this is now the third year he's been at school). There are plenty of Harrys, Williams and Oliver's. More then you can shake a stick at. Even some Zach's. Not one Jack for two years yet the stats would suggest you can't turn around for tripping over them. Very strange but I really believe the stats can vary wildly between areas and county's and don't always mean you will have more then one in your child's class at school.

One of my children has a very popular name - there are five in their year at school. We still love the name but really wish we had thought of a different one.

Popularity isn't important, IMO... The love of the name should come first

I would 100% give my child a name outside the top 100, becuase i would not want them to have to experience that i did. I would also not give them a weird or made-up name, but a name that will hopefully be individual to them whilst they are at school.

I don't mind crossing paths with people who share my name, but not to the extent that i had to when i was younger.

My name was number 1 the year i was born, and several years before and after, and i cannot tell you how shit it is to be one of a million girls with the same name in your school year.

It was forever Name A or Name F or even worse was Little Name or Big Name' or even Name ...no not that one, the other one

And plus, becuase i was one of the youngest in the year, i alwasy got the taunting and teasing of You STOLE my name

I always hated my name purely becuase it was so popular and i hated having to be connected to all of those other girls. All of the other girls with the same name were bitchier, naughtier or gobbier so i generally got put into that same catagory, or forgotten about entirely becuase i was not as loud or obnoxious as the rest of them.
I never felt i could do anything special with the name becuase it was so boring and dull, and it belonged to every other girl in my school so how i could i possibly stand out against all the others.
It also stuck me with a nickname (the obvious shortening of the name) which i didn't like either and tried to get everyone to stop using, becuase all the other ones used it and i wanted to be different. My attempts didn't work and i got stuck with the nn, which i eventually just accepted. However, the one positive is that all the rest of them generally went back to using the full version of the name in adulthood, wheras i stuck with the nickname, so there are not quite so many of me now.

My name is deeply unfashionable and has been for many many years (outside the top 500 during my life so far). My parents chose it for family reasons.

The plus side is that when I hear my name I can generally assume someone is talking to me, and I've never had to be 'paperclips number 1' (I currently work in a small office of about 15 people with four Helens so they are numbered because two of them also have the same initial).

The downside was there was (and still is) never a keychain or novelty item with my name on. As a child this was a bit annoying, but probably saved my parents a fortune in overpriced gift shop tat.

I wouldn't go way out of my way to call my children something that definitely nobody else will have chosen over a more popular name that I liked more.

However, I do tend to avoid very popular names, mainly because they are often ones where, because there are lots of them around, I know at least one I don't like, rather than because I would just die if my child encountered another child with the same name as them at school, therefore realising that they weren't a special snowflake and their self-esteem was irreparably damaged

No worries. I'm busy procrastinating wildly this morning