Does it really matter if it's in the "top 100"??

I have 3 daughters who have top 10 names infact they maybe top 5 and one was the No1 name for a few years (including the year of her birth, I think) - they are all at primary/ early secondary and the only one in their class. I understand people wanting to consider popularity but I wouldn't discount a name purely on those grounds.

In my dds school there are also two children in the same year with quite an unusual name, one I hadn't heard in years. Both sets of parents were affronted when they realised at the welcome night.

I think these days giving your child a popular name is a blessing as it leads to online anonymity which is super valuable in the internet age.

All my kids names are top 100, 2 are top 20...I couldn't give a toss. We chose the names we liked best! I always find it odd and a bit sad that people are desperate to find a name that nobody else has...completely understandable if the names are those they love as we all have different tastes, but it often seems as though they themselves compromise on their choices in order not to choose a popular name.

And being called John, Paul and George didn't seem to hold them back at all..........

Of course it doesn't matter. Even with the most popular names you'd be pretty unlucky to have another one in your particular class of 30. And fashions change very quickly anyway- 21 years ago we chose a name for our dd we thought was really unusual but classic- it was Grace!

It think it depends exactly how popular it is, and in your area specifically. DD1 is called Isabela (I've NC for this). In the year she was born, Isabella & Isabelle were both top 20, and Isobel, Isabel, Bella were all in the top 100 as well. She doesn't like having the same/similar name to multiple other girls in her class or being referred to as "Izzy A".

DD2's name is Clara which is top 100 as well but only just, and doesn't have loads of popular variations. She probably won't have 5 of them in her year group, but her name will be known and easy to spell which is definitely an advantage of a fairly common name.

Top 100 is fine. But I would avoid "name of the year" names just cause it's annoying to be one of three or four in every group you're in (experience).

Agree that it doesn't matter one bit, and how unusual a child's name is will have precisely zero bearing on how much they stand out as an individual. Have said it many a time before, by some of the most stunningly beautiful/intelligent/bizarre/memorable mavericks I've ever known have been Sarahs and Jameses - and equally there are old acquaintances I vaguely recall about whom the only thing I remember is their name.

Plus the vast majority of children (not all, but most) are perfectly happy with a popular name. Not that this should be the case in an ideal world, by a name that makes them stick out is more likely to be a problem, at least until adolescence.

It doesn't matter at all if you love the name, but names that suddenly spikes in popularity for a few years will be very associated with the era they were popular in, and may be considered passé in the future. My name was mooted on a baby names thread a few weeks ago and it got lots of "far too 80s" comments, I can see some well used names of today getting that kind of reaction in twenty or thirty years time.

Posted too soon....

Only one in their school anyway so it doesn't matter if it's popular or not. I mean we all know a Dave don't we? Do we lose sleep over it?

Doesn't matter one bit.
All mine are in the top 100. My eldest is the only one I know of. There's one more of our middle dc and our youngest is the only one in the school called their name.

It doesn't matter one bit. I've never understood MN when it comes to names. It seems people try and outdo each other with how they tout the most unusual and made up names. I don't think it's snobbery but I still don't get why people try and foist names on you that range from the sublime to the ridiculous!

I'm with you

My eldest has a name that has been popular since time began and he was the only one in his year at primary school. I think there was only one other child in the school with the same name.

My youngest has a very popular name and there are a couple in his class but it doesn't bother him.

If you love the name then it doesn't matter ( except Connor or Bradley, they are just plain naughty boys names