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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Baby names popular in USA but not in UK

64 replies

Beebeeeight · 02/04/2017 20:07

Reading the top 100 names there over the last 5 years some are very different to here!

Girls

Kendall
Genesis
Hadley
Cadence
Kaelyn
Aurora
Serenity
Nevaeh
Piper
Kennedy
Elise
Everly
London
Luna
Kinsley
Paisley
Makayla
Peyton
Elianna
Mila
Brianna
Brooklyn
Aaliyah
Riley

Boys

Camden
Luis
Colton
Micah
Bentley
Mateo
Jose
Jace
Angel
Julian
Lincoln
Hunter
Hudson
Jeremiah
Easton
Wyatt
Carlos
Grayson
Carter

I actually prefer a lot of these to the U.K. Top 100!

A lot of celebrity influences though I think.

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Mclaren37 · 07/04/2017 06:41

I think it depends where you live in America and where you live in the U.K. As someone else has already said, our US friends had very traditional baby boy names (Zachery, Alexander, Maximilian, Ben x 3, Matteo). We lived in quite a suburban area. Whereas our London friends back home have far more unusual names (Odin, Franklin, Bodhi, Beau, Milo, Casper). I think you'll always find names that are not to your taste out of a top 100 over a five year period.

glitterglitters · 06/04/2017 07:05

My dd is a Ramona which is very rare in the UK but more common in North America. Thankfully I'm half Canadian so my Canadian family send her all the Ramona named stuff she'll miss out on over here. She has a key ring, stickers and a rucksack with it on 😂

Hadley was on our list for dd2 though we're going for a US-centric middle name instead.

KeiraH · 06/04/2017 06:50

My sons middle name is Micah and I love Wyatt. I know a little girl who is called Camden.

lemonpoppyseed · 06/04/2017 02:45

I live in the US. My favourite baby name overhead at the park is 'Acton'. I got talking to her mum, and she told me that her daughter was named after a tiny, quaint village in England, just outside London, and that she hoped to go there one day to see how beautiful it was. She asked me if I'd ever been there, and I was just about to tell her that the only Acton I'd been to was Acton Town when I realized we were talking about the same place. I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth, and almost hope she never makes it across the Atlantic for a visit. The dangers of picking a place name for a first name...

SearchingforGrandparents · 06/04/2017 01:50

Mackenzie for a girl (my daughter's name)

SuperBeagle · 06/04/2017 01:30

I like/had these on my longer list for DCs:

  • Hadley
  • Piper
  • Luna
  • Peyton
  • Riley
  • Julian
  • Lincoln
  • Hudson
  • Wyatt
deluxetrolley · 06/04/2017 01:16

Most of the top American names sound incredibly tacky and I'm not sure they would fit very well in the UK!

We're in Australia and think here there is some middle ground between the UK and US taste. That said they seem to love the Royals here...Charlotte shot to number one in 2015!

SeveredPixieBits · 05/04/2017 23:07

I have a pregnant American friend who is planning on naming her little girl Sharon. Sharon! Americans be cray. Grin

ClaryBeanHorshAndMe · 05/04/2017 22:23

fluent

I suspect they have their own kind of snobbery?

Although in my personal expat-y opinion (NOT trying to offend btw!) some people in the UK (or at least some that I know) do take it very seriously...

fluentinsarcasm · 05/04/2017 21:33

I find Americans lack of snobbery very refreshing. It must be lovely to choose a name you love without all the angst and worry that seems to be abundant in the U.K

tobee · 05/04/2017 19:09

I'm not keen on surname first names or made up sounding names. Like Everley. They're not gonna disappear though are they? Oh well all I can do is dream.

Aderyn2016 · 05/04/2017 18:55

I love Peyton and Jace and Micah.

Not keen on the UK fashion for old people names like Arthur and Ezra.

NoncommittalToSparkleMotion · 05/04/2017 15:37

@Mitzy, I think you may be right.

NeedABumChange · 05/04/2017 14:58

They all sound tacky as fuck!

BuntyFigglesworthSpiffington · 05/04/2017 14:53
Shock

Of all the lovely names in the world!

Sophronia · 05/04/2017 14:52

I have an American friend who has two little boys named Colin and Trevor!

GuinessPunch · 05/04/2017 14:41

My ds name is there plus 4 others on my list!
3 of my girls names from my list are there also.

Kazzawazza69 · 05/04/2017 14:39

My cousin's daughter has just had a little boy called Kamden - we are in the south of England so not far from London!

MitzyLeFrouf · 05/04/2017 14:35

Emma seems a bit 1970s/1980s to me. Didn't it only become popular in America when Rachel from Friends used it for her daughter?

NoncommittalToSparkleMotion · 05/04/2017 14:30

I am always a bit surprised at the differences between UK and US naming trends. I'm in Canada, so neutral of course Wink

But as someone else mentioned, the top names for both seem more or less the same. Emma, Ava, Olivia et al seem like the safe bets.

BoboBunnyH0p · 05/04/2017 13:26

My DS name was in the top 100 names in America, but only a few were named it in the UK the year he was born. Since his birth it's the name of a character in a popular patrol cartoon so unlikely to ever gain popularity here.

Purpledaffodils · 04/04/2017 09:33

Hadleigh is a town not far from me so that's a no no. All the Americans that use the name Harlow make me laugh too. Not a pleasant place.

CrumpettyTree · 04/04/2017 08:34

I'm not a fan of the name Hadley, especially for a girl.

Pemba · 04/04/2017 05:51

Did anyone see 'The Affair' on Sky? It's set in the USA, present day.

I found it a bit unbelievable that the main character, Noah and his wife Helen (normal names, bit odd that he is called Noah in his 40s, most Noahs over here are kids, but never mind) have four kids called Whitney, Stacey, Martin and Trevor. They are a very middle class couple, and their kids' names just seem not only lower class (except maybe Martin) but also very dated. Trevor for a young boy, really? Is that feasible?

Highmaintenancefemalestuff · 03/04/2017 23:57

My Dd is Piper and we are in the UK.
squoosh I would have loved to have named my son after my dad who has passed away, if only his name wasn't Trevor! I couldn't imagine having a baby called Trevor.