Why do people rule names out on popularity?

My parents went out of their way to give me a unique name. I've not met a single other person with my name.

I don't feel I suit it at all.

I'm not cool or interesting in any way. And no one can ever spell it.

And I never got a key chain or license plate with my name on it.

I gave my DC pretty traditional, "boring" names. Their names won't define them, but rather they'll make their names for themselves.

Just my own take on it, anyway.

(I don't have DC). I have an name that is unusual in UK. I get sick of spelling it. As a child I always wanted cups/pencils/stickers with my name on, the things in the carousels you turn round.

maybe this is a grass is always greener issue and Id have not liked being one of four Singa in my class.

And my name is so common that there is often one with the same surname initial as me (currently the case in my place of work) which means I get to be called Laura Ho.

Because I have spent my whole life surrounded by people with the same name as me. It's a pain in the arse and makes me feel dull.

Presumably the people who name their children popular names are comfortable with it. If you're not, then you don't give your child one. There is no reason to go round judging the people who do, as it doesn't affect you at all.

grace
The way I see it is don't mind popular names that are reasonably timeless so much as I mind popular names that are popular as in fashionable (such as the names with mae stuck on the end, hyphenated names, names of a trend)

@RudeDog, I was just kidding. I also have a lot of friends called Claire! (I still like my name though.)

@paddypants13 not bashing - obviously I have a LOT of friends called Claire!

Most people don't rule out calling their children popular names, that's why they are popular. It's seems to be more of an issue on MN than in real life.

I deliberately chose relatively common names for my DC as I grew up as a shy child with an unusual name and hated the attention it drew to me.

My name has been top 10 for about 25 years, usually in the top 5 or 3, and spent a long stint at #1.

There was a few people in my classes with the same name but it was never an issue, and I was never fussed. My closest friend also shares my name. I don't think it's a big deal.

Woah! Less of the Claire bashing please!!! It's my name and actually, I really like it.

I chose a really common name for ds because I love it, it has a family connection for both me and dh and it just suits him. It was on my list before he was born but it was very much third on a list of 3 and dh didn't want it at all. When he arrived though, he just was a xxxx.

Dd has a name that's hovered around 40th/50th in the most popular names for years. I know a few people with the same name but the youngest is in her late 30s.

"I just don't think you can choose a child's name based on their school years, that's all."

It isn't about school, that's just the earliest place it is likely to happen.
If you have a popular name of its time, you are going to meet others with that name throughout your entire life.

It's not so much the Jane P and Jane T, though. It's really common to have things like Big Jane and Little Jane as identifiers. Some children find it really difficult being referred to by a physical characteristic.

When I was growing up EVERYONE was called David, Claire, sarah etc

I had an 'unusual' name (it's very popular again now) I liked being the only one. It's not a silly name, it was just out of fashion

I've done the same for DD - we've met one other child with the name on holiday. I like it that when someone says the name it means her - there's 6 Olivia's in her year at school, it's annoying.

@Babbington 2016 gets released in August.

We picked less common names for each of our 5 DC. Worked for the first 4. Youngest was born in the SE where we had never heard her name, nor come into contact with anyone with that name. Moved to the SW when she was 3.

There is another one at Brownies, one at the summer camp she goes to, one in her drama group. Everywhere we go we meet another one. Having moved to an area of a different accent everyone pronounces it wrong, too. We use a long A, just as we say Bahth, grahss, Cahstle. People here use a short a. It grates.

We loved Noah but it was top 10 across practically the entire western world!! I imagined him being Fat Noah or Skinny Noah or Noah G or Ginger Noah etc etc so we picked something more unusual. Annoyingly I know only one other Noah who possibly would have picked something else if we'd picked it first. I do however know a ton of Williams which is seemingly getting v popular again

bounty have the top 100 names for 2016, and some predictions for 2017 :)

I must admit that although I was happy to use my popular girls name, have found out baby is a boy and am relieved his name isn't in the top 100 at all

Does anyone have a good source for finding out the top 200/100 UK names? Seems to be lots for 2015 but I'd like to see most current

Battling with liking popular names myself but not 100% wanting to go for them for that reason

We chose a 'normal' name, but ruled out any that had been in the top 10 for the past few years as we didn't want DS to be one of three of four Xs in his year level.

As it turned out, his name was 87th (or something!) in his birth year, with another 100 or so babies with the same name/spelling in our home state/country (not U.K.).

Ha pasta I am your age and married to a Ben

Because you have a conversation with someone about Hannah and then realise part way through you were both thinking of different Hannahs and have got very confused!

DS's name didn't even make the list when he was born! It might have if Scotland was included in the stats but there we go.

I think it all comes down to personal preference.

There's a name I've wanted to use, love it, have an affinity with it, can imagine my daughter being called it, and it has a famile connection (is my middle name and grandmothers name)

I've only set my heart on it recently and so I looked it up and it is in the top 100, but that honestly doesnt bother me.

However with my first DD I wanted a beautiful, sweet, short name that had a lovely meaning and wasn't very common. I found it and it's perfect, I honestly adore it and love saying it. And the fact that it was uncommon was appealing then too. But the love of a name trumps the popularity for me :)

But it's not you but your child that has to live with it. And it's not just at school but throughout their working lives.

If, by the time they're an adult, a child is sufficiently sick of being referred to by their first name plus surname initial, they will have found a nickname/shortened version to use, or use a middle name, or even change their name!

I once worked in a school with two children with the same name, but it was a unisex name, so one was a boy and one was a girl. The children actively referred to them as 'XXX the girl' and 'XXX the boy', and it never bothered them. Their immediate friendship groups never did this, because they knew who they were talking about (and to staff they were XXX-A and XXX-B).

I just don't think you can choose a child's name based on their school years, that's all.