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Baby names

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

Original poster

Popularity of John?

40 replies

saritah · 11/12/2017 12:44

We decided on simple, classic John for a boy. We don't like trendy/faddy names and liked the fact that John was around the top 100, so he'd probably be the only one in his class, etc etc. Now I've just seen it's shot up to 56 in the latest Babycentre charts!

In your esteemed opinions/crystal balls is John going to keep getting more popular? It's the only name we really like, but it's bugging me a bit!

Thanks in advance for your thoughts Smile

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SparkleFizz · 11/12/2017 14:21

I’d ignore Babycentre. I don’t know how they get their popularity ratings, but I don’t believe they’re an accurate reflection of what people actually name their DC.

According to the darkgreener website - based on the official office of national statistics data - John was ranked at 120th most popular in 2016, and has been trending downwards since 1996. A sharp upwards surge to 56th most popular this year or next is extremely unlikely.

Great name IMO BTW.

MaroonPencil · 11/12/2017 14:11

It's lovely. I know one John who is nine or ten and one Johnny who is a bit younger; there are no Johns that I know of at my children's school - certainly not in either of their year group - so it can't be that popular.

deptfordgirl · 11/12/2017 14:10

I met a baby John at a playgroup the other day and thought it was so sweet and very unusual nowadays. Really don't hear it on children much so go for it.

Sugarpiehoneyeye · 11/12/2017 14:06

John's a fabulous name, definitely use it.

BabloHoney · 11/12/2017 13:41

It’s lovely. I wanted Jonny for our boy but my other half wasn’t keen!

NoodieRoodie · 11/12/2017 13:39

I have one, he's 6 and I've yet to encounter another under the age of 40!

MikeUniformMike · 11/12/2017 13:36

I like it. Much nicer that the names that have only been popular for about 10 years. Johnny is also cute.

agatha45 · 11/12/2017 13:30

I Know about 4 under 10 but quite geographically dispersed. There is 1 in my LOs nursery and none in the local school (London suburb). It’s a great name.

SaturndayNight · 11/12/2017 13:15

It's adorable on a baby, very traditional, which I like. It makes a nice change from every boy in the playground being called Oscar or Oliver!

It's not in the top 100 at the moment, just outside I think. Babycentre doesn't know anything. There's no way it has shot up by that much, it's just not a zietgeist name right now.

LastGirlOnTheLeft · 11/12/2017 13:14

I have a little nephew called John. Like you OP it was the only boys' name my sis really liked - it suits him down to the ground. It is a great name!!

MarkleAndSpencer · 11/12/2017 13:12

*much

MarkleAndSpencer · 11/12/2017 13:11

We have a Jonathan and I know one other John (or variant of John/Jonathan) under five. It's a nice classic name and I wouldn't worry too I'd!

Bizarroworld · 11/12/2017 13:11

Go with John, OP

Bizarroworld · 11/12/2017 13:10

Babycentre has absolutely no way of knowing what names have been popular in 2017 so those articles are a crock of s**t...the only reliable source is the national statistics and Darkgreener (which uses the national statistics) and it was ranked as 120th in 2016...as it’s not a faddish name I would be surprised if it had jumped that much in 2017!!

That being said, national statistics are not always a representative of your local area...for example I do not know any baby Olivias but I know multiple Harpers and Lunas. So there is obviously no guarantee that there won’t be lots of little Johns. (I actually know a 1 year old John but he goes by his middle name-Charlie)

GreatDuckCookery6211 · 11/12/2017 13:06

I never understand this popularity malarkey. Just choose a name you love.. which is John. It’s as old as time so it could come back in fashion. I think it’s doubtful though.

Don’t overthink it as it’ll drive you potty.

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