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Baby names

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

Original poster

Noah

62 replies

rainyfriday · 16/05/2019 22:28

I love the name Noah for DS3 due in summer, but worry about it's popularity. I've been reading the thread about popular names with interest. I would normally avoid such a popular name.

How many little Noahs do you know? Will it date badly? Should I even care?

Why is naming a baby such hard work?!

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GinUnicorn · 17/05/2019 09:22

Love it. I wanted it for DD had she been a big.

Also love Rowan and Michael.

Proseccofuelled · 17/05/2019 09:20

I think Michael is quite dated - fell out of fashion prob 10 years ago

Your dated name will be a different experience because so many more people had the same name - even the very top names are now less than 1% of babies so statistically not the 2/3 a class of previous generations.

I think Noah is a really lovely name - one of my favourites

Original poster
rainyfriday · 17/05/2019 09:08

This is what I keep telling myself!
My eldest is Michael, known as Mikey, so has a timeless classic but my youngest is Rowan which is a bit more trendy at the moment I guess. I only know one Noah myself, who is 17 so it doesn't feel popular but there are around 25 born each year in my local borough in recent years.

I agree with pp that my other options are probably going to date as well. But then I have a 'dated' name and there has always been a couple of others in my classes or workplaces and it's never really bothered me.

Perhaps I'm just overthinking it!

OP posts:
littlemissalwaystired · 17/05/2019 08:34

As a midwife I'd say Noah seems to be rising in popularity atm, but if you love it then go for it. Better to have a popular name that you love, over a less popular one that you're "meh" aboutSmile

Hazlenutpie · 17/05/2019 08:33

Makes me think of that twat on The Affair.

BunnyJumps · 17/05/2019 08:32

Do you know a Noah?

daisypond · 17/05/2019 08:32

To be honest, I think Flynn, Maxwell and Eli will also date very quickly too.

daisypond · 17/05/2019 08:24

It’s fine but dated. The ones I know are in their very late teens and early 20s. I suspect that boys’ Old Testament names like this will be out of fashion soon. Joshua, Ethan, Isaac, etc. You’d be safer with the more classic mainstream ones like Daniel.

sparklysunflower · 17/05/2019 07:02

By looking outside the top 100 there are thousands of other great names that are never 'fashionable'

We're not restricted to the top most trendy names when choosing a name for our baby.

Proseccofuelled · 17/05/2019 07:02

Why does it worry you that Noah age 50 will sound like a 50 year old’s name?

Proseccofuelled · 17/05/2019 07:01

Sparklysunflower - ‘classic timeless’ will still not be guaranteed. The current girls trend for example is vowels & no back to back consonants between first & second names etc. So whether you choose Amelia Olivia or one way down the charts like Dulcie or Lyra - you’re still following the fashion trends of our generation.

Proseccofuelled · 17/05/2019 06:57

There are a handful of names that span multiple generations & may continue to do so - so you’d be looking at names like these

Noah
sparklysunflower · 17/05/2019 06:56

Exactly. And by avoiding a name that has shot up in popularity (almost out of nowhere), you reduce the risk of having a 'dated' name as it falls out favour.

Much better to go for a more classic timeless name outside the top 100. There are so many great 'unfashionable' names!

Proseccofuelled · 17/05/2019 06:55

Names that are likely to be on the rise in a decade or two are the ones considered too unfashionable for our generation

Noah
Proseccofuelled · 17/05/2019 06:46

Most names you like are going to be ones the next generation will want to distance themselves from & so will date. Have a look at this chart & you can see these names will be strongly linked to their generation.

Noah
NanooCov · 17/05/2019 06:46

Noah is lovely and I prefer it to any of your other options personally.

Original poster
rainyfriday · 17/05/2019 06:13

Thank you all! Popularity doesn't bother me as much as it dating badly. I do love it though.

Other contenders are: Flynn, Maxwell and Eli

OP posts:
SnowsInWater · 17/05/2019 04:27

Emma how funny - we gave our Noah a very conventional middle name as we thought it would be a good back up if he thought Noah was too wacky as he grew up!

SnowsInWater · 17/05/2019 04:25

My Noah is 20 and was the only boy of that name in his school, it's massively popular now.

It is still my all time favourite boys name (don't tell his brother).

EmmaGrundyForPM · 17/05/2019 04:13

21 years ago I was pregnant with ds2 and really wanted to call him Noah. Dh vetoed it on the grounds that it was so unusual he would be teased for it. None of my friends ds thought it was a good idea either- one of them said it was bizarre, another one said it was so old fashioned that it wouldn't be fair to DS. So he ended up with a different name.

Fast forward a few years and it seemed that every other baby was called Noah. Names go through periods of popularity.

If you like it then go for it. It's a great name!

NotInGuatemalaNowDrRopata · 17/05/2019 04:05

I think it's a lovely name, but steered away from it myself because of the first syllable "no" which is all you'll be saying for the first few years!

Astronica · 17/05/2019 02:59

Yes it's a very popular name. Yes it will date. Should you care - only you can decide whether popularity or your love for the name is more important.

MrsFoxPlus4 · 17/05/2019 02:28

I don’t really know any young Noah’s anymore

AnotherRoadsideAttraction · 17/05/2019 01:30

Loads! So many Noahs and Oscars.

Proseccofuelled · 17/05/2019 01:28

Noah is lovely and yes it will date but the majority of names do