Name popularity a deal breaker?

It would 100% put me off a name if it was in the top 50, and there's no way I would use a name in the top 20, even if I loved it. My favourite girls name has actually just skyrocketed in popularity and I've removed it from my list 😔 I like names that are 'real' (not made up) and heard of but not commonly used. I work across 3 primary schools and I'm not sure I can think of a year group that doesn't have an Oliver/Ollie in it 😕

No it would not stop me using it.
The most popular names are not that popular.

It’s always dependent on your area anyway. Oliver may be the number one in the UK but you may find your Oliver is the only one in his class.

I should also add that my nine year old DD’s name wasn’t even in the top 100 when she was born but is now in the top 20 which is utterly gutting for me. Name trends change constantly so you could very well use a rare name only for it to suddenly become popular.

We need to remember why we name someone. To identify them! So yes as very common name would put me off. I know so many Olivers and Ollies! More than I know adult Steves!

I would never chose a very popular name but I like ‘proper’ names not made up ones. My child’s name was well out of the top 100 which pleased me but now it’s moving up although it’s taken over twenty years to do it. I teach and have never had a child with the same name in my school until this year when there’s one in nursery.

My sister asked me whether her choice of name was popular. I told her there was usually one in school. The following year I had four in my reception class but it’s actually still not that common. You just never know what’s ahead.

I know a couple under 10 Oliver's (my 7.5 year old included) it seems as though Ollie/Olly/Oli is getting more popular as a standalone name around here.

Tell a lie, I just googled and found someone with the same name as one of my kids in Florida of all places!

I have to admit, yes. I discounted several names just because they seemed to be very "everywhere" or were sounding tired/overused.

That's just me personally though. There is nothing objectively "wrong" with choosing a popular name!

At least you can be sure your kids will not get teased on account of their names.

And they will be less Googleable in years to come (unless you have a really outlandish surname) which is better for privacy.

My kids have name-and-surname combos that are probably unique in the entire world, as they have an unusual non-British surname as well, which is nice in a way but will make them easier to search for online---perhaps that's not such a good thing.

And yes, a very popular name would definitely put me off.

My son has an unusual name.

I always wonder how 'unusual' these names are? How many boys were named that name in his year of birth?

My ds was one of 25 of boys born in his year and even now there are only around 30 boys with his name. I consider that fairly unusual.

Popularity does bother me, but more with girls names than boys. I couldn't bring myself to use a top 10 name though no matter how much I loved it

Yes, it absolutely matters to me.

I have a William, which is a family name but obviously really popular. It was the nickname potential that swung me, as although he might encounter other Williams, there’ll be fewer Wills/Liams, which are the names we actually call him.

At least the boys names are all pretty different though. I’d love to know what percentage of girls are called Evie/ Eva/ Ava/ Evelyn etc- although they’re all different names they all blend into one another.

My son has an unusual name. Chose it because we love it but also liked that it's not popular. He's 3 and never met another at baby group / nursery etc but randomly the boy next door but one has the same name 😂

When I named DS Oliver it wasn't even a top one hundred name. He's a grown man now, goes by Ollie most of of the time but if popularity bothers you so much you better choose a Younique name because you never know what will be next in the popularity stakes.

I would still use it if you love it.

Local data is important. Some areas are very conservative with name choices and and some have a much wider pool of names.

Also, Oliver has been in the top 100 since 1974 (as far as I can tell - name data in the UK is hard to get pre-1996). It's not just Olivers in his class, but throughout his life there will be Olivers in his workplace, not just from his generation, but the previous generation too. I have friends whose names weren't locally popular growing up, but now in the workplace there are many of them.

It pays to check regional variations if popularity is important to you. Henry is #13 nationally but it's #6 in east England, #8 in SE England, and #7 in SW England. Equally, Oliver isn't #1 everywhere: Muhammad is in NW Eng, Yorkshire & the Humber, West Mids and London, and Harry is #1 in NE England.

My Oliver is 34 this year. When I told people his name they were gobsmacked because it was so unusual.
I must have started a trend 😃
I still really like it actually, go for it I say.

All your other choices are lovely traditional classic names that are all top 100 still @Heh1991
Because of that I wouldn't say you'd notice a massive difference day to day if you chose Oliver versus say Henry. It's not like you're picking between Oliver and Clarence (for example), where there's going to be a dramatic difference in popularity.
If Oliver is your favourite name on your list, definitely pick that!! I can see names like Henry overtaking Oliver soon anyway

Also, people who pick "unusual" names tend to be REALLY annoyed to meet another one. I saw someone look genuinely crestfallen when he told me his baby's name and I said, "Oh, how lovely, I know another baby X, actually." 😂

Whereas, with an Oliver, you wouldn't feel upset if there was another in the class, and it might be a pleasant surprise if there wasn't.

Yes it was a major factor for me. There's thousands of names out there! In saying that the popular names make up a smaller portion than what they used to. And it can be hard to predict what will become popular sometimes.
And the end of the day you have to love it regardless or whether it's popular or not. 😁.

I don't know anyone under the age of 10 who is called Oliver.

The most popular/common names in our primary school tend to be ones that I doubt would be in even the Top 50.

If you like the name, use it. It would be a shame to not use it and then find out later that your DS would've been the only Oliver in his nursery or school after all!

@Heh1991
Go for Oliver if you have your heart set on it! You’ll regret it if you don’t.
Your list of names are lovely, I like Edward just because It’s not a name I hear often for baby’s.

I agree with the statistical points made by @Aroundtheworldin80moves and @Whatsyourflava. It's oft cited that FTSE 100 CEOs are more likely to be called Steve or Stephen than they are to be a woman, and I don't think we'll ever now see that kind of name ubiquity.

I would make two points, however. First is that for boys' names the distribution of the data is hugely skewed towards the top 25 - nearly 25% of all boys born in England and Wales were given a top 25 name - and then it falls away quite quickly. Girls' names are more evenly distributed and there tend to be fewer of each one.

The other factor to consider is popularity over time. I wouldn't personally now use Jack because although it is a lovely name it was very very popular for a very long time and a Jack born now will find himself amongst many others in every workplace through his lifetime.

It wouldn't bother me. My son has a name that is quite common.

Even if you called your son something totally out there and unique it could catch on in a huge way.
I based my name choice simply on how much I liked the name.
I wouldn't go for a less common name just because it was less common. My sons middle name is slightly more uncommon but I didn't think it suited as a first name.