Name popularity

I would totally avoid Sophia, Olivia and Amelia (although I'd avoid them anyway lol) because they have been top of the charts for so long. I always wanted rare - but not weird, how do you spell that - names for my kids, but then I looked up my own name and realised that it was about number 40 in the year I was born, but I have not met very many people with the same name, and it's certainly never really been an issue. Although I'd still avoid the absolute top ones, it made me rethink my opposition to those that are outside the top 20 or so, but still consistently well into the top 100.

I picked names years before we had kids. Neither were top 10 and one wasn’t even top 50. Now they are very popular.

I remember my dad telling me a couple of years ago 'would you believe i met a child called NOAH today '

The average person also isn’t aware of what names are popular.

True, my MIL and FIL thought top 10 names were names like Sarah and Christopher, which were very popular when their children were born. They were very surprised to hear the top 10 names now include Isla, Ava, Noah and Oscar.

My Dad recently bemoaned that 'no-one's calling their kids Arthur anymore'

I didn't consciously avoid popular names, but I did deliberately choose classic names that wouldn't date.

If you heard my children's names you wouldn't know whether they were 3, 30, 60 or 90.

The average person also isn’t aware of what names are popular. Perhaps partly as there’s more variety. I like the name Violet and mentioned it was going to be the name we used if we had a girl. My family thought I was weird for choosing such an old fashioned name unaware it’s in the top 50.

This is true actually. A couple of years ago at work a guy mentioned his sister had just had a baby and called it a really weird name, Willow. When I tried to say it's actually not that unusual I was shouted down by the rest of the team who agreed it was very uncommon (couldn't be bother to get stats out to prove them all wrong).

Since there’s a bigger variety of names being used I wonder if there’ll not be so many which will be dated. Also the chances of having duplicates in classes is significantly less even if you have a top 10 name so people shouldn’t be so influenced by their own experience back when they were at school. My name was ranked 5th when I was born and there were three times as many baby girls with my name than were called the number 1 girl’s name last year.

The average person also isn’t aware of what names are popular. Perhaps partly as there’s more variety. I like the name Violet and mentioned it was going to be the name we used if we had a girl. My family thought I was weird for choosing such an old fashioned name unaware it’s in the top 50.

My DH has a very classic name that was very popular at the time of his birth and has remained popular. PIL deliberately chose names for their DC that were popular 'so they wouldn't stand out'. DH was known as 'name initial' at school as there were quite a few others with the same name. It didn't bother him. He was a very shy child and says he would have hated a name which attracted attention and comment.

I have a relatively unusual name, although it's perfectly normal in Wales and is currently in the Welsh top 100, think Eleri. I grew up in England where my name is considered much more unusual. I was in my late 20s before I met someone else with my name and have yet to meet another. I like that I've only met one other with my name. I was a very shy child, like DH, but I liked that my name prompted comment as it helps kick start conversation. I also like that my name reflects my Welsh heritage.

The vast majority of comments have been nice 'oh that's so pretty, where's it from?'. Of course I get some rude comments, some people who decide 'oh I can't learn that, I'll call you Ellie instead'.

I think DH's family (and the English side of my own family) find it strange I like my name so much as so many people pronounce it wrong and the range of misspellings I get are truly spectacular. I think they also get comments from other people about it if they mention me by name.

One relative suggested I change it to something English so people wouldn't wonder about my background!

There are lots of lovely names out there outside of the top 100/500/1000 which are from other cultures, or are names which are simply not used a lot at the moment. There's a big range between a name like Juliet (currently ranked 777) or even an old name only used a handful of times each year, like Morwenna, and something truly unique.

I would prefer a Welsh name for any DC, and most will be unusual in England to a degree. If I didn't use a Welsh name I would prefer a name that wasn't super popular. I wouldn't name a child something unusual if I didn't like the name. I can't imagine many people do that, similarly I imagine most people who give their DC a top 10 name do so because they like the name and don't pick a name they don't like just because it's popular.

Ultimately there is no way of knowing if your child will be like my DH and will like having a popular name or if they will be like me and like having something a bit more unusual. You just have to pick something you like that you think won't truly embarrass the child (e.g. Tallulah does the hula) and hope they like it too.

I'd much rather name my child something nice than something 'different'.

Thankfully the two are not mutually exclusive .

I find this desire to be different so weird.

I think you're misunderstanding parents' wish for a less popular name. It has nothing at all to fo with wanting to BE different

Parents simply want to find names that identify their children, names that aren't already used by thousands of others.

My dc have names that were used about 30-50 times per year, so not very popular, but both names are well known, easy to say and spell. Unusual doesn't mean unknown or made up!

I do have a special place in my heart for some that are more unusual - Leta, Margarita, and Lambrini.

Until I read your post I had no idea Lambrini was a girls' name. The naff drink was my only association.

Catherine and Julia 1960s & 1970s but both classic so aren't dated

Went for an unusual and unpopular name which I love for DS and I love that he is the only one.
Unfortunately no one can pronounce it and act like it’s made up. He may decide to shorten or use his very regular middle name when he is older…

I have no problem with popular, class names. You would never know how old a George or Oliver or Thomas is by their name. I know more 30 and 40 something Olivers than I do young ones.
What I do not want, and have tried pretty hard to avoid, are faddy names that will age a child.
If you meet a Gary you know he’s pushing 60. Angela and Nigel are probably 65. Sharon is 55.

The same will be true in future years when you see an email pop up from Alfie or Teddy.

Our children have very unusual names but not made-up crazy ones.

Both names are well out of the top 500.

Also the more popular names are some of the ones that will sound the most dated in a generation or so. So Meghan and Lauren are very 90s, Catherine and Julia are 70s, and Linda and Barbara are 60s. A friend who is a GP tells me she knows if she is going to see an Elsie, she'll either be over 80 or under 8.

Some of my favourites Bridget (rank 992), Claudia (rank 609), and Marina (720) are all 'normal' names that people are familiar with and know how to spell and pronounce, but have not been intensely popular (at least as far back as 1996 which darkergreen shows me!) so aren't saturated. This is the sort of thing I like and mean when I refer to uncommon or not popular - though I appreciate that to some people they genuinely mean off the wall names. That being said I do have a special place in my heart for some that are more unusual - Leta, Margarita, and Lambrini.

I don't think anyone here is suggesting that George and Olivia are not nice names, they are, but some people want something more unique, a name is an identifier ultimately and when there are 4 in a class it doesn't serve its purpose quite so well. As someone who was once one of 5 Summas (not real name) in work it was a PITA and would want to avoid that for my child.

Also, just to add that children may resent having to spell their name - true - but this isn't a problem reserved for unusual names Amelia, Lily, and Isabella are all in top 10 and have multiple accepted spellings.

We chose an unusual name for DD2 20 years ago. I think there were two of the name the year she was born. The name’s now just outside the top 100. These things happen.

We chose a name that fit our criteria of travels well, easy to spell, no negative connotations (there were lots of names I liked but when I looked into the origin it was pretty unpleasant) and outside the top 100.

Didn't realise till we told a midwife her name it was a character in a tv show we didn't watch. Its now shot up, and will probably be the name we don't want - as in, flash in the pan associated with a particular era. But, there are worse things.

Currently trying to name no 2 and failing to come up with anything at all.

Something I think people miss: my daughter's nursery class have so many names that are basically the same sound. So think: Ella, Anna, Ava, Aria, Isla, Nova, Cora. Genuinely, there are about two girls whose names don't fit that format, and actually I'm more upset by how 'generic' her name sounds against that than the fact there might be two of them.

I actually think the 1980s where yes, there was more than one in each class, but Sarah / Helen/ Kate/ Claire/ Rebecca / Jessica all at least sounded different, even if they had an initial tagged on to the end.

Also agree about the workplace and the cumulative popularity over time: I once worked with 5 Katherines, born across about 30 years, all with different spellings.

I find this desire to be different so weird. I mean yeah if you like an unusual name then go for it. But if you genuinely like a popular name and decide not to use it purely because it's too popular then that's just odd and a bit attention-seeky surely.

Some kids won't want an unusual name. They might resent having to constantly spell it out or have comments made about it.

There's a reason some of the more popular names stay in the top 20 lists...it's because they are nice names. I'd much rather name my child something nice than something 'different'.

Reminds me of those cool alternative kids at school with the piercings and coloured hair....all desperate not to be mainstream yet all individually the same 🤣

@IamnotwhouthinkIam

"I think many kids seem happy enough to meet another with the same name/"fit in" - the trouble is you don't know if your own child will be one of them or annoyed at "sharing" their name when older. I wish they could tell us!"

I feel exactly the same!! I wish you could ask them as babies what they'd like.

For my partner, he wasn't bothered about having a name on tat in shops, he just wanted a name that would not garner any interest. He'd say his name and no comment would be made as it's a classic top 5 name for an 80s baby. He wouldn't want a comment about "oh that's unusual" or "that's a nice name, where did it come from" or even "you don't hear that much these days". He just wants to fit in.

It seems like more men than women share that viewpoint given that far more boys than girls are given a top 100 name. And it's women that are commenting on baby name videos. Men (on the whole) seem totally uninterested (and yes I know there are exemptions - I know some of the exceptions - the statistics do tell a story though!)

I have a fairly unusual name and when I was a child it wasn't the sort of name that was on any pencil case or similar. It didn't bother me.
If my name was on something, someone would get it for me and i got duplicates. The name is more popular now.

I prefer my name to the names that were on the 'tat'

When thinking about it, nearly all of the boys/men I've met in RL have a classic and fairly popular name for the decade they were born (even if the Simon's, Paul's etc happen to be out of fashion now). I've met more women with names that have never been in the top 100 (thinking of Isolde, Serena etc type names).

Even in my immediate family - I have a classic/well known name but which wasn't even in the top 100 the year I was born (I was the only one in school), where as my brothers name was equally classic/well known but top 15 and he seems perfectly happy with it.

I think many kids love being able to easily get plastic tat with their name on it when little, and seem happy enough to meet another with the same name/"fit in" - the trouble is you don't know if your own child will be one of them or annoyed at "sharing" their name when older. I wish they could tell us!