Choose a name even though it’s super popular

Emily is a lovely name, and although it’s popular I think it falls into the ‘classic’ rather than ‘trendy’ category. If you love it, I’d use it! My daughter’s name was 90th or so in the rankings, but we’ve met quite a lot of children with the same one - whereas I don’t think we know a single baby/child Emily.

If it helps too, with the quantity of Emilys born in Ireland last year and the quantity of Primary schools there, when those kids go to school only 1 in 10 of their year groups will have an Emily in it.
So even though its the most popular name, it isn't that common, it averages at less than 1 Emily per Primary school.

Honestly just pick a name you like. You don't know what will be popular in 5-10 years so don't worry about it.

I know so many people who called their kid things like Noah and Arthur thinking they were being really unusual and not knowing everyone else was thinking the same. Just go for a name you actually like and then you won't regret it, whether there are 10 in the class or 10 in the country.

I think you’re likely to regret it if you don’t use a name you really love on popularity grounds. We nearly talked ourselves out of DD’s name as we thought maybe it was too popular, but we didn’t like anything else nearly as much so we went for it. I still love it, as does she, and she ended up being the only one in her whole primary school and her secondary school year of 250. You could easily pick something supposedly more unusual and still end up with overlap - which really doesn’t matter, but would be a shame if you’d sacrificed a name you preferred to avoid that happening!

I came on to say what Sandysandwich has said.
I’d use it.

It's a lovely, traditional name and I'd rather that than some of the daft names that no one will know how to spell that some parents saddle their poor children with.

Looking at the report for last year, in Ireland it looks like 1.25% of baby girls were named Emily. Not even that likely that there will be another in her year group. Not like in 1980 when something like 8% of girls in the UK were called Jennifer.
It's a pretty name, that kind of popularity wouldn't put me off at all.

Amelia got revived a few years back and has been done to death ever since.

I think as long as you avoid the filler middle names of Rose/May/Grace which every girl on the planet seems to currently have then you’ll be ok.

I'm a Primary teacher. We don't have any Emilys in the school currently. One left Y6 last year. Popular names in the 'charts' don't always translate to your local area. Last year I had 3 girls with the same fairly unusual name in the class. You can't tell what will happen, so I say go with what you love, regardless.

Agree. There is not one Lily in my daughter’s school, only one Olivia, yet there are duplicates of Clara, Juliette, Ffion and other less common names.

It’s a nice name, use it if you like it. Personally I wanted names that were a bit less common. Our boys name ended up being around number 30 the year he was born, which is more common than I would have liked. Ours girls wasn’t even too 100. But top 10 names are common for a reason - a lot of people like them with good reason. I think a common name is preferable to a really out there one or one with an odd spelling.

I wouldn't worry about how popular a name is. You won't regret choosing a name you love.

Emily is a family name for us and I love it (it was almost DD1’s name). I say pick the name you love.

It's the name you love, and regardless of how many you'll encounter, she will always be your little Emily.

I have a DD with a name that hasn't been out of the top ten for probably two decades all over the English speaking world. She only had one other girl of that name in her year of 52 kids in school, and the other one used a different abbreviation

I have another DD with a name that isn't in the top 500 anywhere, and on the first day of kindergarten, we met the only other one we've ever met. They are firm friends, again with different abbreviations.

Honestly I wouldn't put too much thought into national databases. The top names nationally I don't know anyone whose child is named a top 5 girls name..not one under the age of 5!! But I know about a dozen Charlottes which is 25.

Noah is no 2 which I know loads of but other than that I think the top ten boys I maybe know of one or two but that's all

Emily is so pretty

Go for what you love. Parents choose from such a wider pool of names these days that the names at the top of the charts are nowhere near as popular as the popular names when we were kids.

Days of 3 or more kids in the class with the same name are all but over, and if names are duplicated it can be any name. I've taught loads of kids with statistically popular names who have been the only one in the school let alone the class, yet sometimes the most random names can be duplicated!

You can never predict these things. If Emily is the name you love, I think you'll regret not using it, especially if there are no Emilys in her class.

If you really love it then you should go for it, you might regret not using it if you end up only having one girl, personally the popularity wouldn't put me off a name

Emilia or Amelia - maybe due a revival?

One of my sons has a very popular name he’s the only one on his year and there were also none in his brothers year (not sure about the others) but loads of slightly less popular ones

also doesn’t really matter if it’s a popular name all that matters is that you love it. Out of my 3 kids I only know one Emily on their years

The names that top the lists are being given to less children nowadays, as there's a wider mix of names in the UK.

www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/past-times/3852489/what-were-the-most-popular-baby-names-of-1981-1991-2001-and-2011/

This is Scotland admittedly but the same is seen elsewhere. Laura was top in 1981 and given to over 1000 girls whereas Sophie was top in 2011 only given to 659.

Personally, if you like it, I'd just pick it! My sons name is in the top 40 for 2022, but I've not met a baby with the same name yet

People use a much wider range of names now than they did in the 70s or 80s, so the most popular names now are a lot less popular than their equivalents from past decades.

I don't know the stats, and occasionally particular names will be disproportionately popular in a particular area of the community, but while you might end of with another Emily in the same class, it is by no means a given (whereas in the past it was virtually guaranteed that there would be multiples of the most popular names). It is a beautiful name and remains popular for a reason.

My ds had a super popular name top 3 name for years yet at his primary school there was 2 In his whole school and I have probably met 2 or 3 since . Just coz it's popular doesn't mean it will be in your local area. Yet you could call her something that isn't in the top 500 and there could be 2 in her class !
Call her the name you like.

My DD is called that and she had one girl in her primary class with the same name and now none in her whole school year at secondary with the same name.