Oliver . Noah. Oscar. Theo

Complete opposite in our area they are ĺiterally everywhere!

If popularity wasn't an issue I think I would personally choose Oliver. It seems the most classic

Are you not in the UK?

Theo is the most popular round here. I know one of all the others in under 10s. A few older. Anyway as that is not an issue my order of preference is Oliver, Theo, Noah, Oscar.

Yes, those are the names of all the boys.

Even if they truly aren't common in your area, they are very common in this generation. So bestow them if you want to, but don't kid yourself that your sons won't have common names their whole lives.

I love your whole list, honestly don’t think you can go wrong with any of them. I would say Noah is most popular where I live. I think I would pick Oliver or Oscar though. Theo is bit trendy for me, but I still think it’s a great name.

Nobody knows how their future child will feel about their name so it's a bit of a silly argument really. For every kid who hates having a popular name there's another who loves that their parents gave them a 'normal' name (not everyone wants to stand out). For every kid who loves having an unusual name, there's another who is embarrassed by their other there name and wishes their parents had gone more mainstream.

Also, in terms of popularity you never know which names will be duplicated. You could go outside the top 100 and there are randomly 2 in the same class. You could go number 1 and they're the only one in the whole school. No guarantees. I think people should just go for what they love (within reason!) as you never know whether your child will appreciate your choice or not!

Although worth remembering that popular names are no where near as popular now as they used to be. Oliver now at number 2 has 4167 (2021). That wouldn’t have even put it in the top 10 in the 90’s.

I like all of those names and it wouldn't bother me how popular they were. Who cares?

Maybe the child?!

There have been loads of posters saying how much they hate living with a common name.

I love the name Oliver it is my son’s name. But he plays for two football teams and there are three Oliver’s on each team. It’s a very common name but it’s strong and classic so I don’t regret using it for my son

I like all of those names and it wouldn't bother me how popular they were. Who cares?
I like Theo best.

If it helps...the only Oscars I know - and there are a few - have 4 legs!

They are all very overused and will fall out of favour and start to sound dated. Personally I'd choose a name i loved outside the top100

Oliver - popular, suits any age. I know ones of all ages
Noah - wildly popular now but none seem to be older than 25
Oscar - another popular name where there don't seem to be old ones
Theo - far too popular if you consider Theodore as well. Much prefer Leo.

I only like Oliver from your list.

I live in an area where Noah is very popular and don't know any little Olivers

I think of those I’d go for Oliver. It’s been popular for a long time but I don’t think it will date like the others. I think the others will be very 2020 names. Nothing wrong with that necessarily though, but my preference is for more classic.
I know lots of children with these names, but actually in my two DC’s year groups, in DC1’s year there is only one Oliver, and none of the others, and dc2’s year there is one Noah, none of the others. Popular names aren’t like they used to be with there being 5 in a class.

I love Oliver and Theo

Oliver just feels so classic (maybe thanks to Oliver Twist or the historical Cromwell). It’s also been popular (Top 100) for about 50 years now so at least it isn’t going to date your son.

Your other choices, while lovely sounding, are just so trendy - they have all surged nationally in the last 20 years so we have no way of knowing how well they’ll date.

If Oliver isn’t absolutely everywhere in your local area I say go for it- it also has the benefit of having the most nn choices of your picks too (Olly or Lev) just in case there is ever a second one is his class.

Oliver is my favourite

I'm glad to hear you're not concerned by national popularity if, in your experience, you don't hear those names much around you. All areas are different. The first 3 are quite popular around me but I hardly ever hear Theo, despite what the national charts say. The similar Leo I hear quite a bit, but not Theo.

My personal order of preference is Noah, Theo, Oliver, Oscar but I don't dislike any of them. Noah would have been on our list if I hadn't taught so many in recent years.

Nice enough names but I feel like they cover around half of the boys I know under 5! Along with Freddie and Leo.

I have a Noah and we don't know any others. I get lots of compliments on his name but the way my Geordie youngest whines "Nowaaahhh" puts me off a bit 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Youngest is Elijah and only one in his school but loads in our area!

Other names I love.. Gabriel...Jude.. Joseph (love me a biblical name).

I like them all apart from from Noah. In order of favourite it’s Oliver, Theo, Oscar.

Yawn.
They're nice names don't get me wrong, which is why they're so popular

Theo is by far the most common in my area followed by Oliver. My favourites of the 4 are Oscar and Noah anyway, unrelated to popularity and I’m just not keen on Oliver for some reason.

Oscar!