The baby name Noah

I wanted Malachai shortened to Cai for eldest who was nearly a Noah.

I like Zachary dm Zach but prefer Zachariah. DS3 should have been Zachariah but is Ezekiel dm Zeke. All those get my vote.
Nephew called Jude, I love it but he does get called Judey as a baby.
River like Jude I like as a good unisex name.

Caleb is cute but I can't get the tv show from when I was younger out of my head and the only real one I know is... Hard work.

We wanted Noah 9 years ago and didn't cos it was so popular. I know none. I know OF one as a baby of a friend's friend. I do like the name we picked instead but I regret that we let so called popularity dictate.

I’ve got a 2 year old and I’ve only come across 1 Noah.
However other names on your list I know several Caleb’s, Zak’s and Jude’s.

😂😂😂

In my experience, you're not far wrong! There are so many people striving to be different these days, that the odd Noah sneaks through hardly unnoticed!

Maybe if I worked in a leafy, predominantly white British, village the same names would crop up again and again. Where I am though there's such a wide variety of cultures and naming styles, names are hardly ever repeated.

@BoleynMemories13 , the ones who end up in the same class are the two Ptolemys.

Kai - a bit 'rooney'. (Cai is fine if you are Welsh)
Caleb - love it
River - too wet, and too rivery
Zeke - I know three - a diminutive of Ezekiel. Nice in a quirky way.
Zachary - popular. I like it
Jude - I know several Judes, short for Judith/Judy.

Even so, you get an awareness for these things by hearing names squawked across the supermarkets, pub restaurants, public transport etc. We're also acutely more aware of hearing names we like, especially if we're secretly hoping they don't get too popular. So I'd take the fact you haven't been aware of it's current popularity at all as a positive sign that it might not actually be that popular around you.

You say you never wanted a top 10 name, yet you don't seem to have been keeping a track of the official stats until you're actually pregnant (Noah has been top 10 for years now). My point is, I don't think this "I've always said I wouldn't pick a name in the top 10" is as important to you as you originally thought it would be. If you were truly anti-popular names, you would have shown an interest in what is actually popular over the years (giving yourself plenty of time to think of alternatives before you got pregnant, if it was truly that important to you). In the grand scheme of things, I don't think it matters to you as much as you thought it would. I fail to believe you wouldn't have been aware of Noah's growing national popularity over the last decade or so if it did.

It's ok to use the number one name, thousands do! Despite what some on Mumsnet would have you believe, they don't all automatically end up in the same class! They are spread dar and wide across the whole country. No matters how many others there may be across the country, your Noah will be the only one who matters to you.

Popular names are not what they used to be in terms of percentage of children actually called those names especially compared to the 80s and earlier.
If you go by the census data around 1.44% of boys born were called the no1 name Noah. Which isnt a massive amount, there is just so many names nowadays.

If you don't have children yet, you won't necessarily be aware of what baby names have been popular recently.
If you don't go to places where there are young children you won't hear the names in use, and some names are more popular in some areas.
I live in a multicultural area so names like Noah, Sofia and Raphael seem very popular, and long vowelly names are popular for girls.

It's quite common for new parents to call their child a name they think is unusual, only to find that Arlo or Margot is one of 4 at the nursery.

The key for me here is you "didn't have a clue" until looking it up. So clearly your area isn't absolutely overrun with little Noahs, otherwise you would have worked it out a lot sooner.

Popularity varies from area to area. Some of the top names around me seem to be Arlo, Caleb, Harper, Luna, Mila, Aria... none of which are in the national top 5. Some of the national top 5 names are popular around me (Oliver, Noah, Olivia, Isla) but hardly an Ava, Amelia or George to be seen).

Point is, it really doesn't matter what is popular across the country as a whole. It doesn't necessarily mean it will be popular near you. Even if it is, who cares? Days of 3 in a class are all but gone as people choose from such a larger pool of names now than ever before. If it does happen, it's just a coincidence and can happen to any name. Imagine picking something you love much less and there being another in his class at school, and no Noahs. It could easily happen. How would you feel?

It's much more important to go for something you love. There really isn't much difference between names in the top 10 and names in the top 20 in terms of usage. There isn't much difference between the top 20 and the top 50, top 50 and top 100 etc. I could go on. Why limit yourself to silly rules that you won't pick it if it falls in a certain position nationally?

You love Noah for a reason, and until you read that list you were oblivious that it was currently the most popular name in England and Wales. That proves to me that it really can't matter that much.

What about Jonah or Joel instead?

Just makes me think of an old beardy man on a boat.

Why so popular?

It's top of th charts in the UK - the furthest thing from odd you could call your baby.

Old Testament names are really popular @daisypond , it’s just a different than Joshua, Daniel and the like. Ezra, Elijah, Jude and Noah are very popular.

I know loads of Noahs, all in their mid-20s. It would seem a bit odd to call a baby it nowadays. I think those Old Testament names for boys are v dated now- names like Joshua, Ethan, etc.

I only know 2. Both are around 20 now. Lovely name.

If you love it, use it. Yes, it is popular, but nowhere near as popular as Jack was 20 years ago. Theo/Theodore and Mohammed (various spellings) are probably far more popular.
Babies called Noah in England & Wales since 1996
Babies called Jack in England & Wales since 1996

There are quite a lot of Noah's in my son's school. He has 2 in his class. My neighbour also just had a baby Noah. So it's popular round where we live.

There’s only 1 in my DC’s school year. However there are multiple George’s, Oscars, Samuel’s and Jacks.

You might like Noel, Nova, Nathaniel, or Nolan :)

My son has a top 5 name and is the only one in his year. I only know a few Noah’s (but a zillion Oliver’s)! So maybe check the ons data for your region to see how popular Noah is for your area? Within reason I’d rather a name I loved than changing my choice due to popularity, but I think I would think twice if it was the number one name in my area.

Do you like

Leo
Nathan
Jonah
Oscar
Joseph “Joey”
Max
Alfie
Henry
Ted (Edward)
Theo
Arthur
Freddie
Jake / Jacob
Finley / Finn
Owen
Rory
Evan
Louie
Lewis
Ellis
Eli
Luca
Liam