Underused Names

I like

Suzannah
Rosanna
Louisa
Araminta

It's not you that needs the guts - it's the child who has to live with the name of a biblical harlot and a paedophile's victim!

Jezebel was a prostitute in the bible, n'est pas???? could be wrong. But steer clear!

Juliet is gorgeous. Ignore your MUM. That is an order!! My mum talked me out of Phoebe and I still sometimes feel cross about it. My x and I both liked that name, and my Mum hated it. I was trying to please everybody.

Lydia is lovely too, and it hasn't moved much in the last ten years. That's a good sign imo. It's been in the lower half of the top 100 for ages. Names which leap up ten places every year are the ones that sound a bit exhausted in a decade.

someone mentioned jezebel... i love the name but my mum would never forgive me i also really love lolita but it makes people think of unappropriate relationships with children... i would use both if i had the guts

My dd is Lydia- thought it would get more popular, but last time I checked it wasn't even in the top 100 anymore- I am glad though (smile)

Annabel/lle/Anabell is at number 68.

I think Sebastian is likely to become more popular - it is a good name.

Juliet is indeed lovely.

I think Philip and Christopher are quite under-used as boys' names.

Ruth, Naomi are two under-used girls' names.

A name I love and you NEVER hear is Yolande.

But if you ADD them together it does..

And it's important to remember that even with the most popular names, there are so many babies born that you don't meet many of them unless you are really unlucky. For example, in my ds's school of 420 children, there are only 3 Emilys. It's a bit unfortunate that they are all in the same class, but hey ho!

My dd is Grace - very unusual 14 years ago, popular now, but we don't know any others - apart from the other one in her form. Hey ho again!

Actualy Annabel does not even appear in the top 100, using any of the spelling variations.

See I would say that Annabel/Annabelle/Anabell is overused not underused! Know of loads of them. If you add all the spellings it will be top 50 - agree with PP!

My DD is called Annabel known as Annie we also considerd Jullianna, Lara and Adelade. All uncomon but i think beautifull.

I think Polly is a realy pretty name.

For boys i love Sebastian, and Lenard(Lenny) Im surprised Sebastian is not more popular as i think its a lovely name and always get a positive reaction when introducing ds aged 3mths to people.

JoeyBettany, I have an almost-2 year old Polly, I've always loved the name and was surprised but secretly pleased that it isn't more popular. Maybe the Polly parrot connection puts people off?

I've always had a positive reaction - usually once I've corrected people for thinking I've said Poppy or Holly!

Titus.

Christina isn't used much is it? Pretty name

JoeyBettany - Polly is geogeous! One of my absolute faves.

I agree on Maria, I know a 2 year old Maria and when I first met her I thought "what a refreshing name"

Best friends little one is Zoe and haven't seen that around much.

I quite like Esther myself.

Glad to hear people on this thread championing the name Juliet. I'm due PFB in 2 weeks time, if it's a girl then she will be called Juliet.

My mum almost died off when I told her that was the name me and DH had chosen and every time the child is mentioned she tells me that she doesn't like that name

It is a lovely name, glad you are all on my side

Names associated with the 60s/70s are probably the most underused as people think they are more common than they are.
eg
Ann/e
Clarissa
Dawn
Deborah
Elaine
Jean
Karen
Margot
Patsy
Rhonda
Sally
Vivien
Wendy

Some names have been 'replaced' with more modern versions eg

Alison (Alicia)
Lorraine + Lorna (Lauren)
Yvonne + Yvette (Zoe/Zara)

Some names are too assciated with one person
eg
Diana,

Some have awkward connotations:
Dolores
Jemima
Marina

Boys names which are rarer than I thought:
Malcolm
Alan
Otis
Robin
Roy

I have an Anabelle and think it's just about right in the popularity stakes. If you add all the variations of spelling I think it'd easily be top 50. We planned on calling ours Belle, but she's very much an Ana.

As for underused names, I'm voting Edgar. It's such a fabulous name. My boy gets loads of positive reactions for it! It's strong, manly and has soft nicknames. He goes by Ed, Eddie, Fred... endless.

Saying that, I don't really WANT it to rise in popularity.

I have a friend (female) called Sharlen - a name I never hear of from one year to the next but it's lovely and very unusual.

Arabella, I mentioned it once when she was pregnant, the only time she even hinted that a bit of feedback might be not totally UNwelcome!! She said that she and her husband had thought about Willy Burn from William Byrne and "decided it wouldn't be a problem".. riiiiight, if you say not!

JoeyBettany, Polly is gorgeous... you're ahead of the fashion curve that's all!

Agree re Juliet. We considered it strongly. It's beautiful and classic.

Arabella I would go for Annabel in a flash. You could call her Anna for short, people worry too much about this sort of thing IMO and it can be limiting. If you love it, I say go for it.

Juliet - for sure underused.
Susannah
Joanna
Julia
Louisa
Ruth
Anabela

Hmm, lots I can't think of at the moment.