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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be really annoyed that my all time favourite girl's name is so bloody popular?

92 replies

Theicingontop · 26/01/2013 17:54

Isobel.

Really miffed. I was convincing myself up until now that maybe it's not that popular, and besides, I'm in love with the Scottish spelling and everyone else goes for the fancy French version, so she'll be a bit different when it comes to school.

Starting to realise that if I don't want my so far imaginary daughter to be one of hundreds of Isobels I'll have to rethink it. Kind of disappointing. I've had it picked out for years.

Anyone else?

OP posts:

Branleuse · 26/01/2013 19:09

its a classic name and timeless. I love it. I think you should use it

I dont think its overly popular. Not any more than its ever been

TaggieCampbellBlack · 26/01/2013 19:10

YANBU.

Both my DDs have common popular names.

However I am obviously a trend setter as I was 15 years ahead of everyone else.

Ponderingonaquandry · 26/01/2013 19:11

Isobel and all its variants is so popular around here along with Ella, Faye and Jessica.

I love Isobel and Imogen but they've been well and truly done to death so luckily went for names the normal side of unusual and get nothing but compliments about them and safe in the knowledge they're the only one in their class

LadyBeagleEyes · 26/01/2013 19:12

Ishbel is the Gaelic version and I used to know one though I haven't heard it in years.
Pronounced as it says.

SolidSnake · 26/01/2013 19:13

Lucille I always thought Dylan was quite a popular name, i'm in my twenties and went to school with a lot of them

SnowGo · 26/01/2013 19:15

There is no fathoming my hatred of the name Isobel, however that is only because I am an Isabella and spent my entire school life being asked if I spelt it: "with an 'o'?"/"two 'l's or one?"/"with an 'e' at the end?"
No, my name has none of those because its not an Isa(o)bel(le) Its as if people heard the Isa part then assumed it had and Belle on the end not a Bella.

The only plus is that I am just old enough to have missed the onslaught of Isabels and consequent Isabellas. I don't know anyone my age or older with my name so its still unusual for me. Plus I get the pretty shortening of Bella

I can offer you Francesca which was the other name I could have been given- there aren't many of them about!

Arithmeticulous · 26/01/2013 19:16

Ysabella just gets 'Isabella with a Y' to distinguish between Isabella A, B, C and D and Isobel and Isabelle.

SolidSnake · 26/01/2013 19:19

Snow Again, went to school with a lot of Francescas! Maybe it's all different in Wales? (unless your Welsh also of course!)

BlablaSos · 26/01/2013 19:23

I wanted that name too but I knew 3 of them so didn't pick it. If I didn't personally know the other baby Isabels I would have still had it, it's popular as its a lovely name. I chose Ava for my dd thinking it was really unusual - doh, it's in the top 10 and now I come across loads.

Pobblewhohasnotoes · 26/01/2013 19:23

I love Isobel too and am also put off by its popularity.

I work with kids and we have 100s of Amelia's and Lily's. They all have the middle names Grace and May/Mae.

SnowGo · 26/01/2013 19:24

SolidSnake really? I've never heard of a Francesca. Closest I've got to it was a Francine at school. I'm not in Wales though, so it must be different!

Arisbottle · 26/01/2013 19:25

Not sure why it matters, if you like a name use it.

SolidSnake · 26/01/2013 19:26

Yeah, I had two in my English class alone Then again my name is Louisa (which isn't the most common name) and there was another Louisa in my class! Maybe you find them all in clusters?

SnowGo · 26/01/2013 19:29

Clusters might be right, thinking about it there were 3 Isabellas in my primary school of 100 kids though was one was actually Italian so I never counted her

achillea · 26/01/2013 19:32

Why are girl's names so posh these days?

I'd love to hear of some Doreens, Paulines, Sharons and Tracys.

Perhaps this is the wrong thread. I would go for your root language - Gaelic / Italian / Germanic / Hebrew and take it from there.

Ishbel is Gaelic, Isobel is Hebrew, Isabella Italian. It's the connotation that lies within the language that is important.

Damn that semiotics module at Uni - it never leaves me.

Allinonebucket · 26/01/2013 19:33

There are tons of Isabellas and variants around, but I think Elodie, you are just noticing more because it's in your head. I don't think Elodie is top fifty, is it?

achillea · 26/01/2013 19:33

When I say Italian I mean Latin of course.

MumOfMissy · 26/01/2013 19:44

YANBU. I told a guy at work whose wife was preggo my fave name, Anastasia, and they went and nicked it! Grrrr!

How about Isabeau? Same French feel, more unusual. Was considering it for my DD. if not, go for Isobel. She'll always be your Isobel, the others won't matter.

Mandy21 · 26/01/2013 19:48

I have an Isobel and love it, she is 7 now and it wasn't popular at the time but obviously has been done and done ever since. As others have said, all of my children have been named after much loved family members - so in a way it was decided before we even considered whether they were "popular" names.

But I also agree that just because its popular, it doesn't mean that there will be lots of them. I also have a boy - unbeknown used the most popular name in the country, but he is the only one in his year.

Child number 3 - christened the bump from the start but didn't tell anyone. One close friend from work and very close friend from university christened their daughters with the name we'd chosen in the 2 weeks before we had her, but we still used it as it was "her" name by then. Makes for interesting afternoons when we catch up with each other!!

I think unless you go for something very unusual, which has its own problems, there is always a danger that a name becomes popular in the months / years after you've given it to your baby. Just go with a name you love!

3monkeys3 · 26/01/2013 19:57

My dd's middle name is Isobel - love it. I used to care about the popularity of names but have given my dc progressively more popular names and don't care now. What about ysabeau? I think it's gorgeous!

ClartyCarol · 26/01/2013 20:11

Isobel is fab, and nowhere near as overused as Isabelle or Isabella.

I know this sounds awful but Ishbel sounds to me like how a pissed Scotsman would pronounce Isobel.

Like Elspeth a lot.

Tanith · 26/01/2013 20:48

I imagine Sharon, Tracy, Debbie and the rest will become popular again when their present holders are in their 80s. Seems to be the way it goes with "old fashioned" names coming back into use.

When I was at school, Ruby, Isabel, Emily, Amelia, Florence etc. were granny names never to be used for babies.
Tracy, though! My class had 4 Trac(e)ys, 3 Debbies, 3 Sharons and 2 Julies.

SolidSnake · 26/01/2013 20:54

Most popular girls names when I was in school were Katie, Sophie, Emily and Zoe

shebird · 26/01/2013 21:12

I had also chosen this name which i loved and which was not that popular when DD was born. DH didn't like it as he didn't want her to be known as Izzy (reminder of a not so nice girl from the pub) so we chose another name which seems to suit DD better. Sometimes you need to wait to mer your little one before deciding.

Footlongbeef · 26/01/2013 21:14

I have an Isobel. She is 5. I'm a primary school teacher and hadn't come across many isobels/isabelles etc in my time teaching either (or any annoying ones...). I researched it too and the year she was born it was in the top hundred but quite low down. The following year, after dd was born, it was top 20. So perhaps the moral of the story is whatever you choose is going to be a product of your generation and may become popular no matter how hard you try to find something different but not wacky. If you love it, go for it. BTW she is the only one in her year at school. Had similar with DD2 - midwife actually said she had two born with the same name that same day and hadn't had any girls called that for 20 years. It is now also a popular name!

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