To wonder why you would pick a name in the top 10?

[FreckledFrog]

So the latest top 100 baby names have been released this week. It has prompted me to wonder why on earth you would pick a name in the top 10-20 names.

There are thousands of beautiful, unique names out there, yet so many people are happy to pick the same names despite knowing their children will go to school with multiple Olivia's, Noah's, Amelia's or George's.

Do these people not desire some originality for their children?

Am I being unreasonable? I have a very very unusual name and have picked less common names for my children and I wonder if this clouds my judgement?

It's entertaining that the people with top ten names seem to validate this for themselves by claiming that all other names are 'yoo-nique', made up or have a stupid spelling...

No that's not the case they are just not top ten.

For example; Jade, Nicole, Melody, Elise, Sara, Summer or Lee, Edward, Bradley or Grant.

Ninon how on earth can one predict that a name you pick will remain unusual? My parents picked an unusual name nearly 50 odd years ago, it went top 10 twenty years later and now hovers aroun 20-30, and I work with about 4 of them. Do I feel diminished now that my unusual beautiful remarked on name is shared by other ordinary people? No. Obviously you get a kick out of your name. I don't think there's many of those names around- that are genuinely beautiful, unusual and are never ever going to be popular again. Grace being another excellent example as someone said.

FF nobody cares

One of our DCs has a top-ten name. It's a family name, named after a very special person.

Would have been their name if born 10 years previously or later.

It can be a pain when you shout their name and so many other kids turn around but yours doesn't.

My name is in the top 10 now - I didn't meet another until I went to uni (and only 1 )
I liked it - everyone else was called something like Claire - blond Claire, silly Claire etc
My name was uncommon but not unique. My parents got a lot of criticism for it at the time.

I've done similar for DD - I don't think hers will get into top 10 though. It was up at 50 girls a year being named if, bit lower now again.

I have a friend with an unusual first and second name - I don't think she liked it, however she is very well known in her field and I think it did her career a lot of good standing out from the crowd.

"Jade, Nicole, Melody, Elise, Sara, Summer or Lee, Edward, Bradley or Grant."

Apart from Sara and Edward, those are names that I wouldn't touch with a barge pole, frankly. And the place is crawling with Bradleys

You can't predict that something very unusual will suddenly become popular, & that is fair enough. But you can predict there will be a billion Olivia, Amelia, Lilys as you have access to the lists... Which is what this thread is about.

I always wanted an Oscar after my favourite book. Just loved the sound of it. 20 years later when I had DS I didn't use it as it was suddenly so popular. We've only met one in the last 5 years and sometimes I regret not using it.

What is also funny is the amount of people here saying their names are top 10 but they never come across other children with that name

Names are funny things. I'm heading for 50 and when I was little I went through primary,middle and a huge high school being the only one with my name but now it's a very common.

You just pick a name you like surely?

personally I wanted welsh names for my children, that was my only criteria really. oh, and nothing that started with the same letter as our surname, because it just sounds like i'm trying to make a superhero (though, i don't have anything against alliterative names in general, just our particular surname doesn't work). so, then we made a list of names we liked. then narrowed it down to a boy and a girl.

I did try and avoid names of any one I knew/any friends childrens names were out, as were any family names. but it never once occured to me to check the top 10 list. (not even sure i could have back then, i didn't even own a computer back in the dark ages of 2002....).

My children have names that are not in the top ten, or even the top 100. Mostly because they are welsh, dd2 has a name that is fairly popular in wales, there are 2 in her class. dd1 on the other hand has a name that when you plug into those graphs there are less than 3 born in the last 12 years or something. its a real name, its just less used. ds was the only one i knew when he was born (I heard the name on welsh TV and fell in love with it) but now I know a couple of others.
what matters is I chose those names because I love them, nothing else.

Dame Me too! I never met anyone with my age all through primary and secondary and college, it wasn't until I went to university I met one other. I could never find it on a mug as a child, which annoyed me greatly. now, its super popular!

Well, my 2 have top 10 names - there is no other child with my eldest son's name in his entire school and only one other with my youngest child's name, again in the entire school. Admittedly it's not the biggest school - around 200 pupils - but still ....

I never met anyone with my name until I went to university and then met two others living on the same floor as me in my hall of residence. Ds who has a classic and fairly popular name, is named after a family member.

my two year old has a name that is pronounced the same as one of the names in the top ten however it's Turkish and spelt differently and has a different meaning but none the less when i shout it out in the park at least 3 kids always turn round to look at me so I'm aware it's very popular but it wasn't my intention to pick a popular name if you know what I mean.

Yanbu. Thousands of lovely sensible names yet the majority pick the same 10. I have a dull common name my dds don't.

I could never find it on a mug as a child, which annoyed me greatly. now, its super popular!

My sister used to get personalised gifts and I got the plain version

The best are inexplicably underused proper names. Bin Amelia Olivia Isabella eve yawn for Miranda, Zoe, Tess and Mary. Gorgeous underused names. The choice isn't between top ten or moonunit.

Yanbu. Thousands of lovely sensible names yet the majority pick the same 10. I have a dull common name my dds don't.

Is that actually true? That implies the number of babies with top 10 names is bigger than the number of babies with ALL other names put together.

I have a very unusual first name. Whenever I am introduced to people they always ask about my name and I usually have to repeat it several times. I get fed up with it being spelled wrongly and I was often teased about it at school. I didn't want the same experience for my DC so I deliberately gave them names that were top 10 at that time.

ha! dame yes, I cursed my siblings with their mugs and pencils.