To avoid top 20 names when picking a name for my baby?

[Mooveover]

I am not bothered about my child having a completely unique name, and I don't like 'made-up' names. I want something fairly traditional.
However I don't really want them to be one of several kids in school with the same name.

AIBU to avoid top 20 names? Even though that means ruling out some really lovely names?

I'm aware the popularity of names can really change, eg someone I know picked a name a few years ago thinking it was quite unusual, yet now it's really popular and she's gutted.

I love Aggie! not the point of the thread

Ha, really? Aggie just sounds like agony to me. He also likes Maggie, which is better, but thatcher's legacy still lives on...

I like Libby for Elizabeth too - also quite like liberty. It just reminds me a bit of "neighbours" (really showing my age).

I think it's hard enough choosing to make sure it doesn't clash with a surname or spell out something rude with the initials or favour one family side more than the other. Worrying about popularity just makes it worse.

However I do have a friend who has a george and a charlotte, each a year older than their royal toddler highnesses. Everyone assumes she's a rampant royalist

I have an Oliver (aged 15) - there are 4 in his year at school (medium sized secondary). I asked him recently if he’d have prefered something less commonly used and he was horrified and said he loved his name. I also love it and really don’t care that it’s a popular name (I only asked him because of a MN thread).

Dd (13) has a name currently just outside top 50 - think it was top 20 or top 10 when she was born. She is the only in her secondary school with her name and it was the same at primary.

Call your children names you love and names that will “fit” when they are adults- lists are fairly meaningless.

Btw both my children’s names are regularly dismissed on MN as dull, Common etc etc - both my children love them. My name is more unusual and always raved about on MN - I’ve hated it my whole life

Mine kids are both top 20 names. DS is the only one in his class with that name and I think she is the only one in the nursery of 60 kids with that name.

My son has a foreign father so he got a name fairly common in that country but unheard of here save for 70’s footballer a few people know. Together with his surname it’s quite stand out and considered cool amongst his peers. Plus the nickname options are endless. If I hadn’t settled on it he was being called Gabriel or Nick.

I wanted traditional names that were easy to spell, sounded OK in various accents, and ideally not top 20, but with ds tbh I was just grateful DH and I agreed on a name. Which was around 50 when he was born but about 25 now. There's one other in the school.

Donner please tell me he's called Eusebio!

I didn't really consider lists etc I just chose names I liked - traditional first, family second and wacky (thanks ex DH) thirds!

Lol ghosty no but that’s a cracking name!

Op don’t worry. All high school kids have names shortened or nick names.

My son now 26 has s mate who was always called by the name of his local football ground I found out last week his actual name is Nathaniel. Know him since 11 and no idea

The name we called our DS was something I'd never heard of as a first name, although I do k now it as a surname. It was in a baby book as a traditional old English trade. In the top 1000 at the time but not in the top half. I wanted something unusual but not stupid.
When the midwife visited when we were home from hospital it was the 5th one she had seen that week!! That was 2.5 years ago and I have never met another one. Bet there are loads when he gets to school though.

My dd1's name wasn't even top 100. She was the only one in primary school until yr 6 when a new girl joined with same name and they put her in same class. Dd was annoyed at not being the only one!

Now she's in secondary school and knows at least 3 others in her year group. She's one of the youngest in the year group too, so I can't even say that I started a trend!
Dd2 and ds both have top 20 names but no others in their year group...yet.

I avoided the top 100 - but it’s in there now. The best laid plans of mice and men... I don’t think you’re being unreasonable - but maybe unrealistic. It only takes one tv character or celeb baby and whooosh! There races your unique name...

DS1 was #8, DS2 was #124 in the years they were born.

In their school of about 210 pupils there's about 4 with DS1's name (so one in every other class) and 3 with DS2's name.

DS1 has never had a namesake in the same cohort. DS2 has.

You simply can't predict the reality of duplicates based on tables.
I've only ever in years of secondary supply taught a class with a Claudia... There were two in the same class

Just pick something you love.

There's always next time Donner

You just never know what will be popular in ten years though.
For instance, Arlo - never heard of it 3 years ago and look at it now.
I think the only way of 'avoiding' a popular name is to perhaps go back 4 or 5 decades as you don't see many children called Susan, Jane, Christine, Heather, Ruth etc these days, but who knows. A friend of ours named hers Ruby back in about 2001, very uncommon then but now there are a fair few Ruby's around (albeit not all aged 17). There is a trend these days for 'older' names, such as Elsie, Florence, Dot, that too may pass within the next decade (I love these names).
we know a tiny baby called Elspeth.

There was an article in a magazine recently saying that if you want to be ahead of the trend you need to look to the 80's names - Wayne, Sharon etc.

Think I'll stick with the more classic ones myself but each to his own!

I’ll have to settle for Eusebio for a grandson ghosty

Victoria Coren and David Mitchell named their daughter Barbara, which is incredibly old fashioned these days. I like it because my grandma was Barbara but have zero chance of persuading DP to let us go there!!

There was an article in a magazine recently saying that if you want to be ahead of the trend you need to look to the 80's names - Wayne, Sharon etc.Think I'll stick with the more classic ones myself but each to his own!

Sharon is a biblical name - not sure what counts as classic if not that!

DS1 has a name in the top 20. I don't personally know any. DS2 has a name outside of 100 and we know another 2.

You can't win, choose because you love it.

Both my DC have names that have been in the top 20 (and in top 10) and yet there is only one other child with the same name in DC2's school (of approx. 120) and I don't know of any at the other school. I'd steer clear of Oliver and Harry though, as there are loads of them!

Is it really?? You learn something new every day!!

I have a fairly uncommon name - yet there are four women with my name in my (quite small) office. This has never happened before. So there's no guarantees.

Our youngest son has an unusual name (never been top 100, outside Israel probably!) and we started a toddler group and found two others!

Our youngest daughter was the only one born in the country that year with that name!

I’d avoid Jack and Eva, Ava, Evie but call your baby a name you love.

2 of my DD's have names in the top 20. There is one other DD1 and 2 other DD3s in the whole school.

Just go with a name you like. Don't even consult "the list".