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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

Every time I see the names we have chosen on here my heart sinks

32 replies

yellowflowers · 23/08/2010 13:53

We've chosen names for our baby due in a few months - don't yet know whether a boy or girl so have chosen one of each plus middle name. The names are 'normal' ie both in top 150, but not particularly popular, except I keep reading about them on here as names that might become popular or fit a trend. Should I change them - my heart sinks every time I see them on here...

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

cyteen · 23/08/2010 13:55

Do you love them? If the answer is yes, then use them. If not, change them. Everything else is irrelevant.

numptysmummy · 23/08/2010 13:55

Go with what you like - it doesn't matter what the trends may or may not be!

ChickensHaveNoEyebrows · 23/08/2010 13:59

I will never understand why people care about what other people name their DC. If you love them, go for it :)

TigerFeet · 23/08/2010 14:00

if you love the name it doesn't matter imo

both my dd's have top 50 names (dd1 top 10 for the last 10 years or so) but I really don't care, i think their names are lovely. dd1 is one of 3 in her year (90 children) but is fine with that, in fact she likes having the same name as some of her friends. she is known as if she needs to be differentiated from the others.

bigbluebump · 23/08/2010 14:20

The problem is you will never know in advance just how popular a name becomes. So you may as well choose a name you love, perhaps avoiding the top 10 or top 20 most popular names.

bigbluebump · 23/08/2010 14:22

And of course it bothers some people more than others to have a popular name.

Personally I did not like my very standard 1970s name and would have loved to have a more unique name. But others may not be so bothered about sharing a name with lots of others.

ethelina · 23/08/2010 14:26

You should keep the names you love and ignore the threads with them on - or better still, hide all the baby name threads.

Definitely dont change your choice because of what other unknown posters think.

telsa · 23/08/2010 14:33

It is a bit mad this obsession with uniqueness, isn't it? When I was at school the girls' name pool seemed to be restricted to Karen, Debbie, Susan, Kerry, Catherine. No one seemed to mind. And the boys were all Mark, Peter, Stev/phen, David, Matthew. I think there is a huge pressure to be unique these days, partly because naming has been thrown wide open and we don't just replicate relations' names any more, but can choose globally, across social hierachies etc etc. Even if you have a name in the top 100 though, it doesn't mean you are going to run into countless children with that name necessarily. And if you did, well, that's what nicknames or middle names are for.

Rosa · 23/08/2010 14:40

I chose my names and never even consulted a poll. It turns out that at 2 yrs apart both names for both dds ended up in the top 10.

We chose the names as they had significance to us ..( DD1 after Grandfather ...female version!!!!) with second name which meant loads to us.
DD2 was decided at 37 weeks and her second name is my maiden name .

Go for it don't give a toss about polls, lists etc just go for what you like!

bigbluebump · 23/08/2010 14:43

telsa, I don't think there is any 'obsession' with uniqueness. I think it is wonderful to have such a large choice of names available. To me, the point of naming someone (or something) is to identify it, so the more unique the name, the easier it is to 'name' someone.

We're currently having some building works done and about half the contractors are called Steve - I honestly struggle to remember which one is which .

But as I said, some people mind more than others. It is up the OP and her dh as to how bothered they may be if their child's name becomes very popular.

SqueezyB · 23/08/2010 14:45

what cyteen said.

Plus, MN does not really reflect the name popularity in RL - you don't get many posts saying 'I'm thinking of Oliver-is it too wild?'

TigerFeet · 23/08/2010 14:47

THing is you never know what is going to be popular with your child's peers in real life

As it turns out, DD1's top 10 name has been very popular amongst her peers both in and out of school, but we don't know any children with three or four of the other top 10 names.

A name that's popular in London may not be popular in Manchester, and vice versa, yet both names could appear in the top 10/50/whatever.

IMO looking at the lists now I think a lot of the names are beautiful and timeless and that's why they are being used so much. That said - perhaps that's what the namers of the Nicolas and Steves and so forth in the 60's/70's thought too.

We had no idea how popular dd1's name was when she was born. It wouldn't have made any difference if we had.

Original poster

yellowflowers · 23/08/2010 16:07

All good advice. Mostly I am worried about pregnant friends seeing the names we like on here and getting them first!!

OP posts:

seaturtle · 23/08/2010 16:25

OP I always thought I'd give my children unique names. On my shortlist were names like Orion and River. There was also another name I'd loved for years but felt I couldn't choose it because it had become very popular. It was in the Top 20 for the year DS was born. In the end I decided I liked the name too much to care if it was "too popular" or not. Suits DS better than Orion anyway!

PYT · 23/08/2010 16:26

Don't take other people's opinions into account. It will be your child and you'll have to call his/her name every 5 mins for the next 18 years!

If it helps, my DD's name has been called 'too popular' a zillion times on MN. i still think it's beautiful and suits her so well.

sonniebonnie · 23/08/2010 18:42

I think it is a very personal decision, so I agree, do not listen to others but choose a name you and your dh loves.
If it really bothers you that your chosen name is becoming too popular, then it may be worth re-considering. It bothers some of us more than others, but at the end of the day, it is YOUR decision what to call your baby. Good luck!

GoldPlated · 23/08/2010 18:47

DS has the most common boys name - bet you can guess what it is. But I don't care and he doesn't care, it's even my brother's name.

It was my favourite name so I went with it. Sod what anyone else thinks.

I didn't have a particularly common name, but there were 3 of us in my year at secondary school, and not one of my DS' name.

mathanxiety · 23/08/2010 18:53

One of my DDs has a megapopular name -- I had no idea when she was born. It might have given me pause had I realised. BUT, it's a lovely name, imo, and it really suits her, and the nn that she uses is lovely too, and the baby name she called herself, based on a charming mispronunciation, was too. She's one of two in her class, and there are many more in the school. She will always bump into one or two people with the same name, but she herself is unique, and it's her now.

Some names are really popular because they're truly nice.

teameric · 23/08/2010 18:54

both my Dc's have common names (that weren't so much when I named them) but I don't care really, I still love the names, I don't care what anyone else thinks either, popular names are usually popular for a reason, cos they are just nice names.

sorrento56 · 23/08/2010 18:55

I had 2 reasons not to call my daughter the name we had chosen and they felt like a big deal at the time. She is 7 now and I am glad we stuck with what we liked.

CupcakesHay · 23/08/2010 18:57

If it's popular, but you love it - go for it. In Henry VIII's times, every second child was a Henry or Elizabeth. And even up to the 20s, there were still lots of people with the same name.

I think it's quite a recent thing (i.e. in the last 30 years or so) that people want to give their children unique names. And really - it's VERY difficult to, IMO. :)

The only reason I want a less popular name is I'm a Hayley, and I was only one I knew at junior school, and I'd only ever heard of 1 other Hayley in my area until I turned 21 - and I lived in a suburb, so not exactly village.

sorrento56 · 23/08/2010 18:57

seaturtle I am hungrier than I thought, I read the name you posted as Onion.

letsblowthistacostand · 23/08/2010 19:59

I don't think the opinion on this forum reflects that of the general population. People are constantly denouncing top 10 names and suggesting (IMO) very outlandish alternatives. And yet, baby boys are still being named Jack, Ollie, Archie, Thomas and Jayden. Ditto girls being called Sophie, Isabella and Charlotte. Because their parents liked them, and they're nice, easy names.

DD1 has a very old-fashioned name that is constantly recommended on here (feel quite smug every time I see it ) and slated for a comeback but I've never met another child with the same name.

So name your child whatever you like! It's not a big deal to have to be Thomas R. in school. My older brother has a very common (for the time) name, was always identified by last name, but he NEVER has to spell his name to anyone. It can be an advantage.

sorrento56 · 23/08/2010 20:01

My son has an average name, bordering on the uncommon name ime yet there is 2 in his class. You can never really tell. In DD's class there are 4 sets of children with the same name.

seeker · 23/08/2010 20:13

I keep on telling this sory, but I thinkl it's relevant.
14 years ago we chose a name for our daughter. We wanted a name that was beautiful, with a good meaning and that would suit her all her life.
We wanted a name that was unusual, one that people would say "How lovely, haven;t heard that for a while", but not "How on earth do you spell it?
We chose...Grace! And for a while it fitted our criteria perfectly. Then suddenly everyone was called Grace. But it doesn;t matter, Your child is not any less unique and wonderful because she shares her name with someone else, honest. If you lije the name, go for it. You will still be statistically unlikely to have another on in your class.

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