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Baby names

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

Original poster

Unpopular names?

183 replies

zumm · 10/12/2011 13:52

Well, it's all in the spin. Tomat-o is to tom-ayto as unpopular is to unusual. Anyone managed to name a child something that isn't in the top 150? If so, share? Everyone seems to be William or Alex around here.

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tammytoby · 12/12/2011 13:27

Love Asher for a boy!

Jesse sounds a little girly to me but probably because I know a couple of Jess's who get called Jessy.

tammytoby · 12/12/2011 13:28

Actually their 'proper' name is Jessica, shortened to Jess/Jessy.

Original poster
zumm · 12/12/2011 13:55

I agree that Jesse sounds a bit girly - though in fact it's of course a very strong OT name. I wonder if it'll make a bit of a come-back a la Gabriel?
Asher sounds lovely in English (but I couldn't use it since have German family who, I bet, would link it with the German for bum - or at least they draw much hilarity from the name Ashling = sounds like little arse in German).

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Original poster
zumm · 12/12/2011 13:58

Tammy - agree with classic timeless but not popular. HOWEVER, I find it difficult to think of any/many. Classic and timeless are often quite popular (Tom, William, Joshua, Alexander, Jacob, etc - all in top 20 I think).

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cheeseandmarmitesandwich · 12/12/2011 14:04

We have a Meredith- very underused but beautiful (in my opinion Grin)

My other frontrunner was Tess / Teresa but DH vetoed it. For a boy it would have been Nathaniel. I also really like Peter- don't hear many of them these days.

cheeseandmarmitesandwich · 12/12/2011 14:04

We have a Meredith- very underused but beautiful (in my opinion Grin)

My other frontrunner was Tess / Teresa but DH vetoed it. For a boy it would have been Nathaniel. I also really like Peter- don't hear many of them these days.

MamaLazarou · 12/12/2011 14:18

My little boy's name was ranked 7 thousand and something-th in the UK in the year he was born (2010).

It's not weird or wacky, though - just unfashionable.

FunnysInTheGarden · 12/12/2011 14:19

we have a Fabian and a Rafe, neither were in the top anything when we named them

MizK · 12/12/2011 14:23

I looked at the link (can you tell I am stuck in waiting for a delivery....!) and think that lots of the least used names are lovely, although I can see why the top ten are so popular also.
My DDs are Christy and Cassia and have yet to encounter any others, but I don't think their names sound particularly out there - just for some reason nobody else seems to choose those names! On the other hand my son is called Joseph which is perennially popular but he's always been the only one in his class... BTW I think Meredith is a v pretty name :)

rhetorician · 12/12/2011 14:30

the last top 100 list I could find is from 2009 - does anyone have a more up-to-date link. DD1 (2.10) is Catherine - the full version and I don't know another one under about 25 (people think it's a common enough name, but actually there aren't many toddlers with the name). DD2 is Anastasia (1w1d), which is definitely an unusual name - i don't know another...

rhetorician · 12/12/2011 14:32

sorry - just saw link up above

Leo35 · 12/12/2011 14:32

There are so many lovely names to choose. Someone cited John and Robert as currently unfashionable, and they do seem comparatively under-used. On the other hand I know three baby Roberts now (all aged 6m-2yrs) and we used it for DS2's middle name. I love the nicknames from it.

Love Fabian btw - was on my list. Along with many others!

Nospringflower · 12/12/2011 14:41

Lots of Robbies here in Scotland.

CoffeeGoneColdAgain · 12/12/2011 14:43

There is a Peter in my Dds reception class cheeseandmarmitesandwich :o

silverten · 12/12/2011 14:43

Friend of mine's daughter is called Indigo, which I think is rather good. Bit unusual without being totally wacky.

FrillyMilly · 12/12/2011 14:47

I love Saul, I love the meaning and I love that it's not popular. We are switching between this being a first name or middle name for our unborn son.

dreamalittle · 12/12/2011 14:56

We're planning on calling our forthcoming daughter Anne - which I see from the link above was 1040th on the list last year.

If we were going to have a boy, he would probably have been called John.

Both good, solid, traditional names, but out of favour at the moment.

MinesaGandT · 12/12/2011 15:20

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101North · 12/12/2011 15:22

i predict a resurgence of 'meaningful' names - personal, familial and hereditary since its become impossible to be on the right side of original when naming your child without being seen as desperately trendy (ugh hate that word).

both john and anne are lovely names.

aswellasyou · 12/12/2011 15:27

My daughter's name ranked joint 2589th last year! Xmas Grin That's fairly unusual. Xmas Wink

101North · 12/12/2011 15:33

1 and 2 both have names that have become really popular but at the time they were very unusual to the point where i got looked at like this Hmm Confused, now they are seen as "cool" (bleugh) .

3 has a name that isn't on any lists anywhere, his name brokened the google!

Stangirl · 12/12/2011 15:39

I can't view the link on my Mac - could someone tell me my kids' names' rankings? Daughter born 2010 is Winter and boy born this year is Atticus.

MixedBerries · 12/12/2011 15:44

I have to say I really love the name Myra which is no longer popular due to its associations. I posted to ask people's thoughts on this somewhere else and the consensus was that it wouldn't be a good idea to use it. As it happens we had a boy. Just wonder why Myra in particular has become so stigmatised. Ian is still common. As are the names Fred and Rose.

Starsandcars · 12/12/2011 15:57

As I also have an Atticus born in 2011 I can tell you stangirl that there were 30 named Atticus in 2010!

LieInsAreRarerThanTigers · 12/12/2011 16:04

I've got a boy called Rowan. And a girl called Rosanna. A bit similar I know but they go so well with our surname. And I still love the names.