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Baby names

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

Original poster

Names touted as "very popular" on here

114 replies

SomeSunnySunday · 10/08/2014 15:55

I have noticed the name which we have chosen for our baby girl, due in 4 months, mentioned as being "very popular" and a "one of 3 in a class" name on here quite a few times recently.

I want to avoid a very, very popular name (probably top 20). However we don't know, or even know of, a single other baby, child or adult with this name (and as a mother of 2 young children, I go to a lot of activity groups etc so come across a lot of children). There are no children with this name in DC1's primary school, and when I checked the name stats for Scotland (where we live) for last year, it is listed at 155 (which I am fine with!).

Does the mumsnet demographic skew people's opinions? Are lots of posters London based? Do mumsnetters know something I don't - have hundreds of babies been given this name in the last year, and is it about to explode with popularity?

I'm just curious really, as I thought it was a less-used name than many.

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bringbackfonzi · 12/08/2014 21:32

I have a Clara. I have to admit, I do worry it is becoming very popular. I know two young Claras in addition to my own. But it's a lovely name so I don't think I regret using it (yet!).

Theonlyoneiknow · 12/08/2014 21:46

I live in Scotland, the only Clara I know lives in Ireland.

NinjaLeprechaun · 13/08/2014 05:33

My daughter's name was in the top ten nationally (US), and top 5 in our state, the year she was born; but somehow in 13 years of school she never had a class with another one.
I've never considered the fact that she has a 'popular' name to be either a good or bad thing. People still spell it wrong.

I once had a goat named Persephone.

JapaneseMargaret · 13/08/2014 05:41

I know of a Clara, but short of cobbling together your own unique, made-up name, you're never going to get a name no-one else has.

Clara is lovely. Go for it.

burgatroyd · 13/08/2014 07:51

Why is it always the case that livestock end up with the best names?

BitOutOfPractice · 13/08/2014 09:20

Surely if a name is popular it just means that lots of people love it enough to give it to their child. How can that be a bad thing? And really, having another child in the class with the same name...is that really the end of the world? Hardly!

So call your child a name you love and don't worry about anything else.

This type of worry really is one of those ones that, with the benefit of hindsight really are pointless

TalcumPowder · 13/08/2014 10:06

I don't think it's a pointless worry at all. My name was very common in mid-70s Ireland, and there were six of us in my primary school class. Which was a bit grim, to be honest. I only started answering automatically to my name (rather than assuming someone else was meant) in my twenties. No, it's not the end of the world, but it does potentially make a child feel overlooked or a member of a faceless herd when a teacher or classmate says 'X' and five other people also respond. And it wasn't just at school, obviously - it was at any club/gathering/ activity.

Clara doesn't seem to me likely to run into that problem, but in my village, I can think of four Emilias/Amelias and three Mias and three George's who will all be in the same class at the village I gave my son an uncommon name deliberately.

BitOutOfPractice · 13/08/2014 11:06

I also have a common name for the time I was born. There were two of us in my class. And when I went to uni, out of a tight friendship group of four, two of us had this name.

Never bothered me in the slightest. I was referred to as first name last name at school then by various nicknames.

I think you've put a rather over dramatic spin on it to be honest.

LittleErin · 13/08/2014 11:38

Ah mine due in October is going to be Clara, I thought the same that I had found a suitable unusual name (don't know anyone with it) but maybe it is becoming more popular as a close friend of mine and husband had also Clara as their first choice for baby name. Luckily I am first!

Eastpoint · 13/08/2014 11:44

I know of 2 Claras, both are teens & I volunteer in a senior school, over 700 girls & only 1 Clara there. The most popular name across the whole school is Emma.

TalcumPowder · 13/08/2014 12:05

BitOut, I'm not being in the least 'dramatic', and it didn't consciously bother me as a child. It wasn't even particularly unusual for my nationality/class/generation, which definitely used a smaller naming pool than today in the UK. But yes, there was certainly an impact from a name being so generic you didn't have any particular sense that it meant you. I think that's entirely different to having one other classmate or close friend with the same name.

I won't be aghast if my son has a classmate with the same name, but if I were considering a name for a baby, popularity is something I would take into account.

BitOutOfPractice · 13/08/2014 12:41

Sorry talcum but I think saying a child will feel "overlooked or a member of a faceless herd" if there's another child with the same name in their class is a bit dramatic!

MumBoots · 13/08/2014 12:44

I'm in London and only know one little Clara. Lovely name.

ToffeeMoon · 13/08/2014 13:02

Shall I tell you a sure-fire way to make a name popular? Start threads on MN about it!

Hush OP Wink

Alisvolatpropiis · 13/08/2014 13:18

I love Clara. It has been roundly vetoed by dp though as have all the names I like

I only know one Clara, she's late 20's, very glamorous, Spanish.

BitOutOfPractice · 13/08/2014 13:20

I want to be a late 20s galmorous Spanish Clara. Instead of an unglamorous late 40s

Vintagebeads · 13/08/2014 14:02

It must depend where you are.

My DS(9) has two Alan's and two Keith's in his class.
I have not heard these names in years DS name is a top twenty name but we have not met another one.

Pick the name you love end off

thegreylady · 13/08/2014 15:22

I have never met a Clara (lovely name) and I was a teacher and am a grandma:)

Homebirthquestion · 13/08/2014 21:46

It's been rising but not dramatically.

If you go on holiday to France you can get personalised tat with Clara on. helpful

I've always had comments that it's unusual and we're in prime Clara territory.

drLu · 14/08/2014 08:44

Clara is beautiful. The name of my great grandmother. I've never heard of a Clara around here.

burgatroyd · 14/08/2014 10:17

bit out
You must have missed my comment with link I posted earlier. This week in aibu a mum posted how her dd wanted to change her name at five as she was tired of being one if many. It doesn't affect you but it does some.

I am a self professed name nerd and don't get it when people say Well it was popular because its a great name! Well, yes, but by going for a ubiquitous name you more than likely have been influenced sublinally, like otgers en mass. Tgere wss a great artical about the Noah effect. How can anyone say that a name shot to no 1 without their knowledge. They probably didn't look at name lists.

I have a friend who is determined to call her dd Evie. She knows how popular it is but loves the name. That, I think, is different. She is armed with knowledge but loves the name anyway.

cowbiscuits · 14/08/2014 10:41

I know a Clara in her 30s and one who is about 13. Its beautiful but I don't think it will ever be as popular as the Olivia, Emily, Jessica, of recent years not that there's anything wrong with those.

A thing about the popularity of names and "top 50 lists"...There are a much wider range of names being used today. The names in the top 20 maybe most popular maybe but it doesnt mean there will be tons and tons of them, as there are more other names being used. Am I making sense?

For example, my son has a name in the top 15 names. But I have only met one or two of them in 3 years. There are so many different names being used, its no longer unusual to have an unusual name.

Whereas when I was at school everyone was called Emma, Claire, Becky, Paul, Steven,and Matthew.

florascotia · 14/08/2014 10:50

Brill aricle, Burgatroyd!

NB Office of Nat Statistics 2013 baby names England and Wales scheduled to be released tomorrow. See:

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/release-calendar/index.html?nscl=Population&releaseDateRangeType=next30&releaseDateRangeType=allDates&sortBy=releaseDate&sortDirection=DESCENDING&pagetype=calendar-entry&newquery=*&pageSize=50&applyFilters=true

rugbychick · 14/08/2014 10:58

Great name. The only Clara I know is about 6, spelt Klara, and is the youngest of my German friends living in the Bavaria region, so spot on for the German connection