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Baby names

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

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Original poster

All the names we like are really popular...

46 replies

loveulotslikejellytots · 26/12/2015 14:58

Is this a problem? Some are top ten, others a little further down the list. Does it bother you or your dc if their name is popular? We have a dd due in one week and this is our short list, can any of you think of any other names we might like? Surname is Turner so nothing starting with T!

Florence (but not keen on the nickname Flo, so may not use this as you can't help what nicknames end up being).
Freya
Evie
Lottie
Lily
DH really likes Lexi/Alexis or something along those lines.

Help!!!

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YouStillLookLikeAMovie · 26/12/2015 21:51

DD has three Evie, two Lottie and a Freya in her class.

I don't know if anyone minds - don't have that kind of name myself and nor do my kids. But I do think these names aren't just popular because they are nice. They are popular because they are fashionable /popular. That is fine. But it may mark your child out as 'the name of their era' the way you can generally guess the age of a Claire. Either that bothers you or it doesn't.

Curioushorse · 26/12/2015 22:05

There's a chapter on this in Freakenomics and it's fascinating. Yeah, it's aspirational, apparently. Essentially (summarising massively!), most people choose names that they consider to be 'nice', but that opinion is often based on a perceived aspirational desire for their child to have a better life/ higher aspirations and therefore they will choose a name which has been made popular by either people they know of a higher social status, or people in the media with a higher social status. Lottie is fairly obviously becoming popular, for example, because of Princess Charlotte.

It also, apparently, is strongly linked to the economic situation of a particular area e.g. in a time of uncertainty/ recession, people will go for more traditional names because of their links to stability and past success.

So.....based on this information, and the fact that I have a particularly common name (along with another four in my year at school), whereas my husband has spent his life spelling it out to people, we have gone to the Bible for inspiration. Classic, won't age, and have been around for 2000 years.

wigglesrock · 26/12/2015 22:46

It doesn't bother me at all - all three of my daughters have top ten names - one even has ubiquitous O name - she's actually the only one in her school year. I would always go with names I love and worry or not about popularity later. From your list I really like the name Lily.

SanityClause · 26/12/2015 22:55

I have a name that was popular when I was born. One year there were 6 of us in my class.

Although, DD2 has a fairly unusual name. When she started nursery there was another girl there with the same name. Her parents had gone out of their way to chose unusual names, so were quite amazed to discover their DD was now "Big Name", and my DD was "Little Name".

So, whatever you do, you may find your DD has the same name as someone else in the class. Or not.

alltouchedout · 26/12/2015 22:59

My name was pretty common when I was growing up. It never bothered me, because I like my name!

KERALA1 · 26/12/2015 23:00

Avoid eve. Most girls at dds primary are some variant of eve it's this generations sarah. Dd friends

Eve
Eve
Evie
Eva

BertrandRussell · 27/12/2015 00:12

"Most girls"

Really? How many?

KERALA1 · 27/12/2015 19:36

Yep. One third of the girls in dds lass named a variant of eve. Terribly confusing. Not a bad name but overuse has drained all its charm for me

marmiteontoast76 · 27/12/2015 20:16

Mum of a 7-year-old Eve here. Just after she was born I discovered the Mumsnet baby names board and noticed the bashing the name Eve was getting for being 5-in-a-class popular, so I had terrible regret for a while....until she started at various nurseries and then school. She's always been the only Eve in her class/nursery. There are a few Avas in infants but no other Eves/Evies in school of 320 kids and because of this she thinks her name is unusual and wants to be called Grace or Olivia like her friends.

marmiteontoast76 · 27/12/2015 20:19

.....one third of the women in my office of 30 are called variant of Anna/Hannah. None of us are bothered at all.

OSETmum · 27/12/2015 20:36

I wanted a really unusual name for DS but the only boys name that dh liked was the most common name of the year that DS was born in. Luckily he's the only one in his class

I'm a TA and always feel sorry for the 'good' child when there's a 'good' and a 'naughty' child with the same name in the class as they often mistakenly think it's them being told off!

eastwest · 27/12/2015 20:41

I would choose the name you like. Maybe add a middle name, or hyphenate (e.g. Lily-Anne) so they can choose how they'd like to be called?
I love Alexis.
there is an Arietty in my child's nursery - love that too. Just chucking that in there :)

KERALA1 · 27/12/2015 21:36

Have a super popular name myself - was in a tutorial at university 4 out of 6 of us named my name. Made me determined not to give my dds the popular name of the day. Personal choice if it doesn't bother you great. Didn't like it personally.

Whoknewitcouldbeso · 27/12/2015 21:43

My sons name was fairly unusual three years ago, think just inside top 100, now it's about 38 and I hear it a lot out and about.

We are trying to name DS2 and have decided on a name just outside the top 10. I know it's popular but it's the only name we both like and agree on. I suspect even if we found a less popular name it would jump up the charts eventually or we'd still be in a situation where there were lots of kids with the same name in the class.

Just go with a name you love and don't worry about other people. You may find they end up with an individual nickname in the end anyway.

KERALA1 · 27/12/2015 21:46

Just not another eve please.

Original poster

loveulotslikejellytots · 27/12/2015 22:11

I'm sticking with Lily then I'm not a fan of double barrelling, DH is, but we can have that argument another time!

OP posts:

Girlfriend36 · 27/12/2015 22:16

Lily is a fabulous name, I only know one and she is lovely

Ragwort · 27/12/2015 22:49

My DS has a top 5 name and we don't know any one else with the same name (apart from the neighbour's dog ).

PattyPenguin · 27/12/2015 23:15

I chose a name for daughter which I thought uncommon but respectable (think classical myth type). I was almost 40 when she was born, and in all that time I had only come across three girls/women called this. But when she got to nursery, primary and secondary there were so many girls with the same name they had to have a surname or initial added so that teachers and pupils knew which was which. In that one year it spontaneously became mega-popular. So you can never tell - just go with a name you like.

tuilamum · 28/12/2015 09:18

Agreeing with PP who said having a lot of people with your name is mildly depressing. I was 1 of 5 in my year at secondary and it made me hate the name so much I now go by my middle name in all social situations (considering getting a deed poll)

mathanxiety · 29/12/2015 04:14

DD4 has a very unusual name and there were two of them in her class. The other one was the only one we have ever met, in fact. They became friends.

DD3 has a very ubiquitous name and there were also two of them in her grade. (She and her namesake are also friends.)

If you wanted, you could use Lilian as the BC name and call her Lily as a NN. That way she could have a choice about her name as she grew older.

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