Does it matter if it’s popular?

[littlemisssunshine81]

It seems to me that lots of people are on the hunt for that ‘unusual but not too unusual’ name nowadays. Consequently the unusual but not too unusual names have become the most popular, so they aren’t that unusual anymore. When I was at school everyone was called Leanne or Michelle and Steven or David. I don’t see those names coming back that soon into the ‘most popular list’. But does it matter? Would your chosen name being in the top 20 list put you off??

Peter was 183rd last year!

Horsewithnoname - i think most of the people I know who have unusual names feel the same.

There’s something nice about meeting someone with the same name as you that’s your age. A bit like meeting someone with the same band tshirt as you - it feels validating somehow.

I don't think you can say either way, tbh. There are people with unusual names who love it, and people who hate it. Likewise, there are people with super-common names who hate it, and others who couldn't care less.

There were 5 of me in my class at secondary school... it basically meant that the most popular of the 5 got to be called by her actual name, and the rest of us had to squabble over who was going to get the nicest nickname. I was quite low in the pecking order and ended up being called by my surname...

Yeah, I guess it works either way.

People should probably just go for names they like, regardless of popularity. You never know when a name is going to shoot up in popularity.

I do an internal eye roll when people purposefully pick very unusual names with the intention of no one else having them - there’s a reason we aren’t all calling our children Ptolemy/Jorja-Payge/Socrates, and your kid ain’t going to thank you in the long run...

I don't think it really matters. Popular names are popular for a reason. I'd sooner be an Oliver than a Ptolemy, anyway.

Having said that I don't like the idea of giving a really common, generic name so I'd be in the "something slightly unusual" club.

I'm secretly terrified that a pop star or reality tit will call their child the same name as mine and everyone meeting my DC will say, "Oh, like so-and-so's baby!"

DS name was in the top 10 UK boys names from 2000-16, in all of the 8yrs up to him being born it was in the top 3

Up to last year he was the only one in his school of 200 kids!

I'm glad I stuck with his traditional top 10 name though

For me it was the experience of being the only person I'd ever met with my name (until I was in my 20s I never met another one). I liked that if I heard my name in a crowd it was me being called. So I gave DC an unusual name. Like mine, it's well known in at least one foreign country though, which I also like. I wouldn't be against using a top 50 name if I really liked it but not if it had suddenly become popular in the last 15 years. So David, Charlotte, Peter, Emma are all fine, but I would never use Lily, Arthur, Noah or Isla.

If you have a girl then Sarah is no longer in the top 100. I am a 1970’s Sarah and hated the fact that there were so many of us. Consequently my two have slightly less popular names which annoyingly are becoming popular- I was named after my great grandmother and my Mym said that it wasn’t popular when she chose it (1972) but then every other baby girl seemed to be a Sarah. It’s a lovely name but I hated it.

I suppose there's popular and then there's fashionable. I would put Oliver in a different category to Demi-Leigh but both are probably as frequent. I nearly called my DS Leo then Cherie Blair used it. So glad i didn't he is really not a Leo.

I'm secretly terrified that a pop star or reality tit will call their child the same name as mine and everyone meeting my DC will say, "Oh, like so-and-so's baby!"

Less likely if you pick a popular top 10 name

Although having said that, I know someone who had a baby George about 6 months before Prince George was born, and they got really annoyed by the amount of people asking if they’d named their baby after the 6 months younger Prince

I suppose there's popular and then there's fashionable. I would put Oliver in a different category to Demi-Leigh but both are probably as frequent.

They’re most definitely not as frequent as each other.

Oliver was the most popular boys name in 2017, with 6259 baby Oliver’s.

Demi-Leigh was ranked at no. 1296, and only given to 26 babies. Big difference.

names.darkgreener.com/#demi-leigh

Hopegarden - i meant the hyphen names in general. That link is very interesting i just checked my kids names and they are both in the top 30 but only just. That's where i would have put my picking at definitely known and not unusual but not top of the pops.

If i was picking now it would be Catherine and Max. But the secret me would want Ariadne and Maximilian.

I've always been interested in names, and thought I'd never give a baby a popular name. I have a relatively unusual name that I never met others of and I like it.

However it turns out I have the same taste as my entire generation, and the name I've loved for years - that was never heard of 15 years ago - is now exceptionally popular.

I used it anyway, and have no regrets now he is here. I still love the name, I think it suits him and I'm much less bothered than I thought about meeting other kids called that

We have a top 10 name for our daughter. I would have loved an unusual name, but the only name DH and I could agree on, and both loved, was top 10. I'm glad we didn't go for a name, we didn't like as much to avoid top 10.

Our son is a common name, but not so common for DS generation, so it is outside top 100. Again it was only name we could both agree on.

Our Scouts group has 3 Harrys, two of which have the same surname initial. It can be confusing!

So yes, it matters (having a popular name).

Of my top two girls' nsmes one I loved but was worried it was too popular. In fact I used it anyway and have crossed paths with very few. DH was convinced popular was the way forward to avoid s name becoming a millstone and while I'm not sure I wholly agree I do think there's some truth in it. Some names are very marmite and it's your child who has to live with it and they might turn out quite differently to you. I think this about most statement names, especially Mumsnet approved posh ones. I want my dds to feel at home anywhere.

Longestlurkerever - that’s so Mummers it up really nicely.

Little Persophone might end up working as a cleaner in a northern town, or Jorja-Payge might go into Law. It’s not that they can’t do those things, but I’m those circumstances their name might mark them out/make them feel uncomfortable. Whereas if they were both called Olivia no one would bat an eyelid

Although I take the point that if they were called bottom 100 names, e.g Martha, Violet then it also probably wouldn’t be an issue. I guess it’s more names outside he top 100-200 that tend to be more ‘statement’ names and thus very marmite. I think it’s best to avoid the line o f thinking of ‘I want something that says how posh/unique/modern/cool/antiestablishmentwe as a family are’

So Mummers?! =summed 😂😂😂😂

I've just named my little boy Max which I think was about #30 in 2017

I wasn't really bothered about popularity (my other favourites were George and Oliver), I just wanted him to have a solid name that wasn't spelled ludicrously and would suit both a child and an adult man

If there are other little boys in his class called Max, I don't think it's the end of the world

I guess it’s more names outside he top 100-200 that tend to be more ‘statement’ names

What ?

Just because a name isn't fashionable does not mean it's making a statement!

In fact, I'd love be to know what 'statement' I'm making by giving my dc a classic well known easy to spell name that just happens to be less popular (used about 30 times last year)?!