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??

Yes. It's a PITA being a common name. I'm always "Meglet X" because there's usually two or more of us at work. There were four of us in my class at school.

One of my sons is an Oliver, which was number 1 at the time!

He had one other Oliver at preschool but he was called Oliver where as my Oliver likes to be called Ollie so that was fine.

At school there isn't another Oliver in his year let alone class however there are two Bens and two James's in his class alone! I think you can't really predict what names you will be mixed with and do you really want a name that's so out there that no one else has it.. possibly for a reason?

There will almost always be someone else with the same name that you will meet during your life, I have a pretty normal name and had 4/5 of us in my year however my parents had spelled it differently and it used to annoy me so much as I was and still do always correct people, I have still met 3 others however that have their name spelt the same way as me.

Just because a name is popular doesnt mean people will know how to spell it. I was given the most popular name for the year I was born, there were 8 of us in my year at school, and I always meet people with my name. But I still have to spell it every single time I give it!! (think Stephen/Steven)

Loads of 'popular' names have ambiguous spellings eg Kathryn/Catherine/Katharine, Finley/Finlay, Clare/Claire, Alastair/Alisdair etc etc

So no, a name outside the top 100 most fashionable names is not necessarily more difficult to spell!

I didn’t really think too much about popularity with names when naming DS, but we were already having a tough time deciding on names without adding popularity into the mix 😂 I had never even heard of anyone else with my name until I moved area and became pregnant with DC2 as one of the Health Visitors for the town has my name too! Apparently I’m the first person she’s met with our name too!

Of course the assumptions may be untrue, but the point is it's your child who has to go through life with people making these assumptions about them. I kind of wanted the names I chose to be class neutral, for example, and although I'm not sure I quite achieved this, I don't think anyone would eyeroll at their names. If the worst that can really be said about a name is that it's a bit dull that might be a safer option than some others.

If the worst that can really be said about a name is that it's a bit dull that might be a safer option than some others.

But is that the worst that can be said? What about the need to add an initial or number to your name, about trendy names falling out of fashion and sounding dated?

Unfortunately though you can never rule out that risk and I've noticed people who deliberately tried to avoid it get more annoyed if there's another child with that name in their class.

And some names are outside the top 10 because they already sound dated. I'd probably rather have a name that dates me of my generation than ten/twenty years older than I am, though eventually most names come round again.

The most popular boys name in England and Wales in 2017, Oliver, was given to somewhere between 0.9% and 0.95% of all babies born in 2017.

However if you added together all the different spellings of Mohammed born in 2017 that would make it the most popular boys name.

Variations of spellings are not taken into account when they collate the information

Mohammed is often a given name for boys who are known by another name though.

IMO the names that end up sounding 'dated' are the ones that have a sharp peak in popularity in a particular decade and then drop out of the top 50 quite quickly. A lot of the current top 10 for boys & girls have been popular for a while now so this doesn't really apply (Harry, Oliver, Emily, Sophie etc)

I would avoid anything too fashionable for that reason if picking names for there is a difference with popular names that are more timeless classics (Charlotte, James, Thomas etc) and popular names that are currently fashionable but unlikely to stay around in the top 10 (Isla, Ava, Noah)

I wonder which current trendy names will be the Sharon, Karen, Stephen and Kevin of the 1970s?

I like unusual names, but I do agree that it needs to be taken into consideration that it’s the child who has to live with the name and not the parent. You may have loved to be called Ocean Sunrise but your child may be shy and grow up to wish they had a name that doesn’t make them ‘stand out’ quite so much. Of course there is a middle ground between Ocean Sunrise and Emily.
I do kind of eye roll when I see a birth announcement with another top 10 name but then I move on and forget about it. I think I would rather that than my child’s name become a conversation piece or something some may snigger at-as unfortunately adults do this (not so much other children mind you)

I wouldn't put Stephen in the same bracket as Sharon, Karen & Kevin

All the Sharons, Karens & Kevins I know are currently in their 40s or 50s, where as I know Steves who are anything between mid 30s to late 60s

I really struggle to believe Oliver will be the next Sharon or Tracey. These are classic names, and I’m sure we all know Olivers of every age range. It’s always been quietly popular. Obviously the last 10 years it has been far more so.

What I think people will look back on and cringe are, as other said, the try hard but not very nice names, like Niamh, Persephone, Jago, Digby. I think it will be a really reflection of the insecurity of the current baby making generation in their social status.

Bit harsh! Niamh is a perfectly classic Irish name I thought!

Shaggedthruahedgebackwards - great name by the way That will never date!

It is a classic Irish name - quite a dull one, to be fair- but more recently used by many British people with no Irish connection because it sounds a bit exotic. Lots of people seem to like Gaelic names then complain that none of their classmates (in Worcester) can pronounce it

Worcester was just an example btw 🤣

Many famous and talented people have names that were popular during their time, and ‘dates them to their generation.

Think Joanne Rowling, Steve McQueen, Tracey Emin.

It’s neither held them back, nor any cause for pause. That’s simply their name.

Interestingly Irish names tend to have negative associations in the U.K. after a while.

Think Siobhan, Connor, Kevin, Shannon, Riley, Liam.

I wonder why that is? Perhaps none Irish people who use Irish names are making a ‘Statement’ in some way

I meant in England, not the U.K. obviously 🙈

in Ireland/Northern Ireland Irish names are just names!

What's wrong with Forth Rd Bridge ???🤣😂

I don’t know. I’m from an Irish family and went to catholic school so it was normal to be surrounded by siobhans/ helen/ Teresa/ Mary’s as you say they were just names but I don’t realky understand why someone without Irish connection would use them.