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Baby names

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

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Original poster

Really popular names

94 replies

DulcieRay · 15/05/2019 09:16

Would you be put off if a name was really popular but you loved it?

I mean like Olivia or Oliver popular?!

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Aroundtheworldin80moves · 15/05/2019 09:20

Even the most popular names are less than 1% of babies. Alternatively, you can end up with a cluster of a not so popular name... In DDs school, 5 boys in two year groups had the same name, which was about 50 in the rankings. There was 15 boys total. None had been born in the area...

Alena92 · 15/05/2019 09:20

All names that I like except one, yes I would be put off.

However there is one name that I have adored since I was a young child. It’s unlikely to ever become mega popular again but even if all girls had this name, I would still use it because I love it so much and have done for so many years!

Proseccofuelled · 15/05/2019 09:23

There aren’t really any super popular names any more as the current trend is to be unique. So even the very top names would be 1 in a year group statistically - nothing like the experiences of previous generations.

That said - there are some that all combine in to similar sounds so Ella / Ellie / Elsa / Elsie / Evie / Eve etc prob would put me off a little (not completely though)

taylorlynn · 15/05/2019 09:26

Yes I think so. I know four Isabella's born within four weeks 🤣 also wouldn't want there being loads of kids with the same name in class

Constantdishes · 15/05/2019 10:10

It would put me off. It will be their name their whole life, not just for school years or when they live in a certain area. I wouldn't want my DD to be one of a few Olivia's in school just as I wouldn't want to be one of a few Olivia's in my office.

TenPastTen · 15/05/2019 10:15

My almost 1 year old is called Archie, which was fairly popular anyway but I have to say I was a bit gutted that the new royal baby is called that too because now he will likely be surrounded by kids through school and the rest of his life with the same name.

Saying that - my other dc has a name that was in the top 2 for the year they were born and so far have not come across one the same age and only 1 a few years older.

All the babies at baby groups I go to tend to have slightly less popular names. Some have names in the top 10 and haven't seen another, and some have names that are more likely the 50-100 or less popular and there's been a couple in the same small group!

SallyWD · 15/05/2019 10:16

Oliver's one of my favourite boys names and its polularity wouldn't put me off. Isn't it at number 1? Even though its so popular I only know one little boy called Oliver. There aren't any in either of my children's classes. So even if a name is at number 1 it's not like there will be 5 of them in each class!

AndItStillSaidFourOfTwo · 15/05/2019 10:18

Yes. I would have really loved to call my dd Emily, but it is hugely popular (both in the proper version and an unfortunate misspelling) in the country we live in, so it was off the list. We also sterongly considered Sophia, which is damn near the perfect name as far as I am concerned, but decided there are too many about. We went for a name that is extremely unusual here (but has a recognisable local version) and is starting to regain popularity in the UK. We might have decided to call her that anyway, obviously, but their popularity put a couple of names out of the running from the get go.

December2019 · 15/05/2019 10:20

My little boy is called Oliver, I think it's a timeless name and it's quite old fashioned, I've loved it for years popularity doesn't really bother me 😊... and he really does suit his name

lastqueenofscotland · 15/05/2019 10:26

A lot of names that are less popular go through waves of being more popular and therefore date badly, think along the lines of Julie/Janice/Gary/Roy etc... the ones that are consistently popular tend to be a bit more timeless

NuffSaidSam · 15/05/2019 10:32

Yes, it would really put me off.

I like Olivia and Emily and Florence, but they're all too popular now.

I really like Jude as well, but it's gaining in popularity and I think it could be the next fad name, so that puts me off too.

EllenRachel · 15/05/2019 10:35

It wouldn't put me off. We have one popular name, Sophie, and she only has one other in the whole school. The other has a more uncommon (but classic) name and has another in her very small nursery - just how it is and we chose their names because we love them!

BertrandRussell · 15/05/2019 10:40

Even with the most popular names you’d be pretty unlucky to have another one in your class-particularly nowadays when the pool of names is much wider. I think that with the most popular names it’s only I:40 babies born in the same year of the same sex who have it.

tiramisu1 · 15/05/2019 10:40

There was a thread recently where we were all asked whether we liked our names. Lots of people said they hated having a fashionable/popular name!

So it's not about whether you like it but what is best for your child long term.

Readytogogogo · 15/05/2019 10:46

I have! Don't regret it at all, it was the name we liked best.

BertrandRussell · 15/05/2019 10:47

My dB and sil said they wanted names that were used 5, 50 and 500 years ago.

99bb · 15/05/2019 10:47

We’re currently expecting our second and was initially put off a name because it has been on a surge and in the top 30.

Then I thought about it a bit more and the reasons why that bothered me:

I can’t get behind a name I already know someone with, in our case, that’s not a problem
don’t want loads of them in their class - as someone said above statistically, it’s not like when we were at school. Our first child was late top 100, but there is more than one of them at nursery and yet we don’t know any Olivias. Short of calling the kid Mountain Dew, there may be others in their class, but is unlikely to be 5 in their class like some of the names when I was at school
very popular might date it. I’ve decided this is just about what other people think and I realised I don’t actually care, I just want our kid to have the name we want

So we’re going with the popular name. I say go with the name you like best, and who cares about the rest

ThanksItHasPockets · 15/05/2019 10:59

I think you need to look at how long a name has been popular, too. Oliver has been top ten since 2002 and top three since 2007, with 6000+ baby Olivers each year. MN is obsessed with how frequently popular names appear in individual school classes but your Oliver’s school days will be a fraction of his life. Once he enters the world of work and mixes with people across his generation he could be one of many others; does he want to be forty and having to use his full name constantly at work because there are so many Olivers (which is the current fate of every thirty-five to forty-five-year-old Mark!), or continually receiving someone else’s email because he’s one of many Oliver Smiths in his organisation?

Monkeyssplit · 15/05/2019 11:00

I think names are popular because they are nice and people like them. I have slight name regret for one of my children. I loved a name and let others talk me out of it because someone else had used the name. Pick a name you love because you will be calling a child you love it for life.

Sakura7 · 15/05/2019 11:06

There is absolutely no way to predict how many people with the same name your DC will encounter. I agree with a PP that the variety of names is much wider now than in the past, so even the No.1 name will only be used about 1% of the time. Its not like in the 50s when there were Marys and Johns everywhere.

tiramisu1 · 15/05/2019 13:33

In our Scouts troop we have 4 Harrys, two of which have a very similar surname! Can be very confusing at times!

We sometimes forget that a name's main purpose is to identify someone.

tdam · 15/05/2019 13:47

We're expecting our first and I've just eliminated one of my favourite names from the list (it was a main contender) as its skyrocketing in popularity (Matilda - it went from 21 in Australia last year to 13 this year, and I keep hearing it everywhere).

It's such a shame. My partner doesn't care as much and would want to keep it in contention if he wasn't already settled on the other name we like, which is out of the top of 100. In saying that, I wish popularity didn't bother me as it does rule out some fantastic names.

Each to their own I suppose. I think it's just a matter of listening to your gut. I kept trying to justify why I should keep Matilda as a main contender (and the justification is valid in a lot of ways; it's a beautiful name I've always loved and I perceive it as timeless rather than trendy) but I knew deep down I couldn't get past its popularity and that I'd be annoyed if I used it and my daughter had multiple in her circle/year group. In saying that, as people have said you just never know what names will he popular in your area; maybe I'll meet lots of little girls with the name we've picked!

implantsandaDyson · 15/05/2019 14:29

It doesn't bother me at all - all 3 of my kids have very popular names including the ubiquitous O name. Honestly we picked the names we liked best when I was pregnant then went with the name . I didnt even look to see if their initials spelt out anything . 2 of my 3 are still in primary and one post primary and they've never been in a class with a child of the same name. I do however remember when the O child started primary and we were there for the induction - it turned out that there were two kids with the same name and it was an unusual name, I hadn't heard it in years - Christ their parents were raging , it was dirty looks all round.

Icklepup · 15/05/2019 15:03

I would be put off, like a name to be a bit unusual and not heard of lots.

Lavenderblues · 15/05/2019 15:21

Ask yourself how you would feel about having a very popular name yourself? Many people called Steve or Sarah might feel that they'd rather have less popular name?

Agree that names are meant to identify us. (Ideally without adding a surname initial)

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