What is a 'common' name?!

[Bluedeepwaters]

Is there such a thing as a 'common' name?
This comes from a family member commenting that I better not choose a common name!
Are people really that judgemental when you tell them the name you have chosen for your baby?

Oh yes

Have you not read any of the Baby Names threads ?

Well of course there are names that are popular and will lead to your child being one of several in their school etc. That obviously doesn't bother lots of people - Jack was the most popular boys' name for many years.

Other popular names have been James, Oliver, William, Harry, and for girls, Emily, Olivia, Chloe, all lovely names. I was a teacher and I taught a lot of children with those names.

Ah rereading I wonder if your relative meant common as in not posh enough? sorry if misunderstood 😀

clary I suspect they probably mean a “chavvy” (for want of a better word) name, rather than a popular one.
This is why people always advise on not telling family or friends the name until the baby is here OP. Everyone has an opinion!

Eeek! it feels like a minefield! Yep, said relative wants a name they believe is posh (whatever that means!)....

I would personally see a common name as a popular name for example Ava or Lily which are both in top 10 but other people would view a common name as a "chav" name.

If you share the name before the birth, people will be ruthless. Once the baby is born and name announced, people are less brutal (to your face). This is my experience. DH let slip one of his choices, and it was scoffed at by a family member. I took it off the list immediately.
If they are being judgy now, I wouldn’t tell them anything until the certificate is signed

MotherTime3 that's really good advice. I would've done exactly the same thing and take it off the list....silly when you're a grown adult!

Well it's either the Kaiden and Ava Mae camp or Oliver and Amelia. Maybe ask them to specify and then look at them with the disdain they deserve.

I think it means popular rather than chavvy. So names such as
Ava. Eva/ie. Evelyn. lily Isla. Ruby. Olivia. Isabelle
Oliver. Harry. Alfie. James. Arthur.

What does 'chavvy' even mean? or a chavvy name?

Balonz

Op, people ( the ones who are prepared to say this sort of thing out loud) say “ Chavy” to convey uneducated, tasteless, & brash.
You know, those dreadful people whofor some unknown reason don’t want to conform to middle class stereotypes of what is acceptable.

I’ve got a feeling that the word” chav” is a traveler word that means family or children, but it’s been hijacked by snobs.

Ive been told a chavvy name can be one of the following:
Mercedes
Destiny
Amarni
Princess
Kelly-Ann
Lexi
Any brand, night club, car sounding name apparently. Oh and sometimes flower names but not all, holly and poppy are classed as "chavvy" though.

Had this conversation a few weeks ago with a friend, it was eye opening to see how people are judged by their name

If you tell me "common" I'd assume names that you encounter very frequently, like Christophe in France or Aleksandr in Russia... So, for the uk, names like Oliver, John, James, etc

Sorry juggling baby and posted too soon. Its daft because it's all perception. Poshest couple I know are Holly and Aiden and they've both been given the dreaded c word on here before.

nevaeh

Chelsea, Kyle, Tyler, Ellie-Mai, McKenzie,

It's typically used to refer to names with chavvy associations (which some will claim don't exist and it's the height of snobbery to think any names have any associations at all).

It's always worth keeping baby names under wraps because someone will always have an opinion. One of our girls names I love and wouldn't call chavvy, but an upwardly mobile relative I could guarantee will consider it a common name.

I don't think Holly and Poppy are chavvy but then I can't stand name judgement. It's the one thing you can't help and people can be so needlessly nasty about it.
I have a Beatrice and an Oliver. I've wanted an Oliver since I was very young and it just so happens that it's ridiculously popular at the moment! I'm just grateful that as a teacher, it wasn't a name that was ruined by a child, as so many are

Where I live in the north "chav" names are similar to -
McKenzie
Chantelle
Harley
Hayden
Jayden
Kayden
Mia
Poppy
Destiny
Harrison

Etc. It seems that the more "modern" or the more abstract the name's meaning the chavvier it is.

"Common" is more to do with popularity in my opinion.

Names are a minefield.

I’m due to give birth to dc2 (a boy) any day now and we haven’t found a name. Mostly because we made the catastrophic error of mentioning choices to parents. My mom pulled a face and my MIL rolled her eyes. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

Dd was much easier!!

I’m also a childminder so I have known a lot of boys over the years and there have been lots of names I wanted to use but couldn’t. I loved the name Joel but I looked after one who was a right little so and so, and now I can’t see any other child but him. (He is a gorgeous young man now, just a terrible toddler!)

DH and I are very working class, and I have no desire to be anything else...I like names such as Rupert and Percy but I do worry they are a little try hard. My children will never be privately educated or live in Chelsea and Westminster, and I’m very aware of that fact.

Common:
Mackenzie
Harley
Harrison
Tyler
Jayden
Chantelle
Jaxon
Lexi
Scarlett
Ruby
Anything with -mai
Anything with a hyphen
Chloe
Jackson
Kobe
Dexter
Vinnie
Frankie
Corley

OR

Arthur
Leo
Sophia
Olivia
Oliver
Thomas
William
Masie
Violet
Evelyn
Hannah
Isobel
Alexander
Jack

I always thought that the "chavvy" names were those that were made more common by being a character or stars name from a tv show. The same thing is happening with G o T just now. Think of all the Khalessi , Arya and Briennes that will be around in a few years time.

To me common means overused so Alfie, Archie, Ollie, Charlie, Jack, Evie, Ellie, etc