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?

I also think common means over used

I try to stay away from last years top 20, definitely top 10.

Four dc so far and none have ever had another child with their name in their school year.

Dc5 due later this year and i have told dp 'no' to several names i regard 'too common'

NorthernRunner I love the name Joel.

I think my family (those with an opinion,basically my mum and sisters) want a old-fashioned 'safe' name because they class that as tasteful and acceptable but I am not fond of those types of names. Nothing wrong with them.

What annoys me is they wouldn't even take time to think of the more modern names i like because they are so dismissive and all about show :(

When I use the word common I mean popular, used often.

I think 'common' is applied by snobs who think they have the best taste and wrongly think everyone else is aspiring to have their taste.
I think many people don't associate popular names like Ellie, Sophia or oliver as 'common' because their understanding of what 'common' means is something else ie not wanting to branded as having bad taste.

I hate people who use the terms 'chav' or 'chavvy' it's such a derogatory term and used to be insulting.

I hate people who use the terms 'chav' or 'chavvy' it's such a derogatory term and used to be insulting
Whereas in our region people of all classes know what a chav is and what it is to be chavvy, yes it is insulting because most people don't want to be a chav.

The only people I've ever met who fall over themselves to be offended by any way of identifying a particularly culture/set of behaviour are, amusingly, very middle class folk who wish to appear oh so woke whilst claiming they've had enough with class or they don't see class or whatever faux- naive woke nonsense makes them feel nice.

I've worked in schools in the more deprived, high crime areas of town and they still had strong feelings about who and what was chavvy. I didn't see any poor working class kids lamenting how unfair and mean it was to judge those who hung around the shops smoking and being antisocial at 14.

I've worked in schools in the more deprived, high crime areas of town and they still had strong feelings about who and what was chavvy. I didn't see any poor working class kids lamenting how unfair and mean it was to judge those who hung around the shops smoking and being antisocial at 14

Yes, it only appears to be the middle class do gooder types who get offended by the word 'chav'.

Number one rule of Mumsnet baby names board: anything hypenated.

formerbabe
It is.

I remember my parents and grandparents talking about how certain fashion trends were 'common as muck'. By secondary school we knew which kids were the ones always trashing lessons, smoking, being antisocial on the streets, the ones who'd be getting into fights in y9 based on who slept with whose boyfriend/girlfriend, who was getting excluded or in trouble with police. With it came certain nicknames, fashion trends, items of clothing and so on that made up the chav subculture.

If only we had some dogooder middle class folk who could have come in and told us working class teenagers that it's really quite crass to look down on that behaviour and how we (despite being working class) were demonizing those who aren't affluent.

If I was having a baby the absolute last place I would discuss names would be MN. A more snobbish bunch I have yet to come across.

I find ones that are spelled in a made-up way quite 'common'. Ironically it's probably in an attempt to be different.

Common is overused so names like Alfie, Archie, Evie, Ellie etc

For boys it's surnames for Christian names (Mason, Tyler, Harrison, Jaxon etc), for girls anything hyphenated or misspelled (Lydia-Mai, Saffire-Rose) and for either it's a nickname on the birth certificate not the full name (Charlie, Theo, Archie, Jessie, Betty).

overused? That's quite subjective. Nothing wrong with a popular name, unless you're a MN snob!

Are people really that judgemental when you tell them the name you have chosen for your baby?

Oh OP - just spend 5 minutes on the baby names boards! The judgementalism on names is an excellent prep for being a mother since a mother's place is invariably in the wrong

deep blue you mum got to name you and your sister (and any other siblings you have). Your sister has named any children she already has or will get to name any she has in future. You get to name yours. I would tell them I have chosen Khalessie-Navaeh-Mae or J'xx'n-Jaden-JJ and hope the shock prevents them from speaking. Then actually announce the real name only when the baby is born. Don't discuss name choices with them. Choose the name you and your DP (assuming you have one) want. Everyone else can butt out.

Common (not the ‘popular’ meaning) always seemed to be Eastender characters like Tracy, Michelle, Angie and Sharon. Really dating myself there!

CassianAndor I agree!

Common perfectly decent names include Amelia/Emilia, William and Harry.
Common non-decent names include -Mai, -Rose, Ellie, Kayden and Luca.
I wonder which 'common' was meant.

I think there's always been some names that are recognised as being used by different classes- and names with the most longevity are often those that transcend class and make it hard to make assumptions about the bearer.

When I was at school Sharon and Tracie and Wayne and Craig were definitely "working class choices". Similarly you'd only imagine Ruperts or Sebastiens or Arabellas at boarding schools.

Names like Thomas, James, Emma, Mathew, Laura though seem classless and are still around today.

Everyones judgey - I'm afraid that I'd make assumptions about children with names from TV shows (any GOT basically), unconventional spellings (Jaxon, Kourtney) or unsavoury connotations (Tyson??)

How 'common' or 'popular' a name is has nothing to do with class ( whatever that even means).

Common names are the opposite of uncommon or unusual names, names outside the top 100 or so.

People refer to class with terms like 'chavvy' or 'posh' although I hate this classification.