London uncommon names

[Namesforme]

A question for MN users in London, as reading MN it seems there can be major differences in name 'trends' from London and the rest of the country.

I loved the name Wren but I feel like it's very common now. . I also loved it for boys and originally understood it to be a boys' name (although MN users seem to firmly disagree on that). What names are there which are still uncommon or only just emerging in London please?

Boys and girls, unisex, and preferably short as our surname is merged / double barrelled.

Not London or anywhere near, yesterday I met a little boy who was probably 3/4 called Hendrick, he was a delightful chatty child and the name really suited him.

I have never met a Wren - I’m from south London. Lovely name.
No suggestions sorry but I will be watching this thread

At 0.03% nationally it could be 10x as popular in London & still exceptionally rare

I really like it

We are in London and have never met a Wren. If you like the name just go for it, you realistically aren't going to find many acceptable unisex names that will be 'rare', at least not within a social set which values having unusual names for DC.

I've never heard of Wren and I live in London. I think it works well for both sexes. Go for it.

I'm in London and I know of one Wren, a girl. Works fine to me.

Heard the name Lux being called by a mum to a little girl a few yrs ago. That names always stuck with me.

I’m not in London, live in the South.

What about Aster? There is one in my DDs class but I think it works for either boy or girl.

A boy’s name? Well if we’re being specific, it’s a bird’s name A tiny, delicate looking little bird, so personally I don’t think it’s very masculine.

I know one Wren of 8. A girl.

I'm in West London and haven't come across a Wren. It's a nice name.

A tiny, delicate looking little bird

I dunno, wrens are kind of dumpy and rotund

Surely Ren is more likely for a boy (as in and Stimpy)

Know only 1 Wren (girl, 6).

What about Blaise?

I moved out of South London 18 months ago. At the time I knew 3 different Wrens all under 3.

Two were registered at the same library rhyme time. The grandmother of Wren 2 was hilariously affronted that she needed to give the surname over to get a tick on her attendance card because she thought Wren was unique.

So @Haworthia one should only designate names that perpetuate gender stereotypes and internalised misogyny, eg 'delicate' names for girls? 

Yeah @DappledThings this is more along my experience- seen and heard a number of them around toddler age.

To clarify, the name doesn't have to be unisex, but we are open to those.

Yes I know a couple of Wrens! I named my dd a rare name and there was another one at nursery with the same name (and almost the same surname).

I think you should go for Sheila or Carol if you want rare in London (maybe not East London though). Or maybe bog standard Emily or Sophie - very rare in my school!

Or maybe just go for a name you love and stick to your guns.

So @Haworthia one should only designate names that perpetuate gender stereotypes and internalised misogyny, eg 'delicate' names for girls?

Not quite, but can I visualise a grown man called Wren? Nope.

I am in South London and know a 2 year old called Wren, don’t think it’s overly popular though.

Easier to say what is emerging/has taken off than the other way round! I would avoid Max/Theo/Oscar for boys if popularity concerns you. Names which seemed to be growing in popularity a couple of years ago included Arlo, Hector, Nova and Orla - but that might just be where we were in London. I wouldn’t worry too much about popularity - look outside of the top 50/100 and get a feel for what you like, and just go with a name you love.

For what it’s worth, my DS has a top-20s name and we have only met one other in four years. He has always been the only one in his class/group so far. Whereas we were at a party recently with three Erins present, which seems like a more unusual name!

I’m in SW London and don’t know any Wrens.

I should also add that in my bit of London people are like the OP, desperate to name their DC something uncommon. The end result is that popular names are nowhere like as common and the uncommon names suddenly pop up all over the place.

I have still yet to meet an Olivia.

I had a look & it seems the % of boys given the name Wren is almost the same as for girls.

I also agree about the trend being to be as unique as possible meaning even the top names are a tiny fraction of the popularity the top names would have been in our generations

A girl I went to school with has a daughter called wren, she’s in London.

We are in London and I work in education and have never heard the name wren before.

I know a Wren, not in London.

I've got a real hankering for the name Pamela. I reckon it's going to have a resurgence and be very cool.

Beau, Zeta, Zoya