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Baby names

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

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Original poster

What do you consider popular/overused names?

124 replies

mamablondie2 · 28/04/2020 18:46

Just out of interest... I know there are official stats etc. but I find there’s a difference between something being popular and sounding overused. Currently weighing up options, it doesn’t bother me as much as DH but he keeps coming out with “Oh that’s too popular” to quite a lot of my ideas. TIA x

OP posts:

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Batmanandbobbin · 28/04/2020 21:26

I think Harper is a rising name lately! Agree Amelia is popular, Rupert also.

It’s strange I have a reasonable gap between my boys and the names that are in soft play now (well when it was open) are completely different To what they were 7 years ago. It tends to be the more traditional names are no longer used.

cupofteaaa · 28/04/2020 22:55

Isla/aila is very overused IMO.

123Dancewithme · 29/04/2020 00:35

Theo. So many Theos!

Also Arlo, Teddy, Albie, Oscar, Ivy, Evie, Poppy, Elsie

ChanklyBore · 29/04/2020 00:37

I wouldn’t consider any name in the top 1000 on the official statistics for my own children, so I guess I consider them to be “too popular”

orlarose · 29/04/2020 00:43

Isla, Ava, Evie, Freya

Noah, Finley Arthur

kateybeth79 · 29/04/2020 00:57

DD has 3 Phoebe's in her class! The parents were all massive fans of Friends lol

averytiredmom · 29/04/2020 01:00

Arthur, Theo, Ava, Amelia

TheDIsiilusionedAnarchist · 29/04/2020 01:09

How fast a name is rising matters more than how popular it is. A name that is fast rising will date; Olivia, Ruby, Amelia, Evie all have fallen into that category while Alice, Hannah etc are top 100 but steadily there.

Noah for example Is incredibly trendy whereas Henry remains relatively popular but not trendy.

I think there are a few categories of names

Perennially popular (Samuel, James, Thomas)
Seriously trendy (Noah, Casper)
Steady Risers (Reuben, Ezra)
Inline with current trends but underused (Moses, Ebenezer)
Well known but barely used (Peter, Michael)
Unusual but real (Theseus)

7 Way out/made up (Cosmic, Jojo-Tigger)

Want a name without others in the same class choose from categories 4,5,6,7 but watch out they aren’t actually getting more popular. Names in category 4 are prone to this. Evie might be super popular and Ava trendy but Ada seems charmingly original until you realise everyone else who loved Evie and Ava has moved to Ada and there’s now seven in the baby group.

cheeseycracker · 29/04/2020 01:14

I know a little girl Noa if that works Op? Not as popular for a girl and that way you get to use one of your faves!

BasiliskStare · 29/04/2020 01:29

You must choose what you like but I think there is a fine line between having a name which is classic - so lots of them , as opposed to trendy / of the time & when they are older & I mean much older , people saying - ah yep _ I reckon you were born between 20xx and 20xx. But even so that does not matter as long as it is a nice name which won't cause a problem for the child

So there are lots of Elizabeths of all ages - but I think it is timeless. Equally I think Thomas or William or John ( John - had I had another boy was my absolute favourite. )

For a girl ( & I won't have another but in fantasy land) were I to I would like Frances or possibly Stella.

I had not realised Arlo was so popular - a friend of mine knows someone who has recently had an Arlo and I thought it was unusual - just shows.

No problem in being more than one in the class though - my son has two v good friends at the moment ( he is older - i.e. post school ) and they just have found a way of referring so that it is obvious which one. Not quite the same as being 5 in a class where you are Name A B C or D on a regular basis I realise. He also has 2 friends called Emily - in his circle of friends they seem to be able to tell them apart.

I haven't really answered your question there @mamablondie2 but the main thing is I hope your daughter is born safe and well & she will be fine whichever name you give to her . I do think a middle name is a good idea. My son's godfather is known by his middle name as he really disliked his first name when he got older ( Middle name v classic)

All best wishes though , Basilisk

user3274826 · 29/04/2020 01:36

Overused fashionable: Emily, Ella, Ellie, Elsie, Evelyn, Evie, Ava, Amelia, Isabella, Maisie, Daisy, Mia, Grace, Lily. Jack, Ethan, Lucas, Charlie, Noah, Jaxon, Theo, Teddy, Freddie, Edward, Albert/Albie, Finley, Reuben, Rupert, Hugo.

user3274826 · 29/04/2020 01:51

Oh yes, Arlo . One of those names that rose so rapidly out the blue, that a lot of people are using it and still not having a clue how popular it is. It is absolutely fine to choose a popular name, and Arlo is a lovely name, but I really eye roll when people say they chose their child's popular name because it is unusual, or people saying they wouldn't have chosen popular names if they knew. Why don't they look up the stats?

BasiliskStare · 29/04/2020 02:17

@user3274826 My son's name is in your list and whilst he has always known one or two indeed probably more ( which is fine ) I had no idea it was overused ( well in those days I never thought to look up the list of names by popularity ) - It's a pretty classic name. & we knew there would be others. Ha ha - you live and learn - but he is in his 20s so maybe half a generation before lots of other boys grow up with the same name I don't mind either way as it is just his name now. & there are people older than him with the same name of different generations.
( The one thing I did want is a name which was the actual name - not a diminutive - but just me - others will think differently)

When I think about the discussions we had about Ds's name before he was born - and then once he was born it just wasn't a thing - it was just his name - but I think it is a fairly classic name & he isn't the only one but he wasn't tripping over with others with the same name. Well it's fine - it served him well when he was a tiny tot & it's Ok as a young adult - so it does its job

UnderTheIroningBoard · 29/04/2020 02:30

Ava, Olivia and Amelia.
Although honestly if I liked the name I would use it without worrying about it. I know someone who used a fairly uncommon name, and then a semi-famous person became popular with the same name and it exploded in popularity about 6 months after her child was born.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 29/04/2020 02:48

The most popular names are given to less than 1% of babies. This means that statistically, every child should be the only one of their class- but realistically, any name unless made up could be duplicated in a class.
In my DDs preschool class of 19 (8 girls, 9 boys).. there were two boys called name A, 2 called similar name B. 4 children had a birthday in last week of January. 3 children had a birthday in the second week in March. The eldest child was older than the second eldest by nearly 3 months. In the class above, there were 3 more were called Name A, plus 2 more similar name C. (There were 11 boys in that year group). Name A was not a top 100 name. All families had moved into the area.

One of my DDs names (top 10) was unique in her first 2 schools.

daisypond · 29/04/2020 05:10

here, my DC are both preschool age and the names I hear a lot are Jacob, Theo, Millie, Chloe, Lily.
Where I am, those would be very dated. They are the names of people in their 20s. Popularity of names varies by area and social circle. Some areas are early adopters of names and it takes many years, about 20, for those names to hit the mainstream and become popular, by which time the early-adopting areas have well and truly moved on.

BasiliskStare · 29/04/2020 05:30

What about Barbara - unusual and unless she is at school with Victoria Coren Mitchell's daughter won't have to share a name in the class

BatleyTownswomensGuild · 29/04/2020 07:41

In the past 5 years near me:

Ava, Evie, Isla, Tilly/Matilda... Olive looks like a new contender too.

Boys: Noah, Elijah, Charlie, Finlay, Albie, Theo

WaxOnFeckOff · 29/04/2020 07:58

@dementedma I know an Arlo in Central Scotland :)

20viona · 29/04/2020 08:02

Evie, evelyn, madison
Harry George Freddie

emilybrontescorsett · 29/04/2020 08:05

Chose a name you like.
Names are far less common now than they were 50 years ago.
If your dh wants a unique name then he will have to make one up.
It will probably sound ridiculous and try hard though.

fessmess · 29/04/2020 08:10

My 17yo is Amelia, we chose it before it exploded in popularity. These threads make me sad, I feel there's a judgement that I have somehow failed me child. My older dd has a much less common name. Choose the name you like and leave everyone else alone.

toomuchteaandcake · 29/04/2020 09:08

Eve Evie Ava

RoseMartha · 29/04/2020 09:16

Lily
Mia
Ava
Isla
Elsie

Jack
Harry
Noah
Caleb

Whatsyourflava · 29/04/2020 09:18

@fessmess Amelia is a gorgeous name and think how many people are choosing it now in 2020 despite knowing its current popularity they still love it enough to want to use it. I bet many don’t even care about popularity. Most of us on these threads are baby name enthusiasts and aren’t representative of the world at large I’m sure. I bet your daughter loves her name and it’d be so easy to change if she doesn’t. You haven’t failed her at all. In fact I’ve seen plenty of threads on these boards saying “I hated having a rare name growing up - I’d like a top 50 name for my child please help with suggestions”.

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