Name popularity a deal breaker?

[Heh1991]

I adore the name Oliver but it’s SO popular.

If you loved the name would it put you off caking your child it? If so any alternatives?

Want to echo what @Aroundtheworldin80moves says. The number of baby boys called Oliver has been declining year on year for years now. I don't know any at our nursery or baby group.

Lots of people saying they didn't like having a top 5 name in the 80s, it's worth remembering that a top 5 name in the 80s is different to a top 5 name now. The numbers are far smaller these days. It has gone from 1 in 5 men being called John (many years ago!), to 60% of babies being given a top 100 name in the 80s. That figure is now only 40%.

Obviously it's not an unusual name and you probably will stumble across another Oliver at one time or another but you could pick a name outside the top 50 that you don't like as much and find there's another in the class anyway and no Olivers.

If you love the name I'd use it.

What are your other options @Heh1991

Wouldn't bother me. Oliver is a good strong name that will always be popular.

It definitely put me off a few names. DD’s first name outside the top 200 and I’m happy about that. However, her middle name is Rose.

Once I realised realised how overused Rose was, I tried out lots of other middle names and name combinations. But nothing else went as well with her other names. So, Rose it was.

Yes it would BUT popularity is so regional!

So looking at the top names isn’t a indicator of how many ‘Oliver’s’ in your case live in your area. My boy had a top 100 name for his year, he’s the only one in his school with that name.
However a friend of mine who thought her little girl had a less popular name which is ‘Nelly’ turns out there is another one in her class and three more in the other classes and nursery.

It wouldn’t bother me. I don’t think having a popular name is so terrible anyway.

@Whatsyourflava

What are your other options *@Heh1991*

I also like;

William
Henry
Dominic
George
Edward

All quite normal names but Oliver is my fave!

No, because unless you choose something completely made up, there's always a chance of another child in a close group having the same name.
There's only one Oliver in DS' nursery but about five called Max. Two Freya. And so on...

It wouldn't bother me. My son has a name that is quite common.

Even if you called your son something totally out there and unique it could catch on in a huge way.
I based my name choice simply on how much I liked the name.
I wouldn't go for a less common name just because it was less common. My sons middle name is slightly more uncommon but I didn't think it suited as a first name.

I agree with the statistical points made by @Aroundtheworldin80moves and @Whatsyourflava. It's oft cited that FTSE 100 CEOs are more likely to be called Steve or Stephen than they are to be a woman, and I don't think we'll ever now see that kind of name ubiquity.

I would make two points, however. First is that for boys' names the distribution of the data is hugely skewed towards the top 25 - nearly 25% of all boys born in England and Wales were given a top 25 name - and then it falls away quite quickly. Girls' names are more evenly distributed and there tend to be fewer of each one.

The other factor to consider is popularity over time. I wouldn't personally now use Jack because although it is a lovely name it was very very popular for a very long time and a Jack born now will find himself amongst many others in every workplace through his lifetime.

@Heh1991
Go for Oliver if you have your heart set on it! You’ll regret it if you don’t.
Your list of names are lovely, I like Edward just because It’s not a name I hear often for baby’s.

I don't know anyone under the age of 10 who is called Oliver.

The most popular/common names in our primary school tend to be ones that I doubt would be in even the Top 50.

If you like the name, use it. It would be a shame to not use it and then find out later that your DS would've been the only Oliver in his nursery or school after all!

Yes it was a major factor for me. There's thousands of names out there! In saying that the popular names make up a smaller portion than what they used to. And it can be hard to predict what will become popular sometimes.
And the end of the day you have to love it regardless or whether it's popular or not. 😁.

Also, people who pick "unusual" names tend to be REALLY annoyed to meet another one. I saw someone look genuinely crestfallen when he told me his baby's name and I said, "Oh, how lovely, I know another baby X, actually." 😂

Whereas, with an Oliver, you wouldn't feel upset if there was another in the class, and it might be a pleasant surprise if there wasn't.

All your other choices are lovely traditional classic names that are all top 100 still @Heh1991
Because of that I wouldn't say you'd notice a massive difference day to day if you chose Oliver versus say Henry. It's not like you're picking between Oliver and Clarence (for example), where there's going to be a dramatic difference in popularity.
If Oliver is your favourite name on your list, definitely pick that!! I can see names like Henry overtaking Oliver soon anyway

My Oliver is 34 this year. When I told people his name they were gobsmacked because it was so unusual.
I must have started a trend 😃
I still really like it actually, go for it I say.

It pays to check regional variations if popularity is important to you. Henry is #13 nationally but it's #6 in east England, #8 in SE England, and #7 in SW England. Equally, Oliver isn't #1 everywhere: Muhammad is in NW Eng, Yorkshire & the Humber, West Mids and London, and Harry is #1 in NE England.

Local data is important. Some areas are very conservative with name choices and and some have a much wider pool of names.

Also, Oliver has been in the top 100 since 1974 (as far as I can tell - name data in the UK is hard to get pre-1996). It's not just Olivers in his class, but throughout his life there will be Olivers in his workplace, not just from his generation, but the previous generation too. I have friends whose names weren't locally popular growing up, but now in the workplace there are many of them.

I would still use it if you love it.

When I named DS Oliver it wasn't even a top one hundred name. He's a grown man now, goes by Ollie most of of the time but if popularity bothers you so much you better choose a Younique name because you never know what will be next in the popularity stakes.

My son has an unusual name. Chose it because we love it but also liked that it's not popular. He's 3 and never met another at baby group / nursery etc but randomly the boy next door but one has the same name 😂

Yes, it absolutely matters to me.

I have a William, which is a family name but obviously really popular. It was the nickname potential that swung me, as although he might encounter other Williams, there’ll be fewer Wills/Liams, which are the names we actually call him.

At least the boys names are all pretty different though. I’d love to know what percentage of girls are called Evie/ Eva/ Ava/ Evelyn etc- although they’re all different names they all blend into one another.

Popularity does bother me, but more with girls names than boys. I couldn't bring myself to use a top 10 name though no matter how much I loved it

My son has an unusual name.

I always wonder how 'unusual' these names are? How many boys were named that name in his year of birth?

My ds was one of 25 of boys born in his year and even now there are only around 30 boys with his name. I consider that fairly unusual.

And yes, a very popular name would definitely put me off.