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Baby names

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

Which would you regret more?

119 replies

Onceuponatime123 · 19/07/2020 20:34

Which would you regret more?

Choosing a popular name and child being 1 of 3/4/5 in class.

NOT choosing a popular name that you LOVE because it is popular.

The name I am referring to is Evelyn but the question is relevant to any popular name.

OP posts:
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MsTSwift · 19/07/2020 20:36

God not another Eve. At one point a third of the girls in dds class were named a variant of Eve utterly did my head in with confusion. This generations Sarah. One to avoid unless you really don’t mind about popularity

DanniArthur · 19/07/2020 20:41

I would go with the name you love. My DD is Isabelle which according to statistics is very popular and a few comments were made when we announced it about "expecting something less common" but we both love it and DD suits it. Also there's only one other Isabelle and an Isabella at her large nursery so it actually doesnt seem as popular in our area. Go with Evelyn if thats what your gut is saying.

DramaAlpaca · 19/07/2020 20:42

The name you love, always. I did for one of mine and I've never regretted it.

Thneedville · 19/07/2020 20:45

If you pick it while knowing it’s popular then you shouldn’t have any regrets, and will probably be pleasantly surprised when there is only one Eve-variant in the class.

The regrets people have is when they pick a name they don’t realise is popular.

AnnaSW1 · 19/07/2020 20:45

Use the name you love. One of my children has a top 5 name. Never met another one!

Tinamou · 19/07/2020 20:46

Go with the name you love!

Ditzyduck · 19/07/2020 20:47

Yes go with what you love. I have a ds with a name that was number 1 for years , I have only met a handful of others over the years. He was 1 of 2 in his whole primary school.
What's popular in statistics doesn't mean the whole class will have the same name in your area.
I would much rather a nice popular name than a unique one that no one can pronounce !

MrsMozartMkII · 19/07/2020 20:47

The name you love.

School is only a few short years.

MoominKitty · 19/07/2020 20:48

That's the name we were going to choose if our son had been a girl.

I love older traditional names and don't care what others may think of it or how many others have it.

Go with the name you love, or if the popularity bothers you make it the middle name perhaps?

MsTSwift · 19/07/2020 20:51

Eve is crazily over used I really wouldn’t. The parents who chose it regret it

AnnaSW1 · 19/07/2020 20:54

Use the name you love. One of my children has a top 5 name. Never met another one!

JanewaysBun · 19/07/2020 20:54

ds has a "current" name and dd has a name that was like 800 on the baby name list. I don't care about either as I picked the names I loved.

If you love Evelyn go for it

Missmonkeypenny · 19/07/2020 21:01

Go with the one you love, for sure.

For what it's worth, DD is 5 and there has never been an Evelyn within our friendship group/nursery/school

AllsortsofAwkward · 19/07/2020 21:04

My dd is Sophie which is a popular name shes the only one in her class. Complete pot luck. I have a niece called Evelin she's the only I've met and I teach kids how to swim. Go with what you want op.

dingledongle · 19/07/2020 21:05

My dd is Eve- only one in primary (200 kids) and Secondary school (over 1500 kids).

I love her name & she is unique even if there were two in the class Angry

Normandy144 · 19/07/2020 21:10

Go for the name you love. There's no guarantee that the most popular names are going to be the ones your child is surrounded by. Just going on a straw poll if my daughter's 2 form entry Y2 (60 kids), there's only 2 girls with the same top 10 name and another 2 girls with different top ten names. I suppose you have to ask yourself what will upset you more? Your daughter going to school surrounded by other Evelyn's or your daughter (with a different name) and not an Evelyn in sight.

antipodes1 · 19/07/2020 21:12

I used a popular name for my DD and was worried about using it but realised it doesn’t really matter, no one cared if there were two or more kids of the same name when I was at school.
And I don’t care that there might be lots of Olivia’s. Even though it was one of most popular names when she was born I haven’t actually come across another one yet. You also get the added bonus that most people will be able to pronounce and spell it.

ShyTown · 19/07/2020 21:23

Go for the name you love. You can’t reliably predict who is going to be called what in future nursery/school classes. I used to take DD to a group where 3 out 10 of the children were called Quinn (2 girls, 1 boy) which is not something you’d expect whilst Olivia is supposedly really popular but I’ve only ever met 1.

MsTSwift · 19/07/2020 21:26

Yes but Eve?!

We have
Eve M
Eve L
Eve G
Evie
Eva

In one friendship group! Kill me now!

Peachbubble · 19/07/2020 21:33

Choose the name you love, however popular it is.

daisypond · 19/07/2020 21:54

Go with the name you love. One of my DC has a name that became hugely popular about eight years later, and must have been on the rise when we named her. This was in a time before the name stats were published online, so no one knew what was popular or not. Now an adult in her 20s, we and she have never known another one. Not in nursery, three-form entry primary, huge secondary school and university.

iamthankful · 19/07/2020 22:03

Definitely go with the name you love. My first son is called David, which I thought would be very popular - he's the only one in his school called that.

FourForYouGlenCoco · 19/07/2020 22:11

I’ve never met an Evelyn! Couple of Evies over the years but that’s it. Go with the name you love - DS has a mega common name (it might even be #1, or was at some stage) and it suits him so perfectly, I love it on him and can’t imagine him being anything else. I’ve met a handful of kids with the same name but he’s the only one in his class (starting in sept) 🤷‍♀️ you’ll almost certainly regret not going with the name you love IMO.

threeduckslittle · 19/07/2020 22:31

I did regret a popular name massively and ended up changing her name.

My elder daughter knew 5 of the same name and they were all known as name plus surname letter e.g. Eve S, Eve C, Eve T. It just ended up making me feel rubbish about the name.

However, it wouldn't bother some people so you need to really think about how you feel about it. I'd say if you're asking this question then perhaps it does bother you?

luckymagnoliatree · 19/07/2020 22:40

I love Evelyn - it was actually on our name list and was a strong contender for a girl (we had another boy!) the only Evelyn I had met until that point was one of my school friends mums when I was a child. Funnily enough a close mum friend who had her second child just after we had ours, used Evelyn for her daughter (we have very similar tastes in names & didn't discuss names either times...My eldest son's name turned out to be the name she had picked if her eldest had been a boy!)

Always go for the name you love, then you won't regret it.