Over- used baby names

[Luluuuuuuuuuu85]

Hi all, I'm interested in what the attitude to 'over used' names is. We've had a lot of discussions recently about what to call dd2 (dc3) and a name that is growing on me is Violet. To make things even more exciting, awkward dh is ok with it! However the theme about it is is that it's too popular/ over used. I don't want to call my baby a name that I know lots of other children called, just my personal preference. But how much attention do people pay to this idea of over use? I don't know any other Violets but I know it is not unusual. Does that bother most people or just on the internet?!

Viola might be a less common alternative.

🍼2 syllable girls names beginning L.

🍼Twee boys names.

🍼Girls names beginning with El.

🍼Girl names beginning Ev or Av. Ada kinda belongs in this group too.

🍼Olivia, Amelia, Oliver. I lived in social housing just under 5 years ago and there were 2 mums on the estate with an Olivia, two with an Amelia.

🍼Maria - most common name globally.

🍼Muhammad (and all variations) - see above.

🍼Girls names ending -y, -ie and -a. Though hard to avoid.

🍼Girls names with L or LL in the middle. Lily, Hallie etc.

🍼Any name in the Top 5. Many/most names in the Top 100. (Thinking of names like Charlotte, Emma, Isabella, Rosie, Iris, Sophia, Lucas, Finley, Harry, Noah as you can bet there where will be many in the school)

🍼Only Fools and Horses style boy names. Bobby, Teddy, Arthur etc.

🍼Celebrity inspired. Gigi, etc. Your child will not look like Gigi Hadid because you have called them Gigi.

🍼American style, surname as first names. Greyson, Hunter, Hudson, Jackson etc.

🍼2 syllable Boys names ending in -o.

🍼Bridgerton/Peaky Blinders/current trendy Netflix show inspired names.

🍼"Classics" but I guess that's the whole point of them.

I don't see the issue with popular names as they are usually nice names. I have 2 with popular names and 1 with a less popular name (although has been mentioned on this thread!)

I don't like violet, it reminds me of the girl off willy wonka. I do know of one baby recently born called violet though.

@Steelesauce

I don't see the issue with popular names as they are usually nice names. I have 2 with popular names and 1 with a less popular name (although has been mentioned on this thread!)

I don't like violet, it reminds me of the girl off willy wonka. I do know of one baby recently born called violet though.

There are several issues with having a very popular name. She will always be Olivia Surname apart from at home. She will go to school with lots of other Olivias, go to work with lots of other Olivias, often be mistaken for another Olivia with a similar surname, quite possibly have a SIL called Oivia and at some point there will be so many Olivias that the name will fall out of favour.

I know OP didn't say Olivia but I used it as an example of a name that has been very popular for 25 yrs

The happy medium is a name that isn't too out there and not overused.

Many years ago when pregnant with DS1 we were thinking names and I mentioned a name I had head in anTV show. DH said he had never heard of it...the name was Evie. You can never tell what will be the next popular name! We never used it as by the time we had a DD it was everywhere.

I love the name it's my daughters middle name. I think more commonly used names like Evie, Ava, Elsie are the ones I'd avoid.

You can tell if a name is likely to become very popular to some extent..

Two of my cousins had baby girls around the same time. AFAIK they don't know each other, and it was a fairly unusual name, usually short for a much longer name.

Royal babies and celebrities tend to increase the popularity of names. If you see a name and think Ooh that's nice, chances are others will too

Violet is lovely. I'm a primary school teacher and have two toddlers and I've never met one

If I think of my peers I know lots of people with the same name (Laura, Clare, Rachel, Jess, Ben, Andy, Chris etc) and it never seemed like an issue but it's something I've been aware of from looking at Mumsnet! I have seen names frequently described as 'overused' but my experience of real life people is that they aren't so bothered, as their children have these overused names! A lot of them are very lovely so I understand why they are chosen. I would a name where my child isn't one of loads of them as pps have said, you can never tell.

Typos 🙄

I don't care about popularity as the reason they become popular is they are so good!

Violet sounds too much like violent to me, so it would clearly be a no-go!

My actual name never seems to be on a top 10 or popular list and there was 2 others at primary school, 7 at high school and 13 at sixth form.

I don’t think you can really tell. Violet is a lovely name and you don’t really hear it much. Go with what you love

I love Violet. Lettie v sweet as a nn.

I think you should just choose what you like and not worry about popularity. You can't anticipate how popular a name will be- it's very common for parents to pick a name because it's unusual only to find that everyone else had the same idea. And even if the name you pick doesn't become popular generally you can end up with three Zebediahs in the same class.

Violet is a very nice name. I don't know any. I knew an ancient Violet when I was a child.

I think a lot of the popular girls names are short and sound similar which makes the individual names seem more popular than they are. I went to school with lots of Lisas, Michelles and Traceys etc but they didn't sound similar so there didn't seem so many of each.

My dd is 1 years old and the names that I hear all the time in different baby groups are Olivia, Oliver, Isla and Ella. Olivia was on our list but I'm so glad we didn't choose it, because I have met at least 12 Olivias in the past year and it has unfortunately made the name a bit of a joke to me now.

🍼Celebrity inspired. Gigi, etc. Your child will not look like Gigi Hadid because you have called them Gigi.

This

A name I've heard a few times here in my town is Chanel/Shanelle
The girls do not look like future fashion icons

4 kids in 3 schools and not a single Violet at any school (almost 700 kids in total!) I love it op.

There are no girls called Violet at our smallish primary school. I know one teenage Violet. It really suits her.

I think you have to be ok with your child being one of a couple in the class whatever you name them. There are many duplicates in my child’s class and one of those names is 250th or so. My DD has an uncommon name but came across a girl with the same name at soft play recently.

Violet is not a common name however. You’re unlikely to meet another one all the time, everywhere you go like the mother of an Evie etc might. It does feel quite “modern” (in a retro way) and I know a child with it as a middle name, hear people debating it as a first name but I’ve not actually met anyone with it as a first name.

There's nothing wrong with unusual names if that's what you're into but don't pick an unusual name for that reason. If you like Violet go for Violet. I really doubt there will be that many. Or stick an extra name on the end that she could be known by? Violet-Mae that kind of thing.