Really popular names

[DeeDeeDaisy]

What is your opinion on super popular names? I'm talking top 10...Olivia, Amelia, Ava, Freya etc.

Some of the only names we can agree on for our baby girl are super popular but I don't know how I feel about that! Just curious to see what others think.

My partner had a popular name growing up and said it never bothered him. I was the only one of my name at primary school and didn't meet another one until secondary - I always wanted to meet another person with the same name as me, weirdly!

I don’t like it but then I don’t want my child to be Olivia S or olivia T all the way through school, my son is the only one with his name in the school and he actually loves that no one else has the same name.

Whatever you do will be fine. Ignore these stats and other peoples views and choose what you both like.

There are not always as many as you expect (I’m speaking as one of 5 Claire’s in my primary class!) we only have one Olivia in DC2’s class and none in DC1s for example.

Go for what you love! Dc1 had a name I thought wasn't popular as I'd never taught one....guess what, he started reception this year and is one of THREE in his class!! DH and I couldn't believe it! We still love the name and I've checked the charts - it's not even top 20 so must be sheer luck / coincidence he ended up with 2 others. And names I discounted for thinking they were too popular (such as Leo and George) don't seem to feature at all!

I deliberately chose less popular names for my DC, but that's because I'm a teacher and have seen some of the nicknames kids get with really popular names.

One class I taught had 5 bens in the same tutor group. I forget all their nicknames, but between them was tall Ben, ginger Ben and thick Ben. The other kids even used to call it to his face. He answered to it as well.

In another school, I had a class full of Amys. At secondary, students tend to know surnames less well and so nick names can be more descriptive. One Amy was called Amy microphone head due to her unfortunate hair cut.

So, I've always avoided very popular names as 20+ years of teaching has taught me they're the kids mostly likely to be given a nickname (rather than to choose one)

In our infant school there are no Olivia's or Amelia's. I couldn't believe it!

We do have tons of Girls called Evelyn, Freya, Rose & Rosie though. About 4 per year.

Just choose the name you like. You have no control over other peoples choice and there is no way to predict who will be in your class at school.

I personally can't stand any of those names, they are dull and boring IMO. But I like some more quirky names myself so it really doesn't matter what the internet says 😂

I find them insipid but I don't like names with lots of vowels so am not on trend.

If you love the name, use it, but consider how long the name has been popular. If it has been very popular for several years, she'll always be Olivia Surname.

You could pick a name you think is less popular and find it unexpectedly popular this year, or you could go for something a bit out there only to find others copying you.

Go for what you love. My DC have super-popular names, and it wasn't intentional, but nobody minds

Ugh! Not only are they saccharine and drab but so thoughtless and plain! I've no idea why people want to pass their kids through life with bang average, everywhere-you-turn kind of names.

But I'm probably being catty because I've never met, seen or heard of anyone having my name.

Any name that is that popular automatically just becomes dull to me as it's repetitive.

My name was in the top 50 when I was born and there was always a few others in my year and I hated it, I was so jealous of those with more unique names!

Personally I wouldn’t choose a currently popular name, for several reasons: I used to be a teacher, and got sick of hearing the same names over and over again when there were so many lovely alternatives; I don’t tend to like the style of name that’s currently on-trend (cutesy -ie or longer frilly names ending in -a for girls; ‘cheeky chappy’ names for boys); we have a super common and dull surname and I wanted a more distinctive surname, and so on.

For me, though, it’s more whether a specific popular name is part of a wider trend, or whether it’s a standalone choice. For example, I’d be more inclined to pick a name like Phoebe or Violet than one that’s part of the Eva/Evie/Ada/Ava or Lila/Lyra/Layla/Lily/Lara/Luna tend, because the latter group all tend to merge into each other, which makes them seem even more popular than they are on paper.

The top 10 names are popular for a reason; they’re nice names.
You’ll always get the try hard parents who want something oh so different “special” for their precious little darlings but you can never call who they will end up in a class with.
In my DDs school their is 1 Olivia and 2 girls called Scout. No Olivers but 3 Jaspers. So it isn’t always the top 10 names that they end up in a class with.

@TempsPerdu your example made me laugh. I’ve met 5 Violets under 3 in the past 12 months but not 1 Lila, Lily, Luna or Lara.

I'm not keen on the ones you've mentioned other than Olivia, which has become so overused and has been for ages.

Some names seem unusual but are a lot more popular than you'd expect. Willow (mentioned on another thread) was just as popular as Freya in 2021.

Eva, which seems super popular, was #34 for 2021, but if you add all the Ava, Eva, Evie, Ivy, Eve and Evelyn type names together they are everywhere.

@Louise0701 I wonder if it's regional? I've got two friends with a Lila and know of few Lunas too (granted the Luna's are dogs!)

Similar happened to us our dd name wasn’t even in the top 50, had never come across one and when she started primary she was 1 of 3! Not an Olivia or Amelia in her year group.

In my secondary class we had 'Rebecca' and 'Smelly Rebecca'.
We also had 'Mark with the (budget brand) trainers' and ' Big Mark'.

At work there was once another girl with my name.
I was ' Kylie' and my colleague was 'Pretty Kylie. It was awful.

I think Olivia is such a beautiful name. There are 2 in my daughter's year (Y1).

The thing is you would expect having another child in the same class / year if you called your DC a popular name.
But if you used a less popular name you'd certainly be disappointed?
I have an unusual name - for the 1970s - my parents used 'old lady names' but when I went to Uni my best friend I met there grew up with a girl with the same name from primary / secondary school so she always had a BFF with this unusual name!

I used to take DD to a baby group with 3 Quinns, I know 2 Ottilies, 3 girls called Ines yet I’ve never met an Amelia or an Ava! Choose the name you like the best as you really can’t predict these things.

Go with the name you love. Regardless of how many others share her name, she will always be your one and only 'Olivia'.

I have one DD with a super popular name and another whose name I thought was incredibly rare.

Super popular DD used her full name in school. The only other girl in her year with the super popular name used a NN always. It worked out fine.

Unusual name DD bumped into the only other girl with her name we've ever met on her first day in kindergarten. They became firm friends. Neither of them has ever used her full name.

Are you in Cornwall ? I also know several kid Lila's and dog Luna's 🤣

@ANewNameANewDay it could well be! The only Luna I know is a golden lab 😂

I actually only know one Amelia, one Olivia and one Freya (I have 3 kids in primary school)

Throughout the clases there are a few variations of Eva / Eve / Evie / Ava but there is only one of each.

Oddly we have a Lyra, Lyla, Lila (Leela), Layla and Lily across one year group. Not an Olivia or Amelia in sight though!!!

Oh and there are two Beatrix's in one of the years.