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Original poster

Who is still naming their babies Oliver and Olivia?

231 replies

Algor1thm · 20/10/2022 22:07

Controversial... but really...

I work in a job where I meet lots of little kids and there are just so, so many. Half my friends are also married to or dating Ollies so it's not even limited to one generation. Does it being the top name for so long really not put people off?

I am aware that Oliver was recently knocked off the top spot, but still.

I'm also aware that this is going to be unpopular because approximately 50% of you probably have one yourself 😂

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Original poster
Algor1thm · 21/10/2022 13:14

CryCeratops · 21/10/2022 13:11

This is how I feel about some names, Sophie or Alex for example. Might as well have just gone with 'baby' for the amount of thought that took.

Oh, come on, Sophie, Alex and Oliver / Olivia aren’t that bad, even if you do think they’re a bit boring and ordinary.

Incidentally, there are some parents out there who have actually registered their child’s name as ‘Baby’. As a name, that would stand out more than Sophie / Alex / Oliver / Olivia.

names.darkgreener.com/#baby

'Baby' is what you're recommended to name your baby if you haven't decided on a name within the time frame yet. You can then change the name within the first year for free.

OP posts:
Nimo12 · 21/10/2022 13:17

Why would anyone care or be put off by it being popular? They are nice names.

Solosunrise · 21/10/2022 13:19

LightHousePanda · 21/10/2022 12:01

Some people don't do internet searches to find the top names or consider it at all - which I don't get but those people do exist. In their circles they might have never met an Olivia or Oliver so don't realise it's popular. Also, like others say there's regional variation.

There are advantages as well in having a popular name. People know how to spell and pronounce it and you get your name in those gifts like keyrings, mugs etc - might seem small but it was nice as a child finding your name and getting something personalised. You'll also get more characters in children's books named the same as you. I've noticed Oliver and Olivia come up a lot as well as other popular ones. I guess authors choose them because of popularity.

Personally, I am put off popular names but I'm not someone who has to have a name outside top 50/100. I don't judge others for not being as interested in names, although I am surprised when someone makes a comment about a "rare" or "unusual" name when I know it's top 10.

I also don't think it's accurate when people say this is like the "Sarah" or "Claire" of the past as there's more diversity in names so even the top names aren't as commonly used as names were in the past.

That is so funny! 'These people' who don't google how popular a name is. That's quite a shocker!

I was was one of those, but to be fair at the time, I existed but the internet didn't.

Kazzyhoward · 21/10/2022 13:20

Why does it matter if it's a popular/common name? I personally find all the unique/weird names quite strange really and quite attention seeking by wanting to be different.

The good thing about "timeless" and classic names is that they don't define you by age/generation nor in other negative ways, i.e. defined by your parent's favourite actor/pop star/footballer which indicates a particular "type" of character or person, often not for the good!

KatnissNeverdone · 21/10/2022 13:23

I have a ten year old Olivia (Liv) who's the only one in her class. There are however 3 named Emily, 2 named Grace and 2 Lillys.

Essexgirlupnorth · 21/10/2022 13:37

My daughter is 9 and had 3 boys in her class of 30 called Oliver though one has since left so only 2. The Olivia I know are my age.

They are nice names and not everyone is bothering by how popular a name is

Foxglovesandlilacs86 · 21/10/2022 13:42

Love the name Oliver. I see it as similar to George, quite solid and timeless.

Never like Olivia for some reason, I find it plain and a bit mousy.

I have 8 children and the first two are called names in the top ten. I didn’t care about being “different” at the time and just picked a name I liked out of the baby name books.

the others have names that are in the top 100 except for the middle two whose names are very unusual, but still real names! I can’t stand made up names or normal names with a weird spelling 😂

PurplePetalPip · 21/10/2022 14:04

Between me and DP we have 2 nephews and a step-nephew named Oliver! Still, it's a lovely name so why not use it if you love it. We went for something much more unusual for our DS, but then that's not to everyone's taste either!

Rosegeranium · 21/10/2022 14:10

I really like the name Oliver, but not Olivia.

My 7 year old has one Oliver in her class. I also know one 8 year old Oliver and one 7 year old Olivia. So not overwhelmingly popular. There are more Eva/Ava/Amelia/Emilias and Freddies and Charlies round here.

I was also at school with 1 Oliver and 1 Olivia who will know be in their 40s.

Lilacsunflowers · 21/10/2022 14:10

Oliver/Olivia are sooo boring and overused. They will sound dated soon!

But obviously parents of Olivers/Olivias on this thread disagree Grin

Lilacsunflowers · 21/10/2022 14:14

*Why does it matter if it's a popular/common name? I personally find all the unique/weird names quite strange really and quite attention seeking by wanting to be different.

The good thing about "timeless" and classic names is that they don't define you by age/generation*

Why does it matter to have a fashionable/popular name?

  1. you often need to add a surname to identify yourself. It can be difficult to stand out on social media/professional networks.

  2. such overused names will eventually fall out of fashion and sound dated. They WILL date you to a period (early 2000s). Think of Steve, Andy, Kevin etc all 'popular' names at the time.

Lilacsunflowers · 21/10/2022 14:16

And there's a huge number of great names that are NEITHER top 10 or completely obscure!

In other words, there's a middle ground of great classic names outside the top 100.

Lilacsunflowers · 21/10/2022 14:22

This is how I feel about some names, Sophie or Alex for example. Might as well have just gone with 'baby' for the amount of thought that took.

I agree.

I've know soo many Steves, Alexes and Sophies that they always need a surname to identify them... And I actually know TWO Steve Smiths and THREE Harry Jones!!!

Lilacsunflowers · 21/10/2022 14:25

An unpopular name is one that other people haven't given their child because they don't like it.

No, an unpopular name is just one that isn't used much. Many parents may not even have thought of it!

LightHousePanda · 21/10/2022 14:35

This is how I feel about some names, Sophie or Alex for example. Might as well have just gone with 'baby' for the amount of thought that took

You might have the perception that it didn't take any amount of thought or consideration but I bet there are plenty of Sophies and Alexes where the parents did go through lots of names. Just because someone has a child called Andromeda or Oceanus doesn't mean more thought has gone into it than Sophie and Alex - if anything sometimes parents should have had more thought with unpopular names to think how the child would like it.

BiasedBinding · 21/10/2022 14:36

i think some children might be grateful for names that don’t stand out on social media

doingmystuff · 21/10/2022 14:50

I have never met an Olivia or an Oliver and I have 3 dc at varying ages of school.
Maybe just not where I live then.

Lilacsunflowers · 21/10/2022 15:06

i think some children might be grateful for names that don’t stand out on social media

Having a too-common name is a super-pain if you end up in academia, writing, journalism, media, the arts, or really anything where name recognition is important. It is no fun at all being the 8th or 12th Amanda Brown in your particular field!

Hardbackwriter · 21/10/2022 15:14

Lilacsunflowers · 21/10/2022 15:06

i think some children might be grateful for names that don’t stand out on social media

Having a too-common name is a super-pain if you end up in academia, writing, journalism, media, the arts, or really anything where name recognition is important. It is no fun at all being the 8th or 12th Amanda Brown in your particular field!

I used to work in one of those fields and having a name that is unusual enough that people struggle to spell it or connect how it's written and how it sounds isn't that much fun there either! I do have really good web presence - first two pages of google are almost all me - because my name is so unusual, which is good for me but would be pretty terrible if I ever, say, committed a minor but newsworthy crime or even just really embarrassed myself publicly.

JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon · 21/10/2022 15:20

megletthesecond · 20/10/2022 23:00

I have a popular name and it's a nightmare. I do wonder why people still use popular names. The ONS list is pretty easy to understand.

I wonder whether it is partly parents with unusual or tricky names kicking against the difficulties they had by using an easy well known name. Plus a few who decided years ago and have always wanted that name.

mast0650 · 21/10/2022 15:24

I don't know many. Some people don't care about a name being popular. I named my daughter Sophie, knowing that it was popular. I'm Katherine/Kate and there are loads of us, especially my age. I quite like it - like being part of a club.

I know some peope are put off by a very popular name, but I don't really understand that any more than you don't understand people using a popular name. I might possibly worry about a name being very popular but only briefly, so it becomes very dated, but that is hard to predict, and also not that big a deal!

mast0650 · 21/10/2022 15:26

It is no fun at all being the 8th or 12th Amanda Brown

Actually, you have a point. We have a very unusual surname. I believe we are the only ones in the country! So for my daughter and I to have very popular first names isn't an issue at all. But if we were called Smith then it might be.

Original poster
Algor1thm · 21/10/2022 16:19

Interesting point about surnames - it's more of a disservice being Oliver Smith than Oliver (insert very unusual surname).

I agree with those who said names are identifiers. The entire point of naming a person is so that people can address you or talk about you to other people. If you're happy for your child to be Oliver B or 'tall Oliver' or go by a different nickname to the name you called them then I guess that's fine. My husband has a very common first name and he went by his surname only at uni because his best friend had the same name, and now he goes by initials always at work because there are 3 in his office.

He also finds it a huge disadvantage in his industry when networking etc. People can't even remember which of the 'Joes' (not his real name) they spoke to so they'll phone and ask for one and sometimes someone else will get his business.

OP posts:
TheBirdintheCave · 21/10/2022 16:21

Lilacsunflowers · 21/10/2022 14:16

And there's a huge number of great names that are NEITHER top 10 or completely obscure!

In other words, there's a middle ground of great classic names outside the top 100.

Yup! My son is Gilbert, an old and very underused name in England and Wales, but it's still a normal name that people will have heard before. We met a middle aged Gilbert in a cafe a few months ago and he was chuffed to discover that someone had used it in recent years :)

Uncommon doesn't always mean some monstrosity like Abcde.

CastleTower · 21/10/2022 16:32

@Algor1thm Prior to 1996ish, the top 100 was published every 10 years. The information was tricky to find!