Who is still naming their babies Oliver and Olivia?

[Algor1thm]

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 😂

I don’t think that Oliver and Olivia date. There are adult Olivers, teenage Olivers and young Olivers.

I think they’re both lovely names.

My kids both have fairly unusual (not top 100) names. However if I'd liked a top 10 name better, I'd have used that. Couldn't care less about popularity or the lack of it or people who think that being known as Olivia T or Olivia B at school is some sort of trauma.

The reason they are popular is because they are lovely classic names. Who cares if there are lots of children called Oliver and Olivia? The names won't age which can't be the same as the fashion for unique names or surnames used as first names.

Who cares if there are lots of children called Oliver and Olivia? The names won't age

Hmm, I'm not so sure

I know quite a few Olivers.

Just names my baby Olivia, but she gets called Livvy or liv. Only person that calls her Olivia is her dad hence the reason she's not actually name Livvy

@Gossipxox

That's sooo cute

Eve, evie, Ava, grace, gracie

Practically most girls I know

My Oliver is 12, only ever call him Ollie unless he is in trouble, then he is Oliver. I don’t know anymore Oliver’s though. But my daughter is Evie and there are 3 Evie’s in her class and 3 Laylas

It definitely was seen as a posher name around 40 odd years ago. Ryan O’Neal’s character was called Oliver in Love Story and he was the posh preppy boy.
There are far worse names around.
Also Olivia Newton-John is a legend.

In much the same way I can’t quite believe that anyone is still calling their child Jack but as over 2800 were named in 2021 plenty clearly still are.

Most people don’t care about popularity. Still more don’t really know what is popular and unless you work with small children or have a lot of friends or relatives with babies you probably have very little idea. There are lots of parents naming their child Arthur or Ivy and thinking their choice very original.

Although I’ve seen a couple of people on this thread saying Oliver and Olivia will date over time, I really don’t see it. An Oliver could be 5, 30 or 50, as could a Jack, Chloe, Harry, Sophie etc.

It’s interesting to plug those names into the ONS graph of baby names over time. It shows that Olivia in particular is a very turn-of-the-millennium phenomenon. Chloe was unusual until the 80s. Harry and Jack have very similar-looking graphs, showing popularity in the early 20th century, into the wilderness for mid-century, and a resurgence in the 90s.

Chloe is a weird one as an example of a name that won't date, because I think of Chloe as pretty dated now. Definitely gives me 90s vibes.

Personally I think Oliver and Olivia will end up dated - being classical doesn't mean anything. So are David, Stephen, Julia, Emma - they're not 'fast fashion' names as such, but they're all dated to a very specific era. Eventually the generation of all the Olivers and Olivias won't want to call their babies Oliver and Olivia because they'll remind them of all the people they went to school/uni with called that, so they'll drop out of the charts and become very '10s'/'20s' names.

To me, names that are less likely to become dated are those that never end up in the top 10 at all.

Yes, this. I like classic names every time, over people trying to be unique. I find the names aiming for unique to be a bit embarrassing, but I’d never start a thread to say so.

If I’d had a boy I would have used Oliver, it wouldn’t bother me that some people thought it was dull. I’d assume we have very different taste and it’s probably not a flattering view either way.

I do like Olivia too, I went to school in the 90s with one. It’s a classic name.

@Algor1thm I tend to agree, although the same is true of the (rare) names which remain very consistently popular. Pretty much the only
example of this is James, which never left the top 20 for the entirety of the 20th century and only
dropped to #21 in 2018. If you had a meeting with a James then the person walking through the door could equally be 80 or 18, whereas a Mark, despite being a biblical classic, will almost certainly be in his forties or early fifties.

Agree with @Algor1thm and @ZoyaTheDestroyer that Oliver and Olivia will date. Most popular names do. These names were rare in my generation (born late '70s) and most people with those names are probably under age 25.

I think some people forget that 'dated names' rarely date to a short period of time - more like a couple of decades. My own name was popular (top 20-40) in the 60s to 80s but is now not even in the top 1000. I bet there were people in 1980 thinking 'this name won't date, it's been popular for ages, there are adults, teenagers and babies with the name!'

So are David, Stephen, Julia, Emma - they're not 'fast fashion' names as such, but they're all dated to a very specific era.

I know 3 Emma's under 2.

I suppose what I find interesting is, why does it matter if names date? We’re all getting older, every second. Spoiler - we are all dated.

Yes I never understand the horror at the idea of names having an era/ becoming dated. Do you all know lots of middle aged Martins and Louise’s who are dreadfully upset about it?

What is wrong with Olivia?

I know 2 Olivia's, both 30's/40's. Plus there's one in my DCs school. I've never come across an Oliver.

I think they're both lovely names.

There are worse names, but dear God they are dull. So generic you may as well call your child "boy" or "girl."

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

Anyone with any sense does not use their real name on SM.

I named my child one of these names before it became popular (2 years later it's number 1!!) I liked it from a book I read.

I don’t see how that’s possible. Oliver and Olivia were top 5 for years before they went to number one. Name trends move quite slowly.