Why do people pick popular names?

[postitnote8]

I get that there are trends, and that when most of us were babies (myself included) our parents probably thought they were picking unique names for us, only to find at least one other classmate with the same name when we got to school. But now that we've got the internet publishing all the data/polls/lists, why do expectant parents STILL pick the most popular names? I'm not hating- just genuinely curious?

“Because it had a lasting negative psychological effect that really can’t be compared to being cross that little Jade can’t find a necklace that says ‘Jade’?”

how would you ever know?

This is an excellent point to consider. I work in a job that essentially involves stalking people online and the ones with unusual names have a huge digital footprint.

I don't think anyone would choose a name specifically because it's popular but simply because it's a name they like and it's coincidentally popular.

Those who think they're making more effort with Arlo, Luna and dare I say it, Gabriel, are likely to be naming the Traceys and Garys of their generation. The reality is that it really doesn't matter very much and has no bearing on whether your brand new human being has a happy life.

I love the name Gabriel! I hate to say it, but I think your DS may have a popular name by the time he reaches his teens.

@Lantyslee that's a cheap shot- Arlo and Gary aren't even in the same league as Gabriel! How dare you! 😂

@maypoll - he may well be in good company, it will be interesting to see!

I had honestly never heard anyone use DS' name (like wilfred) and it didn't cross my mind to check. Where i live the name is everywhere - like wilfred, i yelled at DS who was messing around on the other side of the swim chamging room the other day and an 8yo boy looked terrified lol

The idea that names should be “unique” or interesting is very recent. If you look at your parents or grandparents they probably had reasonably well known names ,and would have had family members or classmates with the same name. I had one girl with my name in my year in Primary and two in secondary, as did most of my friends. My brother had a much less common name, the only one in his school, but it is a family name.

I have a rare first name - not yoonique, just not that widely used. I was so jealous of kids who could just say their name and everyone knew what it was. I always had to spell it and answer to comments that yes indeed it is unusual.
And as pp said, there's just me with my first and last name. Feels really invasive that any random person can google me and find out everything.

We deliberately chose "popular" names as we don't like unique/rare ones that define the child by age/class etc.

I think it really does come down to just loving the name. We named DD1 a name I didn’t really want, but the one I wanted was really popular so it put me off choosing it. 6 months later I couldn’t take it any more and just had to have that name, regardless of how popular it was, because I loved it and wanted my child to have a name that I love. We went back to change it 😂

DD2 doesn’t have a popular name though - she has an Irish name. Some people have mentioned how hard it is to spell etc but again, we love the name so don’t give a tosh.

lists etc all irrelevant. At the end of the day you’re going to give your children names you love the sound/look of and that resonate with you.

@postitnote8 it was a cheap shot! I like Gabriel and think it might even have been on the list of possibles for DS1 back in the mists of time.

DH and I struggled to agree and so some compromises were definitely made. I didn't get to use my all time favourite girls name for DD because DH didn't like it.

You might be out of luck OP 😁

Gabriel is a lovely name but, I think you might encounter quite a few in the next few years. I know two four year old Gabriels, and there’s two more littler ones who live on my street and the next street over. It just happens that way sometimes!

In the olden days it was normal to pick popular names, because having a weird name would be a reason to get bullied. Fortunately that has changed now, but with that change people now try to out do everyone else with 'unique' names.

Because we don't all want to sound like either; a pretentious twat (Aurelia or Rocco) or a chav (Amaari or Harlow) or a hippy twat (Lyra or Ephysius)

I didn't give a stuff about whether a name was popular or not, it just had to be sonething we both liked and would go with our surname.

I'm reminded of a thread from a while back where the poster's friend got the hump because the OP didn't agree that her baby's name was 'unique' it was Aurora so not unique.

They like the names. They are popular for a reason.
It's has always been the case that some names are very popular and even without internet etc it was obvious which they were when choosing them. When I was at school every class had at least two Susans in it.