Does anyone else agree that “unique” names are becoming so common?

[Mamatolittleboy]

We called our boy a common name so this isn’t me having a bash. Just wondering if anyone else is finding this too?

I go to a lot of baby groups where woman tell me how much they wanted a unique name so called their baby Oakley, River or Forest. Names I’ve heard so much this year. All beautiful names, lovely names.

Went round a friends house the other day to meet her new baby. Gorgeous boy, they wanted an uncommon/rare name for him - Arlo.

I’d walk under buses to avoid someone who called their child Oakley. Wasn’t there a cartoon with a talking tree called Oakley?

Everything's Rosie Everyone's giving their DD Rose as a middle name

Some suggestions from the 2022 list include Beverley, which is lovely and Rehab (why?) for girls

There's a Rahab in the Bible - but she was mainly known for being a prostitute, so that would obviously put a lot of parents off using the name.

If it's from Middle Eastern cultures, it's probably pronounced more like 'ruh-HAB' rather than 'RE-hab'.

Every other baby at softplay/classes is called Evie/Eve/Ava, Isla or Teddy/Ted.

One day Trevor and Alison will be unique.

My pet peeve is people who don't realise that they are naming an adult. I've met a dolly and a bunny. Both cute for babies and toddlers. Not so much for a 40year old woman.

I know a darling-dolce. I’m 100% serious.

I had a friend called Chloe growing up and I remember the mums judging her mum for it.

Why, I don't get it!

My kids have totally normal boring names. Not massively popular and not unique, everyone has heard of the name, but not everyone knows someone with the name. Except my youngest whose now popular name genuinely wasn't really heard of when he was born 11 years ago, as it's a proper old man name and belonged to MIL's brother! Now they're 10 a penny.

As a registrar it makes me smile when we register the 3rd "unique" Arlo/Harrison/Skyler/Luna-Mai of the day!

Hope I live long enough to meet some baby Bruce, baby Nigel and baby Steve though. Baby Sharon and baby Tracey too, bring it on!

Erasmus of Formia, also known as Saint Elmo, was a Christian saint and martyr. He is venerated as the patron saint of sailors and abdominal pain. Erasmus or Elmo is also one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, saintly figures of Christian religion who are venerated especially as intercessors

Name trends are weird. I don't always think people are trying to be unique.
When we chose our daughter's name I had never heard of it before. I found it in a baby name book that was published over a decade ago. We didn't choose it because it was unique, or unusual or followed a trend, but because it suited her and we liked its meaning. We got lots of compliments on it, lots of 'Ooh isn't that unusual', 'I've never heard that before' etc. Literally nobody other than a French friend had ever heard of it before and in less than 3 years it's entered the top 100, is on name lists on here all the time and I imagine she won't be the only one in the school.

For our son we chose a Biblical name because the meaning is important to us. I don't know anyone with this name either but it's a name you will have heard, nobody has commented on it being unusual, or asked its origin. But I think he will be the only one in the school because it doesn't fit with the surname as first name, nature, fierce warrior type name trends.

Reading with interest. I literally hadn't heard of the name Arlo until I started reading this thread - but none of my friends or family have young children.

Arlo is the weirdest thing, it came out of nowhere and then suddenly it's a top 20 name.

I first heard it in 2014 when a parenting blogger (not very famous, so probably didn't start the trend) used it, and I thought oh, that's a nice name. Then nothing for ages then I met someone with a son called Arlo, probably born 2016/17ish. But he was about 3 or 4 when I met them. Then one of DH's cousins called their baby Arlo. Now suddenly every other baby is called Arlo!

Actually, going by Behind The Name, it seems to be a Grandad name from America, having a very small boom in the 1910s - 1930s, then disappearing from use until 2011 and then suddenly rocketing up the popularity charts. But the shape of the chart is the same everywhere. Relative obscurity until about 10 years ago and then a very sharp rise.

But honestly I have three boys, boy names are DULL DULL DULL. It's about time they got shaken up a bit. It seems like they were all just Tom, James, Matthew, Peter, David, Jonathan etc for decades and decades, then the surnames were huge for a while - Carter, Parker, Hunter, Harrison, Bailey etc - not my taste. I don't mind the common names (that's what we went for in the end) but I think we should unleash boys from all having the same 30 names on a loop for ever! No wonder they all went by their surnames at school.

There was only 100 children in all of England and wales called my daughters name the year she was born....still managed to get one in my class (that my daughter also attends!) They were like..."we thought we'd picked something really unique!" Thats the way it goes.
They arent in the same school though, so she is the only one in her whole primary school, as is my son. Not cos I was trying to be different though, just cos ive worked with kids for over 10years, so a lot of names got ruled out and was more aware of what was "trendy" than a lot of people i suppose

I don't get the Divine comments though. To me Divine means godlike or so luxurious it's fit for a god. Dog shit?? What am I missing?

There is a baby Roy near us.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_(performer)

Ah right. Never heard of him According to that article he died before I was born.

There’s an Andrew in my sons Y2 class which is lovely and unusual these days.

Oakley is truly dreadful.

I thought the Wonderful Life girl was Susan and they called her Susie.

A primary teacher told me a few years ago she had named her daughter Evie because she didn’t know any others. And they’re everywhere.

A nursery parent registering her child told us she’d wanted a v unusual name for him. She really went on about it. How unusual it is. I’m sure we all looked like wtf when it turned out to be Matthew.

Anyway we weren’t all called Sarah, Claire, Mark and Andrew in the Dark Ages. I remember Troy, Clifford, Beverley, Shusharna, Lindis, in our little English backwater.

The rarer names now will be those associated with middle-aged people - those that were fashionable for Gen X - Tracey, Sharon, Julie, Paul, Kevin, Gary etc.

Those names will come back into fashion once that generation reaches the end of its lifespan and new babies start being named after Great Granny Tracey etc. by which time all the Olivias and Arlos will be in unfashionable middle-aged territory.

#Gen X and proud!😃

Toddler boy called Swayze

My friend has a boy called Brian, who's 10 now (after her DH)
It always used to delight me calling a baby Brian 😆 I don't know why, a baby with a middle aged name just adds to the cuteness for me! I also know a little Keith, also after his dad! They are definitely the only ones in their schools...probably all the schools!

It's not just unique names I have found. Unique missspellings seem to be a thing too:
Spellings I have seen recently include:
Heavenleigh
Oakleigh
Ezmai
Lillyarna
Rozie
Jaymee
Olyver
Harri

Aside from making parents look illiterate, the poor child will be damned to a life of correcting the spelling of their name!

That cannot be true, I know of a Gary who was definitely born in the 2000's

In our class, most of the girls have traditional names beginning with E.

Popular boys’ names are Oscar and Alfie.

The only unusual name is Phoenix (boy).