We had written off Arlo as an option for a baby name early on. The main reason for this is my sister in law has always loved the name, and she was also pregnant with a baby boy when we fell pregnant - so we assumed she would use the name. They have recently had their little boy and did not use the name.
The other reason we did not consider it is because of its popularity. I know it’s risen steeply and it’s now in the top 20 (England). Our daughter has a name which isn’t very common but also not unheard of, it’s between 200 and 250 in popularity.
My husband has recently told me that Arlo is probably his favourite boy name. My favourite boy name is fairly similar to Arlo, it could possibly be used as a nickname, but it is considerably less popular (not in the top 500). My husband says he doesn’t mind my favourite name, but definitely seems hesitant when he talks about it. He’s also expressed that he feels like it’s not a real name. I’m not sharing it because it’s not really relevant to what I am asking, so I don’t want opinions on that instead. I don’t hate the name Arlo so I am considering whether to just agree to Arlo, but I am concerned about the popularity.
How many Arlo’s do you know? Do you think he would grow up and get sick of being one of many Arlo’s at school/work etc?
Also, we had originally planned to use the middle name James as it is a family name. If I were to agree to Arlo I would not want to use the middle name James, I don’t like the nickname AJ and I think it’s two very popular names together. Do you have any suggestions for a more unique middle name?