Is Leo too popular?

[fleur89]

Having trouble naming our baby boy due early September. We really like the name Leo but I've noticed it's become very common recently and am a bit put off by this. Problem is we can't really think of any others we like enough.

Our daughter is called Elena and we like the fact it's not that common but also not unusual.

Appreciate your thoughts!

No I don't think it's too popular. It's a great name.

I don’t know anyone called Leo, even though it’s high in the charts

I know quite a few Leo's aged between 6 - 10 years but no baby Leo's and I have a baby so frequent quite a few baby groups / classes.

I do know a baby Elena though so I guess you never know even with more uncommon names

It is popular and there are lots of them, but if you like it does it matter. There might not be many where you are.
I think I only know one Elena, but I know lots of Eleanors, Helenas, Ellas, a Lena, an Eleni etc.

You could give him an unusual name and find there are two of them in his nursery.

Yes! Theo and Leo are overused imo

My children go to a primary school with 40 kids total (3 classrooms)..

There are 3 Leo's in the Preschool/reception/ year 1 class.

I also know two others outside of the school too..

That's quite a lot of Leo's!

I don't know any Leo's but I do know a seven year old Elena so I wouldn't worry too much!

How about Leon as a slightly different alternative?
I love Leo though and know 1 who is 6.

Leo is a great name.

If you like the name Leo, use the name Leo.

Elena and Leo is a great sibling combo.

We thought of Leo for our 11 month old but decided against it as it is too popular/ common. He is a Leo star sign wise though.

My son is half Italian so we went with the Italian version of Lawrence: il magnifico ☺️

Yes IMO

Imo no name is too popular anymore - compared to just 20 years ago even the most popular (no 1) boys name is given to less than half the amount of boys now. Everyone’s looking for something different, so gone are the days where it might be very commonplace to get 3 of the same name in a class. Unless you choose something really unusual, it can be (bad) pot luck whether you might get 2 of the same name.

I suspect you think Leo is more popular than it is because Theo sounds similar and is pretty well used too. Up to you if that would put you off your favourite name- for me it wouldn’t and judging by the numbers of Ada/Ava’s, Mia/Mila’s etc, soundalike names don’t worry many other people much either.

Who defines what is 'too popular?'. The term is so subjective. Naturally some will say no it's fine, use it, and others will say I can't believe you're even considering something in the national top 10! Basically, only you can decide if it is 'too popular' for you.

Leo is nice. More popular around me than Theo, which many on here do seem to deem 'too popular', but I don't know a ridiculous amount. Name popularity is different in different areas though.

In 2022, Leo was the 5th most used boys name in England and Wales. One in every 86 boys were called Leo That would be far too popular for me, but only you know your own threshold.

I don't know any. I have two children in school and worked in a school. No Leos

Imo no name is too popular anymore

I definitely feel that names like Theo, Leo, Harry, Archie etc have become too popular and overused. Such names often start to feel dated as they Eve of all out of favour

I personally prefer names outside the top 100

• eventually (not Eve)

It's extremely popular where I am...I've met 3 born in the last 2 months. I also know a 5 year old one. It's also now a top ten name so it's very "common". However, it's a great name. Sounds cool, easy to say and spell, won't age. Go for it if you love it.

Thank you so much for all of your thoughts on this. Tbh I'm going back and forth on this and agree with all of the points made, they entirely reflect both my concerns and my feelings.

I don’t know any Leo’s, Theo on the other hand, I know of about 10 age 6 or under in my wider social circle.

I have one myself.

it seems to be very popular with kids slightly younger than ds who is 9. Possibly less so with babies these days. And in his class, his is the only name which is repeated so he is forever known as Leo surname which winds me up.

I’ll be honest wouldn’t have chosen it if it was as popular as it seems to be now. But it’s still a great name IMO.