Why do the mumsnet community hate popular names?

[YourAmberFawn]

Hi everyone,

Maybe a little rant… but I am genuinely curious.
I see a lot of hate on here for names for being popular
Names such as Margot, Jude, Sophia, Luca, e.x.t
While I understand being wary of a popular name, I personally think there’s a difference between popular and trendy - and most of these names have stood the test of time! A lot of the time a name is popular because it is a good name!!
I was wondering why a lot of you dislike popular names? But on the same hand, dislike any new and usual name and brand them impractical?

How high / low in the top 100 would your ideal baby name be?

My DD's name isn't in the top 100.

And it's your grandmother's name if you are aged 70+ but not rare.

A couple of my friends have one child with a name similar to my DD's and another child with a more popular name.

Point is there are millions of names out there so you have a bigger scope than the top 100 and the usual name you are trying to make up likely has a variant that already exists that some people have heard off.

Because MN users are disproportionately middle class. The chapter on names in Freakonomics explains the phenomenon

There is no "Mumsnet community". I think there a lots of different posters at any one time. It's not a hive mind. I've seen lots of different opinions on baby name threads, so it depends who's posting.

The baby name forum is scathing on MN. You’re not allowed to like popular names because it’s deemed as common 🙄

I find most posters are aspiring to be the type of person (educated, six figures, CEO 😂 who live in a 1 million pound house😅) they think they should be, it’s just pretentious nonsense. I also think the demographic posting on here are older so they seem to love names like Edward and Sarah.
i find MN is pretty awful if you don’t fit in to their thinking.
Id never post my name choices on here because no matter what they’d get destroyed.

There are many, many threads where people discuss more alternative and different names. Wren seems very popular, and names like Seren, Tosten, Wolf, Amaya and Clay. So I think it's variable.

Margot - none my age. Popular because of a celebrity
Jude - the ones my age are Judy or Judith.
Sophia - none my age. too popular, so it seems unimaginative.
Luca - seems like it's popular because of a celebrity

They're the Tracey, Sharon, Karen and Darren of their generation

Darling you haven’t answered the question you’ve just furthered my point 🤣🤦🏼‍♀️

Can it be because it allows the posters to feel superior to many people with just one sentence?

My children have names that are common as muck, they’re still very much individuals and very unique. Some people just overthink everything imo

I think posters here are nice about popular names, in general?

Sometimes the OP is something like
"Should we name our son Archie or Arlo? We don't mind that those names are popular, but we can't decide. Help us."

And usually the people responding are very nice, and just write which name they prefer, and why.

If a certain name is ten a penny where one lives, it's likely to become dull and uninspired in that person's view

Yes!

My dc's names are all outside the top 100

A lot of the time a name is popular because it is a good name!!

No, it's popular because it is fashionable at that point in time.

Tracey, Sharon, Karen and Darren were all very popular. Are they therefore 'good names'?

@Zeldasie , those names are nice enough, but they label someone as being born at a certain time.

Sarah, Victoria, David and Mark were popular at the same time, but don't have the same '55-65 y o' feel.

I dont actually agree with your view here. I get why you feel so as its spoken in many posts.

However look at the name games. The names that consistently gets picked are top 20 names. The names that regularly are suggested when people ask for suggestions are also popular names. Charlotte for example is regularly suggested and commented on as a lovely name.

However I do agree many posts (my own included) do not seem to care for the top 30 names. I just dont think it is the majority more a vocal lot that dislikes.

For myself my own children have not got top 20 names (bar one my oldest her name has grown in popularity since she was born. I still love her name) I prefer more unusual names. Dh more classic so we went for uncommon classic names.

Well my dad is called Darren and I think it’s a nice name…

Names become fashionable because they are liked by MOST - hence why they’re popular.

You don’t always need to go against the grain to be different- and I don’t think choosing a child’s name is a time to try too hard to be different.

It might, but I've seen a lot of trends come and go.
I've heard 'We didn't know it was so popular' a lot, often by parents with 'John and Jane Smith' names who picked Noah and Sophia for their children because they wanted unusual names.

I went to a school where there were several children who were Sarah Louise Smith (Upton), Sarah Louise Smith (Newton) type names, because the full name was duplicated.

I’m not always keen on v popular names because I myself have a very generic first and middle name for an 80s/90s baby. There was always at least 1 other in the class and I still find my name really dull! I feel names like Isla Mae or Amelia Rose are very much the modern-day equivalent of my name- very popular first name and popular filler middle name combination shared by thousands.

I forgot to add for me I prefer the names in/ near the thousands. Dd2 2587 last I checked - not coming up on google) and ds (788) has names like that

Dd3 is now just inside 200. And dd1 just outside top 20.

I still love all their names would use their names again if starting over.

Just to clear up - I am not looking up the top 100 and aiming to name my children the most popular names! Haha

I just don’t think how popular a name is should be as big a deal as a lot of posters make it on here.
I think a popular name is often because it is a well liked name - which I don’t see as negative.

This thread was mainly wondering what is so wrong with a popular name. The name I have picked for my DD isn’t in the top 100 - but if it was, I’d still name her it!

I am just genuinely curious why a popular name would make you dislike it.

Have older teens and just really bored of some of the names I hear over and over again (variants of Eve and Isabel / Grace /Lily). Just bored of them I guess

I think a popular name is often because it is a well liked name - which I don’t see as negative.
Tracey, Darren, Kevin and Julie were well-liked at the time.

I just went for a name that Granny would like. Simple!

I know what you mean OP. It’s a bit like people boasting I like this band you’ve never heard of, as a teenager. As soon as other people like the band they decide they don’t like the bands music any more

It's stupid. People trying too hard to be different, which is why there are so many silly names around nowadays. It's your personality that makes you unique, not being named like you're the protagonist in a young adult novel.

Also there is a lot more name variety now, so even even you pick one in the top 10, there are unlikely to be several in one class, like there would have been in the 90's.