Most overused first name?

[MyCheeryPearlTraybake]

Chloe

Only if their surname is Hunt.

In my experience they go by Adam. I have always wondered why!

I find it funny that I still quite like the ‘older’ names like Ava, Theo, May, George etc. but the idea of teaching a Sharon, Tracey or Jeremy fills me with horror! Probably because it means I am old enough that those names have come back round in fashion! 🤣

Lily, Evie/Eva/Ava, Olivia, Amelia, Sophia, Freya, Mia, Ella, Ivy, Iris, Isabella, Esme, Margot.

Oscar, Theo/Teddy, Harry, Noah, Oliver, Arthur, Alfie, Albie, Archie, Jackson, Elijah, George, Leo, Arlo, Hugo.

Mohammed is the most popular name because Muslims traditionally call their first son Mohammed. So you only need 2% or 3% of boys to be Muslim for it to be the single most popular name, because non-Muslims will pick from 100 or more different names. But it does enable people to catastrophize about how tHe MuSlImS aRe TaKiNg OvEr ArE cOuNtRy.

Something similar happens in Spain, where lots of daughters are called Maria as their first given name but are actually known by the second. In fact if you look at something like a staff page, you will see women's names written as "Mᵃ Carmen", with the Maria being reduced to a bit of a formality (and everyone will know her as Carmen).

This ⬆️

That’s the problem with super fashionable names. They fall out of fashion and often date badly!!

I actually find Evie, Alfie, Theo already a little dated sounding…

But the name popularity tends to be regional. The top name for girls where I am isn't in the top 150 names in England & Wales.

Evie, Eva, Ava, Ada, Isla, Ivy
Arlo, Theo, Leo

They all blend into one

Definitely Chloe

I have a four year old and nearly two year old and so have spent a lot of time at nursery school, playgroups, toddler / baby classes yet haven’t come across one Olivia.

Two in my NCT group used it as a middle name though. It’s funny as there must be loads of Olivia’s but not here.

I do know a lot of Harrys and Noahs. On balance I’d say there’s less variation amongst boys. DD and DS both have a top 100 name but falling in popularity rather than gaining.

I never come across Olivia or Chloe, either.

Yes to Ava, Eva, Evie, Ellie

Around me the girls all seem to be coming in with very old names Ada, Mabel, Maud, Dotty, there's one Bertha (poor soul) although I'm still waiting for my first Doris.

Doesn't seem to apply to the boys though. They are all Alfie, Albie, Freddy, George, Harry type names.

Jack, Harry, Noah, Theo, Leo

Evie, Ava, Isla, Sophie, Margot.

Never met an Ottilie in real life though, only ever hear it on MN.

Chloe to me is more 2000-2005 when it peaked in popularity. I would be surprised to meet a baby Chloe.

I haven’t been anywhere recently without hearing somebody called Arlo

Leo and Sophia here

Lily
Sophie
Ava
Ellie

Alfie
Liam
Noah

I know a baby born recently, named Jane

Jane is kind of refreshing, after all the flowery and cute names that have been in for ages.

Chloe must be on its way back my Dd is 28had loads of Chloes in her school year, she isn't chloe but it was on the list.

Evie Don’t tell Mummy Pig!!

I hope all the cute names, Isla, Olivia, Evie stay around as I don’t think I’m ready for a return to my generation’s names: Donna, Pauline, Brenda, Howard, Stewart, Kevin etc.

Babies called Chloe in England & Wales since 1996
The ones I know of get called Chlo, which is not very nice.
I think that the Cl sound is being taken over by Clara, which I also don't like.
i quite like Claudia though.

There was a baby Nigel announced in the Daily Telegraph a few weeks ago.

Really? I find Evie, Livy, Isla soo overdone and dull.

Paulina, Donna, Jane sound so refreshing and are much more memorable!!

Right now? Technically none, as even the most popular names now seem quite underused in comparison to ones even in the semi-recent past (for example a third of my female friends in their 40/50’s are called Sarah, I know multiple Lynn/Linda’s in their 60’s, Margaret’s in their 80’s etc).

However I do think some of the trendier popular names like Theo, Noah, Isla etc may date badly- they were hardly used 30 years ago and now there seems to be one in most nursery/primary school classes (but at least there aren’t 3 of a name in class like when I was at school).