What names do you think have lost their charm due to overuse?

[Sophcas7]

For me it’s Emily, I absolutely adored the name as a child. I was born in the early 80s before Emily was popular so it sounded rare back then and had a cute old timey vibe, i named one of my dolls Emily and even as a teen I was sure I wanted to name my future daughter Emily.

Now I’m so glad I didn’t… it’s still a gorgeous name me but it’s obscene popularity in the 90s/00s ruined the timeless feel of the name for me personally. It feels very of an era to me now which is crazy because it felt sooo unique to me as a child. I ended up giving my kids classic names similar to Emily but not as ubiquitous.

Has anyone else got names that they loved but then they got too popular and it ruined the name for them?

Yes…everyone I went to school with was called Lisa, Jennifer, Amy, Sarah, or Jessica. Tina and Holly were popular too. All spelled normally, so no surprises.

I know of a lot of children called Noah in my area. That seemed to be a big trend.
My 12 year old is called Theo but I haven’t heard of many near me.
I guess it depends on the area you’re in.

It’s not at all

It’s just about the fact that, in every generation, there are names that get so overused people stop hearing them

It’s useful info because parents to be of first borns often don’t realise it - my mother was horrified to find herself sitting in the doctors with 3 other kids with my name called.

Parents with older kids will know this anyway.

No one is likely to be offended by this

Iv got a little girl called Ava, and a baby boy called Noah.

Yes their names are popular at the moment, but we love them 😃

Noah, Theo, Jack, Oliver are sooo overused and dull.

For girls, Amelia, Eva, Evie, Ava, Ella, Isla… yawn

They’re definitely the Steves and Sharons of this generation.

There are SO many beautiful names to choose from outside the top 100!!!! Names that are well known and easy to spell and pronounce but much more memorable!

Noah, Theo, Oliver.

Evie, Lily, Isabella.

You know that there’s a middle ground?

Names that are well known and easy to say/spell but that aren’t used by thousands of others?

Have a look at the ONS lists of ALL names used last year and you’ll find hundreds of beautiful names that aren’t “horrible” or “unique”

I wish my parents had put a little more effort into finding a beautiful and memorable name for me rather than just following the fashion and pick a super popular 1970s name.

In our local Scouts group we even have two children (Theo) with the same surname! Very annoying and confusing

It’s all well and good until the mums coming up behind you use your chosen name too. I chose names in the 00s for my DC which were not in the top 100, were not super popular, and having worked in education, I had never met a child with these names. And somehow their names have been mentioned on this thread. Perhaps I’m a trendsetter? Who knows.

I always loved Evelyn (nn Evie) since I was a child. Wayyy before it got so popular!

I still like the name but when I was still considering having kids I was (unfairly, I know!) soooo resentful that every second child I met seemed to have this name or variants (Ava etc)

It’s not mean it’s just chat. Fascinating too that names go in and out of fashion. All the names I mentioned are lovely. Just ubiquitous.
My DD2 has a name that I thought was just right. Uncommon but classic and simple. There were still 3 with the same name in her friendship group at one point because of the hive mind.
I also love Lisa as per PP. Such a lovely name.

You can all fuck off!, still love Olivia!

I know yes you are right. It’s so hard to find middle ground I don’t know why especially with boys names (currently about to give birth to a boy and still haven’t picked a name).

My own name isn’t particularly exciting and is quite common but I’m glad my parents didn’t pick anything ridiculous that made me stand out or be made fun of.

Don’t be so thin skinned Emily’s Mum types on this thread! My dd has a perfectly acceptable saints name very popular across the continent in several variants and people stampede on to the thread to say they loathe it if ever it’s mentioned on mumsnet. It really doesn’t bother me, I think the reaction names elicit are quite funny!

I find it fascinating seeing what names come in and out. I live in a very conformist town and every child was called James or Claire, now every child is as above called Sophie Jack or Emily. They’re all lovely names!

E.g I don’t know a single child named Mary and surely at one point it was THE most popular girls’ name.

Jack, Noah, Olive, Otis, Clara, Oscar, Freddie. They're names I like but there are so many of them it put me off using them. Just my personal preference. I tried to find recognisable but not common names, so steered clear of the top 100.

Of course what happened is that my son's name jumped from 500+ to within the top 100 before he was 3 and now we know 11 kids with the same name 😂

Haha your boy names are literally the names of three brothers (all teens) and their younger sister is Lily, middle name Isobel! Maybe I need to encourage my friends (their parents) to get on with number five to complete the set with an Evie 🤣

Martha
Chloe
Eva / Ava
Ella
Isla
Oliver

All names I loved but now... no.

Olivia, Amelia and Lily.

Someone I know did this deliberately (Lily-Mae) because she knew people would hate the name. It was basically a big 'fuck you' to people who judge (yes, she happily confirms this). Never mind that her kid has to live with it! 🙈

😂

Judging by the amount of ‘👏🏻 👍🏼 & ❤️’ responses my post has received. I’m inclined to disagree.

Why be horrified because other children have the same name as yours? It just means it’s popular and probably with good reason. There are real children behind these names.

It feels really bizarre to me that Theo is on the thread and indeed that it has become so popular. I have a Theo, he is 25. I kid you not his name met with a ridiculous level of outrage when we chose it. Many of DH's relatives thought it an outlandish choice at the time 😂.

I had 3 girls called Lily in the same class - 2 of them had the same surname, and both had Rose as a middle name!
I also taught 2 sets of twins called Lily and Eva.

There are real children behind these names

Yeah, gazillions of them so they’ll know it’s not personal 😉

It’s Sophie and Sophia for me - both lovely but so ubiquitous. I’ve never found Ava, Lily, Ella and the likes particularly charming. Chloe was super popular when I was growing up but I actually really like it and would consider using it.

Sarah. It's a beautiful name and I absolutely love it, but I know four Sarahs so sadly couldn't use it for my daughter!

I still love it though.