Would you avoid the most popular baby names?

[BJSG]

I’m pregnant with our first child, and we don’t know the gender yet. I’ve realised that I tend to like names that are quite popular currently (Noah, Charlotte, Matilda, Jack, Lucy). Unfortunately, I’m having some doubts about the names that I like. I’ve seen that many adults (mostly women) complain about having a ‘basic’ name (of their generation) and noticed that common names of older generations tend to be sarcastically mocked online. I know that unusual names are typically disliked on MN, but it feels as though no one truly likes having a name that is heard so often. I do wonder if this is a sign that we should choose something less common. Thoughts?

My 26 year old Jack was one of many in his school year, in the park all you could hear shouted was Jack by every other parent but I think it has been popular for so long now, a bit like John, William, Fred and Joseph, that I think it is just a classic name now. I still love it, it really suits him and I think thats what you need to think of? Yes there might be a few in his or her class but will it stand the test of time?

I was very much against having popular names
I have 2 kids that will never find their name on anything
although one is popular in other places that aren’t England
and one is just a name that you might hear occasionally

j can only speak for the 8 year old and 15 year old groups and their school years we move in
noah 1 in the older group
Lucy 2 in the younger
jack 1 in the younger
Charlotte 1 in younger
Matilda 2 older

I don’t think they are they popular though

we have 4 Olivers in one class (younger)
a few Myas, mia(both)
alfie x4 in older
daisy’s
grace

I have a name that was very very common when I was born and I would never give a child a name that was in the top 50. A name is too important for that. I used to know someone who had a very unusual name: if you google it, it doesn't come up at all. She was very proud of her name and her father had chosen it so it was a link to him.

I have an unusual name for my generation. Think of an old fashioned, biblical name. I was the only one throughout school, and have only been aware of a few others in adulthood. I have always hated having an unusual name. I could never find anything with my name on as a child, and was mocked about my name at school.
I vowed I would never do that to my children, and gave them both 'normal' but somewhat popular names (they were both in the top 20 for their birth year). I have zero regrets about this and both of my girls love their names.
If you're worried about there being several other children with the same name in their class, perhaps don't pick something in the top 10 but, other than that, just choose something that you both really like.

There’s a reason why certain names are popular and that’s because they’re beautiful. When I hear these desperate, ‘unique’ names I always think, well there’s a reason nobody has called their child that before!

I have a ‘common’ name. Two others had it in my primary school but then ever since I’ve rarely come across another. Having a common name never bothered me because it’s a lovely name. At least people know how to spell it and pronounce it.

Personally I’d probably avoid the top 20 but really it’s not a big deal, especially for classic names.
You also really can’t predict what’s going to be popular in your area. There’s 4 Mirrens in the toddler group I take my little ones to but a lot of the top 20 names don’t feature at all.

Noah is the only one of those names I would say is trendy, rather than classic. You get Charlottes, Jacks and Lucys of every age, I’ve never met a Noah born before 2008 and have met heaps of younger ones (I am a teacher though)! I know one adult and one child Matilda.

I personally have a very rare first name, whereas my husband was one of four with his name in his class. I generally like having an unusual name, he was fine about being one of a multitude. For our children we went for classic names everyone knows, but I did check that they were firmly outside the top 50.

Avoid anything popular. You might as well call your child Generic Girl#2156.

My kids have very popular, traditional names (consistently in the top 10 over many generations), however my daughter was the only one with her name in the school (it's actually one of the names on your list) and my son was the only one in his year, this is at a school of over 400. Some of the more "unique" names actually had multiples in the same class. My name is uncommon and growing up, I hated never being able to get anything with my name on!
Basically what I'm saying is, call your kids whatever you like and if they don't like it, when they're older they can always change it!

I took zero notice of popular/unique names, we just chose names we liked. We have a Olivia and it turns out it was the most popular girls name that year, but honestly I haven’t come across a single other Olivia, I know of two that are my age but not any other children. So popular doesn’t always mean you’re going to hear it all the time.

It’s all relative on area I think - I’m in London and everyone “tries”’ to be quirky! I know several Ophelia’s and not one Charlotte.
I have a very overused name (was one of 5 at school) and its never bothered me at all!

Just pick what you like.
In 2020 I had a Holly. I checked the top 100 baby names at the time and it was like 70th.
Top names that year were:
Olivia
Ameila
Isla
Ava
Mia
Ivy
Freya
Lily
Florence
Willow.

My daughter’s school has two classes in her year. To my knowledge from that list there is one Florence.

There is however 4 Hollys in her year!!

I’m Laura, there were 3 of us in my primary class of less than 30 children, yet when I went to high school I was the only one in a year group of nearly 200.

You just can’t predict these things.

I’ve got a Olivia who is 4 too and I’ve not heard of another Olivia yet.

I know over 30 with ds21's name and none with his middle name. Knew of none when we choose the name.

I'm a teacher so purposely chose names that were unusual/ hadn't taught before/didn't know any. Dd's name ended up being top 3 a couple of years later where it has consistently stayed for years. I have been gutted about this because I genuinely knew noone with the name, however, still haven't taught one. DD was the only one in primary until she was in y5 and the only one in secondary. Still wish it wasn't so bloody popular though, sometimes reading MN is like getting a virtual kicking.

I named my daughter a ‘popular name’ and I don’t regret it. It suits her.

If the name suits the child or feels right, you won’t care if other people have it too. Unless you pick a crazy weird name, there’ll always be someone you meet with the same name.

I hated having a common/overused name as a child and still do in adulthood. It’s always felt dull, plain, and unimaginative. I vowed to put more thought into what I would be naming my own children.

I don’t think it really matters that your child won’t be able to find anything with their name on it if you choose something more unusual. That feels like an issue of the past. I haven’t seen personalised souvenirs being sold in shops in years.

The names you like are all fairly timeless and classical so I think you'll be OK we even if some of them are very popular right now. Jack was very popular 20 years ago, less so now, also less "classic" as in previous generations it was a nickname for John not a name in is own right. Noah, though biblical, is a more distinct recent trend so you might want to bear in mind that it could "date" if it falls from favour. Charlotte, Lucy and Matilda are more multi-generational names.

I have a timeless name and I love it, not least because it has lots of diminutive nicknames. My sister has a name which was very "of the moment" and she doesn't really like it because it has dated badly - she says you could guess her age within a 5 year window, just by name alone!

So it's not popularity you need to be concerned with, but endurance!

Both my children have top 20 names, but no one in their class has the same name. The other name we considered for DD, there are two of those in her class. We also use a less
common abbreviation for my son (which is what he is called day to day anyway) so when there were three kids in the same nursery with that name, he was the only person with that version of it.

Ach, even if you do give an unusual name it could turn up! DD has a name from my country of origin (works perfectly well in English) and there was still a kid in her Brownies with the same name.

However, I have never met an Olivia, Freya or Lucy and there are very few duplication in DD's year (apart from George...there are 4 of those).

Pick what you like as you will be stuck shouting it for the next 18 years!

DH and I are both teachers so chose names we loved but were classics, and neither of us had taught chn with the same names.
Eldest DD had 2 in her primary school class
Youngest daughter had 3
In secondary, Eldest knows twins with Dd1 and Dd2's names!
Everyone DD1's age had -May/ -Mae/ -Mai at the end of their name
My generation are all either called Louise or have Louise as a middle name ...
Just pick what you love. Chances are, they'll shorten it or go by a nickname

My DD has a popular name. It's my grandmother's name and DH and I had always planned to use it if we had a daughter, then it became popular in the interim period. It's fine - she does know other girls with the same name but it doesn't bother her (she's a teenager now). She likes her name.

My preference is for names that everyone knows but are not so commonly used. One of my daughters has a name that fits in this category. Totally don't get why it's not more popular! Having said that we do know a few other kids with the same name in the wider community but most people with the name seem to be in their 50s. It's weird as it doesn't sound like an old fashioned name (even though it is a very old name) to me.

I have to say I haven’t checked the stats recently, but for me your names seem to be in 2 different categories. If you asked me to guess the ages of them, I would say:

Jack, Charlotte and Lucy are in their 30s (90s names).

Noah and Matilda are currently children (2010 onwards names).

Are Jack, Charlotte and Lucy really popular for current babies? All the young kids I know are more Olivia, Tilly, Lily, Lilah, Lulah, Theo, Noah, Teddy, Arlo.

In any case, names are popular because people like them. The ones that date badly are the ones that become very popular suddenly and then drop off.

I avoided all popular names because they date, and that's not something I wanted for my child. The names that were very popular sixty years ago sound very old-fashioned nowadays. I have a classic name myself and I've always felt glad it's unlikely ever to sound dated.