Would you not name your child a particular name just because it's become really popular?

[laweaselmys]

DP and I have been picking out baby names for out 12 wk old bump somewhat ahead of ourselves, and the boys name we have chosen is almost definitely the one as we've liked it for years. But it's also not that popular it's in the top 50 boys names, fairly near the bottom! I like that about it. That it's not going to stand out that much but that their almost certainly won't be another boy he knows with the same name.

The girl's name we really like for family reasons, but is now no. 7 in the UK girls names list, and I hate the fact that there would probably be so many other little girls called it and it will somehow seem less 'special' but I can't work out if this is enough to stop me wanting to use the name.

The names are Leo and Lily by the way. (So you can judge, huzzah!)

Miaou, I have a small pile of stuff dd1 has outgrown here, mainly jeans, tops and hoodies (topshop/H&M etc). Are you interested, or shall I just charity shop it?

And in answer to the OP -- it would only put me off it was a v. unusual name that had suddenly become wildly fashionable. Which might then suddenly drop out of fashion and become a bit dated.

Eg ds would have been called Freya if he'd been a girl, which was quite unusual 9 years ago. But by the time dd2 was born 4 years ago I'd gone off the name because there seemed to be so much about. So she has a name which is actually less unusual but also less fashionable iyswim, ie. doesn't immediately scream "season of 2003/4" at you.

I'd put Alfie in this category, for example, but not Leo or Lily, fwiw, although Lily is currently quite on-trend.

• I will email you!!

I think Leo and Lily are both nice names,so I will let you have them

If you were going to say "Jack" though, well I might have to take you outside and shoot you....

I'm glad lots of people have discovered that their really popular names they picked weren't really all that popular in practice! I guess number 7 isn't so high up really either.

Will tell DP we don't need to panic.

I really LOVE both those names - good choices and I hope you stick with them

They're nice names. But popular names do put me off I have to admit (I've had one all my life, or at least, it was popular when I was born and it really dates you). Also if you've got a fairly common surname it makes it worse. I don't think Leo is overused anyway but if Lily was a family name, you might regret it if you don't use it (unless you use it for a middle name?) so go with whatever your gut instinct is and never mind the popularity.

We're using DP's surname instead of mine, and his is much rarer, so I'm not too worried about that.

Lily comes from my great grandmother who was a bit of legend and I was also named after, as her name was lily-myname... so I do rather like the idea of using it, as if it's a boy his middle names have already been picked out by DP's side of the family according to tradition, and there's nothing like that for my side of the family.

I've got a name that was very popular in my year - of 75 of us there were 12 of us (ifyswim). It meant that most people were called by nicknames - which wasn't great. However, if the name isn't that close to the top, and you don't know any one locally with that name, I wouldn't worry. Ds's name always in top 20 (probably top 10 actually) - he's the only one at nursery, even though there are 2 Fergus's and 3 Scarlets in the same age group.

They're both lovely names (like everyone says) and, FWIW, I don't think there is any point trying to second guess what will be popular around you.

My name was positively unheard of in the 70's (when I was named it) - I was the only one of me I'd ever met at school or university - then it shot up to the girls top-ten in the 90's sometime and stayed there for years. So it's me and (feels like) about one in ten girls born since 1995! I am no longer unique (sob). And nor will a good proportion of this generations 'unusually named' children be, by the time they grow up...

Go with what you love.

My husband and I have avoided very popular names (both DD and DS's names are outside the top 100, although neither are what you'd call uncommon) because I was one of girls with the same name in my year at school, and one of three with the same first name and a surname starting with the same letter! It hasn't been a problem since I left school, but it was very confusing during those first 18 years. Having said that, we're struggling with name for our third child (due November) because all the ones we like are in the top 20 or so ... so never say never! I think, sometimes, you just have to go with your instinct when you see the child, choosing a name you like and feel fits and trying not to let outside influences sway you too much.

Oops, that should have read: 'one of 15 girls with the same name ...'

I like your names, but I would be put off if a name was popular. I had frineds at school who were on of three in the class and they hated it. I would like my children to have individual names

We ruled out one name we both liked (Emily) because it was vey popular. Have I met an Emily of DD's age since? Nope. Do I regret not using it? Nope - just looking at DD now and thinking 'Emily' and it's just not right. Also just typoed it as Emaily every time in this post, so it's just as well we didn't use it ...

I don't think Leo is overused, but I do think Lily is. I would avoid too popular names, as a pp said, they tend to be known as a nickname. I once taught a class with 5 Bens in it. Bless him, but one of the Bens was known as 'thick Ben' (behind his back) for obvious reasons. IME nicknames are not always nice. But the second reason is that I think if a name is too 'faddy' popular then it really dates a person, whereas a less faddy name would not iykwim!

I've checked our girls choices are outside the top 50, but I'm not bothered about the boys, and preferences there are inside the top 10. Don't know if it's because I've always liked having a fairly unusual name (well Zoe isn't that unusual, but I didn't meet any at school, so I was unique there) whereas DH's name is quite common anyway - so it's what we're used to??

I liked Isabella - came on here and posted it as a choice between that and Claudia, and everyone said Isabella was very popular at the mo', and it has put me right off, I must admit. I love the name Grace as well, but wouldn't do it now because there are so many about (ditto Rose). I have a boy's name which I am sure most people will have never heard of, so we're sorted there, and we're thinking either Penelope (Penny, Penn for short) or Claudia for a girl, so we should be ok as I don't think those names are particularly popular..

laweasel, both of those are such lovely names - i would go with them.

popularity is an issue tho. think it ultimately depends on how you feel about the particular name. with ds we wanted a traditional name so knew that it would always end up in the top 50. DS's name is popular but we love it and were comfortable with it being popular.

in terms of the girl names we picked out tho the two we really loved were ruined for us by being ridiculously common and so if we had had a dd we would have had to come up with something else.

ultimately you have got to go with something you love and shouldnt let other things sway you.

I would be put off by the thought that my child was going to be Emily Q and there would also be Emily A, Emily S and Emily N in the class. Luckily, the only two names on which my husband and I could agree were rare enough for that not to be likely to happen.

I have a fairly unusual name and when I was little was desperate to be called Susan (the ubiquitous name of the era) but am now glad to have my name. If I had been named Susan I'm sure I'd see things very differently now.

Yes, I'm Susan. One of four in my primary school class (born 1970).

I would for that reason avoid names that were very popular, but also we didn't want a really weird name as dh has one that reflects his father's heritage adn he has always found it difficult.

So we went for traditional but not popular, and have dd1 -only one in school with name (katherine), ds - one of only 3 (Aidan) and dd2, one of 4 but one is in her class she she is Rachel T.

I woudl have fled form the popular names when they were born like Chloe, Jack, Olivia, Harry. Didn't like them anyway, the popularity was a secondary issue!

Well with a name like Jessica Jones how can you not be the most common kid ever?

I hate it!

I was one of four girls in my class with my name so I wanted a relatively unusual name for DS1. DH had his choice with DS2 and he has to do the initial after his name thing ( although he is oblivious tbh).
And I thought DDs name was relatively uncommon although def not unusual and it is 'familiar' now for the worst possible reasons.
Ultimately you just have to stick with the name you love.
I love my DC's names

We deliberately picked a name outside the top 20 (at the time we chose it) for ds1. It's now in the top 3. ds2 we picked something more unusual - not in the top 100. Only to find that there's another one, just around the corner from us who was born on exactly the same day (the brother of ds1's best friend), who also has the same initial for his surname. So even with an unusual name, they'll have another one in the class when they get to school.