Right - this thing about names being "too popular"...

[seeker]

If you call your child a name that's, for example, the most popular name in the United Kingdom for the year (usually Jack and Chloe, isn't it?) what does that mean in terms of how many babies are actually called that name? Someone explained it to me once but I've forgetten.

I think there were about 8000 Jacks born in 2008, if I remember correctly.

But some names, like Mohammed, have so many different spelling variations that it looks like they're not nearly as popular as they actually are.

I don't know the answer to the op, but I can catagorically confirm that there definitely are enough Jacks in thre world now.

Of 708,711 live births in England and Wales in 2008 8,007 were called Jack, with 5,317 named Olivia

But remember there are regional differences, DS2's name doesn't appear in the top 100 UK baby names, but there are 4 of them in his small village school.

Here are the National Statistics links for the top 100 baby names for England and Wales in 2008. They open as Excel files.

They show the top 100 names in order of popularity, along with the number of babies registered with each name, and the change of rank since 2007 and 1998.

Boys' Names

Girls' Names

"In 2008, there were 708,711 babies born in England and Wales."

Assuming half were boys, that's 354,356 boys.

If 8,000 were Jack, as Cuppatea says above, then 1 in every 44 boys is a Jack.

I imagine girls names are more spread out.

5,317 Olivias acc to lidofabiro's amazing links, so 1 in every 67 girls in an Olivia.

Just to add that the links I mentioned above for Boys' Names and Girls' Names are for "2008 Boys' Baby Names by country, region and month" and "2008 Girls' Baby Names by country, region and month".

Wow, that is a lot of Jacks!

I remember seeing another list showing ALL given names last year as well as the number of boys/girls given specific names. Anyone seen that lately?

There's a list on the ONS website of all but the most unusual names. If they were only used for one or two children they don't list them for privacy purposes.

1 in every 67 girls is an Olivia?!
I couldn't get a pencil with my name on it for love nor money as a child

"1 in every 67 girls is an Olivia?!"

I'm sure someone explained to me that it doesn't actually mean that - but I can't remember what they said. [statistically challenged emoticon]

If the numbers are right then 1 in 67 girls born in 2008 was called Olivia.

It means that you will be in a class of 30, and 5 out of the 15 girls will share your name

(Mind you, that does suggest that 30% of all girls were given the same name as me in my birth year . . .)

Yes if they count different spellings, Isabelle, Zac, Mohammend and Lexi all jump up the chart. Babycentre did a good chart, not sure how accurate as I think it may just be their members BUT it is a good guide to how lumping spellings together changes the chart slightly.

www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/naming/babycentre-top-names-2009/

My friend has a little boy called Jack (just over a year old) and neither she nor I know any other boys of his age or thereabouts called Jack. We both live in Central London.

I don't think it really matters if a name is very popular - I know tons of men in their early 30s called Tom, Will, Harry etc and when I met them I didn't roll my eyes and go 'oh no another Will' - I don't think anyone really thinks about it - especially when you're older....

I have a Chloe born in 2004......no other children in her year nor the years above, so roughly about 60 children....and she is the only one !

I have a Chloe born in 2004......no other children in her year nor the years above, so roughly about 60 children....and she is the only one !

And I think people start saying too popular if a name gets into the top 100 - which is silly because the lower rated names in the top 100 were only used 650 or so times in 350,000 or so births. That means you would have to meet around 500 boys born in the same year before you met another one.

So popular doesn't really mean popular at all!

Also now there is a trend to have a Birth Cert name that is never used, a 'nickname' is used all of the time.

SO if you choose what others would call a 'nickname' for your child you could meet lots of them that are not listed with that name at all.

OK - next question.

Why has it suddenly started to matter? Only a few years ago it didn't matter to anyone if someone else in the class or the street had the same name as you.

Controversial theory coming up.

I think it's because children are sausage machined into conformity now that parents think that by giving them a "unique" name this will somehow make their child unique - and it will send a message to other people that "we're not like all these other boring people" before carrying on a life just like everyone else's.

Not sure if all the Traceys & Sharons that I knew at school would agree with you there, Seeker . . .

How many. In your year?

My sil is Sharon, I have just texted her and she says that there was one other in her year - and she says she didn't mind.

Even if your name is the one that 1 in every 67 boys born that year has, you'd be pretty unlucky if there was another one in
your class of 30!