Names: do you choose popular or unusal?

[GillW]

Just wondered - how did you all choose your children's names? And did you take account of how popular that name was at the time when you made your choice?

I was reading yesterday that the list of popular names for 2002 has just been published, and that Jack has now been the most popular boys' name for the past eight years, and Chloe the top girls' name for the past six years.

Personally, knowing that, I'd avoid those names like the plague, because I'd hate my child to share a name with several classmates, but obviously that doesn't apply to a lot of people, hence their continuing popularity.

Now I can see some advantages in having a popular name, in that you'll always be able to buy personalised products, and most people will know how to spell it, but beyond that....?

Equally, would you choose a very unusual name?

Incidentally, if anyone's interested the lists for the last 5 years for England and Wales are here for boys , and for girls

For babies born in Scotland, they're here , and here for Northern Ireland .

oh, and don't worry about blowing the cover, eulalia - I suppose I was just slightly surprised that several people were interested enough to work it out!!

surprised?!!....what at how nosy we are?!!...

surprised that you don't have better things to do....but I guess this IS mumsnet

Sorry! I didn't hink I was blowing anyone's cover seeing as everyone else seemed to have guessed or found it anyway.

And I have plenty of better things to do, it's just that none f them are as interesting and I can't resist a "challenge"

(and in my defense, I waited to post the link until after everyone else seemed to be able to find it apart from Eulalia.)

I probably would have asked for the thread eventually anyway if I'd not found it ... seems I too don't have better things to do than look for my own name which I posted 2 years ago on a website!

I doubt if many are reading this thread anyway as there is always so many juicy discussions going on ...

My dd1 has a very popular name but with an unusual speilling and my dd2 has quite an unusual name but it is rapidly rising in the popularity stakes. I have a friend who called her son Reuben which i think is nice, although i would not have called mine it, (if i had had a boy it would definately have been Thomas), and a friend of mine has a nephew called Eban and a neice called Zea, I personally love unusual names but some can be a bit too weird or obscure (one girl i know called her daughter Shakira Britney, although the first is a nice name it's too much