Do you have/had a common or popular name??

nilawsu

I really like the name Olivia. And I have liked it forever! My mom has a home video of me from when I was 10ish (so...yikes, 17 years ago!) and I was 'Olivia from Bolivia'. It's been my favorite name forever. What I don't like is how popular it now is!

My main concern is if we have a girl, name her Olivia, she will be one of 3 Olivias in class. My name is uncommon, but not weird. Nila, pronoucned with a long I. Rhymes with Kyla. So I was always the only Nila in class. The only small downside I had of having a different name, was never being able to get things personalized straight from the store. There was NEVER a little license plate key chain with 'Nila' on it.

My question is...if you have a popular or common name, did it bother you to be one of many Jennifers, Sarahs, Ashleys, etc. in class??? I obviously never had this come up. So I guess I'm more worried it will be a bother to her, not so much me.

Thanks!

HappyMrsK

My name is Kelly and there was always at least one other Kelly in my class growing up. It didn't bother me though. I like my name a lot. Also, I rarely found anything personalized in stores either because my name was so popular the store would often be sold out of it in my name! So either way that may happen.

I think if it is a name you really love above any other name you should use it even if it is really popular. I wouldn't settle for a name I didn't love because of popularity.

BabyNSR

My name is Sara, and I don't think I ever went through school without at least one other Sara(h) in all of my classes. I had a Physical Education class where there were seven, yes seven, Sara(h)'s. It was such a pain in the butt!! It was always Sara *insert last initial* or I just went by my last name a lot. I did not enjoy it at all when I was in school. I wouldn't go far enough to say I hated it by any means though. It was what it was. I obviously survived, and I don't mind it now. Again, it wasn't my favorite thing, but it wasn't a huge deal. If you really do love the name, go for it.

JessandJeremy

I'm a Jessica and was one of several. I loved it! I loved being able to find personalized items in stores and actually thought it was cool when my name was #1 on the baby name lists.

meganbear

My first name is Megan (obviously...) and it doesn't bother me that there are a ton of other Megans my age. Go for it!

Zed58

As a Jennifer, I HATED always having three or four others in my class.  It was bad enough when I had to be Jennifer L, but then when there were other Jennifer L's and I had to be Jennifer L(full last name), it sucked even bigger donkey balls.  

Wish Upon A Star

I am Stephanie. I was always one of several. When I went to college I ended up randomly assigned to a roommate named Steph and they also put another Steph in the room next door. (Why?! I have no clue).

On Olivia- it is a beautiful name. It might be regional, but in my area the Olivia trend is beginning to subside.  There are a large group of them in middle school right now, but I only know one newborn with that name. 

scoutkate

I'm a Sarah born in 1979, so yeah--my name was always common.  I never minded it, though, because I consider Sarah a classic name. 

sarahbeth27

My name is Sarah. There were always at least 2 or 3 Sarah's in every class I was in.  I didn't hate it as a child... and I like my name as an adult.  I was known as "Sarah W." for the first 10+ years of my life! I actually wrote the following on a Christmas gift for my mom when I was about 8...

TO: MOM, LOVE: SARAH W.

True story... a true story that I hear EVERY year at Christmas.  

That being said... I never hated being one of many Sarah's. Also, as an adult, I work with people from all generations and in my company of 250, I'm the only Sarah. So, that's something to keep in mind... your child may be one of 3 Olivia's in school, but one day as an adult she will have a common, beautiful name that will suit a professional woman... and she most likely won't share an office/cube space with 3 other Olivia's.

 

Tmakes3

As a Jennifer born in 84, I had at least 15 other Jennifer's in my graduating HS class. I hated it. Now I don't mind it as much and appreciate that it's easy to say, spell, and isn't a conversation topic starter.

magsugar13

Elizabeth...which is supposedly popular, but honestly I do not know many at all. Growing up i was the only one in my classes.

LadyXaverian

I'm a Sarah. I actually only knew 2 other Sara(h)s going through school, and rarely did I have a class with either of them. Even if Olivia is really popular, it can be different state by state, city by city, school by school. You could give your kid what you think is the most original name in the world and they could still end up with another student with the same name in their class. For example, one year, I taught 3 Khadijahs. This year, I have 2 girls named Shelby in the same class.

I don't think name popularity is a reason to avoid a name that you absolutely love.

 

KtGirl88

OH god.... I am Kaitlin, always called Katie because I have at least 5 of them in my class!!! The only thing different about my name was the spelling but still SOOOO COMMON for my age group. HATED THAT!! My baby names are all unique because of this haha

supermanda

I was always one of many Amanda's, and honestly, I never thought about it much at all. My middle name is Rae and I always thought it was nice having a common name, combined with a more unique middle name, but I've never been annoyed at the number of other Amanda's I meet.

Mrs.BigCountry

I am an Amanda born in 1984.  From K through 6th grade I went by Amanda P.  I HATED it.  Like several others have said, I could never find personalized items because they were sold out.  When I started high school (my graduating class was 176), there were TWENTY SIX Amandas in grades 9 - 12.  From 7th grade on, I went solely by my last name.  The coaches in athletics gave all the duplicate named girls nicknames.  Amanda J, AK, Mandy, (Last name), (Middle Name), etc.  

 

Now, that I am no longer in school, I like my name and rarely have interactions with other Amandas in large quantities.  I once worked with another Amanda, but she went by the nickname Mandy all of her life, so it was no big deal.

 

Whew!  That was kind of long.  As for the popularity of a name, there are benefits...no one ever had to ask how to pronounce or spell my name.  I love Olivia...and if you have loved it for that long, I would go with it!!

ubermoose

I'm Emily, and though I was born before it hit the top 10, I knew a few growing up. I didn't mind at all, and I don't think it got in the way of anybody recognizing me as an individual.

ktb31

My name is Katy so there were always a few others in school with me, but none with my spelling so I guess that made me feel a little more unique.  But no one ever spelled it right and I hated the Katie spelling.  And I couldn't find little keychains and mugs with my name often which was always a huge bummer:)

Don't most kids hate their name? I always wanted to be Lisa or Jenny.  But if I was a Lisa or Jenny I probably would have wanted to be Katy:)  

 

pinkyangel84

I love the name Olivia! And I have ever since I watched The Cosby Show as a kid

My name is Jennifer and I was born in 1984. It never bothered me a lot that there were a lot of Jennifers, Jens, etc. in my classes too much. I almost went by my middle name when I was 13, but that was short lived. I've always loved my name. And like noted before, I could usually find things that had my name on it. My SIL has a very unique name and was kind of bummed as a kid she couldn't find something that had her name on it. 

Eros

I'm an Ashley, born in 1982.  I believe my name hit the top 5 that year, though my parents swear they only knew a male Ashley when they picked my name.  Anyway, there were some years that I was in a class of 2 or 3 Ashleys.  I would go by Ashley Rose (my mn) or Ashley B.  I don't remember loving it, but I also don't remember hating it.  Now at the age of 29 I honestly know very few Ashleys.  I'm not sure how that works out, but it has very little impact on my life. 

Though this isn't what you asked for, it's something interesting to think about.  Back in 1982, fewer names were used for naming children so a top 10 name meant more children having that name.  Now, when people are chosing a baby name from a larger pot of possible names, a top 10 name doesn't necessarily have the same impact.  Since the population has increased, the actual number of baby girls with the name Olivia may be larger than girls named Ashley from 1982, but the percentage of baby Olivias will most likely be lower.  That's hard to explain and I wish I could remember where I read the eloquently put information on this topic...maybe Freakonomics? 

Anyway, Olivia Mae is pretty and I say go for it. 

Baby*Kisses

ive always HATED having such a popular name. all through elementary school i was Brittany Mc. because there was another Brittany M-lastname.

that being said: i absolutely love the name Olivia! it upset me when i realized how popular it was getting as well. id probly end up using it tho if it wasnt too popular in my area.

Baby*Kisses

ChoicesMom:

I am a Brittany and I was born in '87 so my name was ridiculously common.  I hated it! Especially since a couple of the Brittany/Britney/Brittney/Britni's I went to school with had the same first letter of our last name so we couldn't even be called Brittany S.  It was extremely aggravating to be walking down a hall, hear your name called 4 or 5 times and not once have it be someone calling you.

P>

haha yes! i forgot about all the spelling variations lol. my own grandmother has sent me cards addressed to Brittney, Britney, Britni, Brittni, Britany, Brittaney, and Britani

nilawsu

Eros:

Anyway, Olivia Mae is pretty and I say go for it. 

 

That is a likely middle name we would use too, being my middle name. Good point. Thanks!

Eros

nilawsu:

Eros:

Anyway, Olivia Mae is pretty and I say go for it. 

 

That is a likely middle name we would use too, being my middle name. Good point. Thanks!

Too weird.  I really thought that was the mn you suggested in your initial post.  I just went up there to look and you did not list a mn.  I must have been in your head.  Lol. 

julyjennifer

I'm Jennifer, and while it may have been kind of annoying for it to be so common, it doesn't bother me now at all.  I love my name, I think it's beautiful.  Obviously a lot of other people did too.   Now I feel like things are more spread out.  I don't work with any other Jennifers, and often there aren't any on my soccer team or in my choir.  My LLL chapter has about 6, however, for some reason. 

Really, when you look at the trends of how MANY people were named the most common names 30 years ago vs. how many are named them now, the naming is a lot more spread out.  The top 10 are a much smaller % of the population.  So even if you choose a popular name, it won't be AS popular as the most popular names used to be.   If you love it, I would go for it.