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Baby Names
Mrs.A&J
member
Does popularity deter you?
Mrs.A&J
member
in Baby Names
We've (well, I've) had a girl name picked out forever, it's a family name, but DH and I finally agree on a boy name that I didn't think was very popular (just based on us not knowing of anyone by the name), but come to find out it's a top 5 the last few years. Would you let this deter you from a name? I've always wanted classic names, not uncommon, but not super popular. I just don't want my kid to be like 1 in 5 kids with the same name in class and stuff, like I always was.
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Re: Does popularity deter you?
Yes. I try to stay away from Top 10 names. I think part of is that I didn't like have 5 Jenni's is every class growing up. I wasn't one of the Jenni's so maybe I felt left out and am compensating. LOL.
However, I would guess the lists vary by region and if I felt that a top name wasn't super popular in my area... I would consider it. And if it's a family name, the I would feel that trumps it.
Haha, that's funny, I'm also Amanda. So you know where I'm coming from! It peaked in 1986, the year after I was born, my mom thought she was being original.
If I feel like there's a chance there will be numerous other children in my child's school class with his/her name (to the point where they have to use their first name and last initial in school CONSTANTLY) then I probably would choose a different name.
As an example- My friends son is Aiden, and he started kindergarten last week. There are 3 other Aiden's in his class, and 7 total in the entire kindergarten. So, he now CONSTANTLY is called Aiden W. I would hate it if that were my child (or, if I were that child).
H and I have family names picked out for when we have kids in (hopefully) a few years. No matter if they're popular or not we're going to use them because of what they mean to us.
If it was just a name we liked it would deter me.
Yes and no...
Sophia was a top name for us, but we ultimately ruled it out because of popularity. It's a lovely name, but the popularity was too much.
Isabel is still on our list, even though we've ruled it out twice for DD#1 and #2. It's actually not unbearably popular (#127, I think), but Isabella obviously is. It's hard for us to find girls' names we agree on, so it's not worth ruling out.
With that said, names that are not popular everywhere. Ex: I know 0 Liams, 2 Avas, and 2 Ellas. According to the SSA list, these are very popular names, but they aren't where we live.
We like more unique names, meaning, definitely not in the top 10 or 20 if possible. That said, if we DO have a name that we *love*, and we've had it picked out for a while, then we will stick to our guns and stay with that name.
At the end of the day, I say go with what you like.
Nope , doesn't bother me. I like what I like. My D is Chloe and our next will be either Jack or Ella.
No, DS has a rather popular name. I don't think he will be one of 5 in his class though. Maybe 1 of 2-3 in school.
Yes, I am deterred by popularity.
It drives me crazy to have to further describe who I'm talking about beyond identifying them with their first name. Admittedly, I'm biased, as I have an unusual name, and my husband is a Mike (as are his uncle, 4 of my co-workers, my friend's most recent boyfriend, etc etc).
When we were looking at names, I thought of the top 50 as a definite no, and preferred to avoid the top 100.
That being said, Noah is a beautiful name, and if that's really the only one you can agree on, then I think you should use it.
Make a pregnancy ticker
Popular trendy (Isabella, Chloe, Olivia, Ella)- yes
Popular classic (Elizabeth, Emily,Grace) - not necessarily
Elizabeth is on our short list for phantom baby girl #2 even though it's #11 in the nation, but I don't see it as a trendy name even though it's popular.
Just popping in and saw this thread, I am having the exact same problem. We love Noah for a name, but I'm still undecided because of it's popularity according to the list. That being said, when I mention it as a possible contender, I have yet to hear (even from teacher friends) that they know of a ton of Noah's.
GL in your decision, I know exactly how difficult it is!
I guess I hadn't really thought about popularity vs. trendiness. That is an excellent point. I feel like Noah is classic. It's certainly not Aiden or Logan or something, which bug me.
Thanks for that, madamsmurfette! That makes me feel better.
I was one of what seemed like 30 rach(a)el's in my class. It definitely deters me from choices cause my name was constantly spelled the wrong way, always having to go by my ridiculously long last name.
That beng said, if I have another boy I am still considering Ethan because of family meanings even though it's in the top 10.
Yes and No. If it's a classic name and we have a good reason for using it (more than just "loving" it) then no.
For example, DS 2 will be named William, after DH's grandfather. It's a classic name, though the popularity is a little higher now than it has been in the past. There are also several nickname options. I don't worry about him being William D at school in the slightest.
I think most of the top 10-20 girl names are pretty trendy. Emma and Emily are pretty classic but Emily has been in the top 10 for 20 years. At some point there are just too many Emily's to go around, and it also doesn't lend itself to different nicknames, unless you tried to force Millie as an option. Elizabeth would be my main exception. It has a ton of nicknames, it's a family name and we love the character in the Bible, as well as many other namesakes.
For me, it's a small consideration. I would probably stay out of the top 10. I considered Madeline but decided there are just too many "Maddys" out there. I wound up with a name which was more popular than I was hoping (in the 30s), but I love the name so I'm using it.
One thing to consider is that people are using a bigger variety of names than they have in the past. So even if a name is ranked fairly high up on the list (say number 10), there are probably fewer babies born with that name in 2012 than there were for the equivalent #10 name in 1980.
In fact, for fun, I checked:
Chloe is the #10 girl name for 2011, representing approximately 0.57% of all female births. In 1980, Michelle was the #10 girls name, representing approximately 1.07% of all female births. Almost twice as many Michelles in 1980 as Chloes in 2011, removing the effect of general population increase.
Terribly so, it does... If I hear a name too much, it just starts to grate on me; choosing a popular name just sounds to me to be terribly uncreative and boring.
I even prefer made-up names; I'd actually rather meet a Shantiqua or Zaydenn than another Jacob or Sophia...