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Baby Names
LillyDez
member
Common names not all that common anymore?
LillyDez
member
in Baby Names
I know our top baby name, Ryan is still in the top names in the US. However, in real life, I don't know one single baby named Ryan. They are all Aidens, Jacksons, Evans, Noahs, Paxtons,etc.
Do you think that all of the common names from when we grew up (I am 30) are less common since many of us are going with more "new and unique" names?
I guess the point of this post is that I worry about Ryan being way too common of a name but we are in love with it. It flows beautifully with our last name and our son's name. We were going to choose Gavin to be different, but can't help but come back to Ryan. I just don't want our son to be one of 5 Ryans in his class.
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Re: Common names not all that common anymore?
Names are cyclical. The names we had and the names our parents had are not as popular for our children as the names our grandparents and great-grandparents had. Just think, in another 30 years, our kids will want to name their children Barbara, Susan, and Janet.
It also depends on where you live. Gavin (SSA ranking: 30s) looks slightly less popular than Ryan (SSA ranking: teens), but it's a name that hits the spot for both urban/suburban parents looking for something with a Gaelic flair and southern/western people wanting a "western" sound.
I worried a lot about SSA ranking when I had my baby, and gave her a name in the 200s. But I should have thought more about where we were living -- in our northeast coast yuppie community, it's a really popular name!
You have to take into account several factors. Popular names are not what they used to be--in, say, the 1960s the #1 baby name was given to around 50% of babies (of its respective gender) each year and if the same name happened to be on top for several years running, like Jennifer, Diane, or Mary, that meant a whole lot of babies running around with the same names. Nowadays, the most popular name on the SSA charts is given to around 3% of babies, even accounting for spelling variations. That's a huge difference.
But the problem with popularity remains because popular names now stay popular for even longer. Abigail, Hannah, and Emily for example, aren't on top anymore (if they ever were), but we all know lots of girls with these names because all three of them have ranked high on the SSA charts for many years running. They might not seem too popular now, because they're not #1, but being #10 or #20 for 5+ years really adds up--sometimes it adds up to even greater popularity than a #1 baby name.
To make matters worse, when you account for that kind of popularity--the long term, over several years, you also have to ask yourself whether you're concerned with immediate popularity (i.e., will there be three other Isabellas in her daycare or kindergarten class?) or long-term popularity (i.e., how many Emilys will she meet in her future workplace?). Chances are a name like Isabella, which rose in popularity extremely fast, ranked #1 for 2009, but probably wont for 2010, will seem less popular than Emily in the longterm.
In a workplace with 250 employees, you can be almost certain there will be a Jennifer or a Diane, in ten-years it will be nearly as certain there will be an Emily . . . but Isabella's popularity is far less certain, owing entirely to the brief length of time it has spent at the top.
In the case or Ryan, I'm afraid, you're looking at an Emily. It's not as popular as it once was, but there was a time when Ryan ranked very high on the SSA charts and it hasn't fallen that far. It might seem a little dated and a little boring to many baby namers today, but it's popularity is just great enough to keep it familiar to us. So, your little Ryan might not have to share his kindergarten class with anyone else and maybe you wont run into too many Ryans when he's young, but it's almost certain he'll be working and interacting with others as an adult.
I have heard of a lot more girl Ryans than boy Ryans in the last few years. I have heard of a few Gavins too, so I am not sure if that is really a 'different' choice.
I know several Ryans that are my age so I agree with the previous post that he would probably work with some when he is grown but I don't know if that matters to you.
I think if you love it, you should go with it.
Ryan will still be popular, but it's a better choice than Aiden or Jackson by far. Gavin is pretty popular too.
Go with Ryan! If you love it you won't regret it
I love Ryan so much more than "trendy" and "unique" names. Ryan will grow with your son and be a strong name when he is an adult. Ryan was actually on our boy list.
So many people have tried to talk us out of naming our daughter Ava but it is a classic and beautiful name that will transition to adulthood without being cutesy. I dont worry about *the possibility* of her knowing other people with the same name.
You gave great reasons for choosing the name Ryan and i think it is a wonderful choice.
my DS is Jackson. i know it is #3 on the list for 2010. i have not met one IRL, maybe thats because i live in a city with the name Jackson in it and people just dont want to do it.
i say go with Ryan its a great name.
I love the name Ryan. If it wasn't my BIL's name, it would definitely be on our list. But I am a little biased -- we like classic names (have an Alex, about to have an Andrew or Kathleen), so I prefer the classic names over the trendy names most of the time.
To me, Gavin = Aiden now. In fact, I know at leat 3 sibsets of a Gavin and an Aiden. I don't get the appeal of either name.
I work at a university, so I see the names of teenagers, early 20's all day long. I rarely see Ryans but we are seeing more Gavins these days.
I say go for Ryan.
Thank you so much, everyone for your input. My hubby will be very happy that I am 100% on board with Ryan now. He always wanted that name and I was the only reason we wouldn't do it. Now I am set on it. Thank you for your help! I am so excited! Now I am ready to go order his quilt for his room. We haven't started this baby's nursery yet so now I am ready to do so!
Ryan it is!
Ahh...now I can stop obsessing over what name to choose. What a weight off my shoulders. LOL. Naming is hard these days!
I know no one named Mary that's under 50. I know one John, who's four. These were the top two names in their time, but my guess is that people would still say that they're boring or common, despite the fact that it's only that way for a certain generation (or two).
Heavens to Murgatroyd Blog
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