In love with a popular name
Mmm79
member
DH and I found out last week that we are expecting a boy- so now we can talk about names. I have loved the name Aidan since I was a kid and heard it when spending summers in Ireland with my Gran and cousins (in the 1980s). It was always tops on my list. Then Sex and the City happened- and Aidan exploded. I moved on since I hated how popular it had gotten. But now that we are expecting a boy, DH and I both said that if it weren't for the popularity, it would be our #1 choice. This got us both thinking about whether we were dismissing a perfectly good name. I checked some lists and name trends sites and it looks like Aidan is trailing off a bit in popularity (it peaked around 2002-2004), but it still often appears in the top 10 on most lists.
How much weight would you give the popularity of a name in your decision making?
Re: In love with a popular name
My partner and I are waiting until the 2012 lists come out before we make a decision. One of our favorite girl names, Abigail, has been in the top 20 for the last 5 or 6 years. If it's still in the top 20 this year, we won't use it.
PS, it's too early for us to know if we're having a boy or girl, and I'm not sure if waiting for the list is entirely practical for you since it will be seriously last minute. That's just what we're doing.
No matter how much I love a name, popularity does make a difference for me. Aidan is not only popular, but it is part of a bad Jayden/Hayden/Brayden, etc. trend. If it was a classic, yet popular name like Jacob it wouldn't be so bad, but because there are so many spinoffs of the name, it's a huge turn off.
ETA: If you love the name though, you should use it, especially if you keep coming back to it.
I really like the name too. We would use it as MN, most likely not FN. This time both boy and girl choice MNs are on top 10 list for 2011.
I would say keep looking and if desparate go for it
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Popularity of a name did not weigh into my decision AT ALL.
My name is a traditional name, but I never knew anyone with the same name (other than my grandmother); I guess, I would probably have liked to have other kids with the same name as me.
I love Aidan too. Honestly, it's the rhyming names- Jayden/Blayden/Zayden/Rayden/etc- that bother me. If you love it, I would use it.
I also think the traditional spelling of Aidan makes it stand apart a bit from the trendy spellings Aiden/Ayden/etc. If I see the name Aiden, I assume the parents are jumping on the bandwagon. If I see Aidan, I assume the name holds personal meaning, is a family name, has been a favourite forever, etc. But that's just me.
Me too.
I know two Aidans and they're both kids with superduper Celtic last names. One of them has red hair and looks just like you would have imagined an Aidan would look before the trendy rhymey thing. His parents sent out birth announcements that included a short bio of the saint. I would probably never use the name Aidan, having very little connection to or particular affinity for Irish culture, but I think it's a great name when used with appreciation of its roots and will remain a classic after the whole -ayden trend passes by.
Um...my DD's name is uncommon (Renee-in the 800's on the SSA list), normal, easy to spell and pronounce! Popular names aren't the only ones that are recognizable. Just because we like uncommon doesn't mean we like weird made up names that are hard to say and spell.
I have an Aidan (he is 7, so named pretty much at the height of the trend), and apart from 1 kid on our block named Aidan, and 1 kid in the other 2nd grade named Aiden, we don't know any others. I might hear a kid at the park or the mall named Aidan once in awhile, but its no big deal. Even though a name might be #1, I think something like only 1% of babies born that year have that name.
If you love a name, use it!!! Both our kids have popular names, although we didn't plan it that way. I had no idea Aidan was popular when DS was born (those were my pre-bump days, lol). We named DD Charlotte when it was #75 on the list, only to have it shoot up the charts. So you never know which way naming trends are going to go. If you keep coming back to the name Aidan, just go for it! I think its a lovely name
Well, we do have an Irish surname and our families are Irish (his more removed than mine- my father grew up in Ireland and a bunch of my cousins and aunts and uncles still live there, so of course my maiden name is also Irish).
Thanks for the feedback everyone. It's something to think about. I had written the name off years ago then just randomly mentioned it to DH the other night as a "wish we could" sort of scenario and it got us thinking.
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This exactly. In the end, it's most important to use the name you and your DH love and agree on.
Aidan is a nice classic Irish name, which I think makes it timeless even though it is popular. Yes, it does rhyme with the Braydon trend, but those aren't classic and timeless like Aidan. If you look at the numbers for the most popular names, they aren't crazy high like in the 1980s with Jennifer, so really even the MOST popular names aren't crazy common.
That being said, we did generally try to avoid the top 10 when choosing. I LOVE Olivia, but just couldn't bring myself to do it.
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DD's name has been in the top 12 on SSA since like the beginning of time, but I don't care because it's a family name. Significance > popularity. Even as popular as it is according to the list, I have never met another child with her name.
It sounds like this name is important to you. I would use it if you love it. I don't know any children named Aidan. And I agree with PP's that it's the variations of the name that I find bothersome.
Oh weird. I just noticed that too. How freaking random.
This. Exactly. (Except the Aidan I know is 16!)