We don’t know gender yet, but I’ve decided I really like the name [name_f]Ada[/name_f]. I was in love with [name_f]Ida[/name_f] for a while (and love the link to [name_u]Maurice[/name_u] Sendak’s “Outside Over There”, but partner hates it, and says it sounds like “I’d a” and opens itself to jokes (e.g. “I’d a dog but it died”).
[name_f]Ada[/name_f] he’s willing to put on the ‘maybe’ list, but I’m a bit worried that [name_f]Ava[/name_f] is apparently so super-popular. I hadn’t really realised [name_f]Ava[/name_f] was so popular, because I don’t know of any babies recently who’ve been named that… but looking at the popularity lists and how close [name_f]Ava[/name_f] is up there to the likes of [name_f]Isla[/name_f], [name_f]Sophie[/name_f], [name_f]Emily[/name_f]… well, I know THREE Islas born in the last 3 years (colleague’s child, university friend’s child, high school friend’s child). And the thought that our kid could be going through school with that many [name_f]Ava[/name_f]'s if her name is [name_f]Ada[/name_f]… I just don’t know.
Popularity’s not what it used to be, though right? Like, I feel like [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] was too popular while I was growing up… but looking at the data it was literally the top of the table in my country from 1974-1989, with 500-740 [name_f]Sarah[/name_f]'s born every year. [name_f]Ava[/name_f]'s only had about 215 born last year climbing from about 150 babies per year starting 2006.
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you know many [name_f]Ava[/name_f]'s? What are your thoughts? [name_m]How[/name_m] popular is too popular? Is [name_f]Ada[/name_f] usable?
I’m 16, and I know a few [name_f]Ava[/name_f]'s my age and younger. [name_f]Ada[/name_f] is definitely very close to [name_f]Ava[/name_f] and I’m pretty sure it’s already beginning to climb up the popularity charts. If popularity is your main concern with [name_f]Ada[/name_f], I think it’s safe to say that it will be pretty popular and your child will go through life meeting a few more.
That being said, [name_f]Ada[/name_f] is a nice name. I don’t think popularity alone should stop you from using it if you really love it.
I wouldn’t worry about [name_f]Ada[/name_f] being too close to [name_f]Ava[/name_f]. My main concern would be the popularity of [name_f]Ada[/name_f] itself, as @fromtheocean12 mentioned. [name_f]Ada[/name_f] has been rising for a while, so there might be more younger kids that share your daughter’s name than kids her age. If that doesn’t bother you (I don’t see much of an issue myself, especially if [name_f]Ada[/name_f] is the name you love), I think you’re good to go. It’s a very pretty name!
I agree with the previous posters. I think [name_f]Ada[/name_f] is distinct from [name_f]Ava[/name_f], but [name_f]Ada[/name_f] itself has been rising over the past decade. It was #346 in 2016, and #321 in 2017. It’s certainly not wildly popular by any means, but it’s worth to keep in mind that it’ll probably steadily rise as it has been doing. However, if you really love the name, I wouldn’t let that sway you from using it! My son’s name is #4, and curiously, I have yet to meet another baby [name_u]James[/name_u] in my area. I definitely would not worry about a name in the 300s, especially one as beautiful as [name_f]Ada[/name_f]
I think it depends on what bugs you about the popularity. If you want the name to “stand out,” then I would say yes, it is too close to [name_f]Ava[/name_f], since they are only one letter apart and sound similar. People are probably not going to hear [name_f]Ada[/name_f] and say “oh, that’s unusual” if they are meeting a bunch of Avas too. But if you are just worried about her having another one in her class and being [name_f]Ada[/name_f] P. (which was my biggest complaint about being a [name_f]Sarah[/name_f]), then you probably don’t have to worry about it.
I agree that [name_f]Ada[/name_f] is a long way from becoming trendy. My name was in the 300s when I was born and I went all the way through school and college without ever having a classmate with the same name. And as the recent NB blog post suggests, the popularity of [name_f]Ava[/name_f] varies by region. I have only ever met one [name_f]Ava[/name_f] and she is in her twenties. [name_f]Ada[/name_f] is a lovely name and I think you should go for it!
I think my main concerns WERE that she’d be part of a class where there’s [name_f]Ada[/name_f], [name_f]Ava[/name_f] R. and [name_f]Ava[/name_f] M.! But even [name_f]Ava[/name_f]'s probably not common enough to create that problem right? And the other main concern was that family/friends would hear it and think '[name_f]Ada[/name_f]? Really? So now I’ve got a niece called [name_f]Ava[/name_f], a colleague with new baby [name_f]Ava[/name_f], a friend with an [name_f]Ava[/name_f], AND another friend with an [name_f]Ada[/name_f]…"
I’m a little worried that the latter could still happen, given that the popularity’s not to different to [name_f]Isla[/name_f], and I do personally know (though they’re not close friends) 3 baby [name_f]Isla[/name_f]'s… two who are now the older sister’s to little baby [name_f]Emily[/name_f]'s, which is also at a similar popularity level.
Keep in mind that even top 100 or top 10 names now are nowhere near as common as they were in the 1980s,1990s and early 2000s when you actually look at the number of children given that name. There is much more diversity in names, so even a top 10 name may never encounter another through their entire education. On the flip side I’ve seen names not even in the top 1000 duplicated by random chance. If you love [name_f]Ada[/name_f], go for it. I think it’s gorgeous.
[name_m]Just[/name_m] note that [name_f]Ada[/name_f] is more popular than it seems, I know three babies called [name_f]Ada[/name_f], and none of them have given name [name_f]Ada[/name_f]. Their names are: [name_f]Adaline[/name_f], [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f], and [name_f]Addisyn[/name_f].
I’m in my early 20’s and the only [name_f]Ava[/name_f] I’ve ever known was when I was in 3rd grade. I know the name is supposedly popular right now but I don’t know any babies or little kids named [name_f]Ava[/name_f], and a lot of people from high school are having kids.
I honestly like [name_f]Ava[/name_f] more than [name_f]Ada[/name_f], and I feel like [name_f]Ada[/name_f] could get confused for [name_f]Ava[/name_f].
[name_f]Ada[/name_f] and [name_f]Ava[/name_f] have very different sounds, so I’d so no. I would advise you to think about the rising popularity of [name_f]Ada[/name_f], though. I get the sense that it’s a name that soon everyone will be using.
