No offense to these names, but I find all the super popular, overused girls names boring (these below).
Mary
Elizabeth
Jennifer
Elizabeth
Sarah
Laura
Emma
Olivia
Isabella
Amy
Sophia
Grace
But then I feel like a hypocrite, because I love [name_f]Claire[/name_f]. And I know people also place [name_f]Claire[/name_f] in this group because it’s been popular so long. But I don’t see [name_f]Claire[/name_f] as generic the way I see the others. It feels fresh. Does anyone else understand?
Everyone has different feelings probably. I think [name_f]Claire[/name_f] is a bit boring (as you describe it) but very pretty. [name_f]Amy[/name_f] and [name_f]Grace[/name_f] for example dont feel boring at all to me.
Yea. I agree that most of these names have lost their shine for me, except for [name_f]Mary[/name_f]. [name_f]Claire[/name_f] goes on the dull list for me, bit I love [name_f]Clarisse[/name_f]!
I also put [name_f]Claire[/name_f] on the dull list. [name_f]Clara[/name_f] and [name_f]Clarisse[/name_f] are 
I also adore [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and [name_f]Laura[/name_f]! But I agree that [name_f]Amy[/name_f], [name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], and [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] are bland.
Yeah I would agree. Everyone has their own personal experiences and relationships with names and popularity differs based on where you live. So names that some people feel are overused might still feel fresh where you live, or you personally might not know anyone’s with that name etc. And popular names become popular because they’re appealing.
Honestly, these all seem bland to me. [name_m]Even[/name_m] [name_f]Claire[/name_f] (especially…?) [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] is the only one I like but I much prefer [name_f]Sofia[/name_f].
I love [name_f]Mary[/name_f] because it’s actually uncommon I find on young people so a bit of a novelty, same with [name_f]Margaret[/name_f]. On the other hand I have 3 [name_m]Jens[/name_m] at my job. [name_f]Grace[/name_f] is sweet but I feel it’s overuse eclipse it’s meaning. I like the classic Greek background of [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], but yeah the current popularity of [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] & [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] make them unusable to me. I also love [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] but wouldn’t use it myself as I don’t have a Latin background & becoming as standard as [name_f]Olivia[/name_f]/Sophia, would consider [name_f]Isobel[/name_f] variation though, probably for a middle. For me [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and [name_f]Claire[/name_f] are both cute on little ones compared to [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] & [name_f]Isabella[/name_f].
Grace, [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] and [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] are good.
I LOVE the name [name_f]Amy[/name_f], and have multiple quite positive associations with it, but I’m more likely to use [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] (used to be my #1 before it got super popular). I’m also fond of [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] (but mostly for nicknames; it’s also a family name), [name_f]Mary[/name_f] (family name on both sides), [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f] (mostly because I LOVE nn [name_f]Jen[/name_f]) and [name_f]Laura[/name_f] (both a kind-of family name and a chosen sibling’s name). Other than that, I have quite similar feelings about your list. Oddly, not a fan of [name_f]Claire[/name_f], but like [name_f]Clara[/name_f] and love [name_f]Clary[/name_f].
Other “popular” names I’m not a fan of specifically because they feel “plain” to me personally include [name_f]Anna[/name_f] (weirdly I do like both [name_f]Ana[/name_f] and [name_u]Anne[/name_u]), [name_f]Kate[/name_f], [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], [name_f]Ava[/name_f], [name_f]Ada[/name_f], [name_f]Eve[/name_f], [name_f]Belle[/name_f]/Bella, [name_f]Isabel[/name_f]/Isabella, [name_u]Gabriele[/name_u], [name_f]Madeline[/name_f], [name_f]Ella[/name_f]/Elle, [name_f]Nicole[/name_f], [name_f]Lucy[/name_f].
Most of these “plain” names I do love “versions” of ([name_f]Lucinda[/name_f] not [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], [name_f]Avalon[/name_f] not [name_f]Ava[/name_f], [name_f]Mirabel[/name_f] not [name_f]Belle[/name_f] or [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], [name_f]Livia[/name_f] not [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], [name_f]Annaliese[/name_f] or [name_f]Annika[/name_f] not [name_f]Anna[/name_f]), but I think it comes down to personal taste. I adore [name_f]Jane[/name_f] and it’s literally such a “plain name” epitome that there’s an expression “Plain [name_f]Jane[/name_f],” so I’m definitely not one to judge much in this area. To each their own! 
I can definitely see the appeal of some of these names - recognisable, easy to spell, pretty names which won’t raise any eyebrows. Of these, I do really like [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and I also like [name_f]Claire[/name_f] but I like other names that probably fit the pattern - [name_f]Jane[/name_f], [name_f]Eva[/name_f], [name_f]Lily[/name_f], [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] etc.
I’d probably try and find a different name first before using them but I do have to think they’re popular for a reason and that’s coming from an [name_f]Emma[/name_f] who was always having to go by surname because of how many there were!
i honestly feel like everyone has names like this where they don’t necessarily fit with their usual style, i definitely have a few!
I find [name_f]Claire[/name_f] quite boring and somewhat superficial while I really like [name_f]Clara[/name_f], it’s sophisticated with fairytale vibes