The question is, does popularity of a name bother you?
It doesnt really bother me. It used to because I’m one of so many [name]Isabella[/name]'s at school, but the fact that I was known as [name]Bella[/name] made it better. I think that if you really love a name you should use it. When I was born everyone was naming their daughters [name]Isabella[/name], but she had always dreamed of having a daughter with the name [name]Isabelle[/name] or [name]Isabella[/name](ussually [name]Isabella[/name] but sometimes it drifted to [name]Isabelle[/name]). My aunt’s favourite name had ALWAYS been [name]Emma[/name]. She didn’t care how popular it was because she used it.
I just want to know if the popularity of a name matters to you, and why? [name]How[/name] do you react if someone wants to use a really popular name (tell them “No way” or tell them “its great”)?
I am kind of funny about popularity. My sons are named [name]William[/name] and [name]Alexander[/name] which are popular names for sure, but they aren’t trendy. Trendy popularity is what I don’t like and what causes names to shoot up and become the names for thousands of little boys and girls. Names such as [name]Aidan[/name], [name]Jennifer[/name] or [name]Isabella[/name] became trendy popular where as [name]William[/name] and [name]Alexander[/name] are classically popularity. They are popular due to their ability to maintain their classic feel through out centuries of use.
[name]How[/name] would I react if someone I know was going to use a popular name? I think that I would only remark on trendy popularity if the person thought they were choosing as name for their child that was unique or unusual. I wouldn’t want them to name their child [name]Sophia[/name] thinking that they were getting a name that would make their daughter stand out only to be one of five [name]Sophia[/name]'s in her class.
Not at all. I think it’s a plus if a name is very easily recognizable because spelling and pronunciation won’t be an issue, but not so common that you encounter a lot of people with the same name, but it’s not something I actively look for- it’s just nice if that’s the way it is. There aren’t many of these names but there are a few- [name]Raphael[/name], [name]Vincent[/name], [name]Claudia[/name], and [name]Nina[/name], for example. In my opinion, you should [name]LOVE[/name] the name you pick- and that means you’ll still love it whether your child is the only one in the world or one of 5 in his class. There are benefits and obstacles to both common and uncommon names, so neither is better than the other.
Nope popularity doesnt bother me one bit. Popular names are popular for a reason, the majority usually flocks to the best that is out there, thus a name becomes popular. I would rather pick a name that I love then take a name that I might not love as much just because of its popularity level.
Popularity does matter to me – but I hate myself for it. I don’t think it should. I believe the most important thing is to love the name you choose. [name]Even[/name] if it is [name]Jennifer[/name]. You are going to be saying this name thousands of times in your life. It is going to be more intimate to you than your own hand. [name]Just[/name]. [name]Love[/name]. It.
By the by – I’m fogged how [name]Isabelle[/name]/[name]Isabella[/name] is anything but a popular classic. It isn’t an invention, a boys’ name taken over by the girls, or a last name used as first. It is a name deeply rooted and widely used in history that was ignored for a while, and that then became very much used – a popular classic. Like [name]Michael[/name]. Like [name]David[/name]. Like [name]Elizabeth[/name]. And even more classic than [name]Emily[/name]. It isn’t [name]Amber[/name], [name]Ashley[/name], [name]Riley[/name], or [name]Taylor[/name], with all due respect to those names. I still love this name, although people should be duly warned it is number 1.
I think one of the things I rather hate about popular names is that they date you. Why this is so bad, I don’t know. And unpopular names can date you too. Until their recent renaissance, names [name]Flora[/name], [name]Nora[/name], and [name]Cora[/name] put you in rest home territory. But I don’t think they were all that popular with my grandmother’s generation – they were simply used then.
I would like to see people become bolder about staking out a popular they really want to use. If all the alternatives seem second-best, I would say go with the wildly popular if that is your first choice.
I don’t want a popular name, and would therefore try not to use one.
But if I really loved a name and couldn’t find another one I liked more, then I would use it, even if it was #1.
Not really but still: If I really love a name I’d still use it even if its in the top10. I made the experience that you should rather be looking in your environnement than in the statistics. [name]Emma[/name] is very popular but I don’t know a single [name]Emma[/name] in my environnement so if I’d call my girl [name]Emma[/name] she’d still be kind of unique even if there might be hundreds of Emmas somewhere else… Its the same with [name]Ava[/name]; its so extremely popular in the US/UK but here in Switzerland its luckily extremely rare… Personally I’d love it if my names wouldn’t be that popular but I can’t change my taste neither the other ones…
As a [name]Sarah[/name] born in the early 80s, popularity is a BIG deal to me. I have almost never been in a classroom or workplace without at LEAST one other [name]Sarah[/name]/[name]Sara[/name]. As a child I always hated having to be [name]Sarah[/name] with an initial, or [name]Sarah[/name] 1 and [name]Sarah[/name] 2, etc. The only plus is that I don’t have to spell it much- although I have seen a few people put the H in weird places- [name]Sahra[/name]?! While I do love some of the most popular choices right now- [name]Ava[/name] and [name]Olivia[/name] are both great- I don’t want my child to feel like just a face in the crowd.
On the other side of the coin, I have had first hand experience with names that are TOO out there… My father’s first name is [name]Klio[/name]. (rhymes with fly-oh). It was constantly misspelled/mispronounced and caused him quite a bit of grief. Without even a middle name to fall back on (his middle name is [name]Kay[/name]- a boy’s name in my grandmother’s generation but decidedly feminine now) my dad often tells people his name is [name]Kyle[/name] to avoid having to constantly explain. I think my dad’s name is beautiful, but unfortunately it’s just too uncommon, and I his lifelong hassles with it played a big part in my parent’s selection of their popular kids names- [name]Sarah[/name] and [name]Alan[/name].
We are expecting our first child in [name]May[/name] and we are trying to walk the middle ground. I prefer names that are less popular, but that have a clear pronunciation and spelling, and that are also nickname-proof. [name]Even[/name] though we are not going with first names that are too wild, we are planning to give less popular first names with more traditional mns so that our children will have an option as they get older. Current choices are [name]Arlo[/name] [name]James[/name] for a boy and [name]Cora[/name] [name]Josephine[/name] for a girl. Other favorites: [name]Corbin[/name] (boy) and [name]Marin[/name] (girl). [name]James[/name] and [name]Josephine[/name] are names from my family.
While I agree you have to love the name, and that there are advantages to both common and uncommon names- I think there’s plenty of room to live happily and with style between the two extremes!
Someone mentioned a popular date stamping the person. Does it matter really? A persons face is going to date stamp them anyway. Its not hard to judge someones age, teenager, 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, etc. just by looking at them.
The way that [name]Sarah[/name] described her experience, that doesnt sound so pleasant. I can see your point of view.
Popularity doesn’t matter to me as much as associations I have with the names… I don’t want to use names I know someone of.
And is it popularity of a particular year (“trendy”?) or popularity over time (“classic”, e.g. [name]John[/name], [name]Mary[/name], [name]Marie[/name])?
Popularity does matter to me. I would never use anything in the top 25. I’ve grown up as [name]Emily[/name] #3 in school and would never want my kids to have the same experience. It’s so frustrating when someone is calling “[name]Emily[/name]!” in the hall and you have to figure out which of the 25 Emilys is being called. But even if a name isn’t in the top 25, and I’m hearing it everywhere, more than likely I wouldn’t use it.