Popularity of a name is something that really bothers me. I’ve grown up being one of 3-5 [name]Haley[/name]/[name]Hailey[/name]/[name]Hayley[/name]'s in school, because (until I changed my spelling from [name]Haley[/name] to [name]Hayleigh[/name]), [name]Haley[/name] was a popular name when I was born (I moved to the UK at the age of 17, I was born in the US). My sister, [name]Mikayla[/name], did not have this problem, she was always the only one. In high school, there were literally 5 [name]Emily[/name]'s, 4 [name]Emma[/name]'s, 6 [name]Jessica[/name]'s, 3 [name]Danielle[/name]'s and 7 girls with a variation of [name]Kaitlyn[/name], which I always hated.
As of now, I will not use a top 10 name for my child,because, this is what Top 10’s (2011) are for [name]Canada[/name], USA, [name]England[/name]/[name]Wales[/name] and Australia.
They all have virtually the same names, which is exactly why I steer clear of these. They’re far too overused for my tastes. [name]Do[/name] you feel the same way?
Yeah, it bugs me when names I like are super popular. I really like [name]Ella[/name], for example, but it’s just so crazy popular. [name]Olivia[/name], too. But I suppose they’re popular for a reason, they’re nice names after all.
I hate that [name]Lily[/name] is so popular. Its one of my favorites and I would love to use it one day. I’m kind of just hoping that it won’t be so popular in 5-10 years, but I probably would use it anyway.
Popularity doesn’t bug me, but I can understand why it would bug some people. I think it’s fine to name your child something that isn’t in the top 10 or top 100, but I think some parents take it too far and name children something they made up or something that isn’t even close to the top 1000. Very few kids like it when no one can pronounce or spell their name or when they can never find anything with their name on it.
I really like Olivia. It’s popular but then I have yet to encounter a child with this name. Sophia, Isabella and Chloe are very popular in my area. Had Olivia been popular in my area, I would still use it because I like it.
I have a name that was Top 10 when I was born but have only ever met maybe 4/5 others in my whole life and only ever had one other child with my name in one class at school. Having a common name has never bothered me and I wouldn’t discard a much loved name because it ventured in or close to the popular name charts.
That said I tend to prefer uncommon names as a matter of taste so it is not that much of an issue for me.
Yes I feel the same way! My name’s [name]Jessica[/name], so I know exactly what your talking about! Also, when I start to hear a name over and over again(no matter how pretty it is) it loses it’s “sparkle”. Sometimes I just get turned off from the name completely because it starts to feel dull to me. [name]Isabelle[/name]/[name]Isabella[/name]/[name]Bella[/name] is the perfect example of this. Years ago when I first heard these names I thought they were beautiful. Fast foward to now-- not so much.
No, I don’t feel the same way. I can understand why you personally -and anyone else for that matter- wouldn’t want to use popular names, but I myself don’t see a problem. They’re popular for a reason and I would never give up a name I loved just because it was statistically popular. Looking at the top 100 lists from my birth year, I knew hardly anyone with those names, especially not [name]Rebecca[/name], the most popular. Yet there were several girls with the same uncommon names- basically, picking an uncommon name is no guarantee the kid will be unique.
Also, names aren’t as popular as they used to be. In US stats: 1880- over 7% of girls were given the top name. 1900- 5%, 1990- 2.3%, 2011- 1.1% … so girls born today are less likely to meet someone with the same name. What’s wrong with having the same name anyway? I had 2 Jacks, 2 Jodies and 3 Jasmines in my class and they were never treated any differently. When I came across someone with my name I thought it was really cool
On a different note, where did you get the [name]England[/name] & [name]Wales[/name] stats from? The top names are [name]Amelia[/name], [name]Olivia[/name], [name]Lily[/name], [name]Jessica[/name], [name]Emily[/name], [name]Sophie[/name], [name]Ruby[/name], [name]Grace[/name], [name]Ava[/name] & [name]Isabella[/name] in that order
P.S. This is in the Girl Names forum- do you feel the same about boys?
My name is [name]Olivia[/name] and having been in school for ten years, I’ve only ever had one other girl in my class with the name. There’s nearly 200 people in my year/grade and there are only two Olivias. So I think, although popularity can be a good indicator, it’s not set in stone that if you name your kid [name]Emma[/name] she’ll be one of seven in her class. I’m all for uncommon names just because I tend to find more popular ones a bit bland, but some people take it too far. If you love a name and it’s #1, use it anyway - your child will make the name their own, no matter how many other people have it.
It doesn’t matter too much to me, although I’ll likely steer clear of the top 10. However, if my favourite name popped into the top 10, I’d still use it. Actually, I had a known but rather uncommon name when I was young and always wished I had a name that was more popular. The grass is always greener…
The other thing to remember is that popularity is regional, so you may want to consider seeking out popularity lists for your specific region, city (if possible), etc. There was actually a site that listed the top names in my city based on the first three digits of the postal code, just to show how much variance existed. In some areas, [name]Ava[/name] and [name]Chloe[/name] were the top girl names, in others you found [name]Fatima[/name], Gurleen, and [name]Tenzin[/name]. Unfortunately, the site no longer works.
Yes, popularity does bother me. I won’t ever name my children a popular name. I feel each child needs their own identity. It is just important as instilling self esteem, healthy diet and proper discipline, goals and direction.
It doesn’t. A name in the top ten happens to be our current frontrunner and I’m feeling better about that every day honestly.
When I taught, sure I had a class with two Sophias, but I also had a class with multiple [name]Lydia[/name]'s and multiple [name]Amaya[/name]'s. that solidified in my brain that you should use your absolute favorite regardless of popularity because you never know what names will pop up as repeats in real life. An [name]Amelia[/name] could grow up always being the only one in her class, a [name]Mildred[/name] could end up knowing another one, a new book could come out next year and catapult [name]Lucretia[/name] to #8, you’ll go crazy if you get too hung up on the odds.
I feel like my name, [name]Rachel[/name], is a fairly popular/common name for when I was born, it is also biblical… yet I have only met a handful of them in my life. [name]Just[/name] because I helped take care of 2 Olivias in the infant nursery doesn’t mean that much in the long run to me… My husband’s name is also soooo popular/common, yet I have only known a few over my lifetime so far. I feel like a lot of the popular names right now are beautiful “classics” even though they are on trend, I like the vintage/elegant vibe of many of the top girls’ names. All that said, I can still understand what you are saying- I could not use [name]Isabella[/name] because of its popularity!! Perhaps I am contradicting myself, but the answer is, yes, I would use a top 10 name, but yes, there are some that I personally hear too often to want to use them right now. haha!!
The popularity of a name doesn’t bother me in the least. There are so many benefits to having a popular name that go unsaid. For example, Nameberries tend to loathe [name]Madison[/name], but it’s pretty unlikely that [name]Madison[/name]'s name will ever keep her from getting a job or make her seem “weird” or out of place. It won’t cause spelling or pronunciation issues, and is generally a really easy name to have. Popular names also allow you to blend in. For people like me who value privacy, popular names can be very helpful, especially with an unusual last name. I’m uncomfortable that googling my name produces a lot of results that I’m not necessarily happy about everyone in the world being able to see; people with more popular names don’t always have that problem.
That said, there are great benefits to having uncommon names as well, and my taste tends toward those. It’s really about what you love- you may regret forgoing your love of [name]Olivia[/name] for [name]Odessa[/name] because it was less common.
I have, and would use, a popular name if it was my favourite.
The only ones of these I hear everywhere are [name]Lily[/name], [name]Ava[/name] and [name]Isabella[/name]. Must just be my area, but I’ve not heard of a little [name]Jessica[/name] or [name]Emily[/name] in quite a while. In fact, the youngest [name]Sophie[/name] I know of must be two or three. The rest I hear every now and again, enough to know they’re popular but seemingly not as much as the other three. Yet there’s other names not in the national top 10 that I hear more often. So high up nationally doesn’t equate to high up locally.
I don’t like popular names and yes I would drop a name if it became popular. To me, the numbers don’t matter but how often I hear it. I get sick of names that I hear all the time. For instance, [name]Chloe[/name] is ranked at #10. I’ve only met one [name]Chloe[/name] so I still like it. On the other hand #2 [name]Isabella[/name] is everywhere. I’m sick of every other little girl I encounter being a [name]Bella[/name] and [name]Izzy[/name]
It doesn’t really matter to me. If I like a name, I’ll use it, no matter how popular it is. I was born in 1999, (so obviously I won’t be having kids anytime soon. lol), and my name is [name]Madison[/name], the 7th most popular name for that year. I go by [name]Maddie[/name]. I’ve only met 1 other [name]Madison[/name] in my life. When I tell people my name is [name]Maddie[/name], they always end up calling me [name]Madeleine[/name]/[name]Madelyn[/name].
I loathed being one of 4 Stephanies in my class growing up. Mostly because I hated nicknames and people were always trying to place one on me to separate us. I felt like it was a rip on my individuality in a way. Now I don’t know any other Stephanies and am happy as a clam about it.
When my daughter was born I remember seeing that there were 3 other baby girls born within that time at the hospital. 2 Sophias and an [name]Ava[/name]. It made me smile that my baby had the edge already. Though she was confused for a boy almost immediately, that didn’t bother me nearly as much as it would’ve to see that someone else picked the same name.
I think it’s all about preference. I thought about her name growing with her, instead of me just saying, “I like it so I don’t care if it’s popular” I have always been an “against the grain” person. And if she grows up that way too, I think having a name that’s all her own (for the most part) will be nice.
I don’t really rely on the National or International Top 10 though. I check the SS top names for my state. That changes things a bit I think. Gives you an idea of exactly how many Isabellas she’s actually likely to encounter in the future.
Perhaps I am contradicting myself, but the answer is, yes, I would use a top 10 name, but yes, there are some that I personally hear too often to want to use them right now. haha!!