Does popularity matter to you?

General Name Discussion
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Does popularity matter to you? How popular is too popular for you? Top 100? Top 50? Top 1000?

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It really depends what area your in I think, some names in the top 20 I never hear in my area where as names in the 200s I feel like I hear all the time.

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5

Hmm…

I think for me it depends on how much I personally love the name. For example [name_u]Noah[/name_u] is very very popular in the U.K. and everywhere else in the [name_f]English[/name_f] speaking world but I still ADORE [name_u]Noah[/name_u] and if I were to have a son I’m certain his name would be [name_u]Noah[/name_u]. I do not care that he will share his name with other people.

With my girls choices [name_f]Lilia[/name_f] is in the 400s for popularity for girls and [name_f]Iris[/name_f] my other choice is in the top 100. For me both names are gorgeous but I do like that [name_f]Lilia[/name_f] is more unusual & less likely to become a trend whereas [name_f]Iris[/name_f] could become trendy. It’s the idea of a name become trendy that puts me off. For example [name_f]Evie[/name_f] is a sweet little name but so commonly used that I just feel that it’s trendy and going to become dated as a result.

I also think boys names have a tendency to be less trendy then girls. For example both [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] & [name_f]Isla[/name_f] are relatively fashionable choices but [name_f]Isla[/name_f] feels more likely to become dated in 20 years time whereas I don’t think [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] will as even though it’s fashionable the name still feels ageless.

So essentially for me it’s not really popularity it’s whether a name will become trendy and dated. I don’t want my child to have a name that is the next [name_f]Karen[/name_f].

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6

No, it doesn’t matter to me

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7

Annoyingly, yes. Ideally all the names I actually use would be out of the top 1000 wherever I live. So far [name_m]Caspian[/name_m]’s the only exception I have. A perfect name to me is one that other people go ‘wow, that’s so cool/ interesting/ beautiful’ but they’d never be brave enough to use themselves. I’ve tried to be more flexible, but I do sturggle with it.

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8

A little bit. Obviously, you can’t help it when you love a name but I really try to look for some outside the top 1000. There are a lot of names I love that are ranked all over the place but I’d go for non ranked names first

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9

Honestly not at all. [name_f]My[/name_f] name is super popular and it wasn’t bad. If my number one name reached #1 I would still use it!

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10

Hmm, if it’s a name I absolutely adore then it really doesn’t matter how popular it is to me. Wether it’s #1 or #1000 I still love the name. Although I would try to avoid the top three I think.:grin:

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11

Nope! [name_f]My[/name_f] short and long lists have tons of top 100 names;

Girls shortlist: [name_f]Abigail[/name_f] (11), [name_f]Emily[/name_f] (12), [name_u]Madison[/name_u] (26), [name_f]Grace[/name_f] (28), [name_f]Hannah[/name_f] (32), [name_f]Lily[/name_f] (34), [name_f]Zoe[/name_f] (38), [name_f]Stella[/name_f] (39), [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] (41), [name_f]Leah[/name_f] (44), [name_f]Claire[/name_f] (55), [name_u]Genesis[/name_u] (58), [name_u]Kennedy[/name_u] (67), [name_f]Serenity[/name_f] (79), [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] (81), [name_f]Sophie[/name_f] (86), [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f] (90)

Boys shortlist: [name_m]Ethan[/name_m] (10), [name_m]Henry[/name_m] (12), [name_u]Michael[/name_u] (14), [name_m]Daniel[/name_m] (15), [name_u]Jackson[/name_u] (17), [name_m]Matthew[/name_m] (23), [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] (24), [name_u]Levi[/name_u] (25), [name_m]Luke[/name_m] (32), [name_m]Josiah[/name_m] (45), [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] (47), [name_u]Ezra[/name_u] (49), [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] (52), [name_m]Isaiah[/name_m] (53), [name_m]Nathan[/name_m] (55), [name_u]Elias[/name_u] (60), [name_u]Eli[/name_u] (62), [name_m]Adam[/name_m] (90), [name_u]Everett[/name_u] (94), [name_u]Declan[/name_u] (95), [name_u]Parker[/name_u] (98)

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12

Some of my names, especially for boys, are top 20 and my top boys’ name, [name_u]James[/name_u], is top 10. I honestly don’t love that they’re that popular but I see why they are and it’s not enough of a drawback for me to not consider those names. [name_f]My[/name_f] name was top 50 when I was born and it did not negatively affect me at all.

I care about popularity more on the lower end. I’m not sure I would seriously consider a name outside of the top 500–there are names that I really like that are much rarer but they don’t necessarily feel like a practical choice for my own children, which does make me a little sad but ultimately I think it’s the right choice for me to make. [name_f]My[/name_f] brother has a very rare to the point of being pretty much unique name and he hates always having to guide people through spelling and pronunciation, and I don’t really want my own children to have to do that.

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I try to avoid the top 100 when choosing a name but there’s really nothing you can do about a name getting more popular after you choose it.
It’s best to go with something you know you would love even if it became more popular.

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14

Nope. I’ve never seen how it matters. Might just be me, though.

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15

I definitely avoid top 100 (there is one exception which is an important family name that is in the top 50 right now).
I tend to stay away from top 500 - I posted on here asking if a name that’s about 527 is “too popular” haha. But, again, there are special/family names that break that rule.

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16

Yes! I grew up with a unique name and I want my children to have the same luxury :slight_smile:

I won’t use a top 100 name from ANY country (that I can find a list for).

I won’t use a top 500 name from the US (I’m from [name_f]Canada[/name_f] but we only have lists by province/territory, not a national list, and a lot of our trends are similar to [name_u]America[/name_u] so I consider it my best resource).

I also avoid names that are rapidly or consistently rising in popularity.

I also won’t use the name of a person I already know. If I had my way, every person would have their own unique name!

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17

It does matter a bit, but I pretty much just avoid names that have been in the Top 10 at any point in the last several decades. There are a number of those that I like, but they just feel too common and/or dated for me to actually consider using. However, I never discourage anyone else from using them if they truly love them. (Luckily for me, the majority of my top favorites have never been Top 10 names.)

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18

It matters to me usually. I try to avoid top 100, and I would prefer out of top 200. There are some exceptions like [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] where I would call her [name_f]Nell[/name_f].

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19

Popularity doesn’t really matter to me! If I think a name is becoming a trend or is in the top ten, that may dampen the appeal slightly, but not seriously if I love it.

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20

Popularity isn’t a hugely important issue for me but I do care about it, to some extent. I wouldn’t want my child to have a really common name, or one that is time-stamped to a particular generation à la [name_f]Karen[/name_f] and [name_f]Sharon[/name_f].

I do make exceptions for some classic names e.g. [name_m]Alexander[/name_m] (but I plan to use a less popular nickname, [name_m]Xander[/name_m]).

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21

Unfortunately yes! Similar to @tianagrace I grew up with a unique name and wouldn’t want my kids too have common ones! Most of the names I fallen in love with are unranked so it works out fine :joy:

However ranked names I love are usually never Top 10 (they usually aren’t my style either) By Top 1000 I really don’t think it matters if I love it or it flows will with my chosen combo, I’ll chose it! I never had a problem finding unpopular names I love but that’s because my name taste is out of the box compared to those who prefer traditional names :joy: If names were to sky rocket by the time I have children than I think I’ll be less lenient given how I chosen than pre popularity but that just shows that if you love a name it shouldn’t matter in the end!

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22

I have an interesting relationship with popularity. If I love a name and it’s popular, I’ll still love it. I used to adore [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] and [name_f]Penelope[/name_f], and they were super popular. However, if a name I love becomes more popular, I’m super sad but still love it; and if a name I love is not popular, I love it even more. At this point, the most popular name I love is probably [name_f]Eliza[/name_f], which is number 119. I’d probably stay out of the top 50 at this point, and certainly the top 10.

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