My baby girl is due any day now. I love the names [name]Ava[/name] and [name]Sophia[/name], but I am nervous and even embarrassed to use them because I am a self proclaimed “name nerd” (I’ve studied name statistics, styles and etymology since I was very young). I feel like I should like more unique names, because [name]Ava[/name] and [name]Sophia[/name] are so common.
I really just want a stylish and sophisticated name for my daughter. [name]Ava[/name] and [name]Sophia[/name] have been my top names for years, but I feel ashamed like I can’t like them because they are just “run of the mill” names. I’m not sure how I feel about popularity. I would never dream of using [name]Jessica[/name], [name]Emily[/name], or [name]Ashley[/name] because to me they are boring. I don’t know if I would regret using [name]Ava[/name] or [name]Sophia[/name] because it is so common, even if I haved loved them both for years.
The only other name DH and I like is [name]Siri[/name], but it doesn’t have that same sophistication and class that [name]Ava[/name] and [name]Sophia[/name] have, so I wonder if I would regret using that. All I know is the only names we will consider at this point are [name]Ava[/name], [name]Sophia[/name] and [name]Siri[/name], so we aren’t looking for other suggestions, but advice is GREATLY appreciated!
Are [name]Ava[/name] and [name]Sophia[/name] only “overused” according to other name nerds? Or are they “overused” to everyone, even just average people who don’t pay attention to names?
I think these are beautiful and stylish names that are – yes – a little over-used.
I don’t think less of you for loving them, however! They are great, great names. The only real problem is that you child might often end up [name]Sophie[/name] 2 or [name]Sophie[/name] R. (or whatever your last name is). Other than that, I’m not sure I see a problem.
You can give your child a middle name she can use when there are more than one [name]Sophie[/name] or [name]Ava[/name] around. That is one way to address the problem. [name]Just[/name] make sure her middle name is unusual. I once worked with three [name]Marys[/name]. No problem, right? They could just add in their middle names, right? Wrong. [name]Every[/name] one of the [name]Marys[/name] was a [name]Mary[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name]! So don’t go with [name]Ava[/name] [name]Elizabeth[/name]! (Although, now I think of it, it is pretty cool!)
I think it comes down to that trade-off. Either you give up the notion your child will have a distinctive name (and you will show the world what a wonderful name maven you are) or you give up using one of your favorite names! Personally – I think the wise, mature mom would give up the first. JMO! As always.
P.S. If you don’t both love [name]Siri[/name], I wouldn’t use it. If you can’t bring yourself to use a popular name, and you really aren’t in love with [name]Siri[/name], I think you should open up to the hard idea of, sigh, starting over.
[name]Ava[/name] is very trendy, but [name]Sophia[/name] is a classic, BEAUTIFUL name ([name]Ava[/name] is just as beautiful but a little more trendy in my opinion)
If you love it, go for it. I think for me, Id rather regret giving my daughter a “too trendy” name that I adored, than give her a “unique” name I didnt love as much…
Go for it!
A friend of mine jus had a daughter named, [name]Lily[/name]… I always have viewed this name as an over used name, a name I never really liked… but when she gave it to her daughter, who is absaloutely BEAUTIFUL, I was almost jealous she chose such a fabulous name! It completely changed my opinion…
If you love a name, use it! You’ll probably regret not using it if you don’t.
Yes, they are both totally overused, but still beautiful. [name]Just[/name] be prepared for your daughter to be [name]Ava[/name] or [name]Sophia[/name] #3 or 4 in her class.
If you love a name, don’t let what other people think sway you- use it! You’ll probably use your daughter’s name more than anyone else’s in your life, and you get to choose it, so pick one you love! You don’t want to regret choosing a name that is “more stylish” or less popular that you don’t like as much. If you think [name]Ava[/name] and [name]Sophia[/name] just sound novel to your ears and will wear off, don’t use it, but if you really love them, use them. You could use a really unique, name-nerdy middle or interesting nickname if it bothers you that much.
PS- [name]Siri[/name] isn’t a horrendous stretch as a nickname for [name]Sophia[/name] (Or maybe [name]Sophia[/name] [name]Iris[/name]?), if that sways you.
Ugh, I just typed a long response to have it erased. Let me start over again.
I dont think popularity matter when it come to timeless names. My sister named my nephew [name]Jacob[/name] ten years ago. It wasnt until after he was born that she even learned it was the most common name in the US and our state. It didnt make her love the name any less. My nephew actually loves that his name is popular. We do hear the name [name]Jacob[/name] fairly often but not as often as you would think. He is the only [name]Jacob[/name] in his class and always has been. Names like [name]Jacob[/name] and [name]Sophia[/name] are timeless and while they may be at the peak of popularity now but twenty years from now people will still be using them. You can never go wrong with a timeless name imo.
To put it in perspective, there were approx 16,700 little Sophias born last year and over 34,000 [name]Jacob[/name]'s born the same year as my nephew.If he can make it through life without running into a million other Jacobs and not be one of 5 in his class I dont think your [name]Sophia[/name] will honestly have any problems.
Off of your list I think [name]Sophia[/name] is the best choice if you are looking for timeless sophistication. [name]Ava[/name] feels trendier to me and is likely to go the way of [name]Jessica[/name] and [name]Ashley[/name]. [name]Siri[/name] is the more playful whimsical option. I would pair [name]Sophia[/name] with a more uncommon mn and give her a more distictive nn. [name]Sophia[/name] “[name]Fia[/name]” is my personal favorite. I also like “[name]Scout[/name]” as a nn for any S girls name. I think any self proclaimed name nerd should feel pride in giving their daughter a name as lovely as [name]Sophia[/name].
As a fellow name geek, I had the same problem. I thought when it actually came time to name my own first born precious daughter, I would go for something more unusual. But the name we both loved from 3 months pregnant was [name]Sophia[/name]. We never changed our minds the whole pregnancy so I felt that was a good sign. We opted for a more unusual middle name, perhaps this is something you could consider? My daughter is named [name]Sophia[/name] [name]Persephone[/name] (Greek goddess of spring) [name]Marie[/name] (my middle name & my mums). [name]Even[/name] thought [name]Sophia[/name] is a popular name, I still love it 3 & a half years later! She was nicknamed from birth [name]Fifi[/name], which over time has lessened a bit. One of her wee friends calls her [name]Fia[/name], which is very cute!
I think [name]Ava[/name] is a beautiful popular name to, just preferred [name]Sophia[/name] & also a close friend had an [name]Ava[/name].
Good luck with your decision!
Here I am a dyed in wool name nerd yet to me [name]Ava[/name] is one of the most beautiful names around and I feel guilty for loving a popular name so much, but that is ridiculous isn’t it? Loving a name is the best feeling instead of just making do.
I remember [name]Ava[/name] [name]Gardner[/name], the actress and she was so beautiful, poised and sophisticated, she had charisma and I could never put her in any class except given to those special few like [name]Grace[/name] [name]Kelly[/name], all class and style, womanly and feminine. I would give them a 10, sorry [name]Bo[/name] [name]Derek[/name] even though you were the ultimate 10.
I can’t see it being the next [name]Jessica[/name]/[name]Jennifer[/name]/[name]Jaden[/name] etc.
One of my favourite combos is [name]Ava[/name] [name]Caroline[/name].
I would be so proud to be an [name]Ava[/name], it is gorgeous.
Thank you all for your wonderful advice! I feel so comforted knowing that other name nerds like [name]Ava[/name] and [name]Sophia[/name] even though they are common. I think we will name her [name]Eva[/name] [name]Sophia[/name] (still pronounced [name]Ava[/name], but spelling is after my favorite old Hollywood actress, [name]Eva[/name] Gabor).
I did a lot of research on the popularity of [name]Ava[/name] and [name]Sophia[/name] compared to names like [name]Jessica[/name], [name]Jennifer[/name], etc. I am amazed to find that even with [name]Sophia[/name] (#4) and [name]Ava[/name] (#5) being in the top ten in 2009, there were only 16,743 [name]Sophia[/name]'s, and 15,730 [name]Ava[/name]'s. In 1988, the #4 name was [name]Sarah[/name] and 28,338 babies were given this name. In the same year, the #5 name was [name]Jennifer[/name] and 27,879 were given this name. That’s over 11,000 more people named [name]Sarah[/name] than [name]Sophia[/name] while both were in the #4 position. There were over 12,000 more people named [name]Jennifer[/name] than [name]Ava[/name] while both were in the #5 spot.
I realize the statistics I listed were only comparing the years 1988 to 2009, but I actually did research on this from all of the names in the #4 and #5 position from 1980-1990 and compared them to names in the #4 an #5 position from 1999-2009. The difference is HUGE! There were a lot more [name]Jennifer[/name]'s and [name]Sarah[/name]'s then than there are [name]Sophia[/name]'s and [name]Ava[/name]'s now!
I can relate - the name [name]Sophia[/name] has been one of my favorites since childhood, when I met a woman named [name]Sofia[/name] and thought it sounded exotic and pretty. While it’s a very well-used name today, it’s still one of the most beautiful names I can think of, and I hate that I wasn’t able to use it myself even though I love it so much. I love [name]Ava[/name] too…and [name]Eva[/name] pronounced like [name]Ava[/name] is absolutely gorgeous. I’m thinking about using [name]Sophia[/name] as a middle name for my [name]Juliet[/name], just because I think I’ll regret not using the name just because of its popularity.
You should go ahead and use them if that’s what you really love. I think [name]Ava[/name] and [name]Sophia[/name] are amazingly beautiful names. [name]Sophie[/name]/[name]Sophia[/name] was my favorite girls name for years, and i only found out how popular it was when I started researching. If you don’t care about them being popular then go ahead. [name]Ava[/name] and [name]Sophia[/name] are both still very stylish. They’re still newly popular, so while there are a lot of babies with those names, a lot of people don’t know about those names. Names like [name]Emily[/name] and [name]Madison[/name] feel dated while still being popular because they’ve been on top for quite awhile. People meet a lot of babies and twenty year olds named [name]Emily[/name] and [name]Madison[/name], while you only meet children and no adults named [name]Sophia[/name] and [name]Ava[/name].
Your research on the actual numbers is very interesting and definitely gives support to the idea that using a popular name doesn’t mean the same thing now as it did even a couple of decades ago. I agree with the posters who said [name]Sophia[/name] was classic and [name]Ava[/name] more trendy – if you love [name]Sophia[/name], it’s really hard to see how you can go wrong with a name that’s classic, pancultural, and that has such a wonderful meaning, and is totally gorgeous besides.
I named my older son [name]Joseph[/name] and felt embarrassed as the author of ten name books – a very public name nerd!!! – to be choosing such a “common” name. But it’s always been my favorite name and has a lot of significance in our families. I don’t think [name]Joe[/name] has ever been in school with another [name]Joe[/name] or [name]Joseph[/name] and I still love the name as much as ever. Very glad I chose it.
And since you also love [name]Siri[/name] – which is a great name – if you choose [name]Sophia[/name] and end up feeling flooded by too many Sophias in your neighborhood, I think [name]Siri[/name] could make a very nice [name]Sophia[/name] nickname. Good luck!
Wow! Okay, I am feeling SO much better. I seriously appreciate all of your support! I’m also thankful to see that I’m not the only one who has struggled with this issue.
Daisy451 and [name]Pam[/name], I [name]LOVE[/name] your idea of calling [name]Sophia[/name] “[name]Siri[/name]” as a nickname. I think that some family and friends may have a hard time reaching a connection between the two, but I also think that as long as I call her that, they will hopefully soon follow. Who said that nicknames have to be “run of the mill”?
I love the idea of using the nickname [name]Siri[/name] for [name]Sophia[/name]. That’s a great idea!
I always said I would never name my children popular names, but I said that before my favorite names became popular. Plus, you’re right. Popularity isn’t the same thing as it used to be so go with your favorite name and you can’t go wrong.
Some have dismissed it as trendy but I think [name]Ava[/name] (no matter how it is spelled) is just graceful and lovely. It doesn’t have the historical roots of [name]Sophia[/name], but this is classy name with a timeless feel.
I like [name]Eva[/name] [name]Sophia[/name] very much. Congratulations on going with your heart.
Novakitty, I think [name]Eva[/name] [name]Sophia[/name] is gorgeous! It’s funny because I know a couple who just had a little girl they named [name]Ava[/name] [name]Sophia[/name], only because they couldn’t decide between [name]Ava[/name] and [name]Sophia[/name].
Plus, you’re right. Popularity isn’t the same thing as it used to be so go with your favorite name and you can’t go wrong.