How much does popularity influence your decision on names? We’ve been considering Sutton Anne for a girl but it’s rising in popularity. Our other girl name is rare (Winslet). Is it important for siblings names to be similar in popularity??
What do you consider too popular?
0 voters
Names are not as popular as they used to be. I see it in real life, some top 10 names I know grown ups with but haven’t met a baby/child with and some rare boy names like [name_u]Moe[/name_u] and [name_u]Lane[/name_u] I have met two of each both at our playgroup.
I consider names with popular sounds such as the way [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] sounds like [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f], not just the ranking. And I consider combining spelling variations.
I think is nice for sibling names to feel similar in popularity but it isn’t the most important factor to me.
[name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] could have [name_u]Henry[/name_u] as a sibling, both similar popularity…or [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] could have the less popular [name_f]Lavinia[/name_f] as a sister and the style fits them together for me.
Top 20 is a no go for me, top 50 I’d probably avoid but i might consider, the rest of the top 100 really depends. I’ll be honest, I’ve worked with kids and teens, so some of the most popular names really are overdone and lacklustre for me now
For siblings, I think style is usually more important to me than perfectly matched popularity and I have met sibs that work depsite popularity disparity. (Lucy and H3len, 0liv!a and Ed!e, Ta11ulah and Fl0rence for example), but I probably wouldn’t do something like [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] and [name_f]Ferelith[/name_f] or [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] and [name_f]Morwenna[/name_f].
I’m the same!
Mismatched popularity between siblings doesn’t bother me, and I really like Winslet and Sutton together. 
And Sutton Anne is beautiful.
I don’t have a specific number where I’d stop considering a name, it’s more like it happens on its own. When a name has been too popular for a while, it becomes boring and/or I start picturing it on a little brat. I don’t have to rule it out, I just don’t like it any more. But we’re talking like 10 years in the top 20 here.
I consider a name too popular if I hear it a lot in everyday life. Unlike a lot of name nerds I don’t care about name statistics. But I want to avoid my children having three other Maximilians or Leni’s in their class group, or having half the playground look at you when you call your Noah.
ETA: when I say “I don’t care about name statistics” I don’t mean I don’t find them interesting. I just don’t let it influence which names I love or would possibly use.
exactly this, but i also consider names that have been popular for a while!
let’s say james fell out of the english top 50. i still wouldn’t use it, because while it may be less popular for little babies you’d still meet a hundred gazillion older kids/adults called james
Yes, also this! I was trying to think of a way to express that!
To be entirely honest, I would use a #1 name if it were the right name. No name is by default too popular to me (although some might lose their sparkle).
When you live in an area with a fairly low population, popularity is not a big deal, unless we’re talking about top 10/20 names. I could name my daughter [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f] (a name that isn’t technically “unpopular” since it ranks in the 100s in my country) and there’s a good chance she would be the only girl in the entire school with that name, or one of only a couple.
I don’t think it’s important for sibling names to be similar in popularity.
No, I think the names just have to match in style . [name_f]Winslet[/name_f] is adorable!
This is something that everyone has to decide for themselves. There’s no right or wrong answer. Some people want to bestow a child with a really unique name that they might be the only person they know in their entire lives with that time. Others want to name a child a very popular name so that everyone will know how to spell/pronounce it. Others might choose a name and not care about the popularity at all.
Personally, I like rarer names so when a name creeps into the top 200 (or top 300/400 with a sharp upward trajectory) I start reconsidering. I might delegate it to a middle-only spot. But some names I love enough to overlook their popularity, like [name_f]Athena[/name_f] or even [name_m]Isaac[/name_m]. Top 20 is definitely a no-go for me, and top 50 or even 100 is usually a no (again, there are exceptions like Isaac).
FWIW, I wouldn’t even consider [name_u]Sutton[/name_u] a very popular name. For the moment, it’s in that sweet spot of familiar but not overly popular. It’s currently at 244, though on an upward trajectory so likely to rise, but I don’t see it hitting, like, top 50 (sorry if I just jinxed you). For comparison, I was born in 1995 - number 244 that year was [name_m]Kristopher[/name_m] and [name_f]Arianna[/name_f]. I’ve never met a [name_m]Kristopher[/name_m] and only one [name_f]Arianna[/name_f].
Very loosely Top 100 for me. But there are a few I’d consider anyway because I love them and they have a distinctive sound, with not much else sounding like them. [name_m]Felix[/name_m] is the main example that springs to mind here (I’m in the UK).
If my OH had only liked more popular, classic names, I would have been able to compromise on below Top 20ish, I think. Names like [name_f]Anna[/name_f] and [name_f]Zara[/name_f], [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] and [name_m]Louis[/name_m] – popular, but not ubiquitous, at least for babies.
I’d also prefer to rule out less popular names that feel disproportionally popular in my area. [name_u]An[/name_u] example from where I live would be [name_f]Ottilie[/name_f], which I feel like I hear everywhere even though it’s technically below the Top 100 in my country.
Growing up I always hated my super popular name and swore up and down I’d never name my child anything in the top 1000. Then when it was actually time to name a baby, our top name was around the 300 mark. Then I kept checking all our runners up… A lot of them were within the top 300-500. I had to decide what was more important, some arbitrary number or how much I actually loved a name. I was super nervous the name we picked was too popular, but then as we started telling people all we heard was “wow you never hear that one!” “Oh that’s so unique!” Even from his doctors and nurses at the hospital and at his doctors’ offices, and they obviously hear names constantly. So while I’d still rule out a name that’s too popular, like Ava, I don’t like to pay attention to the number ranking as much anymore.
Also as a few others mentioned there are some names that technically don’t rank very high but still just feel really popular and overdone to me. Maybe it’s my area or the people I follow online or whatever, but if the same name keeps popping up all the time I’ll probably take that into consideration over the actual nationwide ranking.
to be honest, i really only think top 10 is a bit too popular. i wouldn’t use olivia as a first or anything, but id be fine with using a top 10 for amelia or charlotte haha
I don’t really consider anything too popular for my taste, as long as the name doesn’t begin to bore me. Maybe because I have a rare name myself? I don’t think I’d be bothered if there were many kids in a class with the same name. I haven’t gotten to name any yet, so maybe that’ll change, but as of now I think that the Top 10—200 has a reason for those names: people like them! There’s always going to be a top 10, 100, etc. so don’t let that deter you from choosing a name! I spent a lot of time in the US Top 100 yesterday for a topic, and I didn’t see [name_u]Sutton[/name_u], so while it is growing in popularity, it isn’t crazy popular and by the time people think to use it she’ll be older than those kids. Anyways, I hope my little rant helped!! [name_u]Sutton[/name_u] [name_u]Anne[/name_u] is a beautiful name!! 
For me, for the girls from #41 is okay (Margherita is #41, has 990 girls born in 2020 and 0.50% percentage on all births).
For the boys from #46 is okay (Noah is #46, has 997 boys born and has 0.78% percentage).
[name_f]My[/name_f] line: All names with under 1000 births (usually this line starts to be drawn in around top 41-47 here) can be considered, above 1000 births I will not even touch them, unless I really love that name!
Ideally, I think I would try to avoid the top 100, but I also wouldn’t let name popularity deter me from using a name if it was the right one.
I like a very rare name for first names. Bonus points if it’s out of the top 1000 in the US, or I would choose a name that ranks below the top 500.
I voted other because popularity doesn’t really affect my opinion of a name’s usability. Some of my favorites are names that are common names that won’t feel unusual even they are no longer in the top 100 (Mary, [name_f]Laura[/name_f], [name_m]Peter[/name_m], [name_u]Timothy[/name_u], etc).
I might hesitate if a name is in the top 20. But I would still use my favorite names even if they become super popular.