Anyone else worried about their favorite names skyrocketing to the top 10/25/50/whatever? I feel like a lot of my favorites, for both genders, are just on the verge of mega popularity right now. Maybe it’s because I have a slightly hipster taste in names (I’m not a hipster in real life, but man I love their taste in names) but I worry about this a lot.
[name]How[/name] popular do you think these are going to get, really? [name]Do[/name] you see them entering the top 100, 50, 25, etc. in the next few years?
[name]Stella[/name] (#73 in 2011)
[name]Vivian[/name] (#154 in 2011)
[name]Penelope[/name] (#169 in 2011, but with the Kardashian baby I think it’s going to be the next [name]Isabella[/name])
[name]Henry[/name] (#57 in 2011)
[name]Oscar[/name] (#162 in 2011)
[name]August[/name] (#398 in 2011… okay, it’s further down in the rankings but it’s my all-time favorite, so I worry!)
Would you still use one of your favorite names if it became super popular? (In your opinion of course, some people anything in the top 1000 is too popular and others only the top 5 or 10) What if it had a particular meaning to you - like family significance, etc.?
I’m with you if [name]Aurora[/name] or [name]August[/name] rise much higher than they already are I might explode with frustration. [name]Aurora[/name] jumped from 488 in 2000 to 183 in 2011. [name]August[/name] went from 613 in 2000 to 398 in 2011. (http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/babyname.cgi) I fear your picks might be riding the popularity wave right now. I was checking out the ssa site for the past 100 years and it’s not super promising they will become much less popular. That said with the exception of Stella non of these names are really all that common. Remember that a berries love for names and our discussion online can skew how we see things in comparison to the rest of the world.
[name]Stella[/name] - the number suggest the 100 year boost. It’s probably going to drop into near obscurity but not anytime soon. But it’s about as popular as it ever was. So maybe it will stay where it is.
[name]Vivian[/name] - might be hitting it’s 100 year boost as well. Can you wait about 15-20 years to have kids? Cause then you might be golden.
[name]Penelope[/name] - has gained popularity so fast it’s almost dizzying. I think it might be destined to soar quite a bit higher with it’s new celebrity status. (Seriously approx 800 spots in 10 years). (If you like [name]Penelope[/name] how do you feel about [name]Persephone[/name] according to the ssa site it hasn’t hit the top 1000 in 100 years).
[name]Henry[/name] - I don’t think this one has ever really made it out of the top 200 is very classic. I’d expect it to go up some and then drop down when the market gets flooded.
[name]Oscar[/name] - this one also hasn’t made it below 245 in the past 100 years. Have a feeling it’s on an up-wave.
[name]August[/name] - also one of my favorites and I’m praying it stays right where it is. (or loses some favor - maybe you and I should try to suggest people name their child [name]September[/name] instead so they forget about our beloved [name]August[/name]).
I see all the girls names growing in popularity, especially [name]Penelope[/name]. For the boys I don’t see [name]August[/name] going too high, and [name]Henry[/name] is classic so popularity doesn’t matter too much to me. [name]Oscar[/name] will probably shoot up a lot though.
I would still use a name if I really liked the name, especially if it is a family name. If a celebrity used one of my family names or even one of my favorite names that aren’t family related, I would still use it and ignore people who think you are using it because of the celebrity. At first popularity mattered to me a lot, but I don’t care too much about it anymore. I still get scared that my favorite names will hit big time status though.
I have hipster name taste as well, but I am not hipster at all. Actually my husband has a middle name that is considered hipster and I will still use it, even if all the hipsters are using it because it has significance to me.
My guess is the two biggest jumps for girls next year will be [name]Stella[/name] and [name]Penelope[/name], but I do not think [name]Penelope[/name] is going to be the next [name]Isabella[/name] by any means. I do not see [name]Penelope[/name] jumping 150 spots because a Kardashian used it, but, it could definitely make an appearance in the top 100.
I think the only name in the top 50 would be [name]Henry[/name] because it is a classic.
I would still use a name if I really liked it, despite the popularity rise.
I don’t see any of them hitting the top 10 any time soon. I’ve only met one [name]Oscar[/name] in my life and was born in 2006 when it was at 118 (the 2nd highest it’s been in 11 years).
If a family name that I wanted to use became super popular I’d still use it. If it was a name I loved I’d still probably use it but for me anything outside of the Top 20 is fair game. Especially considering my own name was #49 for the year I was born and I’ve only met one other [name]Erin[/name] my age.