At what point is a name too popular for you to want to use? Top 10, 20, 50, 100? Also, do you look into what’s popular in your area more (The United States has popularity ranking for all 50 states) or the % of the population with that name? I’m very interested in how people gage what is too popular for their child’s name.
I usually shy away from names in the top 100 and usually what I do,(I know that this is weird) but if I know a lot of people by a name(like [name_f]Nicole[/name_f],[name_f]Natalie[/name_f],[name_u]Madison[/name_u],[name_f]Olivia[/name_f]) I tend to stay away from those names because they are mega-popular in my circle. But I do like to check the charts before I put anything on my list.I am far away from having children so popularity will change and I might maybe be able to use some now poplar names later.
I would try to stay out of the top 50. I have 3 daughters and 2 have out of the top 1000 names and 1 has a top 100 name which is much more popular in [name_m]New[/name_m] Zealand, though I have never met a matilda that wasn’t my matilda. Once you are having kids and your friends are having kids that changes things too. Then you want to avoid friends names, friends babies names, acquaintances babies names… And so on! Nz doesn’t have any popularity by area like the States does, but if a name is out of the top 100 then there would be hardly any babies with that name due to the size of the population. For example matilda was number 80 in her birth year, with 56 babies born. In 2013 [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] was number 1 with 303 baby charlottes born.
I probably would try and stay away from the top 50 but if I love something I would use it. Names vary so much more now that it doesn’t bother me as much. [name_m]Even[/name_m] with how high the name is on the list, actual numbers of children with that name are not that high. That being said I adore Irish names or names with Celtic origin (Welsh or Scottish) so those names aren’t as likely to be high on the list.
I will (probably) not seriously consider any name in the Top 10, but popularity doesn’t concern me so much. That being said, we will probably be on the 2015 Top 1000 list before I start seriously considering any name. I dislike and like many names, but their popularity or lack thereof isn’t usually part of the reason(s) as to why. I don’t like [name_u]Madison[/name_u] or [name_m]Ethan[/name_m], but that’s just because I don’t like the names themselves, not because they’re popular. By the same token, I don’t automatically like names just because they’re unusual.
I would be hesitant to use top 100 for a girl and top 10 for a boy. Although, I would place more importance on the rankings for the state where I plan to raise them compared to the final SSA rankings.
So far the only name that is too popular for me to use is [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] and this was before my niece was born, it’s in the top 3 for my state ([name_f]Victoria[/name_f] Australia) if I remember correctly. I just know way too many people with the name both friends, family, nieces, I’ve been working at my current job for just over 5 months and there have been 4 birth announcements of baby [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]'s.
Top 10 for my state would probably be a little too popular for me, my bf however likes names that he can’t associate with a person as he has never met one. Think [name_f]Clover[/name_f], [name_m]Abel[/name_m] etc. But overall I tend to avoid a name when I know more than 5 people with that name.
I love [name_f]Clover[/name_f]!
Popularity doesn’t really concern me since the popularity of a name can change quite quickly. I can pick a name outside the Top 1000 and tomorrow some celebrity might use that name and suddenly two years down the road it’s sitting at number 10. Or it could go the opposite way and I choose a popular name that becomes associated with something very negative ([name_f]ISIS[/name_f], [name_f]Katrina[/name_f], etc).
The only sort of popularity I might be concerned with are those in my social groups. I’ve noticed that people, women especially, are ridiculously possessive when it comes to names, as though they own them once they’ve given it to their kid. It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. Depending on the name and depending on the friend or acquaintance it’s related to, I may decide not to use it. However, if I really like a name and someone family has used it for their kid and if I worry that I will lose them as friends if I use it for my own, then it’s probably time to lose that friend.
I personally would not use a top 10 name, I work in childcare so I hear those names so much.
I probably would go for somethink atleast outside the top 20. I would love to use all names outside the top 100 but a lot of my favorites have creeped into the top 100 in the past few years and I love them too much to give them up!
If it’s in the top 400 I usually avoid it, but I shouldn’t say that because there’s acouple names that I love that are more popular. I mean like if it’s popular it’s also usually safe to use & it must not be a terrible name of thousands of others or hundreds even chose it for their own kids, you know? That’s just the way I see it. I don’t want to name my child something that O don’t think feels right or sounds weird just for the sake of it being ‘uncommon’ because that stuff changes each year all the time. Who knows maybe the ‘uncommon’ name will be up in the top 200 yen or fifteen years from now. That’s why I try not to base my name choices too much on how popular they are. I wouldn’t preger to name my kid something common and have thousands of other kids that have it and five others in their classes, so I usually avoid the top 100 at least or would just use it as a mn
I prefer names below the top 100, but honestly if I love a name I don’t care if it is number one rank. Rank one is not as high in percentage as it used to anyway. I’m years away from having children so the rankings will change (hopefully in my favor). I do monitor the popularity just because I find it interesting. I monitor the number of children born with the name instead of percentage because I think it is more informative. I monitor both the national and my home state popularity. I think the state popularity is more important because it shows what the children you will actually be meeting will be called.
I don’t care for popularity, but as long as the name I use isn’t a top 10 name in the town I live in, that’s cool with me. The names I like which are common right now (according to the birth listing from my local hospital) aren’t in the top 10 here, thankfully.
Popularity doesn’t concern me. If I love a name, I’d use it. I’d maybe think about it if I personally knew 13 [name_u]Noah[/name_u]'s and 10 [name_f]Violet[/name_f]'s, but otherwise it means nothing to me. For example, my nephew is a [name_m]Caiden[/name_m], and I think his name is perfect. He may know other Caidens, as well as Aidens, Jaydens, Hadens, Braedons, whatever, but oh well. It fits him well, his parents loved it, the end.
I would definitely at least stay out of the Top 50, if not 100…
I like to stay outside the top 100 for first names. For middle names it doesn’t matter.
I would definitely stay away from the top 100 in naming my children, possibly the top 200 or 300, although I wouldn’t say goodbye to my favourite names just because they entered that zone.
I try to stay out of the top 50 but if I love a name it will go on my list. Popularity isn’t massively important to me as long as I like the name then I will use it. I think people get too caught up in the popularity of a name instead of just using the name that they love the most. A name that’s in the top ten in your country might not even be popular in your area.