For people that have/have children that have “popular” names, how popular is too popular? [name_m]How[/name_m] often do you hear the top 50 names? the top 100? I have many friends names [name_f]Emily[/name_f] and their biggest problem with their name is that there are so many Emilys that it causes confusion.
So my question is, at what point do you consider a name unusable because of its popularity?
I would say look at statistics for certain names in your area. The top names now aren’t as common as the top names back then. For me if I know someone with the name personally (friend/family/neighbor) I wouldn’t use it because I just automatically loop it with that person and can’t shake it. That doesn’t make it unusable for everyone, it’s just a personal quirk. I’d prefer my kid to be the only so-and-so in class instead of 1 of 5 but if I truly love the name I’m not worried about the popularity. [name_f]Aria[/name_f] is a girl name I love and will use but it’s quite common although not in my area so it’s not a huge deal. [name_u]Harper[/name_u], [name_f]Mia[/name_f] and [name_f]Emily[/name_f] would be unusable in my town as they’re super common names around here.
I have a pretty common name and this is why I will try to use names that aren’t popular. My limit is the top 50 although I would make exceptions for a couple of my favorites.
I can’t even use stats, because it all varies by neighborhood. For example, I know zero Emmas, but three Violets. My personal limit is to hear a name three times. At that point, it’s way too common for me. I remember when I first heard [name_f]Isla[/name_f] and thought ‘ooh… so pretty and unique’ then I heard the name 5 times over the next year and it has totally lost its luster for me.
I have some names on my girl’s list that are very popular right now or used to be very popular, such as [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u], [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] and [name_f]Jessica[/name_f]. That isn’t an issue because they haven’t been trendy for years and years on end.
What I consider too popular are the names that remain in the top ten (or very close to it) for decade after decade. Namely [name_u]Michael[/name_u], [name_m]Matthew[/name_m] and [name_m]Nicholas[/name_m]. I have met SO many guys with those names that I’m sick to death of them. It seems like every other guy I meet, regardless of age, has one of those three names. There were nine guys named [name_u]Michael[/name_u] in my high school class and seven or eight [name_m]Matthews[/name_m]. That’s too many.
A name that has been in the top 15 since 1930 or so is what I define as being too popular.
Probably when the name is on the top 50 nationally and/or the top 75 on your area and/or the top 25 for any of the past 10 years. For example, I wouldn’t use [name_f]Uma[/name_f], [name_f]Mia[/name_f], [name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_f]Lucia[/name_f], [name_f]Valentina[/name_f]…
For me it has some to do with what is popular in my area and with my acquaintances. I stray away from over used Catholic names because I hear them a lot in my general circle even if they aren’t popular nationwide ([name_f]Theresa[/name_f], [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], [name_f]Bernadette[/name_f], etc.) Generally I think anything in the top 20 is pushing it popularity wise, though I would make exceptions for names I loved.
Although honestly, I have a very popular name (#4 the year I was born) and I’ve never had much of an issue with it. I run into people here and there with the same name, and there were even 3 girls with my name on my dorm floor freshman year of college, but I’ve never really found it confusing or annoying. I think if you love the name you should use it, even if it is super popular.
I don’t have any kids yet, but I’ve come to know that in my area, there’s such a mixture of styles (from popular like [name_f]Ella[/name_f], [name_m]Jackson[/name_m], [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], and [name_m]Luke[/name_m]) to [name_u]Berry[/name_u]-like names ([name_m]Henry[/name_m], [name_m]Jasper[/name_m], [name_f]Caroline[/name_f], [name_f]Iris[/name_f]) to made-up choices ([name_f]Nor[/name_f]@lys, X@vi@n) to Spanish gems ([name_m]Francisco[/name_m], [name_f]Mireya[/name_f], [name_f]Mariana[/name_f], [name_m]Fernando[/name_m]), to really trendy options ([name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f], Jaxxyn, Bentliegh, [name_u]Riley[/name_u]). I went to school with more kids with unusual names than popular ones, and, if I start a family here, my children likely will, too. Besides, the average now is that there’s about 1 child per grade who has a specific top-10 name (1 [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], 1 [name_f]Emma[/name_f], 1 [name_u]Madison[/name_u], 1 [name_u]Noah[/name_u], 1 [name_m]Liam[/name_m], etc., rather than just one child with a top 10 name in each grade), so I wouldn’t be too worried about picking a top 10 name. I grew up as an [name_u]Ashley[/name_u], and didn’t even go to school with another [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] until the 11th grade, but I grew up in private schools (as, likely, will my children). I would happily use [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], which has been in the top 3. I love [name_u]Noah[/name_u], but I wouldn’t use that, though. I don’t think I’d use a number 1 name, and maybe not a number 2, but I would a number 3? I know it’s not that different, but I think it’s just in my mind, haha.
The year I was born, my name was 18th most popular in the US. My daughter’s name was 18th most popular the year she was born.
I grew up with at least 1 (or more) other [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f]'s in my classes at school. Usually 2 or 3 others. In small groups it wasn’t too bad, like at private school and Girl Scouts and with friends, my [name_f]Emily[/name_f] and [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] friends had it much worse there.
So far, I’ve yet to meet another child with my daughter’s name. Actually, I’m fairly certain I’ve only met two Lillians, one being my great aunt and one being my pharmacist. I think a lot depends on area. I have a feeling if I looked up for our county, my name would be more popular than 18 in my year and gets would be less.
ETA I just looked it up. Mine was 23rd in my state in my birth year, and hers is 51st in hers. I guess that makes a pretty big difference.
For me, its got nothing to do with the stats. Its about how many I physically know are around me. For instance, I feel like everyone around me has been having a [name_f]Lacey[/name_f] or a [name_u]Jayden[/name_u] lately, and yet in [name_m]Wales[/name_m] they place 40 and 26. Yet the number 2 name on nameberry for [name_m]Wales[/name_m] is [name_f]Ava[/name_f] and I havent heard of a single one of them.
Basically, if I know of,or have heard of, lots of people around me using the same or similar names,then its popular
Like everyone’s been saying there are really many different variables involved in meeting people with “popular” names. I have known at least four [name_f]Emily[/name_f]'s and to date and probably over six [name_f]Emma[/name_f]'s in my generation. By all logic I should have meet more [name_f]Emily[/name_f]'s then [name_f]Emma[/name_f]'s being that [name_f]Emily[/name_f] was #2 for my state the year I was born and [name_f]Emma[/name_f] was all the way down at #48. My name was #88 one the same list and I’ve met or heard of through friends maybe five others with my name. Same goes for [name_f]Brianna/name_f. I’ve know four of them and only one [name_f]Jessica/name_f. I’ve never met an [name_f]Abigail[/name_f] (#33) but I’ve met two [name_f]Destiny[/name_f]'s (#97) I feel like there is no sure proof way to predict a.) how popular a certain name will be that year and b.)[name_m]How[/name_m] many of them you or you child will encounter in their life. Generally as a rule I try to stay out of the top fifty but that don’t stop me from liking a name. For instance [name_f]Hazel[/name_f] and [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f] have been long time favs of mine. As of last year they rank 39 and 48 respectively. That’s not stopping my love for those name. If anything I might just make me think a little long before I were to pick them as my child’s name.
I suppose Top 20 is a good place to start.
I named my daughter when we lived overseas, at the time [name_f]Ava[/name_f] was not a popular name in Germany. We moved home two years later to find it was the #1 name in the US! At worst, there were three [name_f]Ava[/name_f]'s in her class. I think with the variety of names currently favorable in this country, even the most popular isn’t as prolific as, say, thirty years ago. I have nine friends named [name_f]Susan[/name_f] born within twenty years of each other, same with [name_f]Katy[/name_f], [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], and [name_f]Rebecca[/name_f]. If you look at the actual number of whatever the top two or three names are, it is only in the thousand-ish range. Break that down by state, county, etc. and you probably won’t have too much of an issue.
I’m the type that starts to lose interest in a name as soon as I start hearing more than one kid have that name (at least when it comes to naming my children). I love some of the most popular names; [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], [name_f]Isabella[/name_f], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], etc. They are all very pretty. However, I don’t want my kids to be one of many so-and-so’s in a class so I try to go for unique names. I’ve never met a [name_u]Cruz[/name_u] in the city I live in (I’ve heard of one other [name_u]Cruz[/name_u]) and then I’ve never met another little girl with the name [name_f]Veda[/name_f] or heard of one. I am now on my 3rd and undecided on what this baby will be names, but you can bet it won’t be a [name_u]Noah[/name_u], [name_m]Liam[/name_m], [name_m]Jack[/name_m], [name_u]Carter[/name_u] or anything along those lines.
For me, ‘popular’ is anything in the top 50 in my country, plus any names I’ve heard a lot in parks or names of any babies I know born recently. I don’t want my kids to go to school with a dozen other kids with the same name, nor do I want them to share their name with the sons and daughters of people in my friendship circle, even people we don’t see often. Having said that I don’t feel I have to be completely unique and I don’t mind names like [name_m]Edmund[/name_m] that are timeless classics, even if it means they will never be out of the top 100.
I try to stay out of the top 100. I was born in 1990 and the 50th most popular girls name that year was [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f]. I know a ton of [name_f]Caitlin[/name_f]'s my age. In 2014 the 50th most popular girls name was [name_f]Sarah[/name_f]. I don’t know any babies named [name_f]Sarah[/name_f]. But I don’t have a very large pool to pull from. I only know family members and facebook friends babies names so [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] could be a lot more used then I think. Also the 100th most popular name last year was [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f] ( I don’t know any little [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f]'s) But the year I was born the 100th most popular name was [name_u]Shelby[/name_u] and I know a few [name_u]Shelby[/name_u]'s. So in general I would like to stay away from the top 100 but if I really really love it I could throw that rule out the window! ( [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f] temps me!)
The top hundred is too popular
I think it all depends on where you live. I generally try to use the Top 100 as a guide, but if I don’t know a lot of Sophias, and there aren’t many in my area, if I liked it, I would use it. Make sense?
Popularity doesn’t bother me. I have a very British taste in names, as that is where I’m from, and so my favourites are bound to be popular. However, I am bothered by the names I have heard endlessly throughout my school years and so names popular from my birth year (1996), such as [name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_f]Emily[/name_f], [name_f]Amy[/name_f] etc are a big no-go because I’m bored of them. I’m actually not at all bored of the top 5 names in [name_f]England[/name_f], because they’re still quite fresh and I haven’t heard of many. Maybe that’s because I don’t know many youngsters (I only know my 1 year old nephew, 3 year old cousin and 5 year old cousin’s names and then a few of their school/play friends). For example, my favourite names are [name_u]Jude[/name_u], [name_m]Reuben[/name_m], [name_m]Myles[/name_m], [name_f]Lily[/name_f], [name_f]Freya[/name_f] and [name_f]Arabella[/name_f]. They’re all quite over the place popularity-wise for the UK. I think I’ll have kids called [name_u]Jude[/name_u] and [name_f]Lily[/name_f] if I get my way in the future and I’m not the smallest bit bothered over it. My name is [name_f]Eryn[/name_f] and I know NO ONE called my name ([name_f]Eryn[/name_f] and [name_f]Erin[/name_f] spelling-wise) and it’s annoyed me because I want to find people who I can bond with just because of my name. In school, those who shared names had this special connection and I never got that. I don’t want my kids to be one of 5 who share their names but I don’t want them to feel like they’re the only ones in the world.
I don’t usually run off to check the popularity of names in my area but all the stats got me wondering ao I found out my name was #89 in the area I was born in my birth year. We moved when I was 8 and it was #67 (alternate spelled was higher up in both states #27 & #32)
That being said, I grew up being exclusively called by my nickname “[name_f]Katie[/name_f]” which is popular for many different full names and while I didn’t usually have more than one other “[name_f]Katie[/name_f]” in my classes I would constantly be turning my head in the halls as someone shouted for a different “katie.” Once this happened three times during one two-minute class change period.
I would define too popular as a name (or nickname) that I’ve met more than 3 people with. I would never give my children a first name that I knew another person with partially because I would associate that name with the person but also because I don’t want my children to grow up with a popular name/nickname like I did. It was incredibly frustrating.