Recently, I found out my husband LOVES the name [name_f]Aurora[/name_f]. It is significant to us for a couple of reasons (my hometown is called [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], and the definition is “dawn” which happens to be my Mum’s name!) We love the nickname [name_u]Rory[/name_u], and it goes well with other names we plan on using for our kids.
The only thing that deters me is its popularity. According to NameBerry, its #4 on the charts- [name_m]WAY[/name_m] too popular for us! The thing is, I’ve never met anyone named [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] or have ever heard it mentioned as a name friends may use for a baby. It’s pretty much brand-new to me.
I’ve tried to research if it is in fact as popular as NB suggests, but I havent found much. Can anyone tell me what their experiences are with this name? Is it a popular choice where you live? Is it a name just commonly searched for but is rarely used in reality? I just want to avoid naming my daughter a name that 5 other girls in her class will have. Also just want to add, I live in Canada!
I really like [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] and I’ve yet to encounter one - I do know of one person who named their daughter [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] recently though.
In the UK, [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] ranked 80 last year, so not too popular where I am, but not unheard of either.
In the US I know it’s at around 50, so it is on the rise, but not mega popular like [name_f]Emma[/name_f] or [name_f]Olivia[/name_f]
(not sure where you are, but if you happen to be in the US, you can check here Popular Names by State how many babies were named a name per state to get a better idea of popularity)
I know of one [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], born possibly two or three years ago. I’m in the UK. I don’t think you have anything to worry about here - names like [name_f]Lily[/name_f], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], [name_f]Isla[/name_f], and [name_f]Freya[/name_f] are much higher up.
I knew an [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] “[name_u]Rory[/name_u]” who is my age and I’ve met an [name_f]Arora[/name_f] (said the same way) who is around 5 or 6. They’re the only ones I’ve ever met. I wouldn’t be surprised to meet more girls with the name but I don’t think it will seem like the top ten names in terms of popularity. I’m in the U.S. but the [name_u]Rory[/name_u] I knew was in Michigan so little bit closer!
I can’t speak for [name_f]Canada[/name_f] but as an [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] myself and a European I can say that it’s very common in many European countries
I know 20 people named [name_f]Aurora[/name_f]…
I’m not a massive fan of [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], but it’s pretty and familiar, and not a bad name I really hate [name_u]Rory[/name_u] though on a girl, it’s still virtually exclusively a boys name in its country of origin, and I really dislike borrowing names from other cultures only to use them incorrectly.
As for popularity, I think it depends on where you live. It doesn’t look like [name_f]Canada[/name_f] publishes it’s name data as a whole, but each state does, so I’d look at your state’s data for popularity. I personally don’t know any, but I know of 2.
I wouldn’t have thought it at all popular, I don’t know any in real life - whereas [name_f]Sophie[/name_f], [name_f]Isla[/name_f], [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], [name_f]Emily[/name_f] seem to be popping up all over the place.
Looking at the NZ data though (cause it’s where I’m from and I know where to find it!), it does appear to be spiking, and last year reached number 67 on the name usage lists with 58 new babies in NZ named that. I wouldn’t consider rank #67 particularly popular, but it’s not rare, and I don’t know whether or not it will continue to increase in popularity or will head back down. Names of a similar popularity in NZ are [name_f]Pippa[/name_f], [name_f]Penelope[/name_f], [name_f]Sadie[/name_f], [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f], [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f], [name_f]Violet[/name_f], [name_f]Lilly[/name_f].
Seems like it’s got so much meaning for you that unless it ends up in the actual top 5 or top 10 it might be worth going with any way?
[name_f]Aurora[/name_f] is like [name_f]Aria[/name_f]. You occasionally see a child with the name, but it is nowhere near the [name_f]Sophia[/name_f]’s, [name_u]Madison[/name_u]’s and [name_f]Emma[/name_f]’s.
Hello! To answer your question, no, I have never met an [name_f]Aurora[/name_f]! It’s #4 on Nameberry, but berries do tend to favor less-common, highly feminine names. However, do be warned: Its 2017 popularity was #51, and it is trending steeply upward.
I can’t imagine t being that popular, but then again I don’t really know what babies are called these days. You should be able to find top 100 lists for your country/region for the last few years, and can use that to decide whether you’re comfortable with the popularity level
[name_f]Canada[/name_f] DOES release name data for the country, provinces and some cities. I’m sure I’ve seen links here on nameberry or try babycenter.ca or google. [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] was #90 in [name_f]Canada[/name_f] in 2018. Maybe that’s still too popular for you, but less popular than on Nameberry. I would recommend looking up its popularity in your province and if possible your city/town for more accurate info since specific locations have some surprisingly popular names.
I am an [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], and to be honest with you, I’ve only met a handful my whole life. I’ve had plenty of people say they know an [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], but I don’t personally know very many others. That could change considering it’s more popular now, and it’s rising.
There is an [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] at the swim school my kids go to. My mom’s neighbor also has a little granddaughter names [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] with the nickname [name_u]Rory[/name_u]. It’s becoming more popular for sure, but I am doubtful it will be as popular as names like [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] and [name_f]Emma[/name_f] are.
I have an 8 year old “[name_u]Rory[/name_u]” [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], and we’ve met just a few others over the years. It’s not all that often, and my daughter has been thrilled those few occasions. One is the baby cousin of a friend, one is at our small homeschool community (pretty unusual), and we met one at a park once. I love the imagery of her name, “[name_f]Dawn[/name_f]” and the aurora borealis, and I love how feminine and ethereal [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] is but how playful and down to earth [name_u]Rory[/name_u] is. It’s such a great name!
Nameberry is a worldwide thing so popularity can be skewed. Ex. I see [name_f]Louisa[/name_f] all over Nameberry. It’s an international name and ranked pretty high in the UK, but the US it was not nearly as high.
Berries are ahead of the curve. What’s popular on Nameberry isn’t necessarily popular in Real life, but if popularity was a concern I would avoid berry favorites too because the real world tends to follow
Popularity isn’t what it used to be. At 44 she will meet other Auroras but not be one of three in her class
To answer your question, I know three but only one is a baby, the other two are around 15. 44 (if it is that high) is higher than I like but you have so many reasons for liking it- I would use it anyways.
I know of one, 10, in Norway, and another, 2, here in Australia, but I honestly didn’t realise that [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] was getting so high on the charts/trending in so many places (going on previous comments). According to the Australian charts (at least one I could find), [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] was #60 last year, #69 the year before, and #84 in 2016 so it is definitely on the rise here. That said, it’s not overly commonplace or ubiquitous though (as in the likes of [name_f]Ava[/name_f], [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] etc.) so I don’t at all imagine she’d be one of many in her class - she might come across another from time to time, have a few in her school perhaps, but, that be the case with many names.
[name_f]Aurora[/name_f] “[name_u]Rory[/name_u]” is gorgeous, and as it has so much meaning to you, it would be a real pity for you not to use it. I understand the popularity concern completely though - one of my own favourites is Freyja, but with [name_f]Freya[/name_f] on such a rise lately (here, jumping 28 places last year; #52), it’s totally bothering me…
Edit: I wrote all of this from a US perspective and it sounds like you’re actually in Canada, I’m so sorry! To my understanding while not unpopular it doesn’t chart as high in the Canada. (I’m gonna go look it up now. )
While Aurora is more popular with the nameberry crowd then general naming stats, it is quite a popular name. I know multiple girls between the ages of 2 and 10 named Aurora.
In 2017 it ranked #51 in the social security top 1000 and has definitely been on an upward trend for the last few years. 2018 stats aren’t out yet, but I’d venture to guess it’s climbed higher. Depending on your state it also may be more or less popular than the national trend, so that’s something you can take a look at.
There are always a few discrepancies between what’s most popular on nameberry and what names are being given to the most ba ies, but I’ve found names that become very popular here often indicate that a name is climbing on the actually charts.
So as to whether or not Aurora is too popular? Really depends on what level of popularity you find too much and how much you love the name. For some folks just being out of the top 10 is good, for others outside of the top 50 or top 100. My personal hard line is outside the top 500 though I gravitate most to names that are barely charting or aren’t charting at all. You just have to figure out where your line is and whether or not the name falls on the favorable side of that line.