Is Eloise going to get really popular?

General Name Discussion
1

So, I just compared the popularity charts on Nameberry for all three of the names we have chosen for our daughters (the two we already have and the one that is on the way) and it seems like we seem to like names that were kind of dormant for a while and then recently (in the last few years or so) experienced a spike in popularity.

We have:

[name]Adelaide[/name] – 2006 (#924), 2010 (#434) – jumped roughly 500 spots in 4 years.

[name]Isla[/name] – 2008 (#623), 2010 (#297) – jumped roughly 300 spots in 2 years.

     Our daughter's name is actually [b]AILA[/b], which Nameberry doesn't have a listing for.  But really, since it sounds like [name]Isla[/name], I kind of figure the stats for [name]Isla[/name] kind of apply anyways because people usually hear a name first before they see it, so she'll get lumped in with any Islas that are around anyways.

and for the girl we’re expecting, our current top name is

[name]Eloise[/name] – 2009 (#917), 2010 (#530) – jumped roughly 400 spots in a year!

It was so interesting to compare the charts of these three names. We have tried to choose names that we like and that aren’t too popular, but it looks like we’ve ended up choosing names that are all on their way up, up, up! We’re not really ahead of the curve, it looks like we’re right in the middle of the curve. So, if the curves for these names keep rising, my guess is that in 5-10 years (in which time, of course, anything could happen with naming trends) these names might peak and there’ll be more than a few Adelaides, Islas, and Eloises in amongst the babes born.

Oh well, popularity can’t really be foretold or predicted, at least not in the long term. What’s important is that we pick names we really like, even if it seems like other people are latching onto them at the same time. I just hope that in 10, 20, 30 years, none of these names will feel dated in the same way [name]Jennifer[/name] and [name]Heather[/name] shout 70s/80s.

Obviously my question about whether or not [name]Eloise[/name] is going to get REALLY popular can’t be answered with any certainty, but I’ve been wondering about a couple of things.

  1. [name]Will[/name] the fact that [name]Denise[/name] [name]Richards[/name] just used the name influence a spike in it’s use amongst the general population? Or, is she more of a ‘B’ list celebrity whose name choice won’t have as much impact as say someone like [name]Julia[/name] [name]Roberts[/name] or [name]Angelina[/name] [name]Jolie[/name]?

  2. Someone recently asked me if we got the name from the television show “Lost”. I was a little taken aback by this because I don’t really want people to think that we got our daughter’s name from a TV show. I have never seen the show “Lost” and therefore didn’t even know there was a character named [name]Eloise[/name]. [name]Do[/name] you think this show influenced the sharp spike in its popularity? [name]Will[/name] most people think we named her after the character on this show? (Usually people reference the [name]Eloise[/name] at the Plaza books, which doesn’t bother me since I’m much more appreciative of literary references than TV/movie references. Though I’m not very familiar with the [name]Eloise[/name] books, not yet at least.)

Wow, sorry for the lengthy post. I’m curious to know what some of you think about the popularity of these names. I already know that they all seem quite popular amongst users of this site.

Thoughts, comments, observations?

2

I just realized this post might have been more appropriate under the “Talk About Names” forum, but I thought that it might get more traffic here. It still kind of applies to this forum as well since it’s about the name we’re thinking about using for the baby we’re expecting.

Should I move it?

3

um… simply put. No. Nothing greater than a 400 rank would ever be considered “popular” and I would assume [name]Louise[/name] would become more popular before [name]Eloise[/name] ever would. Names can jump around the ranks pretty greatly when they’re that low because all it would take is a couple hundred people to shoot a name up. It not until you hit #1-200 that you’ll see less movement since the volume is higher.

4

Regarding [name]Eloise[/name], I think it will get top 100 level popular. It’s only 530 now, but to make a leap of 400 spots in only one year is enormous. ( compared to the more gradual climb of [name]Adelaide[/name]).
I would not worry about [name]Eloise[/name] being a dated name ala [name]Heather[/name] or [name]Jennifer[/name]; it is a classic name with much history behind it. Maybe the jump is a response to the return of using this style of naming.

As to associations the name has: I don’t think [name]Denise[/name] [name]Richards[/name] carries much influence, but I’m not sure a star’s power is necessarily = to will a name jump up in popularity. For example [name]Nicole[/name] [name]Ritchie[/name] kind of put [name]Harlow[/name] on the map, and she is not walking down the red carpet. I think it all depends on how cool ( if one can define that) the name is, and [name]Eloise[/name] has that cool factor at the moment [name]IMO[/name].

Regarding Lost: Interesting! Well many Lost fans have all of the names ever used deeply ingrained into their head … ( I speak as one of them!) [name]Eloise[/name] Hawking was not a main character ala [name]Kate[/name], [name]Jack[/name], [name]Sawyer[/name], but she was a very mysterious and powerful one and she was brilliantly portrayed by Fionnula [name]Flanagan[/name], so she left a big impression. That being said, outside of the Lost fandom, I don’t think anyone would have this association. So in the long run this is not an association I would worry about.

5

It’s a little silly too say that nothing ranking below 400 would ever get popular—just look at today’s top 10 list! [name]Aiden[/name], [name]Noah[/name], [name]Jayden[/name], [name]Isabella[/name], [name]Madison[/name], [name]Chloe[/name], etc. were all down well below 400 not that many years ago. When my little cousin was named [name]Ruby[/name] in the late 80s, I remember my mom saying “well, to each his own…at least she’ll never meet another one!” Today, [name]Ruby[/name]'s flirting with the top 100 and they’re all over our city.

Names rise in popularity in waves, and it’s a little hard to predict where [name]Eloise[/name] will land, or whether it will rise fast enough to matter for your child (since I think it’s really the very rapid rises into the top 100 that make names seem trendy/dated). I will say that we know several under age 2 in our urban area (and a whole lot more Eleanors, so I think some [name]Eloise[/name] parents are choosing it as an [name]Eleanor[/name] alternative to get to the [name]Ellie[/name] nickname), but names that are popular here aren’t always reflected in the national stats (e.g., we also know several Hazels, which is down in the low 200s nationally—and I have yet to meet an actual [name]Aiden[/name] or [name]Jayden[/name], even though the names are in the top 10 nationally). So a lot of it may depend on where you live. I actually think [name]Eloise[/name] will rise before [name]Louise[/name] does for a couple of reasons: first, it has the [name]Ellie[/name] nickname that people seem to love right now, and second, [name]Louise[/name] was relatively common in the [name]Baby[/name] Boom generation, whereas [name]Eloise[/name] wasn’t, so for a lot of people, [name]Louise[/name] feels like a “mom” name (though its actual peak was in the 1910s) while [name]Eloise[/name] feels more like a “grandma” name. The grandma names are the ones that seem to be climbing fast today, as you’ve already discovered with [name]Adelaide[/name]. (And in that vein, I do think we may see [name]Louisa[/name] climb a bit!)

I wouldn’t worry about the Lost association—it didn’t even cross my mind, even though we just finished Lost fairly recently. And, as bluedahlia said, she was a positive character, not a negative one. (Ditto for the children’s book, which I do associate with the name, but in a good way.) I don’t think the name will be too dated, but I do think there’s a good possibility she’ll know others or at a minimum be in the mix with some Eleanors and Elles that could make it feel like a more common name than it is. But that said, I love the name and we would have considered it had it not been too similar to another family name! Use it if you love it and are okay with your daughter potentially sharing it with a few others—not the end of the world at all, and I don’t think it will ever rise to the top 10.

6

I definitely think [name]Eloise[/name] is going to get up there, but not for a few years at least. Name your daughters now, get ahead of that curve! I can see it being the next [name]Ruby[/name] or [name]Ella[/name].

7

I have a 38 [name]YO[/name] friend in an awesome band named [name]Eloise[/name]. I don’t think it will ever be a “dated” name and is a great choice. [name]Every[/name] name can be traced back to something is how I look at it!

8

Okay, I just wrote a reply and hit something on my computer by accident that brought me to the “Save Draft” page and now I can’t find where my saved draft is. Does anyone know where to find saved drafts?

9

Thanks for the replies. I can’t write much now, but I might respond in more detail later. Keep them coming though, I find this discussion interesting – especially the comment about grandma names vs. mom names. I think it’s so true that we are more drawn towards names that go back at least two generations rather than just one. For some reason I really don’t like the name [name]Louise[/name] or [name]Louisa[/name] despite how similar they are to [name]Eloise[/name].

As long a name isn’t currently in the top 100, the fact that it is rising in popularity won’t cause us to nix it if we really like it (which is the case with [name]Eloise[/name]).

I was one of many, many, many girls with my name throughout school and that is one of the main things we have wanted to avoid. I don’t mind so much if our [name]Eloise[/name] gets lumped in with other “[name]El[/name]-” names because I think we’ll probably use her full name most of the time with outsiders and possibly just use “[name]Ellie[/name]” (which DH has a soft spot for) amongst family. We don’t know ANY Eloises or Eleanors where we are, only a couple of Elises.

10

I highly doubt [name]Eloise[/name] will be really popular in the next few years. I imagine general population will find the name to be old fashioned as opposed to the cutesy sounding names that have been popular recently (zoe, bella, chloe, emma, ava, kaylee, gracie etc.)
[name]Eloise[/name] has class and style, and it’s one of my favorite names. I also don’t think you’ll have to worry about [name]Adelaide[/name], [name]Isla[/name] or [name]Eloise[/name] ever having their own decade.

11

[name]Eloise[/name] is my name and I have been wondering the same thing.
It’s already #89 in aus.
You should give your daughter the name now, before it does become popular.

12

Wow, it’s that popular in Austrailia eh? We’re in [name]Canada[/name] and don’t know any Eloises, just a couple of Elises/Elyses (which is a totally different name to my ears – less spunky, more reserved).

I wonder if it is bound to break the top 100 here or if it will plateau before it gets that popular.

[name]Addison[/name], [name]Abigail[/name], [name]Madison[/name], [name]Emma[/name], [name]Emily[/name], [name]Hannah[/name], [name]Isabella[/name], [name]Olivia[/name], [name]Michaela[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name] etc. These are all still holding strong near the top here and I can’t really see [name]Eloise[/name] jumping to the same level of any of these names.

13

My second daughters name is [name]Eloise[/name].

We picked it because of the family connection, but also because of the slight literary intonation. I really don’t care if it gets super popular and I have a feeling it might since it lends itself to so many nicknames, even though, hubby and I don’t use them.

I think that [name]Eloise[/name], will be a name that will stand the test of time, no matter how popular or unpopular.

[name]Just[/name] remember too, that even though a name jumps up 400 spots in one year, it could just as easily fall 400 spots the next.

14

I think it’ll get more popular based on the buzz I’ve heard on this site, but I don’t think it will be [name]Isabella[/name] popular.

I agree with whoever said that the name is classic enough to withstand popularity. I know a TON of Emilys and Catherines but I still find them to be nice names. Right now I don’t think the name is super-popular so she wouldn’t have to deal with the 10-classmates-with-the-same-name thing either.

Beautiful choice! I may have already suggested, but [name]Elodie[/name] is similar and seems to be less popular if you’re interested.

15

Thanks for the responses.

I’m glad to hear that most people think that [name]Eloise[/name] is classic enough to withstand a burst of popularity and not become ‘dated’.

Someone commented that she doesn’t think [name]Eloise[/name], [name]Isla[/name] or [name]Adelaide[/name] will ever have their own ‘decade’ – I think that, moreso than just general popularity, is my biggest ‘fear’. While I would rather my girls not be one of a bunch with the same name (in school, or church, or our neighbourhood, or social circles) since I grew up with that and hated being numbered or having to always use my last initial along with my first name, I also don’t want their names to scream “I was born in 200_”!

There do seem to be a lot of posts on Nameberry lately of people saying [name]Eloise[/name] is their top choice or one of their top choices for their next baby girl. Definitely seems to be one of the more popular names with users of this site right now. Though I have seen people comment that what is popular amongst nameberries isn’t necessarily what is popular or what will become popular amongst the general population (i.e. nameberries tend to favour specific types/styles of names that are somewhat different than what is on trend in the general population).

@anniebee – I did have [name]Elodie[/name] on my list near the beginning of this pregnancy, but DH nixed it. When he ‘hears’ it all he hears are the letters L.O.D. I think it’s probably also slightly more beautiful sounding when spoken by a French speaker. It feels a bit more exotic to me than [name]Eloise[/name], so I guess [name]Eloise[/name] feels like a slightly ‘safer’ choice (which doesn’t really matter since DH really doesn’t like [name]Elodie[/name] anyways).

16

Yes, I was actually thinking the same when I typed (about L-O-D) but I figured I’d throw it out there anyway.

I think you are right about berries having more name hype than the actual name. For instance, [name]Violet[/name] is uber-popular but I’ve never heard it in real life. I do think that it’s possible though not necessarily probable that a name on here will grow to be a lot more popular, but I really don’t think the name would ever be “so 2011”.

17

[name]Hi[/name],

I’m in Australia and I would have to say YES. It is becoming more and more popular. I named my daughter [name]Harper[/name] 6 years ago and look how that name has flown up the charts!!

[name]Eloise[/name] is a gorgeous name and a great pick over [name]Ella[/name], [name]Emily[/name] and other what I call ‘pretty’ names. One of my best friends is french and her eldest is [name]Eloise[/name] and her other daughter is [name]Anais[/name]. I must say they do sound beautiful when spoken in a french accent :). Since the announcement of Posh and Becks calling their girl [name]Harper[/name] [name]Seven[/name], I’ve just had to get over my only daughter’s name becoming popular. I hope you still favour [name]Eloise[/name], it’s classic, pretty and goes perfectly with your first DD’s names :).

[name]Lane[/name]

18

I’m not sure if it will get as popular here in [name]Canada[/name] as it is in Austrailia, but you never know, right?!

I do like [name]Eloise[/name] over [name]Ella[/name], [name]Ellie[/name], [name]Emily[/name] etc. We had [name]Emmeline[/name] (nn [name]Emmy[/name]) on our list during our last pregnancy, but it felt too ultra-feminine for me (the full name at least) and we just didn’t get sold on it. Now we have a niece named [name]Emmalina[/name] (nn [name]Emmy[/name]), so that name is definitely out.

I think we will probably go with [name]Eloise[/name] in the end. Our 4 year old is already calling baby by this name so it might be hard to change it now anyways. We both like it and haven’t come across another name that we both really like this time.

I’m glad you think it goes well with our other daughter’s names, though I am a tiny bit worried that [name]Eloise[/name] and [name]Adelaide[/name] go together much better than [name]Eloise[/name] and Aila. We did notice that all our girls will have names that begin and end with vowels. Aila got a name that is culturally relevant to DH’s heritage, while [name]Eloise[/name] and [name]Adelaide[/name] will have names that are more vintage-y. They are all names we love, so that’s what matters most.

I’m curious to know what Australians think of [name]Adelaide[/name] as a name. I think I’ve read on some threads here that some Aussies don’t like [name]Sydney[/name] as a name, especially for girls. Does [name]Adelaide[/name] seem odd as a name to you?

19

What a great post! Eloise IS my top name for if I ever have another little girl. This name ticks all the right boxes fro me. I also picked an “up and comer” name for my DD (see my Siggie), but what mattered most to me is that I loved and always will, love the name :slight_smile:

Eloise is such a pretty, classic, childlike, whimsical, and vintage sounding name. And I do like the similiar Louisa very much, but it might not have that extra charm that I personally see in the name Eloise. I doubt it will ever become a top 10 name, but it’s so hard to predict. Sure, it jumped a lot over the past year, but I believe that once this name reaches into the top 200’s the popularity jumps will slow down. Once a name reaches into top 200 or top 100 territory it takes a LOT more babies named Eloise to make it climb the ranks. I do feel that it will get more popular though, and will reach into the top 100 and then top 50. But I don’t think it will become like “isabella or sophia, ect”, and I don’t think it will EVER feel dated. Think more along the lines of names like Emily or Caroline. Sure, they are popular, but are classic and beautiful.

All in all, I think Eloise is a wonderful choice for your daughter, and I wouldn’t let “potential” popularity stop you. If you mostly call her by her full name, then that is what will stick. I bet many mom’s will go straight for the Ellie nn, and call them that 95% of the time. It will, in turn, become their name. Nothing wrong with that, but I much prefere the full name used most often with maybe Ellie as an occasional nn or even occasionally, Elle,Ella, Elsie, Lo, Lola, Lu, Lulu, ect… And in that sense, this name will always be unique and uncommon.

I think you should go with what you love, regardless of what might or might not happen in the future. That’s what I have done and plan to do again :slight_smile: <3