My name is [name]Jessica[/name] and I was born in 1996 when it was the 2nd most popular name. I’ve had situations where there were 3 Jessicas in my class (I always see that being used on these boards as the situation that you want to avoid at all costs), but I’ve never really felt like the popularity of my name was a bad thing. People can always pronounce it and spell it and they don’t have preconceived notions of what I should be like because since there are so many, everyone knows different types of Jessicas. So my point is, is having a really popular name really that bad? [name]Do[/name] any of you have really popular names (or really unpopular names?) and have an opinion about it?
I’m a [name]Sarah[/name] and I was one of four in my class in high school. Having a popular name is fine. I certainly never wished I was named anything else. However, when I hear of parents choosing a very popular name for their child, I wonder why. To me, it’s just so unimaginative! I know a couple who just named their daughter [name]Emily[/name]. I was like, “Seriously? There’s a million names out there and you choose [name]Emily[/name]?” Of course, there’s nothing wrong with the name [name]Emily[/name], but it’s so overused (not unlike [name]Jessica[/name] and [name]Sarah[/name]). I just think naming a child is an amazing opportunity and it’s often squandered when people choose super-popular names.
I’m an [name]Ashley[/name], and I have major beef with popular names because of it. I never hated it growing up, (and still don’t,) but I do hate that it seems unoriginal, common, and boring. I’m inspired by the unique and creative, so having such a common name was always a downer for me. Yes, there are positives. I never had to tell people how to pronounce my name, and it was usually always spelled correctly. I guess I prefer it over having a kre8iv name.
But I really don’t feel like my name fits my personality, and that’s the bottom line. I never thought it was cool that there were 4 other Ashleys in my class. It never made me feel like I “fit in” or was in some sort if cool club. Frankly, I got kind of tired of always being “[name]Ashley[/name] R.” But again, that’s my personality. I know people with very popular names who think its great. To each his own.
No, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with popular names and it seems like people on this board put way too much emphasis on needing to have an unusual name, [name]IMO[/name].
I have a common name and sure, it sometimes wasn’t fun being “first name, last initial” in class but even though my name was in the top 10 the year I was born, I was usually the only person with my name in a class. In my large graduating class (500 or so), I only graduated with 4 other people who shared my first name.
My kids have common names, too. Call me boring if you’d like but there’s a reason popular names are popular, they’re well loved by many. Also, popular names now aren’t used as much as they were even 50 years ago so your chances of running into someone with the same name is less likely. For example, [name]Mary[/name] was the #1 name in 1961 and given to 2.3% of females born, whereas [name]Sophia[/name] was the #1 name in 2011 and it was only given to 1.3% of babies. 15.8% of all names came from the top 10 in 1961 and it’s only 8.2% for 2011. [name]Even[/name] the most common names just aren’t as popular as they were when we were growing up!
I prefer unusual names, but because I like it that way. I’m frivolous, I will chose frivolous names.
I’m an [name]Emma[/name], born when it was number twenty-two. My kindergarten ballet class was eight girls, four of which were name [name]Emma[/name]. Thus came [name]Emma[/name] P, [name]Emma[/name] W, [name]Emma[/name] H and me. My last initial flowed really badly with [name]Emma[/name], so I came up with a nickname, [name]Mimi[/name], which I am still called today. If I was still an [name]Emma[/name] I would hate it and change it. I think super common names are just unoriginal, and sometimes make the person unoriginal. It just would make me feel as though I can’t be someone extraordinary when I grow up. But I can see why some people like them, they are easily pronounceable and easier to wear for sure, which is helpful. 
My name’s [name]Emily[/name], and growing up, I was always “[name]Emily[/name] S.” because of the 2 or 3 other [name]Emily[/name]'s in every class. I think my name is beautiful, just way overused. I prefer less popular names, maybe partially because of my popular name.
I think there’s a big difference between names that are classic (and thus perennially popular) and names that are flash-in-the-pan trends. I’m all for overlooking popularity for a classic, but wouldn’t be so forgiving for a trend like ‘[name]Tiffany[/name]’.
No.
I totally agree with scarletrune. Nearly all my favourites are in the top 100 and I couldn’t care less. They are classics and names that people will always know how to spell. If it wasn’t for nameberry, I’d be stumped if I someone told me to write down [name]Lorelei[/name], [name]Corisande[/name] etc. I’m all for ‘unique’ names, I just don’t think popular names are boring and I don’t see why the opportunity of naming a baby is squandered for use of such a name.
Also, I have a uncommon name but there was still another girl in my year group with the same name. And I knew a few people who had names in the top 10 for our age group and didn’t know anyone else with the name at all so I don’t think having an unusual name can guarantee the child won’t become [name]Kingsley[/name] A. or [name]Esme[/name] H. I just think that if you really love a name, that’s great and it shouldn’t matter whether it’s #1 or #1000.
My daughter’s name is [name]Emily[/name] (she is 11), and she really likes it when she meets another [name]Emily[/name]. She doesn’t find it to be a burden at all, because she meets a lot more girls named [name]Emma[/name].
And for those of you who may be wondering why we chose such a popular name - it is a family name. And [name]Emily[/name] was also the only name on my list and my DH’s list that we could agree upon. 
I don’t think it is anymore. There are going to be kids in the classes now with cultural names so not your top 10 names. There also aren’t really any names that are as popular as [name]Jennifer[/name], [name]Jessica[/name] and [name]Michael[/name] once were. I’ve worked with children for years and have had very few repeats. I’ve loved [name]Sophie[/name] since I was a teenager and once we had a daughter we still used it even though it was #15 that year. We have only met one other [name]Sophie[/name] during this time (there seem to be more Sophias around) and she’s almost 3. I figure names are popular for a reason. While you may judge and say that a parent is unimaginative, you’ll have others who may wonder why you had to try so hard to be unique. I can’t even begin to tell you how much flack my friend got for naming her son [name]Micah[/name]. To each their own.
I don’t think it’s bad at all. I always wished my name were more popular growing up, because I had a quiet and shy personality so having a “cool name” would have made me feel that little bit cooler. I’ll probably avoid the most popular names because most of them aren’t really my style anyway, but overall don’t care that much about my kid one day sharing a name. If it’s meaningful to me and my husband and it sounds good, the popularity isn’t a huge concern.
I agree with some of the above commenters that having a popular or unpopular name doesn’t always mean you’ll share your name. I checked out the top names for my year of birth ([name]Jennifer[/name], [name]Amanda[/name], [name]Jessica[/name], [name]Melissa[/name], [name]Sarah[/name]), and our grade had no one by those names for most of elementary school. The only girl with a top-10 name was [name]Elizabeth[/name], hardly a trendy name. Yet we had an Ire.ne, a R@faella, and an Es.ko, and this was in a really WASPy area. So you just never know!
It really depends on the person, I think. In general I prefer names that are relatively easy, in that it’s not going to be a lifetime of every single person asking how to spell/pronounce, but aren’t overused. And sometimes having a common name doesn’t even mean it will get spelled correctly. [name]Sarah[/name] and [name]Sara[/name], [name]Megan[/name] and [name]Meghann[/name]. The worst is when the last initial isn’t enough to distinguish a person. In 1st grade my class has 2 [name]Chris[/name] C.s and that meant 6 year old kids being called by first and last. And at my old job, all the Kellys had different initials, but the [name]Meghann[/name] B.s got called “big [name]Meghann[/name]” and “little [name]Meghann[/name]”. That would bother me much more than the “boy [name]Alex[/name]” and “girl [name]Alex[/name]” my friend and I got in high school.
I have lots of friends with popular names and no one minds. Plus, sometimes it doesn’t matter how popular the name. When I was born my name was somewhere in 200s. My Dad liked it because he had never had a student with that name. Turns out though there were 6 of us in my high school class. Its random sometimes. I never minded that in my high school class there were 6 of us. It was fine, and I was actually good friends with 2 of them. If you love a name you should go with it, because you can’t control how many there might be of a certain name.
I’m [name]Sarah[/name], as well, and while it was very popular when I was growing up (4 of us, all spelled with an h, 2 of us with last names starting with Mc-eliminating the using-the-last-initial trick) I like my name. I have always gotten the ‘With or without an h?’ when people need to write it down. So just because it’s a common or popular name doesn’t mean you won’t have to spell it for people still. I plan on using whatever names I like when I have children. Whether they’re in the top 100, even the top 10, or super uncommon doesn’t matter to me. With the popularity of using unique spellings for names everyone with have to spell there name for people at some point. Whether it a common/popular name or not!
My name is [name]Cynthia[/name], and it was really uncommon for my generation while I was growing up. I loved that I had a name that stood out and got a lot of compliments. I grew up thinking that having a common name would be terrible. I always felt thankful that I wasn’t another [name]Nathalie[/name], [name]Melanie[/name] or [name]Stephanie[/name]. I was always the type of person that would rather stand out (in a good way) than fit in and I hope that my children are like that as well. Anyway, I generally try to avoid names that are in the top 20 ([name]Elizabeth[/name] is the exception). I don’t mind common names; it is the super popular/trendy names that I really don’t want to use.
I have an uncommon name and I prefer them for future children. I like the names I like because of the type of person I picture wearing them. Common names are worn by so many different types of people that they don’t have a personality to me. I guess that can be appealing to some- a blank slate with no expectations attached. But to me it’s just bland
I strongly dislike popular names (see username) because they start to lose their flair. I had a very uncommon name, the only person in my entire school with my name and I loved being the “one and only.”
I’m trying to find names outside of the top 1000 and I have found three that are definite uses.
I don’t think it’s so bad, I have a pretty timeless but popular name so I went to a school with a few other girls who shared my name but it never bothered me. [name]IMO[/name] a name shouldn’t define you, we were all known for different stuff, I didn’t get lost in a sea of other girls with my name and occasionally I meet someone with the same fn/mn combo as me and it’s exciting!
My name wasn’t ever popular where I grew up. I was the only [name]Shannon[/name] in most of elementary school until I hit 6th grade and a kindergartener with my name came in. In highschool I was the only one in my grade. It was nice! I liked knowing people were talking to me when they say [name]Shannon[/name]! I much prefer less common names for that reason!
The only beef I had with my name was the lack of “cool” nickname potentials like [name]Jessica[/name]'s ([name]Jess[/name]), [name]Emma[/name]'s ([name]Em[/name]), [name]Samantha[/name]'s ([name]Sam[/name]) etc! And not finding my name on keychain easily lol