Hmm… Popularity is totally subjective, so I think it really comes down to if you’d feel comfortable with the possibility of your son being in a class with another [name_u]Declan[/name_u]. [name_u]Declan[/name_u] is definitely on the rise, but I don’t see it being the next [name_u]James[/name_u] or [name_u]Noah[/name_u].
Personally, the popularity of [name_u]Declan[/name_u] wouldn’t put me off!
I don’t think popularity in society should be a major concern. You could go for a name that isn’t popular in the area you currently reside in only to move or have LO go off to university to find out he is not the only one with his name. [name_m]Even[/name_m] if he is one of a few in his school (or class) growing up or he is the only one with his name, he will only be in that school with his peers for so long. When he makes it out into the working world, he will be alongside people who have been given their names over the course of several decades. He may be the only one with his name now at his age, but when he joins those multi-generational people in the working world there could be a slew of people with the same name who were named when it was popular during previous generations.