I was surprised to see that [name]John[/name] was #27 in popularity. I work with a lot of little ones and have never come across a [name]John[/name]… What is your take? Have you met any little Johns born in the last few years?
I am pretty neutral on [name]John[/name], but [name]LOVE[/name] the possibility of nn [name]Johnny[/name]. However, the #27 puts me off quite a bit. ([name]Don[/name]'t try to persuade me to use it regardless. Popularity is always a deal breaker for me. :P)
Anyway, just wanting your thoughts and experience. Thanks!
Good thought about the [name]Jack[/name] thing… I hadn’t considered that! [name]Jack[/name] and [name]Jackson[/name] are definitely hot right now. Maybe a few of those little Jacks are really Johns in disguise!
I’m not surprised in the slightest. While other names are more flashy and cool, [name]John[/name] has always been classic. Then again, there are probably 15 Johns in my family tree, including (but not limited to, lol) my little brother, my dad, and my grandfather. My brother is almost exclusively [name]Johnny[/name], which I find sort of grating, actually. I love [name]Jack[/name], but I’m so tired of [name]John[/name]. I wish I could appreciate it, and I think it could make a cool double-barrel, like [name]John[/name] [name]August[/name], [name]John[/name] [name]Benjamin[/name]/[name]John[/name] [name]Bennett[/name], [name]John[/name] [name]Michael[/name], etc. but as just a FN, I’m quite tired of it. I don’t know any baby Johns, but it doesn’t surprise me that it’s so high on the popularity charts. I’d wager a good percentage of those baby Johns are Jrs, IIIs, IVs, and so on.
I haven’t met any baby Johns. I’m not too keen on it but I do like [name]Johnny[/name] and would consider using [name]Jonathan[/name] as the full name to get to it.
Maybe it’s because, like @covella said, they go by [name]Jack[/name] or maybe even by their middle name, since [name]John[/name] is quite often passed down through generations and so someone’s official name could be, say, [name]John[/name] [name]Michael[/name], but they go by [name]Michael[/name] to differentiate themselves from their namesake family members.
My oldest has a friend named [name]John[/name] who goes by [name]Jack[/name]. I also know a [name]John[/name] who is I think a 3rd or 4th generation [name]John[/name] that is 2 and a friend just announced on FB that they are having a boy and will name him [name]John[/name] [name]Ashley[/name] (which [name]Ashley[/name] was a nice surprise imho!) and he is due in [name]May[/name]. So while I have met/heard of more [name]Jack[/name], [name]Jackson[/name], and Jonathons, I have no problem believing that [name]John[/name] is in the top 30.
I’m not really that surprised. [name]John[/name] is a classic name and more than likely those parents that choose [name]John[/name] are naming [name]Jr[/name]'s and Ect.
I could never imagine meeting a [name]John[/name] in the UK, I’d be shocked if I did as it’s much more a middle aged man’s name than anything. Although, having just said that it is the 100th most popular boy’s name in the UK but very much falling away so I don’t expect it there for the 2012 results.
It sounds so harsh and abrupt to me, I’d much prefer to see [name]Jonathan[/name] nn [name]Jon[/name].
To be clear… It is no surprise to me that [name]John[/name] is high in popularity. Not only is it a well-loved, safe classic; it is also a biblical name. My surprise is that, being #27, I have never actually MET a young [name]John[/name]. And by young, I mean below the age if 10 or so. I’m quite aware that there is a sea of older Johns and Jonathans out there. My question is not “why is the name [name]John[/name] so popular?” But rather, “how is [name]John[/name] at #27 and I have never met a young man with that name?”
Maybe it’s the region I live in, since some of you guys know of a couple of little Johns. Most little boys in my neck of the woods are prone to being named something extremely popular and/or trendy, or more likely, something that was trendy 5 years ago and is starting to sound stale… Oh, how I would love to meet a little [name]John[/name] instead of another little [name]Jayden[/name].
This is why I never pay attention to popularity lists. Popularity is really more of a regional thing then a national thing. For about ten years the number one name for girls was [name]Isabella[/name] and even though I work with kids, I’ve never run into one named [name]Isabella[/name] (nor any named [name]Izzy[/name]/[name]Issy[/name] or [name]Bella[/name] either). So wherever all those Isabellas are, they’re not in my area.
As for the name [name]John[/name], I know one toddler with the name but that’s it.
I know one little blond four-year-old named [name]John[/name]; he’s the only young child I’ve known with this moniker, although three of my friends are married to guys named [name]John[/name]. (?!) Four-year-old [name]John[/name] has a two-year-old sister named [name]Catherine[/name].
I do think that pp’s are right, the #27 rating without many baby Johns to be found is probably because they get that name as an honorific from dad, grandpa, uncle etc yet go by [name]Jack[/name], or by their middle name, etc.
My real love is for [name]Jonathan[/name], but I’ve always like [name]John[/name] and [name]Johnny[/name] too.
Strong, simple, and not nearly as over-played as [name]James[/name]/[name]Luke[/name]/[name]William[/name] are here ([name]Sydney[/name] Australia).
In NSW [name]John[/name] is #77 ([name]Jonathan[/name] at #88) and my home state of PA its #11 ([name]Jonathan[/name] #52) but I swear I never met that many!
As mentioned, I’d wager that the majority of [name]Jack[/name]'s you’ve encountered are actually [name]John[/name]'s. Then there are the [name]John[/name]'s who go by their mn.
We often talk about filler mn’s but there are also “filler” first names, with [name]John[/name]/[name]Juan[/name] being the most popular from my experience. Some find [name]John[/name] to be a safe, biblical, unimposing name that can easily be put in front of a more adventurous mn. It may even have family significance but that’s not always the case. I’ve known a [name]John[/name] [name]Ryder[/name], [name]Juan[/name] [name]Gabriel[/name], and a [name]John[/name] [name]Tyler[/name] who’ve only ever gone by their mn. Their parents had no intention of calling them [name]John[/name]/[name]Juan[/name]
[name]John[/name] [name]Ashley[/name] is my compromise name! Since my tastes in boy names are unisex I have some “filler” first names ([name]John[/name], [name]James[/name], [name]Charles[/name], [name]Henry[/name]) that I wouldn’t mind using if my future hubby has a problem with “girly” names