Popularity isn’t the most important criteria when we are looking at names, but I do strongly prefer to have something on the more uncommon side. I personally feel more “comfortable” with names that are ranked >200 or 300, though it isn’t a make or break deal.
Lilibet (or possibly Lilibeth?) has really been growing on me, but the name Lily has shot up the rankings in recent years. I personally know three that were born within the last several years.
Would a Lilibet get lost amongst the lilies? If popularity does matter some to me, should I just cross Lilibet off of my list of potential first names and keep it as a middle?
I feel similarly about Lucette. I LOVE it with our surname, and Lucy is one my all-time favorite names, but Lucy might have become too popular for me to want to use it. I worked in a church nursery for a day and there were three Lucy variants in a class of like 12 babies. I suppose Lucette has Ette, Ettie, or Etta as potential nicknames, but it seems it would get smooshed together with all of the little Lucy’s running around. Still totally adore Lucy, though. It might be one of the few names I would use despite its popularity.
Also, what is the consensus on Lilibet? I’ve seen mostly negative things on the internet. Such as it would be weird to use as a first name because it was originally a nickname, or that it is too closely tied to the Royal family. I feel like most people where we live wouldn’t know of or make a connection to the Royal family, though.
Personally I’ve always thought of it as a nickname to [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], so its hard for me personally to see it as a stand alone name. But that’s just me! I’m sure there are plenty of people who wouldn’t see it that way.
Other suggestions would be:
[name_f]Lillian[/name_f] or
[name_f]Lillianna[/name_f]
[name_f]Lilibet[/name_f] does feel quite royally but that is okay! [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], [name_m]Louis[/name_m], [name_f]Victoria[/name_f], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] all became more popular around the time said royals were born/ coronated and they lose their connotations remarkably quickly. Also I don’t think it would get lost in the Lily’s - I knew a [name_f]Lucetta[/name_f] and that always stayed seperate from the Lucy’s.
Firstly UK perspective
Ahh for me popularity is a tricky one.
Personally I find individual names really aren’t as popular as they once were. [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] is the no.1 girl’s name in the UK and of course they are a lot of Olivia’s but at my daughter’s preschool there isn’t any. It’s more when you go to a park or soft play you’ll hear the name being called out. I tend to find its trends that boom for example at my daughter’s preschool people want to be ‘unique’ so you tend to find there are a lot of unique names like Madd0x, Ph0enix, Mav3rick etc. Then you have all the nature names like Mead0w, D@isy, [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] and the vintage name trends with all the Stanl3y’s and R0nnie’s. Of course you’ll have the evergreen choices of [name_m]Alfie[/name_m], [name_m]Archie[/name_m] and [name_f]Sophie[/name_f] that’ll always be around or names that randomly appear out of nowhere and boom such as [name_f]Isla[/name_f] but mainly I find its trends that boom rather than individual names.
Concerning [name_f]Lily[/name_f] she is trending and you do hear her a lot. This is similar in relation to [name_f]Rose[/name_f] both these names feel like individual flower trends. I feel like [name_f]Lily[/name_f] (just like Rose) ticks a lot of the UK naming trends. She’s a nature name, she’s classic, has that L sound which is very popular parents love the L sound and has the evergreen feel of [name_m]Alfie[/name_m] + [name_f]Sophie[/name_f]. I also feel that [name_f]Lily[/name_f] has become her own ‘trend’ as there are so many variants and spellings in use. People are having [name_f]Lilly[/name_f], [name_f]Lillie[/name_f], [name_f]Lily[/name_f]- [name_f]Rose[/name_f] and I’ve even seen variants like Lilian@ becoming more popular. [name_m]Just[/name_m] like with [name_f]Rose[/name_f] she’s always used in hyphenated first names along with the increase of [name_f]Primrose[/name_f] and [name_f]Rosalie[/name_f]. At the rehearsals for communion ceremonies there was a Lily-Rose, Lilian@ (she was Eastern European so we do have the naming trends of other countries influencing the overall popularity/trendiness of names) and [name_f]Lillie[/name_f]. I’m a mama of a [name_f]Lilia[/name_f] even though [name_f]Lilia[/name_f] is rare (I’ve had tons of folk not understand her name, her name is continuously butchered and when I have encountered other Lilia’s it’s been a huge surprise) she was certainly lost within the crowd. I also find that due to the popularity of [name_f]Lola[/name_f], [name_f]Lucy[/name_f], [name_f]Lila[/name_f], [name_f]Leila[/name_f] etc her name is lost within the crowd despite [name_f]Lilia[/name_f] not being popular as an individual name. I think Lilibet/Lilibeth would be off a similar vibe, rare as an individual choice but moulds into that [name_f]Lily[/name_f] trend. I also have similar thoughts to [name_f]Lucette[/name_f]. [name_f]Lucette[/name_f] is a very rare choice but due to the popularity of L names she would slip into this trend. I think if popularity is a major concern I would avoid all L names.
For me popularity isn’t a concern but as it is for you I would focus on the style of names being used in your area. For example do people love L sounds, do people love vintage names or do people love nature names if you see a pattern avoid that pattern as your more liking to find a unique name using this pattern then focusing purely on stats.
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[name_f]Lilibet[/name_f] and [name_f]Lilibeth[/name_f] are warm and sweet, with a bit of sass, a bit of distinctiveness, but familiar too. I would personally think of the [name_m]Royal[/name_m] family, but the nickname thing doesn’t bother me.
What I would consider however, is that she probably would get called [name_f]Lily[/name_f] at some point and it may well stick as a nickname and then yes, she could blend in among the other Lilys. If that bothers you, I’d look for something else, but if you don’t mind, it’s a nice choice
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It’s too tied to the royal family for me personally, and my prediction is it’s going to be one of those that has a bit of a popularity boom now because of [name_m]Harry[/name_m] and Meghan’s child, fizzles out again and then in future looks very dated, a trend that passed very much linked to the royals, even if that wasn’t your intention. If I ignore all of that, the sounds are very vintage-twee and pretty, but I just think being part of this mini-boom kicked off by the royals in inescapable, because they are undoubtedly the reason we’re seeing more and more people considering this now, even if people aren’t royalists and aren’t intending to pay homage or whatever. The difference for me with this one compared to other royal monikers that have sparked a wave in popularity is the distinctive nicknamey-ness. It feels a bit novelty for that reason and more easily noted as a trend - [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and other similar royal names are so classic and widespread that they don’t feel sole property of the royal family - I wouldn’t assume a baby had been named after the Queen… but this very much does.
As far as [name_f]Lily[/name_f] goes, the popularity would put me off personally but only you can decide if that’s an issue for you. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you like any other variants if that’s a prohibitive factor? [name_f]Lilia[/name_f], [name_f]Liliana[/name_f], [name_f]Lilith[/name_f], Lillian… or are there none you like as much as [name_f]Lilibet[/name_f] / [name_f]Lilibeth[/name_f]? That said, I don’t see the point in reaching for a name you like less than [name_f]Lily[/name_f], just to avoid the popularity thing.
I feel your pain re variants making a name you love feel more popular than it is. I didn’t use a classic name I adored due to the ubiquity of variants making the original version feel far more popular than it actually is. For me, it’s about assessing whether searching for less common variants simply means finding a name you like less in order to offset popularity, in which case I don’t see the point. But it seems that you also love [name_f]Lucette[/name_f] as well as Lucy… it’s a difficult one that also means weighing up trends locally. If the reality is she’d likely be a [name_m]Luc[/name_m]- name in a sea of [name_m]Luc[/name_m]- names and that bothers you, I’d think again.
[name_f]Lilibet[/name_f] is very sweet, but to me, the ONLY association right now is [name_f]Meghan[/name_f] and [name_m]Harry[/name_m]. A bit like naming your daughter [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] in 1998. I think [name_f]Lucette[/name_f] and [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] are both gorgeous and where I live, [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] is not that popular.
I don’t think the popularity of [name_f]Lilibet[/name_f] is going to be the issue. It’s such a cute name ! However I would probably use [name_f]Lilibet[/name_f] so you miss the comments on the royal family connection. [name_f]Lily[/name_f] I hear a lot but think you could avoid and use bet, beth or [name_f]Libby[/name_f] as a potential nickname
[name_f]Lucette[/name_f] is very cute too , and I actually don’t hear [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] all that often ! I know 2 14 year olds named [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] but I haven’t run into any in a long time.
I just keep picturing a [name_f]Lilibeth[/name_f] , [name_f]Lucette[/name_f] and Dorothy/ [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] as siblings