My husband and I are having a baby boy in [name_f]September[/name_f]. His great grandpa is [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] and mine is [name_m]Matthew[/name_m]. [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] [name_m]Matthew[/name_m] Hardee. Great, right? We are considering others though… Like [name_m]Abraham[/name_m] and [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m].
However… I was a [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] in 1990. One of 4 in my small town graduating class of 38.
I REALLY don’t want [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] to become a super popular name.
Name nerds. Please tell me if you think [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] will be super popular in a bad way.
Maybe by answering these questions:
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m] has gained about an average of 30 spots in the Social Security list in the last years. 2014 it was at 119. What spot might it be in in 2015?
When do you think that it will peak? (When do you think the most babies week be born with the name [name_m]Ezra[/name_m]?) I realize this is a guess but it is the kind of thing I wonder about.
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you think [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] will ever be in the top 20 names?
Thanks. Call me hormonal/6 months pregnant… but I’m spending a lot of time and emotional energy on this! I appreciate help from name nerds!!!
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m] [name_m]Matthew[/name_m] is exquisite! A perfect name. I have only met one [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] ten years ago. [name_m]Even[/name_m] at it’s rate of growth, it’s never going to be uber popular. And even if it did, it’s a name that has family history for you. With it’s history dating back to the Bible, it will not be considered trendy. I think you will regret not using this name.
It will probably move up on that SSA list but I don’t think it will ever be popular like [name_m]Jacob[/name_m] or [name_u]Noah[/name_u] or [name_u]Michael[/name_u] (which has been in the top 10 for like 40 years). I also don’t think it will have as big of a jump as it did in 2014.
I think it has peaked already. Although it is one of my favorite names, I think people aren’t using it as much as we do on Nameberry.
I do not think it will be in the top 20 names.
I have never met an [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] before, but I don’t live in the US (assuming that is where you live) and maybe it’s more popular there. I love the name [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] and have considered using it myself (but DH doesn’t like it…) and the thought of there being 4 or 5 [name_m]Ezra[/name_m]’s in a classroom has never crossed my mind because I don’t really think it will ever be that popular.
I really don’t think you will have that issue with this name!
Also, [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] [name_m]Matthew[/name_m] is an amazing name!
Congrats!
30 years ago if anyone suggested [name_u]Noah[/name_u] would have been the number 1 name in [name_u]America[/name_u], everyone would have laughed them out of the room. 30 years ago, [name_u]Noah[/name_u] was given only in hard-core religious circles, and had a distinct fusty greybeard aura to it.
Much like… [name_m]Ezra[/name_m], 20 years ago.
I actually do think [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] has gained wide mainstream acceptance, and probably will continue shooting up the charts. There is a mad fervor now for smooth Old Testament boys names’ (think about the long reign of [name_m]Jacob[/name_m]) that completely transcends cultures, language groups and even degrees of religiosity. [name_m]Will[/name_m] it be [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], or [name_u]Michael[/name_u], or [name_u]Noah[/name_u]? Maybe. But remember, it took 20-30 years for [name_u]Noah[/name_u] to rise the way it did.
You could always flip the names, i.e. [name_m]Matthias[/name_m] [name_m]Ezra[/name_m]. And I don’t envision [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m] getting there; it’s too complex-- but it’s rising on the same tide that’s lifting the other biblical boats.
Thank you [name_m]Blade[/name_m]! It would be interesting to look at where [name_u]Noah[/name_u] was on the SSA 20 years ago for comparison. I’m not worried about a rising of water levels but of flash flooding.
Boyandgirl and Riverlyric, thank you both! [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think a boy named [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] would get teased?
I don’t think he would get teased but I could be biased as I love the name and don’t see how someone would be teased with the name [name_m]Ezra[/name_m].
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m] was on my short list for years, but I too worry that it might be overheating. I’m not sure that it will ever reach the heights that [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] or [name_u]Noah[/name_u] have, but I’ve learned that you never can tell with names. I thought [name_u]Aiden[/name_u] was a fascinating and unusual name when my husband and I were engaged, and by the time we were having babies it was already in the top 100 (even higher if you consider all the unusual spellings and female Aidens out there). What started out as an obscure saints name that I discovered in an even more obscure historical fiction novel is now just shy of the top ten.
That being said, I still think [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] is a wonderful name, and I would not hesitate to use it if you both love it. The name pool is a lot larger today than when we were growing up, and even if [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] does reach the top ten, it probably won’t be as ubiquitous as [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] and [name_f]Amy[/name_f] were in the 80’s.
If you like [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m], that would certainly be a less trendy choice. I also have a very warm spot in my heart for his biblical contemporary, [name_m]Nehemiah[/name_m]. (If only I could convince my hubby that [name_m]Nemo[/name_m] is a viable nickname).
Does [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] have the potential to be a top 20 name? Yes, I think so. However, I think it’s also important to remember that today’s top names aren’t nearly as popular as the top names of 30 years ago. I haven’t downloaded the 2014 stats yet, but compare the top names of 2013 to the top names of 1983.
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m] is gaining in popularity. It is always hard to know how far up the charts it will climb. But I think it is true that top names are given to a lesser number of babies than in the past as there are simply more options that parents consider today. I think [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] [name_m]Matthew[/name_m] is a great name and it honors both sides of the family, which is nice.
