I personally don’t really care how popular a name is - if I like it, I like it, even if it’s super popular. However, I know that a lot of people do care about a name’s popularity. And I’m curious.
How popular is too popular for you? And why?
Top 20 usually for me. I like a lot of them, like Noah or Jacob, but probably would never use them because of how popular they are. I don’t want names that are boring and basic. Additionally, I think it’s a shame that there’s thousands of great names out there, that barely see the light of day and never get used.
Out of the top 100 only for me. My name is [name_f]Brynn[/name_f], and I loved having a unique name and not having to ever share it in school, and I want the same for my kids. Only exception right now is [name_m]Ezra[/name_m]…I’m just hoping it doesn’t get more popular (which it probably will 
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My prediction is that it will. It is climbing popularity ranks really fast every five years. In 2000 it was #432. In 2005 it was #348. In 2010 it was #242. And in 2015 it was #92. Seems to be increasingly popular and I bet it’ll be in the top 20 very soon.
I don’t have a number or limit, really. I usually go by the local popularity, not the national stats. For instance, [name_f]Emma[/name_f] has long been a top 10 name…however, it isn’t used too often where I’m at…[name_f]Adalyn[/name_f] is. Granted, my method doesn’t allow me to see actual numbers, but I do get a fairly good picture as to what the children who my future children will be around are named. I don’t go insane over finding a “unique” name…it’s silly. We are bound to share a name with someone or another, with how many people are in this world. I’ll use a name I love, even if it is very popular. It just so happens that the names I like aren’t super popular at this time, in my area. If I hear a name used around here more than a couple times, it’s off of my list. I don’t lose sleep over it or moan and groan. Tastes change and there are tons of great names out there.
It depends on how popularity affects my liking of the name; however, if I notice that it does, I know the name is out, either way.
If I only considered a name because it is unpopular, I’m probably going to be rather mad at myself when in 10 years time, every third kid is going to be named that name.
I actually think that going for a name that is already rather popular but that you still love is the safest choice, you know that it won’t bother you if you met another kid with that name.
I also think that it’s silly to cut off at the Top 10 or 50 or 100, 500, 1000, etc. as what makes 499 so different from 500? Between 450 and 500 are probably 50 kids more with one name, 50 of about 2,000,000 new born babies (in the US), that really isn’t a lot and should not determine if you choose a name or not; if you care that much about popularity, you should look at the popularity of a name in your child’s generation, rather than just one year; and again, maybe in 3 years, it’s the trendiest name in the country and then what?
I think the popularity of a name only starts to get to me if I hear it too often. I like [name_u]Aidan[/name_u], but after hearing it out in public countless times, and seeing Facebook friends use alternate spelling for their kids, and now we have a family acquaintance with a son named [name_u]Aden[/name_u], it just doesn’t seem like a name I would be comfortable using. I feel like I’m more drawn to unusual names to begin with, so I don’t have this problem often, but there’s a happy medium in my opinion. I’d like a name that’s reasonably unusual and memorable, but still familiar enough that the kid won’t have to go through life explaining and/or correcting people about their name.
I don’t care about popularity so much as trendiness. [name_u]James[/name_u] and [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] are two of my favorite names that I would not eliminate just because of their popularity ranking because they are classics that have always been popular. But I am warier of names like [name_m]Sebastian[/name_m] or [name_u]Avery[/name_u], which I love but have just shot pretty suddenly from obscurity to popularity and will likely decline just as quickly. I wouldn’t want my kid to be dated by their name, as I’m afraid my own dates me: there were a ton of girls named [name_f]Kristin[/name_f] born the '80s and few before or after, so when I was little it was a little girl name, then it was a “sorority girl” name, soon it’ll be a “middle-aged suburban mom name,” and eventually an “old lady name.” I just want a name that will let the wearer’s individuality shine through rather than having strong temporal/cultural associations. Both classic and unusual names achieve that, but not trendy ones.
Like you, I don’t care too much about popularity. My only limit may be if a name it’s constantly in the top 3 for a very long time (and when I mean long time, I mean 10 years or so) because that means it’s a very lasting popularity.
I agree with the previous poster too. I care more about trendiness than popularity. I would like to avoid to name my kid and in 30 years somebody hearing the name and being like “oh, he/she may have been born in this particular decade”.
I also agree with @opheliaflora about making cuts at top 10, top 100, or something like that. What it’s really the difference between the number 10 and 11? If you love it, go for it.
Also, I would like to add is that today’s popularity isn’t like the past popularity. [name_f]Emma[/name_f]'s or [name_f]Isabella[/name_f]'s popularity compared to [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f]'s or [name_f]Jessica[/name_f]'s, is very low.
At the end of the day I think the most important thing is choosing a name you truly love. In 1990 [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] was at 894 in USA, the year before wasn’t even in the top 1000. In 2004 it was in the top 10. If you were one of those mothers that in 1990 named her baby girl [name_f]Isabella[/name_f], would you regret it later seeing it grow so much in popularity in a very small time? Because I think that if somebody would regret how they named their kids because their names became popular, maybe those weren’t THE names, after all.
[name_m]Ezra[/name_m] is in the top 10 now, I think. It’s definitely in the top 20. And all the names that youve chosen are beautiful, but definitely in the top 100 right now.