I’m looking for names that are well-known but are rarely used in real life — names like [name_m]Edgar[/name_m] and [name_f]Alice[/name_f], for example.
Most everyone has heard of the names [name_m]Edgar[/name_m] and [name_f]Alice[/name_f] before, and so they wouldn’t stick out as too unusual — but at the same time, they’re rare enough that you’re not likely to meet someone with the same name as you.
I’m looking for names along the lines of that. Does anyone have any other ideas? Thank you so much!
Artie
Linus
Ulysses
Claude
Rufus
Mars
Vernon
Percy
Anton
Cecil
Olaf
Clarence
Clement
Reginald
Baxter
These names are more rare for the current generation than overall, but a child with one of these names would be unlikely to share their names with anyone in their class or future social circles.
Also, just a heads up that if you’re in the US, Alice is in the top 100 most popular baby names currently so it’s not as rare as it used to be!
If you’re wanting your name to be something that’s not common even for kids a year or two younger than them though, then you really need to think not just about what’s popular now, but what’s likely to be popular in a few years.
When it came to picking names for real babies, I found that suddenly all the names I’d liked for ages WERE popular again! [name_m]Even[/name_m] ones I’d thought were surely too “old-lady” like [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] and [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f]. [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] seems to be everywhere now, and not being in the U.S., I know two baby Alices and two baby Florences… and a toddler [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] too.
IMO the safest picks would be the 60s/70/80s names which are too recent to be ‘cool’ again? I think my partner and I hit the mark with R0byn, it’s definitely not trending… but choosing a name that’s not currently popular also means it’s, well, not currently popular (family and friends not so fond of the name!). I thought C@sper would be similar, I notice it’s on both the above lists… but then I meet a [name_m]Kasper[/name_m] or hear about a [name_m]Cassius[/name_m] or Caspian… I think it will trend up, and there possibly could be a heap more soon.
The only ones i can think ofthat haven’t been mentioned yet are Susannah and Dinah both names everyone knows but neither of them currently rank in the US at all.
@Tasia It is true that seeing names constantly on Nameberry gives a skewed sense of what’s popular I live in the US and many of these are surprising to me, even – I can’t believe [name_f]Claudia[/name_f], [name_f]Bree[/name_f], and [name_f]Tess[/name_f] in particular don’t rank, as they seem pretty popular in the past few decades so to have all fallen off the charts completely is wild to me.
Interestingly, I have met three baby Harriet’s recently so I wouldn’t be surprised if it moved up in ranks soon! It’s high on my list and I hope it’s not getting too popular!
[name_m]Even[/name_m] ones I’d thought were surely too “old-lady” like [name_f]Elsie[/name_f] and [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f]. [name_f]Sylvie[/name_f] seems to be everywhere now, and not being in the U.S., I know two baby Alices and two baby Florences… and a toddler [name_f]Imogen[/name_f] too.