But I can’t help but think how downright dumb it is to name a kid something that ten other kids in his/her kindergarten class will have.
But… that is statistically very unlikely to happen even with the most popular name in the country. I don’t know the stats for boys, but the top 5 most popular girl names each are only given to about 1 out of every 100 girls. The only name that this really works for is “[name]Aiden[/name],” simply because all its derivations add up to (probably) more like 1 in every 10.
Hell, even the name [name]Jennifer[/name] - which was far more common for our generation than any name will be for this new one - I’ve known seven or eight of them, but they were all different ages.
Anyway, I don’t mind names just because they are popular. I wouldn’t use them, but they don’t bug me for that reason alone - [name]Isabel[/name], [name]Sophia[/name], and [name]Chloe[/name] are all fine names. Ditto [name]Alexander[/name], [name]Benjamin[/name], [name]Nathan[/name], etc.
Trends I really hate:
(1) Names with no history or substance - e.g. [name]Kaylee[/name], [name]Alyssa[/name]
(2) Names that are “cool” because they’re vaguely Scottish or Irish - e.g. [name]Braden[/name], [name]Lochlan[/name], [name]Declan[/name] - or names that are decidedly English - [name]Liam[/name], [name]Gavin[/name]. I just think most sound ridiculous, trendeigh, and without substance. (In, you know, [name]America[/name].)
(3) Boy names on girls - it’s unfortunate that we live in a time when masculine gender identity is protected so much more than feminine gender identity, but that’s the reality right now, and the more boy names are stolen for girls, the less they can be used for boys. And there are already only like, half as many boys’ names as girls’ names.
(4) Girl names that sound like the alphabet farted vowels - e.g. [name]Eliana[/name], [name]Ariana[/name]. They’re trying too hard to be a little feminine farty cloud. I like some damn girly-girl names, but these take it to the point of absurdity [name]IMO[/name]. I knew an [name]Olivia[/name] growing up and she was the world’s biggest tomboy, of course.
(5) Tacking on feminized endings to male names is something I’ve never been very fond of, but tacking on feminized endings to FEMALE names is something that drives me bonkers. [name]Gracelyn[/name] is redundant and stupid. [name]Grace[/name] is already a girl’s name.
And most importantly…
(6) Misspelled names. Makes parents look illiterate and makes it that much harder for the kids - not just in job interviews way down the road, but starting from the beginning. Whose English teacher do you think will expect more of her - [name]Chloe[/name] or [name]Khloe[/name]?