I’m occasionally shocked by the names which are popular in the US but not the UK- for instance [name]Axel[/name] is a name that I NEVER hear over here. Similarly Elius; never heard of one.
Across the board I didn’t expect [name]Penelope[/name] to become popular- I always thought it was too ‘clunky cool’ to be appealing on a mass scale. Positively shocked on that front…
I’ve also heard of a few Daphnes recently, born to non name obsessives. I have the same surprise there- I think of [name]Daphne[/name] as an acquired taste too I guess. The ‘Daph’ sound in the first syllable, maybe?
On the boys’ side [name]Pip[/name] is number 80 in the 2011 popularity charts over here. DID NOT see that one coming, and have no idea what brought that to mass appeal. Surely not [name]Pippa[/name] Middleton?
[name]Pip[/name] is a pet love of mine, so I’m both happy but curmudgeonly about it becoming such a ‘household name.’
Any names which surprise you by surging up in the charts?
From the US here - [name]Axel[/name] definitely surprises me, not so much [name]Elias[/name] (which I think is what you meant?). [name]Liam[/name].
[name]Penelope[/name] is surprising. [name]Ivy[/name] and [name]Anastasia[/name], too. [name]Aubrey[/name].
Kind of conversely, I’m surprised [name]Monica[/name] has remained as high as it has here - I would have thought Lewinsky would have ruined it immediately
I am shocked that [name]Lucy[/name] took off so quickly and even more shocking is the fact that the clunky [name]Lucille[/name] has been used often too.
I can’t believe that either [name]Chloe[/name] or [name]Zoe[/name] became so popular.
I wasn’t expecting [name]Mason[/name] to blow up the way it did. Especially since ‘son’ names have been moving to the girls side lately.
[name]Imogene[/name]/[name]Imogen[/name] - I’d always liked this name but had only heard it on characters until recently.
[name]Matilda[/name] - same
[name]Eloise[/name] - also the same
[name]Jayden[/name] - Sounds like a sci-fi name (and is, in fact, Data’s name on [name]Star[/name] Trek), and an unattractive one as opposed to a guilty pleasure one.
[name]Ryker[/name] - I’d only heard this associated with the jail until recently.
And unglamorous occupational names, like [name]Mason[/name] (which also sounds weird to me because of the Freemasons) and [name]Porter[/name].
Also, I agree with the PP about [name]Chloe[/name] and [name]Zoe[/name].
Penelope was on our name list for about 8 years…but the Kardashians officially put a nail in that coffin for me.
I have been thrilled but a wee bit shocked when I hear of parents choosing former “old lady” names. Pretty names that I never though would have mass appeal in the US. Olive, Violet (was very sad about the severe jumps up the charts it has made since we named her), Grace, Hazel, Ruby, Ava, Cora etc.
The middle names have also been very “old fashioned” as seen through the eyes of someone who grew up withlots of mn’d friends Lee, Rae, Lynn, Marie. I swear most little girls are given Mae, Grace or Rose local to me.
For boys, the -aden trend that started years ago sort of fell from the sky. I do like seeing lots of older somewhat quirky boys names lately…Oliver, Finn, Jude, Elliott…names that I hardly ever saw used growing up are everywhere now.