Does anyone have kids with really common names? I like names such as [name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_f]Ava[/name_f], [name_m]Jack[/name_m], and [name_u]Charlie[/name_u], but am worried about the names sounding boring and overused. On the other hand, having common names means it’s easy to spell, and there will be souvenirs with the child’s name on them. WDYT?
I would rather that my kid has unique and awesome name, than pick something popular, no matter how proven is it.
[name_f]My[/name_f] son is [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] and I don’t know any other kids with his name. I work at an elementary school and there isn’t a single [name_u]Charlie[/name_u]. I love that his name is classic and I don’t think it’s boring, nor does it seem ‘common’ (I’m in [name_f]CA[/name_f]). [name_f]Every[/name_f] time someone asks his name and I tell them, I get a really positive response. But you know, [name_f]Emma[/name_f] is top 10 and [name_m]Charles[/name_m] is #62 and I think it will always be top 100, but I don’t see it going to top 25.
[name_m]Even[/name_m] the most common names aren’t as common as they were in the past. In 1973, there were over 63000 Jennifers named in the US, compared to 30000 Sophias (and this figure INCLUDES alternate spellings…plus remember that the population has grown) in 2012.
Also remember that the internet makes it easy to customize items for a child with an unusual name.
I don’t care about popularity, if I like the name I’d use it. I do however, care about if people could correctly pronounce and spell my child’s name. Most of the time, ‘unique’ and uncommon names cause trouble. I wouldn’t want that for my child since I’m experiencing this nightmare from first hand.
[name_f]Violet[/name_f] and [name_f]Zoe[/name_f] are some of my favorite names. They’re both in the top 100, and [name_f]Violet[/name_f] is in the top 10 most common names given to babies in my area. I would rather have a less common name, but I also won’t let popularity stop me from using a name that I love.
I’m not bothered by popularity - my style is also far more popular than I’d like to think.
I occasionally make judgement of people with children with top 10 names, but I try not to. [name_f]My[/name_f] all time favourite, [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], is #1 in the UK and I don’t see it as a popular name, just one that means a lot to me and that I love so I try to remember that people feel the same way about other popular names too.
‘‘Trendy’’ is something that bothers me more… I’d rather use a classic but more popular name like [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], than trendy [name_f]Iris[/name_f] or [name_f]Nancy[/name_f] that are just entering the top 100 entirely as ‘‘fad’’ names (I love both, but they got very popular very fast whereas [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] has been hanging around in the top 20 for decades).
I don’t care if my kid is one of two in their class… it could happen with a huge majority of names unless you’re using something extremely unusual. Children lean to live with their names, whether they’re very common or very rare (and from experience, it is far easier for kids who were one of two Katies or Jacks from a young age, rather than in my case were I didn’t meet another [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] until highschool and had to get used to being one of several very quickly).
I always disliked my very popular name ([name_f]Sarah[/name_f].) It’s a nuisance: I never know if someone is calling out to me or to another [name_f]Sarah[/name_f]; people hear gossip about another [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] and imagine it’s about me, etc. It’s not terrible if you occasionally meet someone with the same name, but when it’s constant it’s a drag. And overall I hear more people saying they liked having a unique name than saying they were happy they were one of three Katies or Rachels, though of course opinions differ.
A name outside the top fifty might be a good compromise: something well-known but not ubiquitous.
Popularity USED to bother me, but, now, I care a lot less about it.
Looking on the SSA site for 2012 (US stats), the top 10 names for each gender had between 9,500 and 23,000 births, however, they do not really account for as many babies as it looks.
Below are the top 10 names for both genders, the percentage of births out of all babies registered in the US, and the actual number of babies with the name.
Girls:
[name_f]Sophia[/name_f] - 1.1531% or 22,158 babies
[name_f]Emma[/name_f] - 1.0820% or 20,791 babies
[name_f]Isabella[/name_f] - 0.9852% or 18,931 babies
[name_f]Olivia[/name_f] - 0.8923% or 17,147 babies
[name_f]Ava[/name_f] - 0.8024% or 15,418 babies
[name_f]Emily[/name_f] - 0.7052% or 13,550 babies
[name_f]Abigail[/name_f] - 0.6548% or 12,583 babies
[name_f]Mia[/name_f] - 0.6214% or 11,940 babies
[name_u]Madison[/name_u] - 0.5891% or 11,319 babies
[name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] - 0.4994% or 9,596 babies
Boys:
[name_m]Jacob[/name_m] - 0.9404% or 18,899 babies
[name_u]Mason[/name_u] - 0.9383% or 18,856 babies
[name_m]Ethan[/name_m] - 0.8731% or 17,547 babies
[name_u]Noah[/name_u] - 0.8559% or 17,201 babies
[name_m]William[/name_m] - 0.8323% or 16,726 babies
[name_m]Liam[/name_m] - 0.8303% or 16,687 babies
[name_u]Jayden[/name_u] - 0.7968% or 16,013 babies
[name_u]Michael[/name_u] - 0.7960% or 15,996 babies
[name_m]Alexander[/name_m] - 0.7516% or 15,105 babies
[name_u]Aiden[/name_u] - 0.7354% or 14,779 babies.
So, looking at the number of births, [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] looks dreadfully popular and overused even, but really, it only accounts for just over 1% of all babies born in 2012.