So bummed - my list has been destroyed due to popularity in my state...HELP!

Boy Names
1

I don’t know why I didn’t do this sooner as I was just basing popularity on the national list. Most of my favorites were higher up on the list or as low as around #40, but considering the popularity of a name based on today’s standards, I didn’t think it meant that the names were THAT popular in the grand scheme of things. However, I checked my particular state and was blown away… A LOT of my top contenders are quite popular with several births in the past year!

Here are the names that I may have to nix…

[name]Gavin[/name]
[name]Ian[/name]
[name]Owen[/name] (which makes me think the similar-sounding [name]Ewan[/name] should probably be out too)
[name]Sebastian[/name]
[name]Lucas[/name]
[name]Benjamin[/name] (this one is no surprise, but still)

The only name that I was really considering aside from these is [name]Declan[/name], but due to a friend who just recently had a son and nicknamed him [name]Dax[/name], we’re concerned it’s too close to our chosen nickname for [name]Declan[/name] which is [name]Dex[/name].

The only names left on my list that REALLY like were [name]Miles[/name]/[name]Milo[/name], [name]Lyle[/name] and [name]Dean[/name], but my husband is not a fan.

[name]Landon[/name] and [name]Griffin[/name] nn [name]Finn[/name] - too trendy? They’re not on my state’s list, but I feel like they still give off that vibe which I’m not liking. My husband isn’t comfortable with [name]Griffin[/name] anyway due to Family [name]Guy[/name], but we don’t like [name]Finley[/name] or [name]Finnegan[/name] or [name]Phineas[/name] and feel [name]Finn[/name] is too… incomplete? And again, trendy…

I can’t find ANYTHING else I love… People have suggested [name]Lachlan[/name], [name]Callum[/name], [name]Simon[/name]… They’re great and they’re on my short list, but I don’t love them enough. I also have been suggested things like [name]Frederick[/name], [name]Paul[/name], [name]Charles[/name], [name]Edwin[/name]… those are a little too “stuffy” for me.

I’m just… at a loss. We want to get pregnant soon and we already have a daughter. We both have a strong feeling that our next will be a boy. I feel like I’ve been through every possible name and there’s just nothing else. I want something familiar but not popular. Classy but not stuffy. Masculine but not over-the-top. Our daughter’s name is [name]Nora[/name].

HELP! :confused:

2

I would just use one of the names you love, regardless of popularity.

3

If you really really love a name,I wouldn’t give it up just yet. You have a bunch of excellent names on your list. I understand your hesitation for using a popular name,but it won’t be this generation’s [name]John[/name] or [name]Michael[/name].

4

I have never actually met a little [name]Ian[/name]. I have heard of one or two Sebastians in my area. The only ones that I find really popular are [name]Owen[/name], [name]Lucas[/name], and [name]Benjamin[/name]. I would keep [name]Ian[/name], [name]Sebastian[/name], and [name]Declan[/name].

5

I’m going to echo the pp’s in saying that if you really love a name you should use it! With that said, I know it can be devastating to learn just how popular your favorite names are. :confused:

Here are some more ideas, not sure how popular these are where you are, but I figured I’d give it a shot:
[name]Miles[/name]
[name]Graham[/name]
[name]Everett[/name]
[name]Ezra[/name]
[name]Linus[/name]
[name]Fraser[/name]

6

I had a popular name for my generation so it’s not that easy for me to just go with a name I love if it’s gaining too much popularity. I HATE having a popular name and I don’t want my children to have to deal with it. Not to mention, in high school, I was almost beat up by a girl who thought I was the [name]Stephanie[/name] who wrote her little sister a nasty note!

7

Honestly, if you really love one of those names, go for it! I grew up with a very popular name, but I knew more boys named [name]Aaron[/name] then girls. lol

Other suggestions:
[name]Archer[/name]
[name]Ezra[/name]
[name]Elias[/name]
[name]Dawson[/name]
[name]Roman[/name]
[name]Stellan[/name]
[name]Ellis[/name]
[name]Kellan[/name]
[name]Caedmon[/name]
[name]Elias[/name]
[name]Rhys[/name]
[name]Chandler[/name]
[name]Ivan[/name]
[name]Jonah[/name]
[name]Julian[/name]
[name]Cade[/name]

8

If you really love a name and can’t find anything else you love just as much, go ahead and use it regardless of popularity. It’s not a big deal. I’m an [name]Emily[/name], and I had a class with another [name]Emily[/name] maybe five times my entire school career. Never bothered me.

9

[name]Declan[/name] doesn’t really need a nickname…I’d keep it. Also, [name]Cashel[/name] (Celtic castle or fortress), [name]Bastian[/name], or [name]Silas[/name].

10

I totally get what you are saying. I grew up with a popular name, and hated never being the only “[name]Rachel[/name]” anywhere that I went. So I made sure that my own daughter had a more uncommon, although still recognizable name. For my boys, I chose relatively more popular names. [name]One[/name] has been in the top 20 since 1983 (still there) and the other was my attempt to be more distinctive (it was hovering around #30 the years that my sons were being born.) Since that time, my more “distinctive” name choice has shot up to the national top 5, and my older son’s name has decreased in popularity standing (still not what anyone would call uncommon by any stretch.) So you never know what will happen to the popularity of the names that you like. I also really think that a name’s popularity means so much more for girls than boys. [name]Both[/name] of my sons like having top 20 names, and I even went through the state standings with my younger son and he was THRILLED when we found out that his name was #1 in [name]New[/name] Mexico! (not where we live) My advice would be to try to chose a name that you and your husband [name]LOVE[/name] so that you won’t be sad no matter what happens to the popularity standings. I’m currently trying to name my fourth son and luckily the name that I love is still out of the top 100 but since it has been suggested twice in this thread alone, I’m pretty sure that it won’t be so uncommon for so long. [name]Will[/name] I be disappointed when/ if that happpens? Yeah, a little bit. But I [name]LOVE[/name] the name so much that I will still [name]LOVE[/name] it even if it gets to be top 20 in a couple of years.

11

I get distressed about name popularity, too, so I understand if it’s not really possible to go with it. Some of us have more name angst than others.

I’d keep [name]Declan[/name] on the list, as it’s not indistinguishable from [name]Dax[/name] by any means.

If not [name]Griffin[/name], how about [name]Griffith[/name]?

Other names that might fit your criteria: [name]Hugh[/name], [name]Hugo[/name], [name]Calder[/name], [name]Rowan[/name], [name]Logan[/name] (too popular in your area?), [name]Booker[/name], [name]Dexter[/name], [name]Ivan[/name], [name]Morgan[/name], [name]Alastair[/name]/[name]Alasdair[/name]/[name]Alister[/name], [name]Cormac[/name], [name]Conall[/name], [name]Fenton[/name]/[name]Fintan[/name], [name]Finnan[/name], [name]Fletcher[/name], [name]Ramsay[/name], [name]Ronan[/name]

12

I think you should keep the names on your list, even if they are popular. I grew up with a very popular name, and only ever knew one other girl with the same name. This may happen to your son. And even if there are a few others, that’ll be okay. It’s very unlikely there will be several in his class or on your block. You don’t need to give him a name that absolutely no one he meets will have. And the most common names on your list ([name]Lucas[/name], [name]Benjamin[/name]) are classics that people love and respect. Since you don’t have something ridiculously popular on your list ([name]Mason[/name], [name]Jayden[/name], [name]Noah[/name]), I think you should just stick with them. His personality will set him apart from others, so you might as well choose a name you love – you’ll have to spend the rest of your life saying it :slight_smile:

13

Unless you use an -aden name or [name]Mason[/name], there aren’t any names as popular in this generation as when we were growing up. Nothing anywhere near as popular.

Use what you love, regardless of popularity.

14

[name]Just[/name] piling on with everyone else saying don’t give up on your names. I looked up which state [name]Ian[/name] is currently the most popular in ([name]Texas[/name]) and how many little boys got that name in 2012 vs. how many little girls were named [name]Stephanie[/name] at the peak of [name]Stephanie[/name]'s popularity. 780 vs. 1,979. [name]Texas[/name] has another ten million more people living there than in 1985 too, so those little Ians are even more spread out. It looks like [name]Ian[/name] in 2012 is actually about as popular as [name]Joel[/name] or [name]Edward[/name] was in 1985.

15

[name]Bravo[/name]! Thanks for looking at the popularity lists. It’s sad really when you name your child [name]Michael[/name] or [name]Emily[/name] and from kindergarten to college and even at work they’ll be [name]Emily[/name] S. or [name]Emily[/name] J. I’d look at the unusual names list and jot down a few that catches your eye. You definitely dodged a bullet there.

16

Why is that “sad”?