I’ve been stuck on a family name, [name]Ruby[/name]. But among my family names from [name]Alice[/name] to [name]Bunny[/name], I’m not sure where this name falls when it comes to mainstream status. On one hand, it’s a top 10 name in a lot of other countries. On the other hand, it’s rarer in [name]America[/name], so I’m probably not going to hear [name]Ruby[/name] as much as our UK berries.
Nonetheless, while I don’t have a problem if it is trendy or not, I would love feedback on just how trendy or how untrendy the name is in order to know how to treat the name.Is it more like [name]Olivia[/name] or is it more like [name]Eulalie[/name]?They are both names I love, but one of those names is different in it’s mainstream status than the other.
I would say [name]Ruby[/name] is somewhere in between [name]Olivia[/name] and [name]Eulalie[/name], but closer to [name]Olivia[/name]… it isn’t at the top of the popularity list (#113), but it’s been on a slow climb for quite a while. It’s familiar, well used, but not trendy per se… kind of a fitting in/standing out name, which is great!
I hear it a bit here in [name]Brooklyn[/name]…I guess it’s kind of along the lines of [name]Norah[/name] / [name]Eleanor[/name] is?
It’s a bit like [name]Violet[/name] to me. That is, nobody will react WTF and most people have heard of it and many people know one, but possibly their grandmother. It’s not anywhere near [name]Eulalie[/name] obscurity but it’s not [name]Olivia[/name] either, in the US. I would put it in the basket with [name]Pearl[/name] and [name]Veronica[/name].
I am American and lived in the US until two years ago. It is full on [name]Olivia[/name]/[name]Sophia[/name]/[name]Isabella[/name] here in Australia but it’s not like that in the US unless there’s been a drastic shift in my absence.
Thank you for your responses so far. If it’s being heard around [name]Brooklyn[/name], then I guess it might be going somewhere.
stripedsocks- I knew it was at [name]Olivia[/name]/[name]Sophia[/name]/[name]Isabella[/name] level outside of the US. If I move out of the US, I’ll probably put [name]Ruby[/name] on the backburner.
yeah I am just echoing what pp said but I rank [name]Ruby[/name] with [name]Lucy[/name]…it’s cute it’s darling but most people know someone with that name that has been recently born…and then they know their grandparents…so while cute I just always think of what people will say on facebook.
and I guarentee if you announced your babies name (after it’s born or whatever) SOMEONE would say “I know a girl named [name]Ruby[/name] in soandso’s class she’s sweet…I like your name!” something to that effect…does that make sense?
I don’t know if it’s mainstream, but I know at least one person who named his daughter [name]Ruby[/name]. He was a professor of mine in graduate school, so it’s been a few years now. She’d be around 5 or so. I certainly don’t think anyone would be stunned by it. It seems to occupy a nice middle ground between popular and quirky and recognizable.
I like [name]Ruby[/name] a lot! It’s currently ranked at 113 in the US, so not exactly like [name]Olivia[/name], but not exactly like the unranked [name]Eulalie[/name], either, haha. I would say more [name]Olivia[/name] than [name]Eulalie[/name], though. Nameberry predicts that it’s on the rise–I would expect to probably see it in the top 100 for 2011’s SSA list.
[name]LOVE[/name] [name]Ruby[/name], btw! 
It’s a family name for me, too. I have heard it’s fairly mainstream (although not as popular as [name]Leah[/name], [name]Riley[/name], [name]Savannah[/name], or [name]Sophia[/name]), but I’ve only met one. I would probably only use it as a MN, but I think it makes a lovely FN, too. If popularity concerns you, maybe using it as a MN would work better for you?
I don’t know… [name]One[/name] of my family friends has a 4 year old [name]Ruby[/name] [name]Mathilde[/name], but they have two older boys [name]Hugo[/name] [name]Solomon[/name] and [name]Oscar[/name] [name]Luca[/name], so their style is a bit more stylish and less trendy. I guess it depends on where you live, if you’re like me, you hear names like this a lot. But I live in NYC, and it obviously varies. If you love it, go for it!
I would say yes, it’s trendy overall in the US, because using “old lady names,” as they are so often called, is a trend. But whether you will hear it a lot depends on the type of area you live in. [name]Ruby[/name] is not in the top 100 for my state, and in most parts of the state would not be considered mainstream. However, it’s very popular in my neck of the woods. We live in a small city just outside of a very large southern city, and it really only common in this part of the area from what I’ve been able to tell. My 22 month old is [name]Ruby[/name], and I’ve met 6 others in the year I’ve lived here! Most of her friends also have vintage/ “old lady” names in a similar vein-- [name]Violet[/name], [name]Lucy[/name], [name]Vivian[/name], [name]Eliza[/name], [name]Clara[/name]. We met a [name]Clementine[/name] the other day. I’ve never met an [name]Isabella[/name], [name]Sophia[/name], [name]Madison[/name], [name]Addison[/name], etc. here. But go a few miles outside our little city, and you’re surrounded by Avas and Jaydens. I know this because I trot her around to all the different library story times in the county So, I guess it just depends on the type of area you live in. Obviously I think it’s a gorgeous name regardless!
I would definitely check on the SSA website. In my state, [name]Ruby[/name] is #47 on the list, much higher than the national average.
I find it quite popular here in Australia, at least where I’m living. [name]Even[/name] though I know it’s and older name, I think of it as one of the popular 90’s names like [name]Sarah[/name], [name]Madison[/name], [name]Emily[/name], [name]Katie[/name], [name]Emma[/name] and et cetera.