[name_m]Hi[/name_m] Berries!
I’m a proud name-nerd, just like a lot of you. And, also like a lot of you, I’m bothered by how popular a name is. [name_f]Hazel[/name_f]? It’s in the top 50! [name_u]Harper[/name_u]? It’s in the top TEN!!! Completely unusable.
But now I’ve ended up in a situation where both of my favorite names are relatively common. I love the names [name_u]Jude[/name_u] and [name_f]Iris[/name_f]. They’re so sweet and simple and strong at the same time. They both have a lot of meaning to me. But [name_u]Jude[/name_u] is the 153rd most popular boys name and rising, and [name_f]Iris[/name_f] is the 129th most popular name for girls and rising. In the Nameberry 2028 predictions, [name_u]Jude[/name_u] is 107th and [name_f]Iris[/name_f] is number 70!!! I love names, and it would make me really sad if, after having so many unique name on my list, my daughter [name_f]Iris[/name_f] is one of three or four in her grade.
But I love the names so much, and they have a lot of meaning to me. I don’t to give them up! For whatever reason, I’m less worried about giving my future son a popular name, but am very worried about giving my daughter a popular name. I don’t know. I have so many other great names on my list. Should I give up my favorites and go for those?
Please help me out Berries! This is making me so frustrated.
Best, [name_f]Annabel[/name_f]
In my opinion, I think you should keep your favorites. [name_f]My[/name_f] favorite boys name ([name_m]Ronan[/name_m]) is also rising quickly in the States, but I’d use it regardless as it’s an honor for my late father + has other significance to me. You mentioned your names have significance to you, which I’d say trumps popularity any day. Naming predictions also aren’t 100% accurate, so I don’t think you need to worry just yet. [name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helped.
honestly, i think people overestimate how much you’re going to see names beyond the top 50. i was an elizabeth in a year where it ranked 10th lol and i’ve STILL only been in one class with another elizabeth my whole life. especially if you love the names i wouldn’t worry about it too much.
I think [name_f]Iris[/name_f] is absolutely timeless enough that popularity isn’t an issue. For me, the ones I would shy away from are trends that will end up feeling dated, and [name_f]Iris[/name_f] is so far from that. If you’re concerned about uniqueness, I’d recommend giving her some more unusual middle names. This is what my parents did with me and I’m really grateful for it because although I’ve met multiple people with my first name (it was number 400ish the year I was born but I went to school with 5 others), I always felt like my name had a bit more edge because nobody else has my combination of first and middles
I know I always bring this up, but I have [name_f]Emma[/name_f] on my list and I probably always will. I’m a firm believer that if you truly love a name, you should absolutely use it! [name_m]Even[/name_m] if [name_f]Emma[/name_f] is dull to most people it is still extremely special to me! You will always come back to the names that you love!
I think you should hold onto and consider using the names you love.
IMO name popularity charts are a bit overrated. Here me out before you say anything. With the number of names out there today, the number of people using the top names has gone down in percentage in comparison to what it used to be.
Also, are you looking at the chart for the country you reside in or the locality you are in? In a larger country with 100s of 1000s of births a year, the spread may mean significantly lower numbers in each locality than what one may think.
If it is too popular in your area, then that’s one thing. But if it isn’t, than think about how popular the name is within your own circle. How many within your immediate circle have blessed their child with that name?
IMHO I would stick with how popular the name is within your family (both the family you’re related to and the family you have chosen for yourself). I wouldn’t care if my child is one of a few in their grade (which they will only be in for a short while in life) as long as they aren’t one of several in the immediate family. I also think a stand out NN is something that can set your child apart from similarly named classmates.
They’re not that popular. Not even in the top 100. It would be incredible if [name_f]Iris[/name_f] has other three Irises in her classroom That doesn’t happen even with some top 20 names. I honestly think you’re overthinking in this case
If that helps, my name was in top 20 for my birth year and very similar variants (usually shortened to my name) ranked 50-something and 80-something. For eight years I never had another [name] or [variant] in my classroom, this year (ninth grade) there’s just another one
As someone who has an unusual (never in the top 1000) name and would actually love something more common–my take on this is that there is just no perfect level of popularity, and therefore that it usually makes sense to decide based on other factors. [name_f]Iris[/name_f] and [name_u]Jude[/name_u] are names that you love and that feel meaningful to you. To me that’s more than enough reason to use them! At the end of the day, a name being popular is just an indicator that lots of people like it–I don’t think that’s a bad thing
I feel your pain!! I’m terrified that [name_f]Margo[/name_f] is going to be too popular for me by the time I’m actually ready to use it. I know a lot of berries have fallen out of love with [name_f]Margo[/name_f], but I still love it. [name_f]My[/name_f] partner and I hope to eventually have kids and we’ve both decided that this is the name we would want to give to our first daughter. If we have another girl, her name would be [name_f]Astrid[/name_f] (after my grandmother). I want to use these names but it would be hard for me if they ever went into the top 100. As a girl who had a really popular name growing up, I want to make sure my kids don’t have to go through the same thing. It can sometimes feel like my name doesn’t really belong to me. There’s like five other Megans in every school I’ve ever gone to. I want to use a middle name for [name_f]Margo[/name_f] that would let her go by MJ if she ever felt like that. I love the nickname (and don’t really care about the drug connection). Besides that, my partner’s name starts with a J so I think it’s a perfect fit.
Having a middle name as a nickname option or a backup might make you feel better! I’m a lot less worried about checking the popularity after I came up with this solution. But I also want to remind you that there are a lot of people looking for unique names nowadays. A name in the fifth slot isn’t going to be used as many times as it would’ve been for a fifth slot in the 1940s. And some people are genuinely okay with having a popular name anyway. If that happens, your kids will always be able to find those little keychains with their name printed on it!
Thanks for you reply. What a funny coincidence! I actually know real-life siblings named A.s.t.r.i.d and M.a.r.g.o.t (sorry for the periods, just for my friend’s privacy )
That happened to me. [name_f]My[/name_f] parents gave me a name that wasn’t popular at the time, but it gained a lot of popularity and there were a number of other girls with the same name in my class at school.
It’s not the end of the world I think if you love the names and they’re meaningful to you, your kids are unlikely to mind being one of a handful at school. It never made me feel less unique or anything like that!
[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helped.
That doesn’t happen even with some top 20 names. I honestly think you’re overthinking in this case
)
I think if you love the names and they’re meaningful to you, your kids are unlikely to mind being one of a handful at school. It never made me feel less unique or anything like that!