[name_m]Hi[/name_m] there! I have some kiddos with unique names currently (not too far-fetched, but we’re talking 200-400 SSA range).
For another baby, I find myself loving the common trend of girl names like [name_f]Violet[/name_f], [name_u]Ruby[/name_u], [name_f]Iris[/name_f], [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f]…but it feels off to stick them with a name that they could share with multiple kids in a classroom or group environments.
Anyone else dealt with this? Or have any words for reconciling the fear of having a kid end up always being ____ first name + _ last initial? This was how I grew up with a super common name and I did NOT like it!
I would avoid [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f], but I think you really only need to worry about being [name_f]Iris[/name_f] X. if it is in the top 30ish or unusually popular in your area. Since you have kids already, I would guess if you don’t know any others by those names they are probably safe. If it will really bug you to run into others though, I’m sure you can find a less popular nature name (Pearl, Sienna, Opal …)
I’d look at your states data
As mentioned above, you can look at the data in your state. [name_m]Just[/name_m] because a name is generally popular doesn’t mean they’d have a bunch in your class. Likewise, just because it’s uncommon doesn’t mean you won’t have a couple. There’s a name that’s ranked low on the charts (in the 700s of the SSA), yet through associations, I know of three.
The thing that matters is that you love the name. [name_f]Remember[/name_f] that popular names aren’t as heavily used as they used to be in the past. [name_f]Emma[/name_f] (the #1 name) was used on 1.0528% of total female births in 2017, while in 1980 [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f] was used on 3.2789% of total female births.
For 2017:
[name_f]Violet[/name_f] 0.2506%
[name_u]Ruby[/name_u] 0.1888%
[name_f]Iris[/name_f] 0.1050%
[name_f]Scarlett[/name_f] 0.4096% (although, it does have two other spellings on the list)
Personally I think as long as the popular name doesn’t sound out of place in your sibset, then popularity doesn’t matter.
I was one of three [name_f]Carys[/name_f]'s in my school year but I never really remember being known as [name_f]Carys[/name_f] X.
These are just my thoughts though of course!
To me, popularity doesn’t matter. My name is [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] and it was #1 in 1995 and #2 in 1996 (the year I was born). I’ve always loved my name. In fact, until high school, I had never been in a class with another [name_f]Jessica[/name_f]. [name_m]Just[/name_m] because a name is popular doesn’t mean you will meet someone in school with that name. My mom’s co-worker named her daughter Greysen because she thought it was an uncommon name turned out that a lot of little girls were named Greysen that year. My cousin and my boyfriend’s cousin (both under the age of 5) have the name [name_m]Liam[/name_m], last years #1. Ironically, my cousin said they wanted a unique name. Should have looked that one up. Sometimes the less common names end up more popular than the names in the top 50.