What are your guys’ thoughts about the top 1000 names? Would you use them for your daughter?
I’m very conflicted by this, as I love so many popular names, but I also definitely would prefer to have my kid be the only Aurora in her classroom 
It can be difficult to find names that I love that are uncommon.
1 Like
I also prefer uncommon names, so I understand your struggle.
It may help if you go on the SSA website and see how many children are given the name each year. This helped me put things in perspective. For the girl column, the last name within the top 1,000 ([name_f]Dixie[/name_f]) was only given to 256 girls in the entire US! While #1 ([name_f]Olivia[/name_f]) was given to 18,451 girls. That’s a huge difference!
For [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], 4,952 girls were given that name in 2019. So it’s a fair amount, but still not super common.
Since this is your first post (welcome to NB!) I’ve found it incredibly helpful to pick apart what I love about a name and ask for other suggestions in new posts. Who knows, you may fall in love with something that is less common, but still ticks the boxes that [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] does for you!
7 Likes
Well I don’t want a child with a name that’s say top 50 but a name from rank #51 to #1000 is fine.
2 Likes
I’m trying to let go of my obsession with name popularities. Mostly because I love [name_f]Clara[/name_f] even though it’s in the top 100. But I would definitely rather my child not be one of three in their classroom!
1 Like
Well, my favorite boy’s name is at #70 and my favorite girl’s name is not even in the top 2000, so obviously I have mixed feelings. :,)
I’ve never met an [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], young or old.
Also, for the record, I’ve met someone with my favorite girls name and no one with my favorite boys name. Popularity is SO random. However, I would avoid top 50 personally unless it was a name I was sold on for decades prior.
2 Likes
Once you get past the top 100, most names aren’t really popular at all. [name_m]Even[/name_m] so, I don’t think popularity should stop you from using [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] if you love it!
3 Likes
Actually, even the top 100 is unreliable, as popularity can vary wildly from state to state. I live in [name_f]Canada[/name_f] and in [name_m]Ontario[/name_m], our top name for the last decade was [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] - I also work with kids, and have yet to meet any Olivias at work. The most common names I’ve met are [name_f]Zoe[/name_f], [name_u]Hadley[/name_u] and [name_u]Harlyn[/name_u] - none of which rank in [name_m]Ontario[/name_m]. If you look regionally though, [name_f]Zoe[/name_f] is one of the top choices for where I live.
Your best bet is to use the SSA or respective site of wherever you live, and check regional statistics. [name_u]Blakely[/name_u] is in the top 200-300 range nationally, but ranks in the top 100 of a handful of states, for example.
National top 1000s are good at providing a general idea, but for accuracy, it’s best to look at your region’s lists. And even then, it’s still not guaranteed you’ll avoid a truly popular name, but it does make it a lot easier than using a national list.
5 Likes
For me, I don’t pay attention to where a name lands on the Top 1000 chart (if its on there at all) when I’m looking at names. I’m more particular about how “popular” it is with the family members we associate with on a regular basis. I don’t want my child to be 1 of 6 or 1 of 15 in our family. I have 2 exceptions for this, and both will have a distinctive NN – if my SO demands a jr. or hates the name I chose to honor 2 very important people on my list.
If the name coincides with one that a friend has, then I’ll have a distinctive NN for my child which will differentiate them from any others with the name we associate with regularly.
2 Likes
If I like a name, I like it. Idk, popularity just doesn’t bother me. I also agree with @shells15.
2 Likes
I struggle with this too! I have a very unique name (I’ve never met or even heard of another person with the same name), so I would love for my kids to have that same one-of-a-kind name, but it’s so hard because most of the names I love tend to fall within that top 1000.
Ultimately, I think if you love a name. You love it. Name popularity is worth consideration but not stress. Your kiddo will be one of a kind and bring their unique personality to a name no matter how popular it is.
4 Likes
I agree with earlier posters, in that most names in the top 1000 aren’t that common, but I would note that [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] is rising quickly through the charts (look here for more information). So, while it’s numbers are likely to stay relatively low, it is becoming more popular. On the other hand, popularity has never been an important factor for me (in fact, I prefer a known name to a unique one), but each to their own. Good luck!
1 Like
I find it more helpful to look at raw numbers rather than popularity rankings, like @Elle1 suggested.
Also, I would recommend looking at the top 100 or top 1000 (if available) for the year you were born and ask yourself how many people with those names you actually know. I find it helps to put things into perspective. For instance, [name_f]Chantelle[/name_f] and [name_u]Tyler[/name_u] were apparently in the top 100 when I was born, but I don’t know anyone with those names.
2 Likes
All in all, I wouldn’t worry about the popularity of a name if you truly love it. 
In the US if you type in the name you want to look at on the SSA website, it will show you the popularity of the name. This includes both the popularity over time, for that year and the most popular year. For example, in looking at [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] (#1), you’ll notice:
- For 2019, the number of births with name [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] is 18451, which represents 1.012 percent of total female births in 2019.
- The year when the name [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] was most popular is also 2019.
18,451 births may seem like a lot, but when you take into account the population of the US and the number of names out there, it amounts to only 1.012% of all the names given for 2019.
While it may be more popular in some areas than others, most names are fairly well spread out across the country. I wouldn’t be worried about the national or state records as much. If you’re concerned about whether the name is popular in your area, I’d look at county baby name lists instead. That will be more accurate than the Top 1000.
For example, the number one girl name in San Diego Co., CA in 2019 was Olivia. Out of 17,958 female births, only 243 were named Olivia. This amounts to 1.35% of all female births being named Olivia.
7 Likes
There are lots of names in the top 1000 that i would consider, probably not in the top 100 but i think my love for a name would override it being in the top 1000
1 Like
I generally stay away from the top 50. [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] was number 40 as of 2019, but in 2018 there were only 4785 girls named [name_f]Aurora[/name_f]. It’s likely for an [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] to meet another [name_f]Aurora[/name_f], but there’s probably not gonna be 3 Auroras in one class, unlike Emmas or Olivias.
2 Likes
Maybe it’s because I live in a small town, but I never see very many of these names being used! 
[name_m]Even[/name_m] [name_f]Emma[/name_f], one of my absolute favorites, I haven’t heard in a very long time! It doesn’t bother me at all that all of my names are within the top 1000!
2 Likes
I’m definitely inclined to avoid the Top 100, but the Top 1000 is a long list. Maybe things are different in the US because of the vast population difference.
But in an Australian example, my first was 1 of about 300,000 babies born in 2018. The most popular names that year were [name_u]Oliver[/name_u], with 2063 boys bearing that name, and 1687 Charlottes. [name_m]Even[/name_m] assuming that the gender divide was 50/50, that’s still less than 2% of babies born bearing the #1 name.
By contrast, the #100 rank went to [name_m]Leon[/name_m] (155) and [name_f]Olive[/name_f] (107).
In that year, I don’t know where [name_m]Bruce[/name_m] landed beyond the Top 100 (certainly within the Top 1000), but that name was given to 8 boys that year. 8 babies out of 300,000 were called [name_m]Bruce[/name_m]. Is there a chance that more than 1 of those 8 live in our region? Sure. But wouldn’t that be quite the coincidence!
2 Likes
I don’t pay much attention to the popularity of names. Some of my favorites are in the top 1000, some aren’t. Unless the name has become tired or dated in your experience or community, I wouldn’t pay much mind to it! Popular names are popular for a reason! Most names aren’t actually used for as many children as you would think anyway.
1 Like
The top 1000 is for the country as a whole, so it isn’t a perfect representation of your area. Looking at stats specifically for your state or region would give you a better view, I think.
It’s also important to remember that even if a name is in the top 1000, there are so many different names being given each year that a high-ranking name doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll know a lot of babies with that name. For me personally, I would avoid names in the top 200, but if it’s a name I really love I’d use it regardless of ranking.
1 Like
Top 1000 doesn’t bother me at all. I would only avoid top 100 if you’re worried about popularity. It also depends on where the trend is going. Is the name gaining popularity or is going down in popularity or is staying pretty even.
Personally, I tend to like more names that aren’t super popular but still have recognition to them. I don’t think I would want to constantly explain the name or where it came from etc.
1 Like