[name]Hi[/name]-
We are due with our fourth (2nd girl) in a few weeks. We love the name [name]Grace[/name] - and it was my husband’s grandma’s name. But I am worried it is too popular! But I think we might use it anyway…I want to use [name]Mary[/name] - my mom’s name, my grandma’s and my middle. But [name]Elinore[/name] is another family name we could use. So here are the two options - please tell me which you like more!!
[name]Grace[/name] [name]Mary[/name]
or
[name]Gracie[/name] [name]Elinore[/name]
All my other three have “nickname” type names (i.e. [name]Charlie[/name], not [name]CHarles[/name]) - which is why I thought [name]Gracie[/name] might work? And it is not quite as popular as [name]Grace[/name] - maybe??
If you love a name, then you should use it no matter how popular it is.
I personally prefer [name]Gracie[/name] [name]Elinor[/name], especially since [name]Gracie[/name] fits in better with your other childrens’ names.
I would say half the girls at the daycare I work at, in my group alone, have [name]Grace[/name] as a middle name and several go by [name]Gracie[/name]. I would consider it very popular. However, if you are set on it as a first name and love it, then don’t let the popularity bother you.
If you’d go for 2 middle names, I’d suggest [name]Elinor[/name] [name]Mary[/name] [name]Grace[/name].
otherwise, I would pick [name]Grace[/name] [name]Elinore[/name] as I don’t feel that [name]Gracie[/name] on it’s own would be a good name for a grown woman. It’s an adorable nickname, but picture it on a doctor or whatnot.
So [name]Grace[/name] [name]Elinor[/name] nn [name]Gracie[/name].
Darn it! Is it REALLY that popular? I have been trying to convince myself that it is not…I am ok with [name]Gracie[/name] as a grown up’s name. Our other daughter is [name]Annie[/name] (named after my husband’s nana who was also an [name]Annie[/name] - not [name]Anne[/name]) and I know tons of grown up Annies, Charlies, and other nicknam-y types who have all sorts of professions. So I am not worried about that. But I [name]DON[/name]'T want her to have to be [name]Gracie[/name] P. or whatever in school :(. Any other feedback out there - does everyone know tons of [name]Grace[/name]/[name]Gracie[/name] kid/babies??
Thanks so much!
I have a “[name]Grace[/name]” who is 6. Because she was my first, when I chose her name, I had no clue/concern about name popularity. I had never known a “[name]Grace[/name]” in real life, but had heard of the name from friends – it was their grandmothers’ name! I always liked it, thought it so pretty and elegant, and DH did, too, so, “[name]Grace[/name]” it was. In 6 years, I’ve only met 2 other “Graces” casually (one is 6-ish and one is 3-ish), but know tons of people (young and older) who have “[name]Grace[/name]” as a middle name, and that doesn’t bother me at all. My sister named her 1st daughter “[name]Madeleine[/name]” 6 years ago, and was also clueless about popularity at the time. BUT, neither of us regrets our choice. Hang in there, and good luck!
I’ve worked with kids for several years and I’ve only run into a couple kids named [name]Grace[/name]/[name]Gracie[/name], so I don’t think of it as being a popular first name at all. Popularity really depends on your area so I would suggest checking your local birth announcements and just keeping an ear out for what names are common in your older children’s classes. If you really love the name though, I wouldn’t let something as trivial as popularity stop you from using it.
I love [name]Mary[/name] [name]Grace[/name] [name]Elinor[/name] or [name]Elinor[/name] [name]Mary[/name] [name]Grace[/name]. Personally I would hyphenate [name]Mary[/name]-[name]Grace[/name], but that’s just me, lol! You could still call her “[name]Gracie[/name]” with these names if you chose.
I love [name]Grace[/name]! I don’t know a ton of kids but there are two Graces that go to my church. They’re both in the same grade, even, haha, and I think they used to be pretty close friends. I know two babies (both born in the past 2 or so years, I think) who are [name]Lily[/name] [name]Grace[/name] and [name]Natalie[/name] [name]Grace[/name], too. They both go by their FNs, though, so it doesn’t really add to the popularity of [name]Gracie[/name]/[name]Grace[/name].
I think [name]Grace[/name] [name]Elinore[/name] would be fabulous, actually–to me, [name]Gracie[/name] is a lot more childish than just [name]Annie[/name] or just [name]Charlie[/name] is, and I think [name]Grace[/name] is just fine with [name]Annie[/name] and [name]Charlie[/name]. She can still go by the nn [name]Gracie[/name] so I don’t think she’d be too out-of-place. I just did the research for another thread, and I believe it was 7,598 Graces that were born in 2010, which is somewhere within the top 20 on the SSA list. I don’t remember it’s exact rank. That averaged out to 152 Graces born in each state, which really doesn’t seem like that much to me, but I guess it could be.
Thank you thank you for those responses. It really does depend of your area! Our second child is “[name]Leo[/name]” and there are virtually no [name]Leos[/name] in our town EXCEPT for our neighborhood and school (it is an alternative school and we just go there because it is also our neighborhood school). There is a [name]Leo[/name] in every class! However - I don’t think there are ANY Graces at the school :). The Graces we know are at church. I think you are right [name]Ash[/name] - [name]Gracie[/name] IS more childish than [name]Annie[/name] or [name]Charlie[/name] or [name]Leo[/name]… I still like it, but I like [name]Grace[/name] a lot too. The thing about the other names, is we didn’t like the more “formal” versions ([name]Anne[/name], [name]Charles[/name], [name]Leonard[/name], or whatever). Plus, we both used to teach for many years and felt so bad for all the kids who had one name on the roster, but wanted to go by a different name. We swore we would just name the kids what we wanted to actually call them! [name]Grace[/name] is just a tough one because I like [name]Grace[/name] and [name]Gracie[/name] equally. Thanks again for replies!!
Aww, well, imo, [name]Leo[/name] changes everything to me! [name]Leo[/name] is a legitimate name all on its own just like [name]Grace[/name] is, and I think sweet, simple [name]Grace[/name] is just so stunning. I had a few hesitations because I didn’t know what your third child’s name was, but I think [name]Annie[/name], [name]Charlie[/name], [name]Leo[/name], and [name]Grace[/name] are just perfect together. (You probably noticed [name]Grace[/name] in my signature, though, haha, so I’m biased… I just think simple, sweet, stunning [name]Grace[/name] is perfect on its own. The two Graces I know went by [name]Gracie[/name] a lot when they were itty bitty, but now they’re in fifth grade or so and I don’t think either of them go by [name]Gracie[/name] anymore! I think it’d be nice to be able to just have [name]Grace[/name] without having to worry about the more cutesy [name]Gracie[/name] later on in life… [name]Just[/name] me, though, haha.)