What do you think about trendy and popular names?
A lot of parents try to stay away from the trendy/popular names because they are concerned that their child will grow up knowing more than one person of that name.
What do you think is the impact of a trendy/popular name for the child?
[name]How[/name] do you know what the current trendy or popular names are and should that really influence you in your big decision?
Well I think the concern is 2-fold
On the other hand, kids like to fit in so I think you have to balance these considerations against having a name that will make your child feels like he or she “fits in”.
I agree with the points that [name]Sarah[/name] made. In addition, I think for some, including myself, baby naming is a creative outlet. One of my sisters and I had more common names and always had to attach our last initial to the first name. To many of my friends I am only called my last name. I would rather my kids not have to deal with that.
I work with the public and constantly meet new people. In the past week I have met two expecting mothers who have already chosen the name [name]Isabella[/name]. One had two kids already with top 6 names. Since I’m obsessed with names I always ask either what the baby is going to be named or is already named. As pretty as [name]Isabella[/name], [name]Sophie[/name] and [name]Olivia[/name] (or some version) are they are almost the only names I hear. For boys, [name]Carter[/name] and [name]Jackson[/name] are the most popular ones that I hear.
I did meet a [name]Huck[/name], [name]Maeve[/name] and [name]Elle[/name] one day. Super cute sibling names:)
You run a fine line with going with too trendy, as [name]Sarah[/name] points out. But what do you do when you really love a name, despite its’ trendiness?
As an example, a poster on another board was grappling with naming her newborn [name]Liam[/name], for the simple reason that it was too trendy. The posters were in agreement that she should go ahead and name her son [name]Liam[/name].
It begs the question, should we avoid names like [name]Emily[/name] and [name]Emma[/name] or [name]Aiden[/name] and [name]Jack[/name] like the plague if we absolutely love those names? Are we too caught up with others’ perceptions that we’re willing to be swayed in different directions when it comes to naming our children?
I would like some more people to weigh in on this issue!
Interesting subject!
Personally I always loved having an uncommon name and knew I would be giving my children unusual names as well.
However, I think that if you love a name above all others, by all means you should use it regardless of its popularity! I’ve written it before on these boards but it bears repeating: the child is ultimately and entirely more important than the name. I think we name nerds have a tendency to forget that our children will be beautiful and wonderful no matter what we name them. Afterall, a rose by any other name…
My opinion when it comes to popular names is this: although it’s not my style, there is nothing wrong with giving your child a popular name as long as it is classy and/or classic.
A naming fad is what is to be avoided like the plague (i.e. “meganames” such as [name]Aiden[/name]/[name]Aidan[/name]/[name]Ayden[/name]/[name]Aaden[/name]/[name]Caden[/name]/[name]Caeden[/name]/[name]Brayden[/name]/[name]Jaden[/name]/[name]Jayden[/name]/[name]Hayden[/name]/[name]Zaden[/name]… you get the point)
Popular vs. out of control. That’s the issue for me.
I really like the name [name]Olivia[/name] and [name]Chloe[/name], and I think [name]Daniel[/name] and [name]Ethan[/name] are also top ten, top 5 even. I would not hesitate to choose a name that’s been in my heart a long time to use, unless I was really tired of it or it didn’t go with the last name. I don’t love [name]Olivia[/name] or [name]Chloe[/name] above any other names for girls though. [name]Sarah[/name] at #20 (although I prefer [name]Sara[/name]) has been one of my favorite names for a long time, and is not really as popular as it looks. I go with percentages particularly. Names that are the most popular now are not nearly as popular as names were when I was growing up - that is, the year I was born, nearly 1% of girls were named [name]Karen[/name]. That is the same as [name]Emma[/name] is now, but my name was 12th most popular, not 1st. I often did have to use my last initial, but I didn’t feel worried about it. There were more than twice as many Jennifers, twice as many Lisas, besides 9 other names more popular than mine. I didn’t feel my name was epidemic at school. Other girls shared the name, but we were rarely confused with one another and plenty of times, I was the only [name]Karen[/name] in my class. More people are choosing other names on purpose, so that fewer people overall have the most popular names.
That is how I feel about popularity of names. If you look at the percentages, and you are able to compare with something like your own name in the year you were born, in the area where you grew up, and how did it feel for you to have the same name or a different name than others? I don’t like “different” names, I don’t like “the same” names. I like the names I like, and as an adult, one’s child will have a good name if you pick a name you like, not just because you get stressed out about eleven other Isabellas in her class. That’s not exactly likely, if you get the idea that the trendiest trend is to be different now.
I would, however, except [name]Emma[/name] and all the [name]Em[/name] names. There are girl [name]Em[/name] and boy [name]Em[/name] names. They may each have a unique variation in one classroom, but that’s too much. [name]Amelia[/name] is probably the closest name to those that I would use, but anything like [name]Em[/name]- might just be too many. Other trends like girls names that end in -la, short names like [name]Kayla[/name] or [name]Isla[/name] or [name]Lila[/name] or [name]Leila[/name] or [name]Stella[/name]… not exactly as big a deal since it falls at the end. I think that will be more dated in the future as an epidemic trend overall, as names of every era seem to have one common theme of trend sounds (names that end with -elle like [name]Danielle[/name] and [name]Michelle[/name], -een like [name]Doreen[/name] or [name]Maureen[/name], -is like [name]Phyllis[/name] and [name]Doris[/name], etc.)
Longer names that end in -bella or -belle or -ella or -elle might be more confusing, as well as names that end with the syllable -leigh or -ley, the latter more for some boys have those names too, also -line (lyn) or -lan.
I would overall avoid very few names based on how popular they are, and by the same token, quite a few I would avoid based on how popular they aren’t. Some of these are considered “dated” instead of not actually pleasant or appealing to hear about or meet. I admire people with interesting names or who find interesting names for their children, but I probably wouldn’t get too far away from the top 300 or 400 just to be different. The percentage of people who do, though, account for a name like [name]Olivia[/name] being a lot less popular now than [name]Karen[/name] was when I was in school.
In the workplace, people will come from all over, and be different ages, so a name on a grown-up will have a lot different effect. They won’t all be the same age, so either things will balance out or if a lot of people are nearly the same age, the popularity of a name will compound over the decade or two that a name has been popular.
I still think a different name doesn’t make anyone special or more interesting, any more than a common name naturally diminishes what may be unique about them. It tells more about the parents than anything.