For so many years way before it was popular i adored the name [name_f]Amelia[/name_f]. I still adore it but I just can’t use a band that high in popularity. What about you?
[name_f]Victoria[/name_f] would be it for me.
In reality, at least for many, there are very few names a person would actually adore so much that they would use it. Often there is another person involved. If I absolutely adore a name, feel the name is The One, I will use it no matter how popular. Popularity changes, people move, there is no guarantees that using a less popular name will mean there won’t be several around, a popular name does not mean you will meet or know one (for example I have only known one [name_f]Amelia[/name_f]), etc. If I am able to give up a name just because a chart says it’s popular or I have known/met a few, then I didn’t fully adore it and feel it was The One. The names I put in my signature are names I truly would use. I am attached to them. They are special. They feel right. It would take something major for me to not use them.
Also love the same [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] but possibly going to use as a middle for a much less common name, Liat [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] or [name_f]Nurit[/name_f] [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] 
[name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] is a long time love for me, probably the longest ever. Needless to say, I worry about its popularity, but I just love it so, so much that if I have a girl and my future partner agrees and among other names on my list [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] somehow feels like fitting the baby girl best, I think I’ll use it anyway, just pairing it with less popular middle names.
Popularity is a minus point for me, but if I have every other reasons to use the name I love, then one minus point wouldn’t be a deal breaker. I think the sole minus point that’s enough to really stop me from using a name is a personal negative association. Everything else still can be discussed.
I realllly adore [name_u]Noah[/name_u] but I hate it’s popularity and it doesn’t fit in the middle name spot of any name in my opinion. It’s quite sad. 
I also really love [name_f]Chloe[/name_f] but everyone says its bland and dislikes it.
I used to really like [name_f]Emma[/name_f] but it’s driving me mad now that I hear it everywhere
Exactly. I couldn’t have said it better myself! 
[name_f]Isla[/name_f]
[name_f]Anna[/name_f]
[name_f]Frida[/name_f] ( in my country)
[name_f]Lily[/name_f]
[name_f]Luna[/name_f]
As a teacher, I have seen some of my favorite names become super-popular (as in, I’ve had three or 4 in a class): [name_f]Claire[/name_f], [name_f]Maggie[/name_f], [name_f]Caroline[/name_f], [name_f]Grace[/name_f]. I have gone off of those names as favorites though I still enjoy them.
I have had just as many Katherines and Emilys over time, though, and I could still imagine using either one of those names, as well as [name_f]Abigail[/name_f] and [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]. One of my all-time favorites is [name_f]Ellen[/name_f], and although that is not currently popular, I do worry that it would get lost among all of the Ellies, Ellas, and Eleanors.
I loved [name_f]Lily[/name_f] and [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] growing up, but they’re super popular now, which would discourage me, but if I really really loved them I’d use them anyway. Popularity is so relative now that so many parents go outside the box with names. [name_m]Even[/name_m] the top names aren’t all that prevalent when you look at numbers.
I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_f]Ivy[/name_f] because that’s probably my favorite plant except for all succulents and cacti, but it’s becoming popular again… [name_f]Autumn[/name_f] is pretty significant to me as well but too popular.
Another name I love is [name_m]Arthur[/name_m], but so does everybody else.
I also like classic names like [name_f]Rebekah[/name_f], [name_f]Rachel[/name_f], [name_m]Adam[/name_m], [name_m]David[/name_m], but I want something more special for my child.
My name is extremely popular, to the point where I cringe every time I have to introduce myself because I’m worried I’ll just have to hear about every [name_u]Abby[/name_u] the other person has met before, along with their expectations of who I am as a person because of their past experiences with Abbys (“My best friend is named [name_u]Abby[/name_u]! She’s super cool” vs. “[name_u]Abby[/name_u] was the name of the mean girl in my high school…”). A name can’t be The One for me if it’s too popular.
The only name I haven’t been able to get rid of due to popularity is [name_f]Mila[/name_f]. I love [name_f]Mila[/name_f] so much, but if I had a kid right now, I probably wouldn’t use her unless she was the only name I could use. I keep her on my list in hopes she’ll decrease in popularity by the time I’m having kids.
I’ve loved [name_f]Violet[/name_f], [name_f]Hazel[/name_f], [name_u]Everly[/name_u], and [name_f]Lily[/name_f] before but wouldn’t use them because of popularity (and for a couple of them, personal associations).
[name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_f]Ava[/name_f], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] & [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] - all top 5/top 10 names but I love all of them. However the number of times I hear these names makes them feel so much less special.
I also love [name_f]Isla[/name_f], and though I have only known one [name_f]Isla[/name_f], hearing that it is getting extremely popular makes me sad.
In terms of [name_f]Indian[/name_f] names (I’ll probably give my kids [name_f]Indian[/name_f] names that work well in Western cultures), I really like Sanvi but that’s one of the fastest growing [name_f]Indian[/name_f] girl names, which might make it seem dated by the time I have kids.
There are a few for me at the moment - the UK top 100 is very vintage quirky heavy right now and that’s pretty much my taste!
- [name_f]Matilda[/name_f]
- [name_f]Iris[/name_f]
- [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f]
- [name_f]Edith[/name_f]
- [name_f]Florence[/name_f]
Are all top 100 in the UK which pretty much rules them out for us. But [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f] especially I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u]. I know at least three at my daughter’s nursery though!
It’s funny how popularity affects some parents’ choices and others don’t care. My dad’s brother had a really unusual name that got him teased a lot, so my parents deliberately chose Top 20 names for my sister and me - [name_f]Rachel[/name_f] & [name_u]Chelsea[/name_u].
I honestly don’t enjoy the fact that my name is strongly linked to a time period (early 90s) and I think popular names can become quickly dated. Any [name_u]Chelsea[/name_u] you meet is probably around my age (28) and as a result, most modern parents really dislike my name. [name_m]Even[/name_m] on this board. People tend to strongly dislike names that were trendy ([name_f]Jennifer[/name_f], [name_f]Heather[/name_f], [name_f]Kayla[/name_f], [name_u]Aiden[/name_u]). So no matter how much I love names like [name_m]Liam[/name_m] & [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], I don’t let myself fall in love with them - just based on my own experience with a popular name.
[name_m]Asher[/name_m] and [name_f]Gwendolyn[/name_f]
[name_m]George[/name_m] and [name_f]Emilia[/name_f], they are beautiful but too popular realised I like less common names!
Some of the names in my signature are quite popular ([name_f]Mia[/name_f], [name_f]Sophie[/name_f], [name_f]Lauren[/name_f], [name_m]Oliver[/name_m], [name_m]Asher[/name_m], [name_m]Liam[/name_m], etc.), and I probably wouldn’t use them for first names because of their popularity, but I love them nonetheless. I might use them as middle names for my future children instead. Other super popular names I love include:
[name_f]Isabella[/name_f]
[name_f]Olivia[/name_f]
[name_f]Victoria[/name_f]
[name_f]Lillie[/name_f] (only this spelling, but I can’t use it because I have a cousin of the same name)
[name_f]Gracie[/name_f]
[name_f]Abbigale[/name_f] (only this spelling)
[name_u]Noah[/name_u]
[name_m]Benjamin[/name_m]
[name_m]Jaxon[/name_m]
[name_u]Owen[/name_u]
[name_f]Chloe[/name_f]
[name_u]Brooklyn[/name_u]
[name_m]Elijah[/name_m]
[name_m]Connor[/name_m]
[name_f]Arabella[/name_f]
[name_u]Evelyn[/name_u]
[name_f]Kaitlyn[/name_f] (or any variation)
[name_u]Allie[/name_u]
[name_m]Grayson[/name_m] (though I can’t really use it because I have a cousin of the same name)
[name_m]Ryder[/name_m]
[name_u]Dylan[/name_u]
[name_f]Rosalie[/name_f]
[name_f]Willow[/name_f]
[name_u]Aiden[/name_u]
[name_m]Solomon[/name_m]
[name_m]Jeffery[/name_m]
…and a bunch of others that I could spend hours listing out.
[name_f]Scarlett[/name_f] and [name_f]Savannah[/name_f] for girls. I’m happy they’re popular and being used though. I wouldn’t be deterred from using these or similar names as unexpected middles with something more unusual up front.
[name_m]Adrian[/name_m] and [name_u]Skylar[/name_u] for boys. I’m not as bothered by higher popularity on the male side because I don’t have nearly as many underused favorites.