I discovered this name about 5 or so years ago and fell in love with it. My husband actually liked it too. We had agreed that [name_m]Declan[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u] would be the name of our future son. When I got pregnant with my daughter, it was still our plan to use it if she ended up being a boy.
I’m not pregnant yet - probably in about another year or so - but as I play with names I like and would consider using on our future child, I come across A LOT of negative feelings and rhetoric towards [name_m]Declan[/name_m] on here. I am sad to say that it got to me and [name_m]Declan[/name_m] had fallen off my top 5 list. The whole “trendy” label and how it was put in such a negative light caused me to somewhat agree. I usually like more classic names that are familiar but not real popular or overused. I have a very popular/trendy name for my generation so I’m extremely conscious of that and do not want to do that to my children which is why all the negativity towards [name_m]Declan[/name_m] has affected me more than the average bear.
Earlier this week, it hit me - yeah, [name_m]Declan[/name_m] is more on the radar but it’s still ranked #143 in the US which is not very high considering what that REALLY means percentage-wise. I mean, I know it has the same ending as the dreadful/overplayed/trendy names such as [name_u]Aidan[/name_u], [name_m]Caden[/name_m], [name_m]Braden[/name_m], etc., but is that the only reason why there are so many haters out there?
What?! [name_m]How[/name_m] could someone hate on [name_m]Declan[/name_m]? It is a very handsome name with lots of history. Use it if you love it, for sure. [name_f]Love[/name_f] [name_m]Declan[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u]
I adore the name [name_m]Declan[/name_m] and think it’s so handsome, whoever is hating on it is likely being blinded by statistics though. So what if it’s becoming popular? It’s not like it’s number one
[name_m]Declan[/name_m] is a wonderful name. It would be on my short list if I did not like [name_m]Espen[/name_m] and [name_u]Wren[/name_u] more. I just feel that another N ending name could be too much. I have heard it called trendy on name forums. I have never heard any negative talk about the name outside of forums. The outside world is where your son will be wearing the name. If you love [name_m]Declan[/name_m] use it. It is very handsome. I like that it is a saint name and I love the meaning. I love [name_f]Nora[/name_f] and [name_m]Declan[/name_m] together.
If you love it, use it. Honestly, it’s not my cup of tea, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It may be on-trend because of the -an ending, Irish roots, and it’s sort of old-fashioned (it brings to mind Southern plantations to me), but it’s certainly not overly popular in the US.
It depends. You have to look at the naming style of people involved. In my family we tend use names [name_m]John[/name_m] or [name_u]Michael[/name_u] or [name_m]Robert[/name_m] or [name_u]James[/name_u]. [name_m]Declan[/name_m] can never be as classic in that sense. I also haven’t heard it too many big places. For example it’s not a big television name (the only [name_m]Declan[/name_m] I can think of is the one on Degrassi.) It’s slowly gaining in popularity so probably some people haven’t heard. While I do know a person my age named [name_m]Declan[/name_m], in general I think it’s only been used for the past thirty years or so.
Compare/contrast with your daughter’s name [name_f]Nora[/name_f] which is timeless could be an older woman or a little girl. [name_m]Declan[/name_m] sounds the past twenty years or so and [name_f]Nora[/name_f] could be any time.
That being said it’s totally usable, and I think the middle [name_u]James[/name_u] balances it out.
Good [name_m]Luck[/name_m]!
Well, I’m generally neutral on this name. I generally like Irish names, but I personally prefer [name_m]Lorcan[/name_m], [name_m]Breccan[/name_m], and [name_m]Nolan[/name_m], though [name_m]Declan[/name_m] is a nice, solid name. My sister doesn’t really like it because she knows an annoying [name_m]Declan[/name_m]. I’ve never seen anyone hate on [name_m]Declan[/name_m] on these forums, but I can see why it might not be to some people’s tastes.
Not my cup of tea. It has kind of a harsh sound to me, like the most angry person in the world is saying “Duckling” but instead because their so angry and short it comes out “Deck-lan”. That said sound preference is highly personal. One personals harsh, is another persons strong. One persons lyrical, is another person’s frilly.
Good luck, hope you have a [name_m]Declan[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u] very soon!
I had never heard the name until my neighbors named their son [name_m]Declan[/name_m]. I thought it was unusual at first, but now I love it! It also has some rather cool history on the Irish side of my family. It actually sparked some geaniology digging too!
[name_m]Declan[/name_m] [name_u]James[/name_u] is such a beautiful name and makes a wonderful sibset with [name_f]Nora[/name_f] [name_f]Cathleen[/name_f]!!!
I love the name Delcan…granted, there’s names I like more so I’ll probably never use it but no hate towards the name whatsoever!
And I do not think it is ‘trendy’ or close to [name_u]Aiden[/name_u]/[name_m]Caden[/name_m]/[name_u]Hayden[/name_u]/[name_u]Jayden[/name_u]/[name_u]Brayden[/name_u] so it’s fine!
I too have never seen hate on [name_m]Declan[/name_m] on here before, in fact it’s been recommended to me to use for one of my twins.
What?! I was expecting negative reactions in real life, not on here. I love [name_m]Declan[/name_m]. It never quite makes it on my list, but every time I ask about it when I’m particularly crushing on it, it always seems to get fairly glowing reviews. I love that it’s rumored to mean “full of goodness”, and I love the lilting, handsome Irish feel. It always makes me think of [name_m]Declan[/name_m] from Leap Year (love that movie!). I think it’s super handsome. And I agree, I could care less about popularity. [name_m]Declan[/name_m]‘s a lot less popular than some Nameberry favorites. I remember when I figured out the top whatever of [name_u]Berry[/name_u] favorites, [name_u]James[/name_u], [name_m]Theodore[/name_m], and [name_m]Henry[/name_m] were the top 3 boys’ names that people listed as their favorites, and two thirds of those rank higher than [name_m]Declan[/name_m] (and [name_m]Theodore[/name_m]'s not far behind!). And [name_m]Declan[/name_m] was on the top 20 favorites of Nameberry-ites. You can check out my results here–Nameberry - Welcome to the Nameberry Forums
I feel like [name_m]Declan[/name_m] would be pretty well received. And it’s such a cool name. Forget the nay-sayers! If you love it, I would totally use it.
It is too much like my most hated name ever: [name_m]Lachlan[/name_m] and it was the name of an X [name_m]Factor[/name_m] contestant here who I didn’t like too much his mum was saying that he shouldn’t have gotten eliminated because he had autism and its top 100 here so a bit overused.
You can check out my results here–