At what number on the SSA name list do you consider a name to be too popular?
I know that popularity varies from region to region, but that doesn’t stop me from rejecting names that are in the top 500. Actually, make that 900.
Which number scares you off?
Top 10 I’d absolutely avoid. But it really does depend on the name. My example is the name [name]Audrey[/name]. I love the name but (if I remember correctly) it’s in the top 50 which I’d like to avoid. However, I really love the name, so I think as long as it stays where it is or lower, I might still use it (obviously depending on my fiance’s choices). Another thing is that there are few variations of the name. There may be some Audrees or Audries out there but there’s definitely not as many variations as there are for say, [name]Mackenzie[/name] ([name]McKenzie[/name], [name]Makenzie[/name], Makenzee, etc). So that depends too.
The popularity in my state matters more also since those are the kids my future kids will be going to school with. I like the name [name]Carter[/name], which isn’t THAT popular in the US. But here in MN, it’s a top 10 name. So I’m more likely to run into little Carters here in MN than if I lived in say, FL (I don’t think it’s as popular there).
In general I’d like to avoid the top 100, but it really depends on the name for me. Top 15 I think is an absolute no for me since I have a top 10 name from the year I was born (I think it was #1 or #2, can’t remember).
I don’t honestly pay attention to any of the popularity lists except for the ones in my province. I wouldn’t use a top 10 name for sure, probably not a top 100, but anything past that would be okay. My favorite boys name is very high up in either Australia or New Zealand, can’t remember which, I think it has been, or is, number one there recently, which is a-okay with me, because it’s barely used here. My girls names don’t rank on the top 1000 even as far as I know, and that’s fine by me!
I had a really really common name growing up, a [name]Kimberly[/name] born in the 80’s! Common isn’t a bad thing, but it’s just not for me!
Top Fifty is iffy with Top Ten being out for me, although if I absolutely loved the name I would still consider it. Loving the name is the most important consideration for me.
I don’t have a number… but out of my top 10, there are only 3 names in the top 1000 ([name]Iris[/name], [name]Louis[/name] & [name]Simon[/name], with [name]Simon[/name] being in the mid-200s, [name]Louis[/name] in the mid-300s and [name]Iris[/name] in the higher part of the 300s).
Popularity doesn’t bother me, but I tend not to be interested in the really popular ones.
Never. If I like it, I like it. Popularity be darned. Most of the names we like are in the top 20, if not top 10. [name]Don[/name]'t care. I still like 'em.
It’s not that important to me. I recently named my daughter [name]Lucy[/name] which is #75 in the SSA list, but I think is actually more popular than this due to all the longer variations ([name]Lucille[/name], [name]Lucinda[/name], etc.). I’d consider a name even if it was in the top 10 - if I really loved it, I’d use it.
Top 1000 ideally, but I think 500 is a good rule of thumb, too. Two of my girls are outside of the Top 1000, the other is in the #250s now but wasn’t when we named her, and we wouldn’t have if it had been. I still love the name and don’t regret it at all, but I like distinct names. If there are going to be ten other Charlottes in her class, why bother? This is just my philosophy on naming, so no offense to anyone who doesn’t care about popularity, but I feel like naming your daughter [name]Sophia[/name] now is like naming her [name]Samantha[/name] in 1990.
As long as it’s not in the top 10-20, it’s usually not a factor for me. I’m not out to find a super-rare name…just one that I like.
If my last name wasn’t so common, I’d be happy with anything not in the top 100. But since I do have a common last name, I feel it can’t be in the top 500, perhaps even lower.
Very interesting responses! I wish I could just go with a name that I loved, regardless of popularity. But I find myself falling in love with a name partly due to its rarity, and not liking a name as much when I find it is more common than I like.
I suppose I might feel differently when I actually am pregnant or TTC.
I care more about how much I love the name rather than its popularity. If there were 2 names I loved equally, I suppose I would pick the less popular one. I wouldn’t give up my favorite names if they were popular. Anyway, how many people have chosen a less common name only to see it climb quickly up the charts a few years later… When I was a child, I wanted a popular name!
For me, I don’t know if there is a name that’s too popular. [name]Olivia[/name] is in my top 3, and it’s in the top 5 nationally, and I would still use it, absolutely! [name]Just[/name] because it’s popular doesn’t mean that it suddenly becomes any less wonderful of a name. I grew up with a top 1 name (it was number 2 when I was born, but became number 1 four years later when my sister was born), and I didn’t have any negative effects because of it–I actually loved it! I would use any name I loved, regardless of its popularity. I’m not sure I would use a number one or two name, but number 3 is definitely fine by me (I think [name]Olivia[/name] is number 4 atm)… Then again, if [name]Olivia[/name] rose to number 1 by the time I adopt, I would still probably use it…
I doubt even with a name that is number 1 or 2 that there would be ten other kids with the same name in one class…
Its hard for me. In [name]Ireland[/name], our top 20 is pretty much what the American top 20 was like 10-15 years ago. Most of the popular names here are extremely, extremely dated (think [name]Katie[/name], [name]Megan[/name], [name]Allison[/name], [name]Stephanie[/name], [name]Nicole[/name]).
There is a high possibility that if our economy doesn’t improve in the next 5 years, we’ll be emigrating. Where? Why knows. Its likely to be [name]Canada[/name], Australia or New Zealand.
So when I was choosing names for our girls, I practically completely disregarded the statistics for [name]Ireland[/name]. Instead, I looked at lists from the UK, USA, and Australia, and used those to determine how popular my favourites are.
For example, [name]Aidan[/name]. [name]Aidan[/name] (and his [name]Aiden[/name], [name]Ayden[/name] etc variants) are in the top 10 in [name]America[/name]. In ireland, [name]Aidan[/name] ranks in at around #112. There were 7 boys named [name]Aidan[/name] born in [name]Ireland[/name] last year. Now compare that to the USA and its crazy how different it is!
So yeah, I basically use other countrys’ statistics instead of my own generic list. Its the only way I can avoid the common names.
I try to at least avoid the top 10 and 20 if I can. But other than that, if I like it then I’m okay with using a little more popular name. My name was #3 or #4 the year I was born and I’ve never been scarred or affected in any way by having a popular name.
I shy away from the top 50, but if I really loved a name it wouldn’t matter. My nephew has a top 10 name and has never had a classmate with the same name…thiings are more spread out now (the #1 name now doesn’t even compare to the #1 name in 1980, for example).
I also really only pay attention to the top names in my state.
Top 50 (in the UK) is where I draw the line for fns, though top 100 would really worry me and top 250 is still a bit of a concern. However, I’m less worried if I’d use an unusual nn (like [name]Isaac[/name] nn [name]Ike[/name], [name]Frederick[/name] nn [name]Fritz[/name]), or if its popularity is very stable (conversely, I’m more worried if a name is trending upwards).
My first 2 kids’ names were in the 40’s in popularity when they were named (which was already pushing it for me), and now both names are in the top 20. My other 3, as a result, I made sure were a bit less popular. I avoid the top 10 like the plague, even though there are a few names there that I really like. [name]One[/name] of my other favourites moved up 150 spots in a year, so sadly that makes me want to back off of it too. I had three other girls in high school with my name, and it always bugged me. My name was always being called in the hallways it seemed, and only some of the time, they meant me. There is usually a not-as-popular option for every popular name I might like, and I always find myself leaning toward the less used name.
I meant her entire class, not like her math class, haha. There were at least ten Ashleys in my sister’s high school class of about 400 people, and eight or nine Amandas.