Like [name]Ruby[/name] is number 2 in Australia and I only know one. The name [name]Jordan[/name] only really ever charted for boys I know 4 girls and one boy [name]Jordan[/name]. I also know 2 [name]Regan[/name]'s one girl one boy, 2 [name]Adele[/name]'s who are 11, 3 [name]Mikayla[/name]'s spelt differently, 3 Ciara’s (pronounced Keer-ah), 3 Neve’s (Niamh, Neve and Neeve), 3 Meg’s, 2 girls Morgan’s (one Morgin) and 3 girl [name]Rylee[/name]/[name]Riley[/name]'s which is almost completely masculine in Australia. So do you have any examples of when you thought a name was unusual or never realised it was so popular because you have never met one.
I wouldn’t say the stats are lying, just that you haven’t met many of the Rubys that are out there.
I never realised how popular a lot of names were till I started researching. Though I clued in on [name]Ethan[/name]'s popularity when I stumbled across 3 in two days under the age of 4.
It’s interesting to me the way popularity varies by region and a name that’s popular overall may not be at all common in your community or vice versa.
It seems like I’ve met so many little girls named [name]Charlotte[/name], [name]Lydia[/name], [name]Pippa[/name], and [name]Lilah[/name], but I’ve yet to meet a [name]Brooklyn[/name] in real life. I know one boy named [name]Mason[/name] and at 4 boys named [name]Thomas[/name] under 5.
I live in the Southern U.S. and I could easily see a name that was popular here being practically unheard of in New [name]England[/name] or the Midwest or [name]West[/name] Coast. In a large country it’s entirely possible for there to be pockets of people who favor or reject a name opposed to the overall national popularity.
I’m pregnant with my first child now. I know the names of my friends’ children, but I haven’t been exposed to daycare or large groups of recently born/named babies. When I started looking at the charts, I was surprised by the popularity of certain names, but I haven’t met kids with those names because I don’t know a ton of babies. And the kids I do know that are even as old as starting kindergarten wouldn’t necessarily be reflected in the stats since those are usually from babies born just last year.
Another factor may be use of a middle name. I don’t know exactly how common that is, but the stats go off first names, so anyone not going by his/her first name wouldn’t really be working within the confines of the popularity charts.