I’m American (New [name]York[/name]). I live in a very heavily Italian part of New [name]York[/name], and I like Italian names the best!
’ good points, and I agree. My conclusion as of late, is that nameberries trying to stay away from trends and instead trying to find the up and coming names, many of which are vintage old fashioned names…may be suprised that that those names too will become trendy, popular and then dated…some will surge into the top ten and quickly become dated. There is no way to pick a name that wont potentially be seen as trendy and dated…it may take a while but it very likely will happen. So is staying ahead of the curve so worth it? I dont know. I think the first and foremost thing should be finding a name you love, regardless of whether its already dated or up and coming…because all names will and do, find their date of expiration.
plato
I would agree with this. A lot of these names mentioned on here frequently are rising in popularity at the moment. Quite a few names that are favoured on NB are still not popular in The States but are already popular in the UK eg [name]Matilda[/name], [name]Imogen[/name], [name]Beatrice[/name], [name]Alice[/name], [name]Annabel[/name]. I think it is unwise to be too driven by popularity as you can’t always predict which names will rise rapidly and sometimes it only takes one celebrity to use it…
The best solution is you definitely want to avoid a dated name is to pick a regularly used classic like [name]Anna[/name], [name]Juliet[/name], [name]Lucy[/name], [name]Catherine[/name] or something that most people won’t find attractive!
I agree with you as well 
I think if someone really wants to avoid something being copied or becoming trendy, they should pick something that others wont find attractive.
It is very impressive that your influence is world wide. I am a fan of your books. I wanted to add that I didnt mean to categorize/lump nameberries into one category of liking a certain style of name (I was referring to some regular posters that favor that syle of names). I know that there must be a huge amount of members who are not vocal and who do not post on nameberry, many of which most likely love lots of various styles of names. I think the best gage on what the world currently likes for baby names is to look at the charts and see what they ultimately are naming their babies. A side note, I was thinking about the influence that the Uk has or doesnt have, yes the US has favored some of their names, however, if you look at the massive amount of babies being born in the US, the Uk cant even compete. The US has over 1000 names being used in the high numbers…much more variety. Look at the Uk…there numbers dont even compare (numbers of babies born…not sure about lists above top 100?..I also see the Uk as well as other countries following some trends from the US, unisex names (slowly gaining stream) as well old favorites that have fallen in the Us charts ([name]Jessica[/name] for example).
This is where I’m coming from. Of course hubby likes names that are more popular (largely because he has no concept of what is popular), but my contributions to the list are either of the “timeless classic” variety ([name]Charlie[/name] is my boy pick), or so obscure ([name]Ezri[/name] is my girl pick) that they’re unlikely to become dated in my child(ren)'s lifetime.
Of course, my obscure name - [name]Ezri[/name] - may fall under the “name that other people find unattractive” category, but that is so subjective that I can’t imagine it being a good way to judge. [name]Even[/name] names that my regional/cultural “group” would find unattractive could skyrocket within other groups. [name]Fatima[/name] is absolutely not going to take off in my area, [name]EVER[/name], because it just wouldn’t fly in my neck of the woods… but it could still become a MASSIVELY popular and overused name elsewhere.
Names tend to crop up in pockets, as well. I’ve met little ones whose parents tout their insistence on “unique” names, yet the kiddos have names such as [name]Maya[/name], [name]Aiden[/name], [name]Olivia[/name], [name]Addison[/name], [name]Piper[/name], [name]Liam[/name]… these are all top 100 names, people, some even in the top 5. But maybe in their social circle, they’ve never met another [name]Aiden[/name], and they don’t spend their time researching like some of us do, and truly aren’t aware how popular the names they’ve chosen are.
Plus, popularity can be a blessing as much as a curse. I have a relatively obscure given name, I’ve always liked feeling “unique” in that respect… maybe a bit too much. To be honest, I’m a bit possessive over my name, and get a little annoyed when I meet someone else who has it, or hear of someone wanting to use it for their child. I never met or heard of another person with my name until I was 19, so it was a bit of an adjustment to realize that yes, of course other people have my name… and it’s as much theirs as it is mine. So while I still want to give my kids unique names, a bit of me wonders if I’d be doing them a service by giving them something like [name]Elizabeth[/name], a name that could never cause a bruised ego over meeting someone else who has it.
Anyway… I think that loving the name is of #1 importance. If your little girl is [name]Olivia[/name], it won’t matter that there are three other Olivias in her class and that she has to be “[name]Olivia[/name] H.” or whatever, she will still be YOUR [name]Olivia[/name] and the others won’t matter. My brothers had top five names for their age group, and their names are still THEM to me even though I’ve met a hundred other men with those names. So if a person truly loves an uber-popular name, it shouldn’t matter how popular it is.
[quote=“plato”]
I never said most nameberries are looking for the next [name]Ava[/name]. I certainly dont think ALL nameberries are looking for the next “it” name. Some are, and some arent. I have to say this topic is getting really off topic, I was just asking where people lived However, I will weigh in on more of what has been said, as far as the Uk setting the trends, I have wondered this myself, but then I am reminded that they too have followed some of the US trends. For example, [name]Jessica[/name] is a top name in the Uk but it has fallen big time in the US…so maybe both countries are copying each other (also I think other countries are copying the US in embracing unisex names (I see them slowly climbing the charts). I say pick a name you love, regardless of the names status.[/quote]
Sorry [name]Plato[/name], I didn’t mean to offend or to imply that you were trying to lump all Nameberries into one group! I know you were just asking where people lived, but I think the discussion took an interesting turn-- I like hearing about people’s naming philosophies, and I like your theory about US and UK naming trends and how they influence each other. My husband is from the UK, so I’m sure we have some of that going on within our household ;)! Anyway, thanks for the cool topic 
Thanks hoodie. 
[name]Happy[/name] naming and have a nice day!
IN REPLY TO YELLOW …great insight…I agree with you
I’m from Hull, which is in the north of [name]England[/name]
I’m from the US (Minnesota).
I was born and raised in NY, but have been living in [name]Missouri[/name] for the past 5 years.
From the US. The very west part of the US. Oregon seems to have very reserved names, although I saw something very comical.
A blonde named [name]Raven[/name]. There are many, many [name]Ty[/name]'s and [name]Becca[/name]'s here too.
There is only on other [name]Athena[/name] at my high school that I know of. My sister Amris is the only one in town- that I know of.
- [name]Athena[/name]
Swedish by birth, Londoner by choice. 
I recently moved to my bf in UK