See the results of this poll: I would…
Respondents: 105 (This poll is closed)
- Keep it : 64 (61%)
- Let it go: 41 (39%)
If it’s a long time favorite, you probably have compelling reasons to love the name. Whether you love it because it’s your grandmother’s name, a favorite character, etc or you’re just attached to it because it’s the name you have pictured giving your daughter for a decade… that’s a good story to tell your child. My name is relatively common, but my mom loved it since high school, dreamed of having a daughter with that name for 15 years… that means a lot to me. I love my name because I know it’s precious to my mom.
Also rankings of popularity don’t necessarily correlate with what you will encounter in real life. If you chose a name to avoid popularity, she may still go to school with others with that name and no kids with the popular name. My son’s name was ranked in the 600s when he was born. Another couple used it a couple months after we did. So he will likely be [name_u]Lennon[/name_u] C in a graduating class of just 100 kids… And there might not be any Noahs in that class. (We didn’t choose it to avoid popularity so I’m not complaining.) You never know, so go with what you love.
It’s really interesting to me - and I’ll post the same on your boys poll - that if the girls name I love became really popular then I would still keep it, but that’s not true for a boy.
In this case, the name I love ([name_f]Alice[/name_f]) is already popular and is probably going to sky rocket because it’s relatively likely the royals will choose it if their next one is a girl. But I adore [name_f]Alice[/name_f] and so does my S/O, and the nn I love for it ([name_f]Alsie[/name_f]) is one that I see rarely, so her nickname would still be relatively unusual, as would her middle name.
Essentially, for many of my favourite girl names, I love them so much I’m not sure I would mind. I only really mind about popularity (for girls) when I’m already not that invested in the name.
Definitely not!
There are only so many names that a person actually feels are The One, add in another person into the mix. Popularity doesn’t really mean anything to me anyway. The top 10 girls [name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], [name_f]Ava[/name_f], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], [name_f]Isabella[/name_f], [name_f]Mia[/name_f], [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], [name_f]Abigail[/name_f], [name_f]Emily[/name_f], and [name_u]Harper[/name_u]. I know a handful of Emilys (all adults), a few Emmas and Olivias combined. I do not know any other girl or woman with the other top names. Same with the top boys names. Except [name_u]Michael[/name_u]. The only names I am truly tired of are [name_u]Michael[/name_u] and [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f].
Just realised this is girl name specific haha.
I really don’t know. I do love my favourite names for many reasons, however a major criteria for names I’d actually consider using (as illogical as it may sound) is that they’re different, unusual, and memorable (in a good way). I’ve come across more people wishing they had a less popular name than vice versa. Popularity is a big issue for me, to the point where it really bugs me if a name I want to actually use ends up in the top 1000 (where I live), as nearly all of them are well outside the list, so I really can’t imagine using a top 10 or 20 name. When I think about it, I also have alternatives to my favourites. I adore my favourite girls’ name, but I like a lot of girls names, and I could probably be happy with another. Worrying about popularity seems really ridiculous sometimes, and I do wish it didn’t affect me, so there’s a chance I’d just ignore it, but most likely I’d find another option (but that’s not the right decision for everyone).
I would let it go-- I gave up the name [name_m]Ethan[/name_m] mostly because I didn’t want my child to have to go by [name_m]Ethan[/name_m] T in class! I never had to use my last initial in class so it just seems like a pain.
All these worries and concerns can back fire on a person. For example [name_m]Ethan[/name_m]. I knew only one, back when I was a child. I do not know any Noahs or Liams (#1 and #2). [name_m]Scott[/name_m] ranks 465 (2016) and I know almost a dozen, children and adults. [name_u]Brett[/name_u] ranks 729 (2016) and I know a handful, mostly adults and a couple children. [name_m]Brenden[/name_m] ranks 996 (2016) and I know 3, teen and two adults. If you truly love and adore a name and feel deep in your heart it is The One, I cannot even see how anyone could give it up. You could spend the rest of your life wishing you used the name. Especially if it ends up that you do not hear the name, or hear it that often, in the circles you move in. Sure, a name you adore, that can be more easily given up. If this OP truly, deeply adores this name with a passion. Keeps going back to it. Cannot get it out of her head. Can imagine her little person with this name. I say it should be definitely kept.
I voted that I would keep it because that’s what I [name_f]HOPE[/name_f] I’d do, but to be honest, I’m not sure. I’ll define “popular” as “within the top 500” and “very popular” as “within the top 100”. Sometimes I feel like popularity is a nice defense when someone questions my name choices. (“You think that name is weird? Well, it’s in the top 500, so…”) At the same time, my love of a name is SO imagery based that if I have a ton of imagery competing for attention the name sort of evens out in my mind and feels bland. Of course, as others have said, just because the name is popular doesn’t mean I’ll know someone else with the name.
I think popularity would bother me a lot, but not as much as it used to. It sort of depends on the name, though. I’d be heartbroken if Solace became super popular. But Runa is already common enough that I wouldn’t be upset if it went up a few places. [name_f]Mabel[/name_f] is becoming popular and I would still use it in a second.
I personally would and have dropped it… I planned on using the name [name_u]Hadley[/name_u] for as long as I can remember but, when I got pregnant it was popular and I had recently met 2 girls under 5 with the name, so I went with something else. But, I have always been one to want a name that isn’t popular, I’m not bothered when I meet them though… so I’d say just go with your gut. I never wanted my kid to be “which [name_u]Hadley[/name_u]” but if that doesn’t bother you, then go for it!
I loved [name_f]Lola[/name_f] for a long time but it just got too popular so I switched to [name_f]Lula[/name_f]. If you wouldn’t mind your child sharing a name with quite a few other people though then use the name!
For girls, yes. I like a lot of names and while I do have favorites, there’s no name that I feel so attached to that it would cause me distress to let it go. My name is insanely popular where I live, and it’s always bothered me. One of my major criteria when choosing my favorites is low popularity. I don’t mean that it has to be outside the top 1000 but I’d like it to be outside the top 100 and not common in my area. If it does get too popular, the name loses its sparkle to me because I hear it so often so I start to like it less. This happened with [name_f]Violet[/name_f] about a year ago. [name_f]Violet[/name_f] was my favorite girl’s name but now I hear it EVERYWHERE and it’s no longer special. I still like the name but it doesn’t shimmer like it used to.
I know my opinion seems rather drastic but I don’t want my kids to feel like “one of many” like I do. My name isn’t special. Is it special to my mom? Of course, and that’s why I’d never change it. But it isn’t special to me and I’d rather give my children names that are special to them.
Most of my first names aren’t honor names anyways, and the couple that are, I’d be just as happy with them in the middle.
I’m not trying to say that my opinion is best, and is the only one that should be followed. If OP has a name he/she loves that is popular, then it’s much more important that they love it than if I do, and I say they should use the name they love regardless of its popularity. For me personally, popularity is a dealbreaker but it doesn’t have to be that way for everyone. There are some beautiful names in the top 100, and I know having a popular name doesn’t bother everyone. It just bothers me.
Also, for a name to be The One for me, it can’t be popular. So that solves that problem. If I did end up discarding a favorite due to popularity only to never hear it again, I might regret it, but I’d get over it when I remember that I threw the name out because I didn’t want my kid to feel boring and common like I do because their name is everywhere.
Popularity doesn’t really bother me too much. If I know a dozen and a half kids with a name (like [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]), I’ll be less likely to use it, but that’s more or less because I’ve grown tired of hearing it and seeing it on every other little girl’s backpack, lol.
So, I’d keep it.
It depends if I liked it because it wasn’t popular (which I feel is often the case on NB) or if I really didn’t mind.
Personally, I love the name [name_m]Hugo[/name_m], which I’ve heard a few times around me and I don’t mind, instead it shows me that I truly love the name and not just the uncommonness (which has been a thing for me in the past).
I think if it bothers you that the name is popular, you didn’t truly love the name.
When it comes time to name an actual child there will be another person involved, usually. In reality there are very few names that two people will both adore and feel attached to. I’ve said it before, naming a real human being is far, FAR different than thinking about names. It is not an easy process. Only those that have been there can truly understand. My husband could have won a veto champion award. He hated what seemed like every name in every book. If I could have given up trying to find a name, I would have. But a child needs a name and you both need to feel good about the name. In the end we had three names that we both adored. As the pregnancy wore on it became one name. Good thing I was not pregnant with twins.
I do not look at a name as boring or lively, it is the person or the environment they are raised in. A woman named [name_f]Emma[/name_f] can be the life of the party and a woman named [name_f]Eliana[/name_f] a dull lump. A name does not create the person. A name that I might find nerdy will not cause all those with that name to be nerdy.
I’m very sorry that you do not like your name. Hugs! I’ve never really cared for mine. As I got older I liked it for the fact that it was especially chosen for me by my parents. Now that my mom has passed it is that more special. My son feels the same way. He took less time to realize that it was a special gift from his dad and me. Maybe if you see your name as the gift it was, it could ease the dislike of the name.
This. A name that is truly special holds a place very dear to your heart. At least for me. I have a few combos that are so special and meaningful that there is no way they could be dumped. It would not feel like dumping a name, it is like dumping a person. It’s more the issue that I so, SO hope I get to use them. It is not The One if you can shrug your shoulders and just dump it. The One keeps coming back and staying with you.
For me, it’s whether I’ve known a lot of people with the name. Florence, for example, is (or at least was) really popular where I live but Ive only met one so I’d still consider it. Clara, another name I love, is less popular but I’ve met so many that I wouldn’t want to use it. The same goes for Eva.
I guess for me then, it depends on how ‘popular’ a name has been in my life-meeting too many people of the name does ruin it slightly for me
I think it would depend on why I loved the name. If it was a family name or a name with special significance, I’d keep it. If it was more that I thought the name was beautiful and I loved it, I’d probably try to move it to the middle with a less common first. Although if it had an unusual nickname that I loved, I’d probably still keep it. DH and I both like [name_f]Eva[/name_f], which is more common than I like, but we’d probably use the nickname [name_f]Viva[/name_f] which is less common, so a hypothetical daughter wouldn’t need to be [name_f]Eva[/name_f] Initial.
I have never named an actual human being, and I do wonder if my views will be different when I do. To be honest, I doubt it since my dislike for my popular name is so deeply ingrained into my preferences, but you never know what the future holds. There are a few common names that I love, and I’d be willing to use them if I couldn’t find anything else. Nothing top 10 but a couple top 50s. I have to keep reminding myself that the most popular names today aren’t as common as the popular names of yesterday, even when I was born in 1999.
I guess I don’t dislike my name. It fits me perfectly and I wouldn’t ever change it. What I hate that it’s also the name of the girl sitting next to me in English class. It’s not MY special gift, it’s OUR special gift that I have to share with another person. Several other people. In fact, in the last two weeks I’ve met people with the same first and middle AND first and last name as me. That’s my issue with it. It makes me feel like one of a million. Not special. Of course, I also have self esteem issues that could be part of that, and those are an entirely different beast altogether.
I think it all depends on what you value in a name. If this were true for everyone, then I’ve never truly loved a name in my life, which I suppose is possible.
I would not look at it as OUR special name because the names were given by different parents to their own sweet babies. Your name meant something to your parents, they chose it over every other name. Same with your classmate. It just so happens the name is the same but the specialness is not. If I end up being able to use [name_m]Henry[/name_m], [name_m]Henry[/name_m] would most likely know others but his reason for being given the name would be his only. I hope I am making sense. I’ve had a long day. lol