Respondents: 54 (This poll is closed)
[name]One[/name] thing I think of with name popularity is how many nn possibilities there are. [name]One[/name] of my favorite boy names is [name]Daniel[/name], but it is number 3 in my state. I’ve still considered it though because of the nns: [name]Danny[/name], [name]Dan[/name], [name]Dane[/name], [name]Neil[/name]. So even if there are two other [name]Daniels[/name] in his class, they can all be called something different if they want. [name]Penelope[/name] and [name]Eleanor[/name] definitely fit that criteria. [name]Penelope[/name] has [name]Penny[/name], [name]Nell[/name], [name]Nellie[/name], and [name]Pepper[/name], [name]Eleanor[/name] has [name]Elle[/name], [name]Ella[/name], [name]Ellie[/name], [name]Nora[/name], [name]Lenore[/name], etc. I think that is part of the reason for [name]Elizabeth[/name]'s continued popularity. I also voted for [name]Cora[/name], [name]Juniper[/name], and [name]Aurora[/name], because I think I would like them at any popularity. [name]Cora[/name] especially because of the literary reference.
If any of my top 10 made it on there, I would be very upset, but I’d probably still use them seeing as I’ve loved them my whole life.
This turned out much longer than I intended!
Popularity really does not matter to me. I believe that if you love a name enough to use it, you should love it regardless of how many other people like it. That’s really all popularity is- a bunch of people liking a name. I don’t see anything wrong with a name being appealing and there are lots of benefits to popularity that people tend to forget about. Most people tend to be less opposed to popular names- the names they dislike they dislike less. You never have to worry about the name being perceived as “weird,” and spelling and pronunciation becomes much less of an issue.
That said, I do think a bit about whether a name will sound dated or will tie me to any specific group or style. [name]Even[/name] though you may love a name, using it puts that name on another person, so you have to think about how they may feel. I love [name]Ava[/name], for example, and I think it’s a fantastic name. I might consider using it, but I’d definitely have reservations because I think it will sound a little bit dated. Not as dated as something like [name]Nancy[/name], [name]Amber[/name], or [name]Janet[/name], but more like [name]Theresa[/name], [name]Brenda[/name], or [name]Angela[/name]- just a little bit dated. That probably wouldn’t be a deciding factor, but something to consider.
Not all names have this potential to sound dated. [name]Margaret[/name], for example, never will. If anything, it’s headed towards “old lady” territory. It’s historically been a very common name, so I’d expect that when choosing it. I would definitely not pick [name]Margaret[/name] (or any other name, for that matter) to be unique, so if it was in the top 10 I wouldn’t care at all.
On your list, I think [name]Penelope[/name] is the least classic of the names. After years of very quiet use, it had a strange, sharp rise in the 40s all the way to the top 300, when it sharply fell back down. Now, it’s experiencing another meteoric rise, this time soaring even higher and faster, now ranked at its highest ever. All the other popular names on your list have either ranked higher on the list before or have been very consistently in the top 1000, which leads me to believe that [name]Penelope[/name] will sound trendier than any of the rest of them. [name]Juniper[/name]'s just entered the top 1000 for the very first time, so that may be one to watch, but 1 year isn’t really enough to predict its trajectory.
It really does depend. I mean, [name]Mason[/name] is currently in the #2 spot, but I’ve never met a [name]Mason[/name] in my life. Whereas [name]Lily[/name] is #15 and [name]Sophia[/name] is #1, and I know four Lilys and only on [name]Sophia[/name]. I think it depends on where you live and what names are popular there…
It’s really interesting to see what everyone has to say…thank you!
daisy451, it was really interested to see what you had to say about [name]Penelope[/name]-- that’s exactly what I feel about [name]Aurora[/name]; [name]Penelope[/name] seems more classic to my ear, though perhaps my sense of it as a classic is related to what Whit32 pointed out about the nicknames- [name]Penny[/name] and [name]Nell[/name] seem a bit more timeless? [name]Penelope[/name] from the Odyssey vs a disney princess as my major associations?
I sort of randomly picked names that seem like favourites on the board, that are currently out of the top 100 but seem stylish enough or are actually heading towards really popular territory.
[name]Penelope[/name]- This isn’t a name I’ve ever planned to use, but I think it would be cool to have [name]Penelope[/name] in the top 10 even- it’s a great name, with so many nickname options and a pretty great history
[name]Harriet[/name]- a great name, and I’ve never seriously considered using it, and has lots of history and great nicknames…but I think it does best outside the top 100?
[name]Cora[/name]- better as a rare name, I think.
[name]Margaret[/name]- Would use it if it were the #1 name; alternatives like [name]Margot[/name] start to lose their appeal if it entered the top 200 or so, I think
[name]Juniper[/name]- better as a rare name-- I think I’d find it irritating if it were everywhere (too cutesy when there are lots of them?)
[name]Susannah[/name]- Another I’d use if it were the #1 name. Seeing as [name]Susanna[/name], [name]Susannah[/name], [name]Susana[/name], [name]Susanne[/name], and [name]Suzanne[/name] are all out of the top 1000, nevermind the top 100…pretty sure my opinions here won’t be relevant ([name]Susan[/name] is #781).
[name]Beatrix[/name]- definitely better as a rare name, I think. I can see [name]Beatrice[/name] making it into the US top 100 in the next decade, but I hope [name]Beatrix[/name] stays the rarer option. Somehow, even though I prefer [name]Beatrix[/name] to [name]Beatrice[/name], [name]Beatrice[/name] would ‘stand’ the top 100 or even top 10 much better than [name]Beatrix[/name].
[name]Eleanor[/name]- Like [name]Harriet[/name], though I planned to use this one from the age of about eight and there are just too many of them now. I suspect that it ranks a good deal higher here ([name]Ontario[/name]) than it does in [name]America[/name], but [name]Ontario[/name] doesn’t publish its name stats. Oh well.
[name]Aurora[/name]- definitely better as a rare name, I think. I’m surprised there are as many of them as there are! I find this one hard to say, though, so my opinion might also be coloured by that.
Well I really don’t like trendy/common names, if a name is already common or it hits the top 600 then I consider it unusable for me. I may still love it, but I just can’t deal. Like [name]Aurora[/name], I love love love this name! but it’s gotten too popular… I would definitely use it otherwise.
@maple_blythe, I completely agree with what you wrote about [name]Juniper[/name]. My immediate reaction when I see [name]Juniper[/name] is that it’s quirky and cute, and then I imagined all [name]Savannah[/name]'s being named [name]Juniper[/name] instead. I would tire very quickly of [name]Juniper[/name].
If my connection to a name is so strong that it feels like my future child’s name, popularity doesn’t phase me at all. When they’re names I moderately like, the ones that are on the list but farther down, I’ve noticed how popularity affects me opinion.
I think to some degree it is the amount you are exposed to a name rather than the actual popularity of it. Seeing a large number of boards on nameberry about a name doesn’t always translate to widespread popularity, but it turns me off as much being surrounded by children with that name.
That’s what I do in my head! I’ve worked at a day camp, a children’s clothing shop, a library…I sort of map my favourite names on to the ones I hear all the time ([name]Savannah[/name], [name]Olivia[/name], [name]Lily[/name]…) and try to figure out if it would bother me. I was turning all the Olivias in to Penelopes and the Lilys into Eleanors when I thought of asking this question 