Popularity

[parresa22.livejournal.com]

Does it change your opinion of a name when you find out its popularity?

My daughter's name is Hailey, and when I chose it 4 years ago, I only knew of one other Hailey and that was from my childhood. It was pretty, and unique, and I thought it wouldn't be too common.

Fast forward, and it has crept up to #9 in the 1,000 most popular names in the US. I hate that! And I hate that there are so many different spellings. I thought I was choosing the most common, but apparently that is Haley, ugh.

When I had my second child, it was really important for his name not to be so common. We originally chose the name Milo, and told everyone early.
BIG mistake. All we heard was negative comments. "It sounds like a dog's name." "It reminds me of Milo and Otis, I can't take it seriously" "Thats not a real name, is it?"
We were so discouraged, we went to Leo- same reaction. "Thats just a nickname, what is the rest?"

So finally, we picked another name, secretly, and didn't reveal it until our baby was born. That way, no matter what, it was set. His name is Liam, and although I like it, it too seems to be rising in popularity.
And so it goes, with so many names!

I love, and have loved, the names- Emma, Emily, Isabelle, Isabella, Amelia, Grace, and Sarah, and yet will not use any for a girl because of how common they are. Likewise with Aiden, James, Max, Ben, and Sebastian. Just too many of them.

It worries me though, that no matter what name I pick and how quiet I am about it, that trends will take over and it will be everyone's name.
My solution, I think, is to go back to the 1950's and pick a name. Ya know, Mabel or Rose or Evangeline. Something people have heard before, but isn't everyone's brother.

What do you think?

Comments

[freezemyazaleas.livejournal.com]

I agree! Old fashioned names are annoying me just as much as "trendy" names!

[miss-tee.livejournal.com]

Trends come and go, everything will be popular some time.
My name was #416 when I was born but it's #92 now.
Just name your kids whatever names you love.

If it makes you feel better I have never met a Hailey (or any other variation of spelling) in my life and I have only ever met one Liam.

[icebyrd67.livejournal.com]

my daughter's name was Avangeline Chance. We called her Ava. It sounds kinda like Evangeline

I don't know if that helps any. Rose on the other hand is a very common middle name still.

[spikes-sexkitty.livejournal.com]

ICON LOVE!!!!! stupid angel.... spike's wenis is way better!!!!

[zorianna.livejournal.com]

My opinions of names have definitely changed in the last few years. In middle school (about 10 years ago), I was DEAD SET on naming my daughter Madison. Now, I wouldn't even consider it. I don't HATE the name, I'm just sick of hearing it. My list has almost completely changed, save for one or two names, because of how popular and overused some of my favorite names have become.

[xpinkxamazingx.livejournal.com]

I find much harder to find a boys name. We are having a boy and James is on our list. =]

I like Amelia for a girl.

[anapology.livejournal.com]

The names that are the generation of your grandparents are now becoming the most popular- at least that's the way it is in England.

I think Leo & milo are absolutely awesome names..


I probably wouldn't ask anyone's opinin until the baby was born- that way even if people hate it they can't say they do.

[amspeck-myworld.livejournal.com]

So is mine... when my son was over a month old, I got told me son's middle names were going to get him beaten up at school (though as it came from someone where two of her kids don't go by their names anymore, I shouldn't probably take notice, but it was just very in a very brash manner).

[0o-faerie.livejournal.com]

When it comes to the names I absolutely love, I don't really care about popularity. Well, that's to say, I would find it a pity, but it wouldn't stop me from using them.

I really like Hailey, by the way. I like it much better than the spelling Haley too. It makes me want to see Hell-ee.

Here in The Netherlands, old fashioned names are becoming trendy as well. I guess it's a western-world-global-thing ;)

[kellyjoy.livejournal.com]

I feel the same way.

[th3-unicorn.livejournal.com]

Er, sorry to break the news, but Rose and Evangeline ARE already getting common :D

[parresa22.livejournal.com]

Ah well, I don't like any of those names I suggested anyway, its just what I thought of when I tried to think of old style names.

Maybe I have to go even further back, Pocahontas, perhaps?

[jordle.livejournal.com]

i actually know a Pocahontas!!

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

You can usually track the popularity of names pretty easily. behindthename.com in particular allows you to type in a name and see what its popularity has been for the past hundred years. It's pretty rare that a name goes from uncommon to extremely common in only a couple years.

So what I would suggest is going here: http://www.behindthename.com/top/

Then you can tell if a prospective name is going up in popularity too fast.

And yes, old fashioned names are becoming very popular, but it totally depends on which you chose. Mabel, for example, isn't even in the top 1000, whereas Amelia is in the top 100. So it's likely that Amelia will continue to rise and become more common, but it's unlikely that suddenly you'll be meeting little girls named Mabel everywhere.

[emtotherescuee.livejournal.com]

Ugh, tell me about it.
I'm an Emily. You have no idea how frustrating it is to feel like you don't have your own name. I barely even respond to my name in school, because there are SO many other Emily's and I end up looking like an idiot if I turn around:]
I can't possibly understand how parents are naming their kids things like Ava, Grace, Madison, Jayden (love Jayden actually, but it's getting so overused) or some of those other popular names. I guess I'm a bit biased, though.

I like names like Lucy and Charlie but those are so popular:[ (Well, they are in the UK, not in America, where I am, but you catch my drift)

The only thing I can suggest if someone LOVES a name and they MUST name their child it, is to give their child the full name of something that the nickname could be a nickname for.
...That made no sense whatsoever. Example:
If you want to name your child Eleanor, but it's already popular (which it's becoming, right?) and would only call her Ellie, then use name her the full name "Elliana", which Ellie could also be a nickname for.


Idk. I'm just sick of having the same name as everybody else.

[thejoysofjess.livejournal.com]

But for every Emily that's sick of having a common name, there's a Marjorie sick of having an uncommon name.

You can't really predict how your child will feel. I'm a Jessica born in the 80s and it didn't bother me at all. My mom's a Jennifer and it bugs her.

[lime-coconut.livejournal.com]

I'm a Jessica born in the 80's too :) I always liked my name, though in school there were always two or three others around. I don't care for the name Jennifer, however. Probably because I'm always getting called that by mistake.

[daydream11.livejournal.com]

There really isn't any way to predict popularity other than look at what fellow expecting moms plan on naming their children. I also go to the Social Security website, Behind the Name, and Nymbler to see what has been popular in the past few years and whether it has fallen or risen.

That said, I love Milo as a name. It sounds great asa sibset with Hailey, too. It's the name of the main character of one of my favorite movies, Atlantis: the Lost Empire. I think it's becoming popular, too, sorry to say. *wince*

PS... Nymbler is also good to find obscure names that are suited to your tastes. Try that and see what you can find. =) And old is becoming new again, so going retro may frustrate you, too.

[parresa22.livejournal.com]

I don't think we will use Milo or Leo ever now. It was just criticized too much, and I don't like how it fits now that I have Hailey and Liam. Maybe Milo as a twin to Liam, aww.
Too late, eh?
We want one more baby, and are trying for that, but if I am as psychic as I claim to be, the baby will be a girl, so boys names are kind of pointless as this will be the last kid.

[thejoysofjess.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't care at all about the popularity of a name. Especially now that so many names I like are getting popular. I'm not going to pick a name I dislike just because other kids will have it.

[djador.livejournal.com]

The popularity of a name doesn't change my opinion towards it, if I like a name, I will like it despite it's popularity. But extreme popularity would make me think twice about actually using the name on a kid, even if I still like it.

Extreme popularity of a name that I hate would probably just make me hate it more, but that's the same with everything. If you hear a song that you hate over and over again, you're just going to hate it more.

[butterflyishida.livejournal.com]

I've loved the name Aidan for YEARS but with its super popularity, I wouldn't use it so it breaks my heart a bit.

I only know one Hailey and she's 5 and quite possibly one of the sweetest lil girl's i've ever met.

[freezemyazaleas.livejournal.com]

I like names that aren't popular, but they're easy to spell and pronounce, and everyone's heard them before and knows that they are actual names. Take my favorite girls' name, Blair, for instance. It's not on the top 1000, and most people probably don't know anyone named Blair, but we all have heard the name before (The Facts of Life, anyone?) and know how to spell it and pronounce it correctly. I'm having a difficult time trying to find other names like that.

And with my luck, by the time I have kids, Blair will probably be on the top 10 list.

[mkemom.livejournal.com]

When I was trying to pick a name for my daughter, I didn't want anything very popular. At the same time, it seemed like all my favorite names were very popular. In the end, I decided to go with a totally unusual (ie not on the top 1000 on the SSA site EVER) name. I'm happy with the choice I made, even if it requires spelling it every time I tell anyone her name.

Also, I just met someone whose kid is named Milo. I love it, but when I mentioned it to a friend, they did make a Milo and Otis joke.

I love this website for looking a visual of the names popularity:
http://www.babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html

[parresa22.livejournal.com]

So c'mon then, whats her name? :)

[cxtxc.livejournal.com]

My favorite girls name is Lourdes; always has been. I highly doubt it'll ever become popular because most people hate it haha.

[freezemyazaleas.livejournal.com]

I like it!

[classiestkid.livejournal.com]

When it comes to the names I absolutely love, I don't really care about popularity, like Ava.

[cherrysorbet.livejournal.com]

I try not to care about how popular a name is, but it still irks me :P I love the name Emma and still think I'll use it.

[sloane-hd.livejournal.com]

I don't care how popular a name is, growing up with a unique name is not all that.
I hate the name Sarah but during puberty I would have loved to be just another Sarah in my class. It only irked me when people misspelled or mispronounced my name over and over again.

And really, when it comes to most names it's inevitable a name will become popular. If you like a name it doesn't matter.

By the way, I really like Hailey, spelling and everything.