Popularity of a name,...

[mamasammy.livejournal.com]

l've been thinking alot lately about the popularity of names and how much it affects the way we name our children. Especially in this community I have noticed what a big deal popularity is and what a massive turn off it can be even with a name that you loved before its rise to the top (or close to the top). I know for me personally, in naming my daughter, I think I must've considered every name in every book,... The first thing I'd check was the name's popularity and the closer it was to number one, the more it turned me away from the name.

Anyway, I was looking over the SSA Popular Baby Names List for 2009 and I was really amazed at the numbers I saw. For example, the name Isabella, while it was the most popular female name in the United States in 2009--only 22,067 babies were named Isabella last year. Which turns out to be 1.1023%, doesn't seem so popular when you look at it that way. A measly 1.1%? As for boys, the number one male name in 2009 was Jacob,...  20,858 boys were given the name Jacob. Which means--.9952%. Not even 1%!

I won't bore you with all the numbers, because you can go to the SSA website and see for yourself, but its just food for thought I guess. Even now that I know this information, I still feel the same way about names. When I have another baby, I'll still like a less popular name over a more popular name, only based on its rank in the SSA. I love the name Owen and I think it sounds good with my last name and all, but if I have a son, I won't use that name because its too popular in my opinion. Silly, but true.

If you have children--how much did you let the popularity of a name affect your decision to name your baby?
If you don't have children--how important is the popularity of a name you would like to use for future children?

Thoughts?

Comments

[willsjoy.livejournal.com]

My oldest is named Madeleine. For the year she was born (2008) her name is pretty popular, though not the spelling (the Madeline spelling is in the top 50). Madison is also really popular, and so the nickname "Maddy," which is used for both names, is more popular than just Madeleine. I cared about this some, but my husband didn't (his name is William, just btw, which has been in the top 10 for like, 50 years, lol) and I was fine with it as long as the spelling in unique.

Our second daughter (due any time now) is named Moira, which is not popular in the slightest. We didn't pick it for that reason, but there is a certain charm in that. :)