Does popularity matter to you when choosing a baby name?

It seems like every name I pick I find it being very popular. Do you think it matters if a name is popular? If you have a popular name do you mind it?


Thanks a ton!

Does popularity matter to you when choosing a baby name?
Whether a name's popularity matters is a personal decision. It does matter a lot to me. I want to give my children names that are familiar, but I also want them to be somewhat uncommon. A huge part of the reason we have names is so we can be distinguished from other people -- if everyone had the same ten or so names, it wouldn't work so well. Every time someone called out one of the names, at least 20 heads would turn.





Of course, in real life, everyone DOESN'T have the same ten names. Even a name ranked #1 in the U.S. is given to only about 1% of the babies of that gender born that year -- considering there are two genders, that's only one out of every 200 babies. For some parents, that means that no name is too popular, even if it is ranked #1. Others choose to draw the line in various places. Some parents will consider any name as long as it's not in the top 10. Others will avoid anything in the top 50, while still others shy away from anything in the top 100 or 200.





The more popular a name is, the more likely it will be that your child will have friends or classmates with his or her same name. I teach first grade. Out of 60 students this year, we have two Kaylas, two Gabriels (and a Gabriella), two Kaitlyns, two Jacobs, two Joshuas, and an Aidan, a Hayden, and a Jayden... even though a name may have been given to less than 1% of babies born that year, the most popular names still have a tendency to repeat.





Of course, there are other things to consider as well. If you really love a name and it has important family significance to you, that might outweigh the possible drawback of the name's popularity. Still, I tend to think that if one thinks "outside the box" a little bit, one can find less popular names to fall in love with. For example, if you really love the names Ava, Emma, and Sarah, you might consider choosing the similar-sounding Ada, Gemma, Nora, or Clara. If you love Olivia, you might consider Lydia or Octavia. If you love Lily, you might consider Susannah (which means "lily") or Daisy (another flower name). Some of my favorite names used to be Katherine, Lily, Gabriel, and Aidan. When I realized how popular they were, I managed to find less common replacements that I now love just as much.





I have a name that is very popular now (Emily), but it was only beginning to be popular when I was growing up. I never had another Emily in any of my classes at school. The only other Emily I really knew was a church friend's little sister. I love my name, but I think it would have bothered me if I had always had to share it with friends and classmates.
Reply:Nope i don't care about how popular the name is i just go by whether i like the name or not. Most of the names i like aren't very popular anyways, lol. Like my fav girl's name is Madison and it's becomin very popular but i've loved the name for along time, before it became so popular and my first girl is still gonna be named Madison. And yea i have a very popular name, my name is Jessica, but nope i don't mind it at all i love my name. I love being called Jess, :D.
Reply:I tend to like names that are not too popular. Most are in the top 100 but never ever in the top 20. If I liked a name a lot, I could care less if it is popular or not. It just so happens that I happen to like names that are known but not popular. Some names Iike a lot never ever made it in the top 1000 ever. I have liked names in the past when the names were not even heard of, and if so very rarely and then all of a sudden there is this boom of people naming their children that. It has happenned more than once. It has happenned repeatedly so I guess in part I like names that have the tendency to become popular. Hope I have made sense.
Reply:Yes, I'd more earnestly consider Emma and Abigail if they were not so popular right now. (Though, I already have a niece named Ella, so it's a bit easier to let that one go, since I have an "excuse.") I have top 3 names that are less common, but if I should happen to have more than three daughters (!) hopefully Abigail will be much less common by the time the forth is born... :)





Overall, popularity isn't too important; as long as it is not TOO popular (like the top 10) OR not part of a fad.
Reply:It doesn't matter to me. The name I have picked out for a boy is extremely popular right now (or so they say, I have yet to meet someone with the name) but when I came across it years ago it was fairly unheard of. I still love the name and still plan on using it. It just wouldn't feel right if I didn't, especially just because it is popular.
Reply:My name, Michele, was relatively knew on the scene growing up. I've always liked it!! In my rebel years I would change it back and forth from "Michele" to "Michelle" -- daring, huh?





As I grew older it became far more popular -- but never lessened my liking the choice my parents made.





To me it's always sounded feminine, intelligent and individual, yet not so unique that it is "odd" and you have to wonder what's going through people's heads when they first hear it.






Reply:I specifically look for names that are known but not in the Top 100 list. Growing up being 1 of 3-4 girls in class with the same name, I don't want my child to go through that. They always grouped us together if we sat alphabetically by first name and there was always confusion.





But I also wouldn't want to give my child a name that nobody can spell or pronounce. Or names that are too trendy now and nobody will be giving these names to their kids in 50 years. There are plenty of great names that are not to common or unusual. If you look on the Social Security names list from 101-1000 you'll find lots of great names.
Reply:Yes, it was important to me. I didn't want my child's last name to end up being "Who." You know...





"I saw Ashley today."


"Ashley Who?"





Or worse yet, I didn't want my kid to be a "witch":





"I saw Ashley today."


"Which Ashely?"





And I didn't want my kid to always have their last initial tacked on in order for people to identify them: Ashley A, Ashley T, Ashley M, etc. As a teacher, I felt sorry for those kids. One year I had four Laurens and four Lindsays in the same class! It was nuts!









Reply:Yes, it really mattered to both myself and my husband when we were picking a name. We did NOT want a name that was on the top 40 list (or even the top 100 list).





It took us a while (I was about 27 weeks) before we found a name we both liked that wasn't "popular" or made-up and silly.
Reply:You want a name thats not popular, but not unknown either. If it's too popular they'll get tired of hearing it. If they never hear it then they'll think they're weird. So go with something in the middle.





My name's Kevin. A little too popular for me.
Reply:Umm i dont think it matters so much.





Just pick a name that you like. Just take into consideration what the child might think. Would they get bullied for it? Is it a name that they would end up being ashamed of it?
Reply:To me it doesn't matter. But i live in a small town with hardly anybody having kids so there is slight chance of a name being repeated. If I lived somewhere with a lot of people it might matter.
Reply:Choose a name you like regardless of popularity. What others think is their opinion. You are the one that is going to name your baby.
Reply:I think if I were naming a child, it would matter to me. The only mildly common names I like are Elizabeth, and Amelia.
Reply:Pick one that isn't really popular.
Reply:~NO~
Reply:yes it matters to me i want a name that is NOT popular