Name popularity question: similar/related names

[Anonymous]

If you care about selecting a name that is not too popular, do you look at the popularity of related or similar-sounding names when you make your choice? How important is this?

Backstory:

We have selected the name Eve for our soon-to-be born DD. We were looking for a short, easy-to-pronounce name that was both "classic" sounding but also outside of the top 200-300 names to avoid running into too many others with that name. Eve seemed like the perfect fit, plus works great with the family name we want for a middle and with our last name.

But when we shared the name very selectively with a few people, two of them (who knew we were looking for a name that was not too popular) noted that there are a lot of similar names that are popular right now, some of which might even use Eve as a nickname: Evelyn, Eva, Evangeline. And then there is Ava which has different vowels but might be similar. I feel dumb that I didn't even think about this but am now totally rethinking this name.

One of the people who mentioned this to me said that she wished she'd thought about this more when she named her DD, who has an unusual name (not even in the top 1000 when she was born, now in like the 800s or something) but she didn't think about similar sounding names or nicknames and now on playgrounds it feels like a lot of kids have similar sounding names and it just doesn't feel as unique.

So I guess I'm curious what others think, if you've had this experience, how much I should worry about it. Baby is due in less than a month and I was happy to feel like we had the name all squared away and now suddenly I'm having tons of doubts. Name popularity genuinely matters to me.

[Anonymous]

Eve is a great name. Just go for it.

Even if there is an Evie (eh-vee), Evie (ee-vee), Evangeline, and Evelyn or two in her class, it will be fine. There is so much variety in names these days, you almost never get the "8 Emilys" problem anymore.

[Anonymous]

I think you're overthinking it and you should use Eve. It's a lovely name, and not over used.

Yes, Evelyn is popular right now, but I don't think people shorten Evelyn to Eve, because they're different vowel sounds. Same with Evangeline (which isn't very popular to begin with.)

Naming is so much more varied now than when we were kids. Even names in the top 10 aren't repeated as often as you'd think.

[Anonymous]

I am not the person you are asking. My oldest has a top 20 name for his year of birth, and it has never bothered me.

But I did want to stop by and say I love the name Eve. What a beautiful strong choice!

[Anonymous]

I would use the name. It"s also not a bad thing to have a more common name. I had an unusual name growing up and didn't like that. Later it became popular and that was actually nice. It helps to fit in. Plus Eve is a great name, a classic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you're overthinking it and you should use Eve. It's a lovely name, and not over used.

Yes, Evelyn is popular right now, but I don't think people shorten Evelyn to Eve, because they're different vowel sounds. Same with Evangeline (which isn't very popular to begin with.)

Naming is so much more varied now than when we were kids. Even names in the top 10 aren't repeated as often as you'd think.

Some people pronounce Evangeline with a long "e" like in Eve (my niece is an "Ee-van-ja-lin") though I think Eva (pronounced "Ee-vah) is the more common nn. That is my niece's nickname. Though admittedly close friends and family sometimes call her Eve for short.

I would rethink it only if it will genuinely upset you if you take your kid to a park and there is a kid named Eva or Evie there. But if that bugs you, you'll really have to go further afield for a name. My kid's name is ranked in the low 300s and there are no similar sounding names and we have met quite a few kids with her name. Never had a classmate with the name, but we've run into several others. It's not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Eve is good because it has an unambiguous spelling and pronunciation in English.

The other names you reference do have ambiguities.

I just had a situation where someone at work told me to e-mail a contact that I heard as "Ava". But it turned out to be "Eva". They say Ayvah for that name and I say Eevah.

I think it's always better to have a name that people can spell and pronounce accurately. I think it's a mistake to name American kids names like Siobhan. All cultures have shorter and easier names - I welcome names from a variety of cultures. I just feel bad watching the train wrecks of people dealing with people who can't say their name. I've also lived and worked abroad and allowed people to give me nicknames that work for them. I actually like that. However, at times these days, I've even seen that getting people's names wrong is a micro aggression. So make it easy for everybody to succeed.

P.S. I thought Andrew would be unique in a sea of Brayden/Jaydens/Haydens but there were 5 in his kindergarten class. Sometimes luck is not on your side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eve is good because it has an unambiguous spelling and pronunciation in English.

The other names you reference do have ambiguities.

I just had a situation where someone at work told me to e-mail a contact that I heard as "Ava". But it turned out to be "Eva". They say Ayvah for that name and I say Eevah.

I think it's always better to have a name that people can spell and pronounce accurately. I think it's a mistake to name American kids names like Siobhan. All cultures have shorter and easier names - I welcome names from a variety of cultures. I just feel bad watching the train wrecks of people dealing with people who can't say their name. I've also lived and worked abroad and allowed people to give me nicknames that work for them. I actually like that. However, at times these days, I've even seen that getting people's names wrong is a micro aggression. So make it easy for everybody to succeed.

P.S. I thought Andrew would be unique in a sea of Brayden/Jaydens/Haydens but there were 5 in his kindergarten class. Sometimes luck is not on your side.

It's harder to pick an original name for boys. Girl names have become so diverse that as someone noted upthread, you can have a top ten name like Charlotte or Sophia and still never have another in your class. With boys, people just use far fewer names so you are more likely to get duplicates. At our school, it's Mason and Aiden. Perfectly good names! So many.

[Anonymous]

It’s a terrible name. If she’s at all a tomboy or lesbian she’ll get called Steve, if she’s unpopular she’ll get called Leave, and it leaves zero room for any variation. As someone with a name like that it stinks. I have a short, stumpy ugly name too. Always hated it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a terrible name. If she’s at all a tomboy or lesbian she’ll get called Steve, if she’s unpopular she’ll get called Leave, and it leaves zero room for any variation. As someone with a name like that it stinks. I have a short, stumpy ugly name too. Always hated it.

Do you have a middle name? A good option is to do something different with the middle name. Then the kid can use that if they like. Plus an unusual middle name can help with credit report differentiation, etc.

[Anonymous]

We didn’t think about similar sounding names when naming our kids, but did aim for names that were not top 50. One of our sons’ names ends in -on, which we’ve discovered is a really popular trend (Carson, Hudson, Landon, Jackson, etc.). DH wishes we’d picked a different name, but honestly, I’m not bothered. There still aren’t too many -on names in his class. DD, however, has 6 girls in her class whose names rhyme/end in -a (Isla, Lyla, Kyra). I do think one be annoyed if DD was one of them!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We didn’t think about similar sounding names when naming our kids, but did aim for names that were not top 50. One of our sons’ names ends in -on, which we’ve discovered is a really popular trend (Carson, Hudson, Landon, Jackson, etc.). DH wishes we’d picked a different name, but honestly, I’m not bothered. There still aren’t too many -on names in his class. DD, however, has 6 girls in her class whose names rhyme/end in -a (Isla, Lyla, Kyra). I do think one be annoyed if DD was one of them!

The irony of all the girls with two syllable names ending in -a is that all their moms have two or three syllable names ending in -y or -ie and thinking they were doing something fresh. So Kelly and Stephanie and Katie and Jenny all have girls named Lyla and Thea and Eva and Mia. And those girls will all do something else different, maybe names that end in an -een or -ine like Justine and Colleen and Maxine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eve is good because it has an unambiguous spelling and kpronunciation in English.

The other names you reference do have ambiguities.

I just had a situation where someone at work told me to e-mail a contact that I heard as "Ava". But it turned out to be "Eva". They say Ayvah for that name and I say Eevah.

I think it's always better to have a name that people can spell and pronounce accurately. I think it's a mistake to name American kids names like Siobhan. All cultures have shorter and easier names - I welcome names from a variety of cultures. I just feel bad watching the train wrecks of people dealing with people who can't say their name. I've also lived and worked abroad and allowed people to give me nicknames that work for them. I actually like that. However, at times these days, I've even seen that getting people's names wrong is a micro aggression. So make it easy for everybody to succeed.

P.S. I thought Andrew would be unique in a sea of Brayden/Jaydens/Haydens but there were 5 in his kindergarten class. Sometimes luck is not on your side.

My friend named her daughter Eva but pronounces it ava and i always have to remind myself how to say it since it seems wrong to me

[Anonymous]

Don't overthink it. Eve is very pretty!

[Anonymous]

I have a kid named Noah. It was popular when he was born and remains popular today (like consistently a top 10 name).

Guess what?

He has never been in a class or on a team with a kid with the same name. Never.

This is not an issue. Really.

And fwiw, the only Eve I’ve ever met is an elderly woman. The “Evies” I’ve encountered on playgrounds/school, etc. don’t go by Eve; Evie is typically a NN for Genevieve or Eva (two popular names).