Using a popular name anyway?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Use what you like. If you don't mind it being popular, that's all that matters.

I guess the kid doesn’t matter.

The kid will be fine. No child has been harmed by a popular name.

I personally have always hated my name. It was popular and had no meaning to my parents.

+1

I’m still trying to change mine, but can’t find one that feels “real.”

But kids who have super unique names express the same sentiment. You can't predict how your child will feel about their name.

+1. Yep. I have what one would consider a "super unique name" (I've NEVER met anyone w/ my name and I'm 37 years old and have traveled widely and lived all over the country). I HATED it as a kid. I really wished my parents had named me something more common and less distinctive. It didn't feel like it had much meaning to me or to my parents either. They just picked it to be different, not because it was super meaningful to them.

+2 I disliked my name as a kid for reasons that had nothing to do with popularity. My name felt too plain to me. I wanted a really feminine name, or something that sounded fancy. And I didn't like my nicknames. I grew into my name and now can't imagine having another. But a funny thing happened -- my name also became wildly more popular as I got older, and is now in the top 10. And now I meet people with my name all the time and... I like it! I like feeling connected to people in this way. And it also kind of reaffirms for my child self (who thought it was an ugly name) that actually it's a pretty name that a lot of people like.

Names are so complicated, which is why it can be so stressful to name a child. Which is why I always say "Go with the name YOU love the sound of, that feels right to you." It's really the only thing you can do. Trying to game it by choosing a more or less popular name, letting other people's impressions of the name guide you instead of following your gut, will not get you anywhere good. I don't know if my kid will love her name as she gets older, but I know WE love it and can give her some really good arguments for why it's a great name, including pointing to her namesake and telling her how we decided on it.

[Anonymous]

We picked a popular name for our 2nd DD, specifically because we liked it and it had significant meaning to us. Amazingly, out of about 50 girls at her daycare, she’s the only one with this name.
I grew up in the 80s/90s with a very popular late Gen X name. There were 4 other girls with the same name in my graduating class from high school, including my childhood best friend. We all turned out just fine.

[Anonymous]

Ha I’m another one here who dislikes my name. It’s definitely not popular (or weird) but it’s just plain ugly and difficult to say in a lot of languages.

[Anonymous]

Remember that the name will always be popular in her generation. There will be three other women with her name in the old peoples home. Ask your mother or mother-in-law whose name is Susan what that feels like.

DH really wanted to name our DD Sophia and I mixed it based only on its popularity. In hospital he mentioned that he wanted to name the baby Sophia and the nurses all said, “Not another Sophia!” DD is 15 months and we’ve never been in any class where there isn’t at least two Sophia’s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Remember that the name will always be popular in her generation. There will be three other women with her name in the old peoples home. Ask your mother or mother-in-law whose name is Susan what that feels like.

DH really wanted to name our DD Sophia and I mixed it based only on its popularity. In hospital he mentioned that he wanted to name the baby Sophia and the nurses all said, “Not another Sophia!” DD is 15 months and we’ve never been in any class where there isn’t at least two Sophia’s.

Hmm I have 2 young kids and we have never met a Sophia so this isn't always the case. And no name in 2022 is as popular as Susan was for our parents' generation.

[Anonymous]

Names follow trends. I do internally roll my eyes when I hear someone introduce their baby with a super common name. Like, come on, you couldn’t think out of the trend-pressure for one second?!

[Anonymous]

OP, if the name is Emma or Ava, you can use it as a nn.

[Anonymous]

It doesn't matter. If this is the name that fits your kid, use it!!!

[Anonymous]

Your child will be Name and last name initial (Ellie Q or Sophia G) through out childhood and then just called last name for the rest of her life.

The name in her generation will always be common.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you love it, use it! I named my son a top 5 name and 10 years later still adore it. I'm so glad I didn't let "but it's sooooo popular!" dissuade me. FWIW, we stumble on another one every so often (usually with sports, never in school) and it's no big deal. I like that everyone can spell it and pronounce it--makes life simpler.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Names follow trends. I do internally roll my eyes when I hear someone introduce their baby with a super common name. Like, come on, you couldn’t think out of the trend-pressure for one second?!

+1. No name is inherently prettier than another - it’s simply current fashion. I roll my eyes too.

[Anonymous]

my sister regrets naming my niece Ava. There's on in every class, on every team. And she does it does kind of feel less special. Not to mention the inconvenience of having to always specify the last name or reply to invites that were sent to the wrong Ava.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son has a common name, and it's a crapshoot. Unless something changes, he's the only one in his elementary school. Sports, on the other hand, have been another story. If there isn't another one on his team, there's inevitably one on the opposing team virtually every game.

That said, he's named after my dad, which was nonnegotiable for me, so I don't care. And so far, at least, it doesn't seem to bother him.

+1 I have a Liam, named after my FIL (his actual given name), never considered otherwise even as it inched up in popularity in the years before he was born. I love the name and it will always be meaningful to us. He's never had another in his class but there's been plenty on sports teams and at the playground. It hasn't bothered him thus far. We have a family nickname for him that other relatives also use to differentiate between grandfather and grandson.

It may be hard for some people to imagine naming your precious, unique child something that will also belong to a lot of other people. I try to have a larger perspective. There are many cultures that have very little diversity in names and different naming conventions altogether. A name hasn't historically been the most important way to differentiate oneself, and doesn't make anyone any more or less special.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Names follow trends. I do internally roll my eyes when I hear someone introduce their baby with a super common name. Like, come on, you couldn’t think out of the trend-pressure for one second?!

+1. No name is inherently prettier than another - it’s simply current fashion. I roll my eyes too.

+2 It’s like naming her “child.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think its fine. In reality there is a lot more variety of names used today so even the most popular names have less people actually named that name. In my little bubble a common name is less likely to have multiple kids in the class with that name.

+1 This exactly. Use what you like and don't worry about it.