What’s your favorite “not top 1000” name(s)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don’t understand why you would actively seek this.

Don’t most people want to give their child a popular name instead of an obscure or archaic one?

It’s not like a name is some precious commodity.

No, not everyone wants to do what’s popular just because it’s popular. Some people actively seek popular, some people just don’t care, and some prefer unique. None are wrong, just different. And many of these names are known and familiar, just not currently on trend.

What you said. Exactly! Thank you

[Anonymous]

Tierney
Hart
Mairead

[Anonymous]

My husband and I both have fairly popular names from our birth year. I hated it, he didn’t care (there weren’t a ridiculous amount of kids with his name in his classes in tx like I faced in my mid Atlantic location)

I briefly considered going by my middle name in college.

Anyway, yes, I hated having the same name as so many of my peers. So I did search out names that were not in rotation right now for our kids. And I found nice names that are known/normal but are unlikely to be duplicate names in my kids’ classes or activities

[Anonymous]

Prudence

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I both have fairly popular names from our birth year. I hated it, he didn’t care (there weren’t a ridiculous amount of kids with his name in his classes in tx like I faced in my mid Atlantic location)

I briefly considered going by my middle name in college.

Anyway, yes, I hated having the same name as so many of my peers. So I did search out names that were not in rotation right now for our kids. And I found nice names that are known/normal but are unlikely to be duplicate names in my kids’ classes or activities

+1. My mother is a Susan and has always felt the same way. She purposely chose untrendy and unpopular names for us and encouraged us to do the same with our kids. It’s reinforced in me by the fact my MIL is also named Susan as is my youngest brother’s MIL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don’t understand why you would actively seek this.

Don’t most people want to give their child a popular name instead of an obscure or archaic one?

It’s not like a name is some precious commodity.

No, not everyone wants to do what’s popular just because it’s popular. Some people actively seek popular, some people just don’t care, and some prefer unique. None are wrong, just different. And many of these names are known and familiar, just not currently on trend.

What you said. Exactly! Thank you

IT IS wrong to purposely make a selfish decision for somebody else. How many more people need to say that they hated having trendy names?

That being said, the name shouldn’t be embarrassing either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I both have fairly popular names from our birth year. I hated it, he didn’t care (there weren’t a ridiculous amount of kids with his name in his classes in tx like I faced in my mid Atlantic location)

I briefly considered going by my middle name in college.

Anyway, yes, I hated having the same name as so many of my peers. So I did search out names that were not in rotation right now for our kids. And I found nice names that are known/normal but are unlikely to be duplicate names in my kids’ classes or activities

+1. My mother is a Susan and has always felt the same way. She purposely chose untrendy and unpopular names for us and encouraged us to do the same with our kids. It’s reinforced in me by the fact my MIL is also named Susan as is my youngest brother’s MIL.

+2

[Anonymous]

Ronja/Ronia
Dorothea
Larissa
Letitia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I both have fairly popular names from our birth year. I hated it, he didn’t care (there weren’t a ridiculous amount of kids with his name in his classes in tx like I faced in my mid Atlantic location)

I briefly considered going by my middle name in college.

Anyway, yes, I hated having the same name as so many of my peers. So I did search out names that were not in rotation right now for our kids. And I found nice names that are known/normal but are unlikely to be duplicate names in my kids’ classes or activities

+1. My mother is a Susan and has always felt the same way. She purposely chose untrendy and unpopular names for us and encouraged us to do the same with our kids. It’s reinforced in me by the fact my MIL is also named Susan as is my youngest brother’s MIL.

+2

There are many, many names in the Top 1000 (Top 100) even that would suit this purpose. My kid’s name is in the top 30 and she’s never had a peer with the same name and we’ve only ever met one other child with her name. Outside of Top 1000, you enter the territory of unfamiliar names, weird spellings of much more popular names, and just plain unappealing names. You don’t have to name your kid Gertrude. Just don’t name her a Top 10 name and you’re probably fine, honestly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought I liked some "not top 1000" names, but this exercise has shown me that my sweet spot is 400-800. Outside the top 1000, a lot of the names just sound super outdated or made up.

+1

But names outside the top 1000 that are familiar and not terribly dated include:

Joan (I think this is underrated. Joanna is #254 so a decent alternative)
Erica
Anita
Lara
Constance
Monica
Courtney
Marisa
Gina
Teresa
Cara (personal favorite)
Anne (shocker! although Anna is #63)

I couldn't find any decent ones for men, unless you're interested in Stanley, Harold, Abner, Alfred, Gary, etc.

Raymond is in the 300s and I always liked that one. I've feel like people named Ray are always jolly. Like Martin/Marty.

for names that are more nationality-oriented, there's:

Cillian
Dario
Karim
Anton
Dermot
Anders
Emile
Ahmed
Mariano


Vera (sounds old-fashioned to American ears, but very common in Croatia, Slovenia, etc)
Dara (Eastern European women, Irish men but also Darragh)
Ilona
Siobhan
Rashida
Milena
Karina
Domenica
Natasha
Zora
Sanaa
Daniela
Katarina
Renata
Agata (this seems bad-ass)
Beatrice
Gaia

Many if not most of these names are not 1000+.

Is it too much to do a quick 20 second ssa search before posting.

[Anonymous]

I would have to say 3/4 of my kids’ names are not top names 1000. I love all my kids’ names but for my first, his name ranked #191 when we had him and it’s now #40.

[Anonymous]

Cosmo

[Anonymous]

I feel like in the DC area, there are so many non-American names that even the popular ones are not as prevalent as they were when I was growing up....5 Susans and 7 Jennifers in a very small elementary school grade. This is a good thing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like in the DC area, there are so many non-American names that even the popular ones are not as prevalent as they were when I was growing up....5 Susans and 7 Jennifers in a very small elementary school grade. This is a good thing!

What’s an “American” name? George? Barack? Kamala?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I don’t understand why you would actively seek this.

Don’t most people want to give their child a popular name instead of an obscure or archaic one?

It’s not like a name is some precious commodity.

No, not everyone wants to do what’s popular just because it’s popular. Some people actively seek popular, some people just don’t care, and some prefer unique. None are wrong, just different. And many of these names are known and familiar, just not currently on trend.

What you said. Exactly! Thank you

IT IS wrong to purposely make a selfish decision for somebody else. How many more people need to say that they hated having trendy names?

That being said, the name shouldn’t be embarrassing either.

Um, one could argue that naming your child is a selfish act no matter the name

And there are plenty of non embarrassing below 1000 names