Reply to A useful thread for figuring out if a name is "too popular"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The point is that people following trends in name don’t realize they are just following the trend.  Why are people not naming their babies Susan or Linda?  Because those names are out of fashion.

Seriously, it’s nothing more than that.  We live in the current society and think our fashion, home decor, children’s names, how we wear our hair, etc are all better than previous generations.  Trend.  Nothing more.  [/quote]

THIS.  Come on, guys.  It’s so obvious.  [/quote]

Sure, everything follows trends. But it's not "nothing" more than that. Also people genuinely like these names. I think the reason people are pushing back against this argument is that you're basically arguing that people have no taste at all. Not that they have bad taste or taste you don't agree with, but you are arguing that people are just blindly following a trend and not exercising judgment at all. But people obviously put a lot of thought into what they name their kids.  So that doesn't ring true.

If you want to use the fashion analogy: I love high waisted clothing and always have. Even when I was in high school and it was out of fashion -- it looks good on me and I find it more comfortable than the low rise everything that was popular back then. But it was hard to find things that were higher rise beyond vintage clothes, so it's not like I wore it all the time. But then in the last 10 years high rise has become more fashionable and I wear it pretty much exclusively and I like that I can find it almost anywhere. I'm sure there are people who look at my clothes and think "fashion victim -- she's just wearing high rise because some magazine told her to." But it's not one or the other. I am wearing it both because I like it AND because it's on trend and therefore more available to me. It's both. Which is typical -- very few people embrace every single trend to come along, but instead gravitates toward the trends they like the most based on their genuine preferences.

And it's the same with baby names. Are the popular names today trends? Yes, of course, these are the names that are in fashion. But also: people are choosing one name out of all the names that are "on trend" and they are choosing that name because it's the name they like the most. Like even the person who is choosing Sophia over Charlotte or Luna over Olivia is doing so based on something personal and specific to them. Maybe it's their grandmother's name or maybe it reminds them of their favorite children's book or maybe they just love how those sounds go together. They are still exercising a choice, even if it's the same one lots of others exercise. They are not just reaching into a hat of "Top Names" and going with whatever comes out. It's a combination of fashion and personal preference, like most things.[/quote]

You’re very prolix.  :lol: [/quote]

It's better than "This is my opinion and everyone who disagrees is dumb." Not sure what the point of a message board is if people don't explain their reasoning and thought process -- it's the only way to have a conversation of any value.[/quote]

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