Anonymous wrote:My 1st grader, Sophie, has never had another Sophie in her class - including four years in daycare, kindergarten, and this year. So we haven't had to worry about the Sophie M. thing.

that's because you were ahead of the trend. If you named a baby Sophie now or within the past 2 years it would be a different story.
I have a first grader (born 2005) named Henry. We've never another Henry in his class. But if I go to a playground anywhere in NW DC, I hear the name "Henry" called out a half dozen times to different children, all age 4 or older. It's STRIKING how common it is.
I wouldn't use it again if I was naming a child today although I don't really mind how popular it is because my son has never had to be "Henry X" and likely never will be.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do the trendsetters get a dispensation? My daughter's name was virtually unheard-of in the under-80 set when she was born. Now, every time I call for her, I get mobbed by two-year-olds.

So, where was it on the charts for the year of her birth?

http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/#ht=1

dear god, I get most of those but is JAYDEN really #4? Ugh. I'm a little surprised by Chloe at #10 for girls, too.

OP, I was kind of wondering the same thing. There are 8 Sophies in the daycare/preschool where DS goes (out of probably 150 kids). You'd think it would be a little more self-regulating - a name becomes "too" popular so people stop using it and it becomes less popular... but I guess the opposite happens and the more popular it is, the more popular it becomes.

You missed Owen - there are 5 at his school (more Owens than Jacobs actually).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do the trendsetters get a dispensation? My daughter's name was virtually unheard-of in the under-80 set when she was born. Now, every time I call for her, I get mobbed by two-year-olds.

So, where was it on the charts for the year of her birth?

http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/#ht=1

I'm not a PP, but my daughter's name is between 75 and 100 and I can't believe (because I hear it fairly regularly) it is still not as common right now as Serenity, Aaliyah, Nevaeh, and Jocelyn. Wow.

Anonymous wrote:I'm not defensive about my Sophie - I love her name and like I said, we have only met a few others so far. I'm genuinely curious about why you care enough to make a new post about it. Do you want to know why people continue to pick names in the top ten? Or just let us know that you are more clever?

This has zero to do with me or my choices. Unlike many on DCUM, everything is not "all about me." I am asking, as I mentioned before, as a poll-type question, as a spin-off to the other baby name post. I'm sorry if this is difficult to grasp.

Anonymous wrote:Do the trendsetters get a dispensation? My daughter's name was virtually unheard-of in the under-80 set when she was born. Now, every time I call for her, I get mobbed by two-year-olds.

So, where was it on the charts for the year of her birth?

http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/#ht=1

I'm not defensive about my Sophie - I love her name and like I said, we have only met a few others so far. I'm genuinely curious about why you care enough to make a new post about it. Do you want to know why people continue to pick names in the top ten? Or just let us know that you are more clever?

What's your kid's name, OP?

Anonymous wrote:Why is it a problem for a kid to have a popular name? Is it really that big a deal for the teacher to call your kid Jacob A. or Jake because there's another Jacob in the class? Why are people so worried about this? I'm honestly curious.

I'm a Lisa, and I deliberately stayed away from anything remotely trendy because I hated being "Lisa R" in all my classes when I was growing up.

My 1st grader, Sophie, has never had another Sophie in her class - including four years in daycare, kindergarten, and this year. So we haven't had to worry about the Sophie M. thing.

It's a question as a spin-off (hence "s/o") of the other post. The only people getting defensive are those who named their kids with overused names. It's not that we "care," it's just a poll-type question. Defensive, much?

Oh, and yes: JAKE and JACK. So many Jakes and Jacks!

Anonymous wrote:They may be wonderful names, but unless there's a family connection I don't know why people continue to jump on these bandwagons.
Ex: Ava, Emily, Emma, Henry, Jacob, Matthew, Evan, Isabelle/a, Sophie/a, Grace.

There are so many wonderful names out there to use instead.

We are on our third year of preschool with DD1 and she has never most of these in her classes - only Grace, Sophia, and Isabella. We do know kids with some of the other names, but no more common than many other names.

The only people I know who lament the popularity of their child's name have Sophia's.

Why is it a problem for a kid to have a popular name? Is it really that big a deal for the teacher to call your kid Jacob A. or Jake because there's another Jacob in the class? Why are people so worried about this? I'm honestly curious.

Not to mention that none of the names you mention--even ones that seem ubiquitous--are anywhere near as popular as the favorites of the 70s and 80s. There's a lot more diversity of names now, and even the Olivias and Sophias in our daycares and preschools are unlikely to be a majority of the girls in their elementary, high school, or college classes.

Anonymous wrote:I'm just going to start assigning numbers to my children. Problem solved!

But then "Number One" will be the most common name in America. By, like, a lot.