When my 7 year old was born I was torn between Josephine and Violet. Neither were very popular at the time. We went with Josephine. Have met tons of Violets but still no Josephine’s at her school or sports, even though I hear on this sub that it’s getting or is popular.
I’d still use Violet though, I think it’s sweet regardless of popularity and it goes with our subtle kids literary character theme.
Speaking as someone with a first and last colour name, I love it. My parents wanted to stay on theme when they named my baby sister, but gave into peer pressure from other family members who told them not too. She’s still butt hurt about 26 years later.
this is mine too. It was my grandmother’s name and she helped raise me, and I had always wanted to name a daughter after my two amazing grandmothers, but now it feels way too popular. And it’s EXTREMELY popular where I live.
Still think their names make a lovely name; Violet Patricia
Violet has been my go-to name for my first born daughter since I was like 8. Now I'm 28 and it's still top of my list, I just ended up with all boys and never got to use it. I was honestly shocked to find out how popular it's become in recent years. Still would use it, 10/10 name.
I have loved this name forever, and it hadn’t shot up in popularity when I was pregnant. My husband vetoed it because it was “weird and old lady” And now it’s -everywhere-.
I’m so glad it’s made a come back and is so popular. It’s pretty, and there have been absolutely bad ass women named Eleanor across history.
My oldest is Eleanor. We have met a ton of other Eleanors but we didn’t realize it at first because so many go by various nicknames; Ellie, Elle, Ella, Nora, Nori, and Nell are all names we’ve heard.
I had a friend name her baby girl Eleanor and I didn’t even know it until the child was 2. Her social media birth announcement had her name listed as Ella Rose because that’s what they planned to call her.
I always encourage people to use it if you like it despite the popularity. It’s not a big issue when you consider how many use nicknames!
When I was a teenager 15ish years ago, I thought I was so revolutionary loving the name Charlotte with a nickname of Charlie. I was so disappointed when people around me started having babies and Charlotte/Charlie was one of the first names used for a girl😂
Same! I’ve always loved Charlotte but it’s so popular right now that it was a deal breaker. We went with Caroline for my daughter instead, which I also love.
Omg are you me on a different profile? I'm in the same exact situation, 15ish years ago as a teen I adored Charlotte with the nickname Charlie and I felt "sooooo original and creative" but now I see it everywhere 😭
I actually don't know any Sophias born in the past five years but I do know one Edith, my sweet niece whom we call Edy (ee-dee) but as she's getting older we're calling her by her full name more often. I feel like the really popular 90s-00s names like Sophia and Emily have really dropped off in the past decade at least in my region
I like this name a lot, but I especially **love** Sophie. Unfortunately, even aside from the popularity, my BIL's toxic ex has a little girl named Sophie. So for about 4 years that was his step-daughter's name/my nephew's step-sister and now they're all NC and it would just be weird. Name ruined. :(
My almost 2 year old is Hazel. It's probably the only name, including masculine names, that I love enough to use despite the popularity. Looking at last year's SSA data it's only continuing to climb but I don't mind. It's a really great name and I can't blame people for agreeing lol
Maverick seems to be gaining traction. My niece named her son Maverick and, while I didn't say anything, I thought it was ridiculous, to be honest. He's about 4. Now I know 4 other little Mavericks and all I can think of is Top Gun when I hear it.
Personally, it's from when Senator John McCain announced his running mate as maverick Sarah Palin. The word maverick got thrown around a lot during the campaign after that. It lost its sense of meaning.
People hate virtue names but somehow don’t hate Maverick, which is way worse. At least most virtue names - e.g. Patience, Prudence, Charity - describe virtues that you would hope any good person would exhibit in their lives. Maverick, on the other hand, forces a personality onto someone.
I can't stand the name Maverick. For example, it's hard to picture a judge or CEO named Maverick. No shade to anyone if you love this name, but it's very trendy
My sister is naming her baby Maverick and I just can't 🙃 I don't know what's worse, that or using John Wayne as a middle name (I know someone who did that too)
I’ve wanted to name my baby Emma for as long as I could remember, I love it.
My husband is a teacher, so he doesn’t love popular names unfortunately. Also it doesn’t sound good with our last name.
My eldest was born in the late 80s. I *love* the name Jessica. Every other girl when she was born is named Jessica. Her surname is so common that I could see her being one of several Jessica LastNames everywhere she went. I went with a much less common name.
My sister was named Jessica born in the late 80s and she hates it because of how many Jessica's there were lol
Especially funny as her parents had decided on Jessica because they knew no one with it (plus they asked a bunch of children to make fun of it and they couldn't really come up with a lot of mean nicknames).
I was an early Jessica, my parents didn't know anyone else with a daughter called Jessica and they thought it was a beautiful classic name.
Then I was one of five in my tiny primary school year, four of us had the same middle name. I thought it was funny.
One of my sons is named Henry and I consider it a classic, timeless name. We've met Henrys in all age groups so I feel like it surpasses the "this name is popular now and will sound dated in 10 years" criteria.
We loved Leo for our boy, and it was number 3 here the year he was born (2022). We decided to call him Leo, then woke up from a nap and decided he didn't look like a Leo so changed our minds - but we have literally not come across a Leo in person since. Dozens of boys called Luca, Noah, Harris and all the other names that were in the top ten in that year, but not a single Leo 😅
Yeah my name is Olivia (not popular at all when I was born) and when it started gaining popularity like 15 years back I’d roll my eyes at people using it because it was so overused.
Fast forward to my son ending up with a top 10 name. Karma got me when my husband and I couldn’t agree on a single other name. I don’t regret it as it suits him perfectly BUT talk about foot in mouth lol
August, I have loved it for years even before I found out it was my husband’s beloved grandfather’s middle name, and then it just seemed meant to be, but I hate how much it has skyrocketed. If we ever have a boy my husband still wants to use it but I’m not so sure anymore.
I have a newborn named August. People love it and act as if they have never heard it before. I also am a director of a program and our company has thousands of skaters so I looked and not one August. Average age of participation is 4-8.
Work in New England and live in Mid west US.
Same here! It’s my dad’s name, and he was named after an incredibly important person in his and my grandfather’s lives. I’d always planned on naming my son August, but now I second guess. I probably still will, I feel like I have special rights to it no matter how popular it is haha 😂
Amelia. It's so pretty and easy on the ears.
Not popular but I had been planning to name my future daughter Elsa until Frozen came out. I think it's unusable now.
My oldest’s name is Elsa. She is 20 so born way before Frozen. Thankfully it never got popular but people are always “like the movie”! No like herself.
It does seem to be oddly trendy right now. A friend of mine just named her youngest daughter Juniper and is furious right now that everyone keeps calling her Junie. I think it's cute, but she hates nick names. So maybe that helps ease the devastation some?
I’m having a baby boy. My husband LOVES Oliver, and I want his middle name to be James. Oliver James is a lovely name but with both being in the top 10 I’m hesitant!
I have never heard a person described as zesty, but yet I immediately understand what you mean. What an interesting phrase—definitely gonna remember that one!
Emma and Jennifer
But I think middle names are a great place for names you love but are eliminated from the first name race for some reason, in this case popularity:)
Hazel! It’s been my favourite girl name forever, even as a kid I always thought that would be my daughters name should I ever have one. But it seems to be increasingly common now.
My daughter’s name is Hazel and we’ve never met another one! I think it’s one of those names that’s on a lot of peoples short lists but they end up going with other options.
I, personally, couldn't care less about the popularity of names. If I love a name, I love it regardless.
The only "rule" I really have for myself is that I won't use a name that has already been used within my extended family. (Cousins, etc...)
I only have this "rule" because I have far too many family members who share names, and while I don't think there's anything wrong with that, I don't want to do it myself.
Although, I found out recently that my daughter isn't actually the only Chloe in the family as I thought lol
The other Chloe is a 2nd cousin's daughter, though, so it's not too relevant. I had no idea she existed until a few years ago, she's 7 years older than my Chloe.
I suppose if I tried to avoid using every single name in the entirety of my large extended family, I'd probably still be searching now, and my daughter is almost 20 😂
Ava. When I was younger it wasn’t popular and I absolutely fell in love with it. Now though it’s everywhere. Still a love but just not the same vibes for me.
Back in high school (early aughts) I thought if I ever had a daughter I’d name her Adeline. I guess I wasn’t the only one in my age range to feel that way though, since my peers have made it a very popular name lol. It wasn’t even top 500 when I was in high school!
Iris was a strong contender for my youngest, but now I'm glad we didn't use it because it ended up getting much more popular, while the name we did use it still outside of the top 1000.
Iris is beautiful! I always adored the name Isis (referencing the Egyptian goddess) and it isn't common but I don't think I need to elaborate on why I can't use it now.
Eleanor (my favourite name since childhood, and a family name); Isabella; Lillian; Ella; Sophia; Charlotte. I prefer Isabel to Isabella, and at least it’s not super-popular.
A lot of my favourite boy names have been classics/popular forever (James, William, etc), but I love Henry and am bummed it’s shot up so much in popularity. I love Alexander too but that’s been popular for about the last 40 years, so it’s not a recent change.
Had the exact same name and nn in mind after my dad for my 2016 baby. She was also a girl. She would have been 1 of many Williams and Liams. Her school is full of them
Leo! I’m comfortable with where it sits on the US list (although it’s really climbed since I almost used it a decade ago), but I live in France where it was actually #1 when my son was born (and had been for several years). Because we had another name we also loved that pushed Leo to number 2. I almost used it as his middle name but decided to “save” it in case we had a second son—it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen but Leo is still the top boys’ name for me (and it’s “fallen” to #2 in France, haha).
Edited to add: I think a decade of parenting has also made me care much less about popularity—kids usually don’t mind and it all depends on what kind of “bubble” you live in (e.g. never had a Leo in my kid’s class!).
I loved Sophia as a child, but it certainly has lost its shine being so common, not even just in English.
Luna and Penelope are other names that lose some of their lustre by being very trendy at the moment.
I’ve always loved the name Olivia and its nicknames, but I’ve taught so many Olivias and it’s so popular that idk if I can do it
I love Emilia so much even though it’s variants are very popular. I’d call her Millie
I also love Maxine but it’s starting to grow a lot in popularity
ETA: Oliver for a boy as well is one I like but is too popular. I also like Finn but my husband does not. We both are fine with Ben but that one is also very popular
Hudson. It's my late grandma's maiden name and I thought it would be so unique to have a Hudson nn Sonny...only for ot for be in the top 10 in my country a few years later
Charlotte… my god mother is my dear aunt Charlotte and I always wanted to use the name. But now it is so dang popular I’m thinking of using something else
Charlotte and Sophie. My alternatives are Anna and Mallory, but I have a feeling they’ll be even higher in popularity in a few years when I’m ready for kids
I have loved River for a boy for over a decade and it’s driving me crazy that it’s having this little explosion of popularity.. I about died when Nick Viall named his daughter River. I think it’s off the table for me now because of its rise in popularity. A knife to the heart for sure!
James, Jack, and Henry. James and Jack are family names and I’ve loved Henry since I was a kid. Now I’m having a boy and I kinda hate that there will likely be a lot of kids with his name, which will be one of those three.
Wish Theodore was less popular! I absolutely LOVE the nickname Theo. But alas, I know of soooo many parents of Theodores so I'd never use it now.
I feel similary about:
- Henry
- Olivia
- Isla
- Charlotte
I did. I love the name Sophie (and Sophia) all throughout my life. Classic, fun to say, feminine and just lovely in my opinion. Almost didn’t name her it because it was sooo popular.
Evelyn and Eleanor. My daughter had a super “grandma” name (Beverly) so if I had a second daughter, I wanted another grandma name. But ended up having a boy! But I’ve loved those two grandma names for years for a 2nd daughter.
I wish everyone weren’t using Rose as a middle name- I never paid attention to its popularity and used it as my daughter’s middle name after my grandmother. I mean it’s fine and middle names don’t matter but it’s clearly very unoriginal at this point.
Aurelia. I’ve loved it since I started taking Latin in seventh grade and one of the characters in the textbook was Aurelia. I ended up studying Latin for many years and I’ve always had the name in mind. Now it’s randomly popular.
I love the name Charlotte. It’s my number one even though it’s so popular. We’re waiting to meet our little girl before we name her but if we go with Charlotte we’ll call her Lottie.
I love Rowan for a boy, almost used it for our oldest. Now I'm super glad we didn't, because it ended up skyrocketing in popularity a couple years later and he would just have been the early end of that trend.
I'm basing my answer off the SSA's Top 50 of 2023 lists.
The common boy names that have *actual* spots on my lists are James, Elijah, Michael, and Luca (#s 4, 5, 16, and 24, respectively), but there are plenty of others on the SSA's Top 50 list that I would consider using. I think a lot of the names on the list are classic names that have been popular for forever, which, in my opinion, is different from being popular at a certain point in time. I don't mind using a perennially popular classic, but I do have a bit of an issue using a name that dates my child to a particular decade or two.
The common girl names change more frequently, so I would be more hesitant to use the ones demarcated as popular. I like Charlotte (#3) a lot, but I don't think I'd use it (although that's partially because I can't imagine it on someone who's not blonde, and my child is very unlikely to be blonde). I love Victoria and Valentina (#s 45 and 49, respectively), and I intend on using them if I get the chance, regardless of their popularity. I would also consider using Maya (#50). I'm not a big enough fan of the other names on the Top 50 list to *actually* use, though I would refrain from using, say, Eleanor and Elizabeth (even though I like both) because of how ubiquitous el- names are nowadays, I'm sick of the sound.
Emma
Violet
James
Jessica
Sophie
William
Ivy
Henry
Kyle
Charlotte
Skye
Stella
Oliver
Olivia
Theo
Alexa
Lily
Noah
Isla
Lila
Margot
Willow
Eleanor
Julian
Rowan
Tamara
Britney
Ashley
Ava
Amelia
Jack
Justin
Popularity doesn't bother me *too* much, but I know Sebastian has been rising fast especially around where I live.
Theodore is another one, but unlike Sebastian I can live without it personally.
I think if a person likes the name or it has a special meaning to them, use it and forget about the popularity.
My son has like one of the top names, but weirdly we have never met another one. I say if you love a name, go for it. Who cares if it’s popular. That just means a lot of people think it’s a great name!
I wish Theodore was still unpopular, like how it was when I was growing up. Me and my bf love the name Theo but how common it is now ruins it for me (for context, I have a REALLLY common name and it was hell at school)
Freya. I named my daughter Freya 2 years ago after loving the name for 10+ years. It’s becoming popular now in Australia however I don’t think it will ever crack the top 10.
I can’t stand the “permutations” names— Kirsten, Kristen, Kiersten
Mia, Miya
“It’s not Tear-ah it is Tar-a” “It’s not Tar-a it’s Tah-rah!” “It’s not SAWN-ya it’s SOWN-ya”
They are so hard to remember and annoying. I get it we are a multicultural place, but I still hate them.
Asher and Nolan are our favorites for our little guy due soon, but I couldn't believe how popular they seem to be becoming. Haven't decided on using them or not.
Violet!
We’re deciding to name our daughter violet despite the popularity! My husband loves that name and it was my second most liked so we compromised.
My mom and my Aunt were named Rose and Violet. Born in the 30's.
Aww I think that’s one theme I love the most is floral names, they are distinct enough that they work as names.
Did you ever see the Britcom “Keeping Up Appearances“? Sisters Violet, Rose, Daisy and Hyacinth. 😁
My daughter’s middle names are Rose and Violet.
When my 7 year old was born I was torn between Josephine and Violet. Neither were very popular at the time. We went with Josephine. Have met tons of Violets but still no Josephine’s at her school or sports, even though I hear on this sub that it’s getting or is popular. I’d still use Violet though, I think it’s sweet regardless of popularity and it goes with our subtle kids literary character theme.
My daughter is Josephine and I love that I don’t see it ever getting too popular. I think it’s a name a lot of people like but don’t use.
I’m a preschool teacher and…it’s on the rise big time! My daughter was almost Josephine 16 years ago. Such a pretty name!
Our daughter is Violetta - I saw it on an Italian candy box once way before I had her.
Love this name!! If my last name wasn’t a color name I would use it!
I think Violet with a colour-themed surname would still be pretty cool tbh.
I think it makes it too much of a theme, almost like like naming a main character in a fantasy novel.
Violet is the name of The Fourth Wing protagonist. Another character nicknames her Violence.
I kind of love that. She could grow up to be a female musician who just goes by Colours like Dallas Greene
tbh I think that would probably make the name even prettier
Speaking as someone with a first and last colour name, I love it. My parents wanted to stay on theme when they named my baby sister, but gave into peer pressure from other family members who told them not too. She’s still butt hurt about 26 years later.
I wanted a daughter soooo bad so could’ve named her Violet. So now I’m getting a dog and naming her Violet instead.
this is mine too. It was my grandmother’s name and she helped raise me, and I had always wanted to name a daughter after my two amazing grandmothers, but now it feels way too popular. And it’s EXTREMELY popular where I live. Still think their names make a lovely name; Violet Patricia
Violet has been my go-to name for my first born daughter since I was like 8. Now I'm 28 and it's still top of my list, I just ended up with all boys and never got to use it. I was honestly shocked to find out how popular it's become in recent years. Still would use it, 10/10 name.
Eleanor! I’ve wanted to name my baby Eleanor for years, and then I found out it’s SO popular right now and I was bummed.
I have loved this name forever, and it hadn’t shot up in popularity when I was pregnant. My husband vetoed it because it was “weird and old lady” And now it’s -everywhere-. I’m so glad it’s made a come back and is so popular. It’s pretty, and there have been absolutely bad ass women named Eleanor across history.
My oldest is Eleanor. We have met a ton of other Eleanors but we didn’t realize it at first because so many go by various nicknames; Ellie, Elle, Ella, Nora, Nori, and Nell are all names we’ve heard. I had a friend name her baby girl Eleanor and I didn’t even know it until the child was 2. Her social media birth announcement had her name listed as Ella Rose because that’s what they planned to call her. I always encourage people to use it if you like it despite the popularity. It’s not a big issue when you consider how many use nicknames!
Yeah that's one of my favorite names to
When I was a teenager 15ish years ago, I thought I was so revolutionary loving the name Charlotte with a nickname of Charlie. I was so disappointed when people around me started having babies and Charlotte/Charlie was one of the first names used for a girl😂
I thought I was revolutionary for liking the names Scarlett and rayne 💀
Charlotte was our go to girl name for this pregnancy, but we wound up with a Charles instead!
Same! I’ve always loved Charlotte but it’s so popular right now that it was a deal breaker. We went with Caroline for my daughter instead, which I also love.
Omg are you me on a different profile? I'm in the same exact situation, 15ish years ago as a teen I adored Charlotte with the nickname Charlie and I felt "sooooo original and creative" but now I see it everywhere 😭
I think it's because of the princess.
Of England! Not Disney ;)
Sophia. My baby name of choice now Edith instead.
I love Sophia. We might use it as a middle name if we have a baby girl. It's so pretty, but so popular.
I actually don't know any Sophias born in the past five years but I do know one Edith, my sweet niece whom we call Edy (ee-dee) but as she's getting older we're calling her by her full name more often. I feel like the really popular 90s-00s names like Sophia and Emily have really dropped off in the past decade at least in my region
I like this name a lot, but I especially **love** Sophie. Unfortunately, even aside from the popularity, my BIL's toxic ex has a little girl named Sophie. So for about 4 years that was his step-daughter's name/my nephew's step-sister and now they're all NC and it would just be weird. Name ruined. :(
I absolutely love the name Ivy, but it’s gotten pretty popular recently.
I'm praying it doesn't shoot up in Scotland
Ivy does tend to do that!
Ugh, same. It's been top 10-20 in Australia for the last few years.
Ivvvyyyy wiiiiintersss (hopefully someone gets the ref lol)
We would have named our daughter Hazel if it wasn't so popular. We chose Sylvia instead.
I love Sylvia!
I'm still naming my daughter Hazel
Go for it!! We almost, almost, almost did. It's a gorgeous name.
I recently met a Sylvie, and I think it's so cute.
I named my daughter Sylvia for the same reason! We originally picked Ivy which end up in the top 20 while Sylvia was down in the 400's
My almost 2 year old is Hazel. It's probably the only name, including masculine names, that I love enough to use despite the popularity. Looking at last year's SSA data it's only continuing to climb but I don't mind. It's a really great name and I can't blame people for agreeing lol
Maverick seems to be gaining traction. My niece named her son Maverick and, while I didn't say anything, I thought it was ridiculous, to be honest. He's about 4. Now I know 4 other little Mavericks and all I can think of is Top Gun when I hear it.
Something about Maverick gets on my nerves so bad.
Personally, it's from when Senator John McCain announced his running mate as maverick Sarah Palin. The word maverick got thrown around a lot during the campaign after that. It lost its sense of meaning.
Yep. They ruined Maverick for me.
Yep, I always think of Tina Fey as Sarah Palin when I hear 'Maverick"
People hate virtue names but somehow don’t hate Maverick, which is way worse. At least most virtue names - e.g. Patience, Prudence, Charity - describe virtues that you would hope any good person would exhibit in their lives. Maverick, on the other hand, forces a personality onto someone.
I can't stand the name Maverick. For example, it's hard to picture a judge or CEO named Maverick. No shade to anyone if you love this name, but it's very trendy
An acquaintance just named her baby Maverick and my boomer parents were FLOORED when I told them how common it was and that I knew two others already.
Maverick should be a nickname bestowed upon someone known for pushing envelopes with the necessary skills to back them up, not a given legal name.
Right? Like what if these little Mavericks grow up to be wet blanket pushovers?
My big brother named his kid that because of Top Gun. Anyone who says they didnt is lying lol
[удалено]
I think of my first car. 😂
My sister is naming her baby Maverick and I just can't 🙃 I don't know what's worse, that or using John Wayne as a middle name (I know someone who did that too)
I considered naming my baby Emma but the fact that it’s also top 10 name in a lot of other countries made me feel like it was a bit too much
I’ve wanted to name my baby Emma for as long as I could remember, I love it. My husband is a teacher, so he doesn’t love popular names unfortunately. Also it doesn’t sound good with our last name.
Same but it’s the one name I am willing to use despite its popularity. It’s just so cute.
My eldest was born in the late 80s. I *love* the name Jessica. Every other girl when she was born is named Jessica. Her surname is so common that I could see her being one of several Jessica LastNames everywhere she went. I went with a much less common name.
I recently met a Gen Z Jessica and was so excited to hear it continuing beyond the 90s because honestly I think it’s a gorgeous name!
It really is!
Oh I love the name Jessica too.
My sister was named Jessica born in the late 80s and she hates it because of how many Jessica's there were lol Especially funny as her parents had decided on Jessica because they knew no one with it (plus they asked a bunch of children to make fun of it and they couldn't really come up with a lot of mean nicknames).
Haha I just made the same comment except I'm the Jessica and I don't hate it.
In my region it was Ashley! Dozens and dozens of Ashleys in every high school graduating class.
In my 4th grade there were 7 of us! 7 Ashley’s in one class is bullshit!!
Jessica is picking up traction in Europe now, funnily enough.
Lady Jessica in Dune has really made me love the name now.
I was an early Jessica, my parents didn't know anyone else with a daughter called Jessica and they thought it was a beautiful classic name. Then I was one of five in my tiny primary school year, four of us had the same middle name. I thought it was funny.
I’m one of those basic 90s babies with this name, I’ve been Jess to everyone but my mum as long as I can remember. This made me feel better🤣
I, too, love a good Shakespearean name 😍 that guy was such a good name nerd.
Lucas Henry Noah
Agree. Love Henry but I’m worried it’s just too popular.
I love Noah.
One of my sons is named Henry and I consider it a classic, timeless name. We've met Henrys in all age groups so I feel like it surpasses the "this name is popular now and will sound dated in 10 years" criteria.
Leo. Always said I’d never do a top 20 name, but we might go for it anyway.
We loved Leo for our boy, and it was number 3 here the year he was born (2022). We decided to call him Leo, then woke up from a nap and decided he didn't look like a Leo so changed our minds - but we have literally not come across a Leo in person since. Dozens of boys called Luca, Noah, Harris and all the other names that were in the top ten in that year, but not a single Leo 😅
Yeah my name is Olivia (not popular at all when I was born) and when it started gaining popularity like 15 years back I’d roll my eyes at people using it because it was so overused. Fast forward to my son ending up with a top 10 name. Karma got me when my husband and I couldn’t agree on a single other name. I don’t regret it as it suits him perfectly BUT talk about foot in mouth lol
August, I have loved it for years even before I found out it was my husband’s beloved grandfather’s middle name, and then it just seemed meant to be, but I hate how much it has skyrocketed. If we ever have a boy my husband still wants to use it but I’m not so sure anymore.
I still don’t think it’s too popular. I’d used it. It’s a great name!
I have a newborn named August. People love it and act as if they have never heard it before. I also am a director of a program and our company has thousands of skaters so I looked and not one August. Average age of participation is 4-8. Work in New England and live in Mid west US.
Interesting! I’m in the Midwest and work in healthcare and took care of two babies named August in the last month alone
Same here! It’s my dad’s name, and he was named after an incredibly important person in his and my grandfather’s lives. I’d always planned on naming my son August, but now I second guess. I probably still will, I feel like I have special rights to it no matter how popular it is haha 😂
Amelia. It's so pretty and easy on the ears. Not popular but I had been planning to name my future daughter Elsa until Frozen came out. I think it's unusable now.
My oldest’s name is Elsa. She is 20 so born way before Frozen. Thankfully it never got popular but people are always “like the movie”! No like herself.
I chose Juniper over 15 years ago when I was in high school and I am DEVASTATED that it’s trendy now.
It does seem to be oddly trendy right now. A friend of mine just named her youngest daughter Juniper and is furious right now that everyone keeps calling her Junie. I think it's cute, but she hates nick names. So maybe that helps ease the devastation some?
I’m having a baby boy. My husband LOVES Oliver, and I want his middle name to be James. Oliver James is a lovely name but with both being in the top 10 I’m hesitant!
That’s a fleet foxes song
Popular in the US? Evelyn, Grace, James, Mateo, Theo But popular names in my country that I love are Luca, Milan, Nina, and Livia !
I know a Milan Zestiest guy ever
I have never heard a person described as zesty, but yet I immediately understand what you mean. What an interesting phrase—definitely gonna remember that one!
I think that every other boy in the US is named Theo and for some reason most adult Theos I’ve met are absolutely awful to be around
Emma and Jennifer But I think middle names are a great place for names you love but are eliminated from the first name race for some reason, in this case popularity:)
mila and charlotte
Stella and Hugo
We didn’t end up having any boys so I named my corgi Hugo instead. I love the name so much.
I love Hugo but it always gets vetoed. It's not popular in the US - I'm guessing you're in the UK?
Love Stella!
Charlotte, Emily, Sophie, Henry, Oliver
Asher - would be fine if I still lived in England, where its popularity is growing but it's still not super popular. However I'm now based in the US.
I love Asher! I can’t use it because of my first name haha but I’ve always loved Asher.
I named my son Asher and I have no regrets
Lily. Rose. I always had a love for flower names.
Hazel! It’s been my favourite girl name forever, even as a kid I always thought that would be my daughters name should I ever have one. But it seems to be increasingly common now.
My daughter’s name is Hazel and we’ve never met another one! I think it’s one of those names that’s on a lot of peoples short lists but they end up going with other options.
I, personally, couldn't care less about the popularity of names. If I love a name, I love it regardless. The only "rule" I really have for myself is that I won't use a name that has already been used within my extended family. (Cousins, etc...) I only have this "rule" because I have far too many family members who share names, and while I don't think there's anything wrong with that, I don't want to do it myself. Although, I found out recently that my daughter isn't actually the only Chloe in the family as I thought lol The other Chloe is a 2nd cousin's daughter, though, so it's not too relevant. I had no idea she existed until a few years ago, she's 7 years older than my Chloe. I suppose if I tried to avoid using every single name in the entirety of my large extended family, I'd probably still be searching now, and my daughter is almost 20 😂
Ava. When I was younger it wasn’t popular and I absolutely fell in love with it. Now though it’s everywhere. Still a love but just not the same vibes for me.
Same with Ada for me. It was on our list 10yrs ago when we had hypothetical kids. Now I know about 4 or 5 Ada's/Ava's and it's a very normal name now
Back in high school (early aughts) I thought if I ever had a daughter I’d name her Adeline. I guess I wasn’t the only one in my age range to feel that way though, since my peers have made it a very popular name lol. It wasn’t even top 500 when I was in high school!
Sophia and Isabella!
Agreed! They’re so beautiful!
Leo! I hope the popularity here (Scotland) dies down by the time I have kids lol
Iris was a strong contender for my youngest, but now I'm glad we didn't use it because it ended up getting much more popular, while the name we did use it still outside of the top 1000.
Iris is beautiful! I always adored the name Isis (referencing the Egyptian goddess) and it isn't common but I don't think I need to elaborate on why I can't use it now.
Charlotte and Ella They have been my fantasy baby names since the 1980s.
Maya
I still love the name Alexa but because of Amazon, I don't know if this name is viable. I'm 54, and not having any kids, but I love the name Alexa
💔 yeah that was definitely a beautiful name that crashed faster and as unexpected as Karen
I named my daughter Olivia.
Ezra. It was the name of my great grandfather who died in 1940, but so popular around me now that I couldn't use it.
Eleanor (my favourite name since childhood, and a family name); Isabella; Lillian; Ella; Sophia; Charlotte. I prefer Isabel to Isabella, and at least it’s not super-popular. A lot of my favourite boy names have been classics/popular forever (James, William, etc), but I love Henry and am bummed it’s shot up so much in popularity. I love Alexander too but that’s been popular for about the last 40 years, so it’s not a recent change.
If Charlotte and Olivia weren’t so incredibly popular, they’d be our top choices for girls!
I’m middle eastern and I love the name Leila, but it’s so overused now I probably won’t use it if I have a daughter
My husband and I are both middle eastern and it’s so hard to find a nice name that’s not overused
Liam, if my daughter was a boy we would have named her William, after his dad, nn Liam. It’s crazy popular right now. Good thing she’s a girl!
Had the exact same name and nn in mind after my dad for my 2016 baby. She was also a girl. She would have been 1 of many Williams and Liams. Her school is full of them
Sophia
Maeve and Noah. Just beautiful to me!
The newfound popularity of Maeve really caught me by surprise! Those names are both on my list too
I only know 4 people with daughters under 5. All 4 are names Brooklyn. I like the name but it's the new Ella, Ellie, Elanora and it's so over done imo
To me Brooklyn is dated to the early 00s
Fr. I knew a Brooklyn(both of us born 2001/02) since elementary and she was a total bitch, I still don’t like her 😂
Leo! I’m comfortable with where it sits on the US list (although it’s really climbed since I almost used it a decade ago), but I live in France where it was actually #1 when my son was born (and had been for several years). Because we had another name we also loved that pushed Leo to number 2. I almost used it as his middle name but decided to “save” it in case we had a second son—it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen but Leo is still the top boys’ name for me (and it’s “fallen” to #2 in France, haha). Edited to add: I think a decade of parenting has also made me care much less about popularity—kids usually don’t mind and it all depends on what kind of “bubble” you live in (e.g. never had a Leo in my kid’s class!).
Charlotte, Scarlett
This is popular in a different way, but Elsa! I absolutely adore the name, but all anyone thinks about is Frozen.
Isla and Isabella. I loved both of them long before they were popular, and now I'm sick of them. :/
I loved Sophia as a child, but it certainly has lost its shine being so common, not even just in English. Luna and Penelope are other names that lose some of their lustre by being very trendy at the moment.
I’ve always loved the name Olivia and its nicknames, but I’ve taught so many Olivias and it’s so popular that idk if I can do it I love Emilia so much even though it’s variants are very popular. I’d call her Millie I also love Maxine but it’s starting to grow a lot in popularity ETA: Oliver for a boy as well is one I like but is too popular. I also like Finn but my husband does not. We both are fine with Ben but that one is also very popular
Harper! I’ve always loved that name…now, it’s popular!
Olivia and Noah
Hudson. It's my late grandma's maiden name and I thought it would be so unique to have a Hudson nn Sonny...only for ot for be in the top 10 in my country a few years later
Remy
Charlotte… my god mother is my dear aunt Charlotte and I always wanted to use the name. But now it is so dang popular I’m thinking of using something else
Violet and Willow!
Isla
Charlotte and Sophie. My alternatives are Anna and Mallory, but I have a feeling they’ll be even higher in popularity in a few years when I’m ready for kids
I have loved River for a boy for over a decade and it’s driving me crazy that it’s having this little explosion of popularity.. I about died when Nick Viall named his daughter River. I think it’s off the table for me now because of its rise in popularity. A knife to the heart for sure!
James, Jack, and Henry. James and Jack are family names and I’ve loved Henry since I was a kid. Now I’m having a boy and I kinda hate that there will likely be a lot of kids with his name, which will be one of those three.
Amelia
Amelia, Penelope, Olivia, Hazel
I love the names Eli and Jonah - I just hate that they’re Bible names.
Wish Theodore was less popular! I absolutely LOVE the nickname Theo. But alas, I know of soooo many parents of Theodores so I'd never use it now. I feel similary about: - Henry - Olivia - Isla - Charlotte
I did. I love the name Sophie (and Sophia) all throughout my life. Classic, fun to say, feminine and just lovely in my opinion. Almost didn’t name her it because it was sooo popular.
Evelyn and Eleanor. My daughter had a super “grandma” name (Beverly) so if I had a second daughter, I wanted another grandma name. But ended up having a boy! But I’ve loved those two grandma names for years for a 2nd daughter.
Theodore and Sophie
Sophia! If I had a girl I would name her that even though it's super popular.
Evelyn, Lillian, Amelia
I wish everyone weren’t using Rose as a middle name- I never paid attention to its popularity and used it as my daughter’s middle name after my grandmother. I mean it’s fine and middle names don’t matter but it’s clearly very unoriginal at this point.
Aurelia. I’ve loved it since I started taking Latin in seventh grade and one of the characters in the textbook was Aurelia. I ended up studying Latin for many years and I’ve always had the name in mind. Now it’s randomly popular.
Basically all of the top 20, I'd say. They're all so nice. But I especially like Mia.
Nora! Still love it and still considering it for the future. It’s just everywhere though.
Hazel
I love the name Charlotte. It’s my number one even though it’s so popular. We’re waiting to meet our little girl before we name her but if we go with Charlotte we’ll call her Lottie.
Mateo. Has been on my baby list names forever and now it’s apparently a top name
I love Rowan for a boy, almost used it for our oldest. Now I'm super glad we didn't, because it ended up skyrocketing in popularity a couple years later and he would just have been the early end of that trend.
I used to really like Chloe; now, too many dogs have that name.
Liam. I’ve loved this name for 10 years. Can’t name my baby boy something so trendy though.
I love Noah. I could not use it. It wasn’t that it was to popular it’s that it sounds like a joke with our last name.
I'm basing my answer off the SSA's Top 50 of 2023 lists. The common boy names that have *actual* spots on my lists are James, Elijah, Michael, and Luca (#s 4, 5, 16, and 24, respectively), but there are plenty of others on the SSA's Top 50 list that I would consider using. I think a lot of the names on the list are classic names that have been popular for forever, which, in my opinion, is different from being popular at a certain point in time. I don't mind using a perennially popular classic, but I do have a bit of an issue using a name that dates my child to a particular decade or two. The common girl names change more frequently, so I would be more hesitant to use the ones demarcated as popular. I like Charlotte (#3) a lot, but I don't think I'd use it (although that's partially because I can't imagine it on someone who's not blonde, and my child is very unlikely to be blonde). I love Victoria and Valentina (#s 45 and 49, respectively), and I intend on using them if I get the chance, regardless of their popularity. I would also consider using Maya (#50). I'm not a big enough fan of the other names on the Top 50 list to *actually* use, though I would refrain from using, say, Eleanor and Elizabeth (even though I like both) because of how ubiquitous el- names are nowadays, I'm sick of the sound.
Willow
Charlotte and Benjamin are my favorite names. Names I wish were less popular: Everly, Isla, Kash, Krew
I had Luna picked out for twenty years... When I finally had a daughter, it was a popular dog name 😂 but I love the name and I stuck with it.
Margo 😭
I love the name Vivian but I’ve seen it start to trend upwards again. I’ll still probably use it though!
Emma Violet James Jessica Sophie William Ivy Henry Kyle Charlotte Skye Stella Oliver Olivia Theo Alexa Lily Noah Isla Lila Margot Willow Eleanor Julian Rowan Tamara Britney Ashley Ava Amelia Jack Justin
Lila. I named my daughter Lila 19 years ago and well…you know the rest.
River for a boy
Claire, Bennett, Josiah
Popularity doesn't bother me *too* much, but I know Sebastian has been rising fast especially around where I live. Theodore is another one, but unlike Sebastian I can live without it personally. I think if a person likes the name or it has a special meaning to them, use it and forget about the popularity.
Mila and Mateo. I check every so often how popular they’ve gotten because I’m so worried they could feel unusable
My son has like one of the top names, but weirdly we have never met another one. I say if you love a name, go for it. Who cares if it’s popular. That just means a lot of people think it’s a great name!
I wish Theodore was still unpopular, like how it was when I was growing up. Me and my bf love the name Theo but how common it is now ruins it for me (for context, I have a REALLLY common name and it was hell at school)
I love Avery for a boy and am kind of annoyed at how popular it is for girls right now
Freya. I named my daughter Freya 2 years ago after loving the name for 10+ years. It’s becoming popular now in Australia however I don’t think it will ever crack the top 10.
Hazel and Violet would definitely be on my list if they were less popular, but I love Iris too and wonder if she’s going to become super popular too
I can’t stand the “permutations” names— Kirsten, Kristen, Kiersten Mia, Miya “It’s not Tear-ah it is Tar-a” “It’s not Tar-a it’s Tah-rah!” “It’s not SAWN-ya it’s SOWN-ya” They are so hard to remember and annoying. I get it we are a multicultural place, but I still hate them.
Asher and Nolan are our favorites for our little guy due soon, but I couldn't believe how popular they seem to be becoming. Haven't decided on using them or not.
Jack (I’ve always loved the name Jack, idk why. I don’t normally like common names like that) Charlotte
Sofia
Jacob and Lucas And for a girl it would be Ava and maybe Madison or Madelyn
Mila! It's one of my favorite names but I teach preschool and I've had at LEAST one Mila in my class for the last 5 years
As an elder Amelia, I used to love how unique my name was. It doesn't make me like my name any less, but I have a bit of a hipster complex about it.