If I ever have a girl, I have 3 names I really like. One of them is a pretty popular name, but I just love it SO SO much. But I'm not someone who normally would pick a name in the top 100 and so I'd be hesitant to use it.
What about you? Would you still use a name that's really common, if you love it?
132 votes
nectarine / 2936 posts
I would use a name that was popular, but not trendy, if that makes sense. If it was a name that is timeless but consistently popular I wouldn't have a problem with it.
pomegranate / 3890 posts
This happened to me. I loved the name Isabella for years and years, before it became popular. I found it beautiful and loved that it was a classic without being popular and then well it became popular. I can't use it now its just to popular and lost some of its old school charm. 
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
E's name is top 10 and I went with it anyways. I have an ultra super super popular name from the 80's and it's not a huge big deal . Especially with so mang unique names out three nowadays
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22276 posts
Both of my girls names are top 20 but I love them. So yes I would!
squash / 13764 posts
I wouldn't use it if it were top 15-25 or so. After that, I'm ok with it, especially if I really love it.
cantaloupe / 6687 posts
If I really loved it I wouldn't care if it was in the top 100...without a doubt i would use the name! I like classic names that are not too out there though. I do have a tough time with names that are in the top 5...and maybe even top 10. There are several girl names I love but they are in the top 5 so I doubt we will use them if we are lucky enough to have another girl
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@stargal: aww! I would feel the same way as you, in that case, because the name just shot up. The name I love has stayed pretty consistently around the 50 mark for the last 20 years.
pomegranate / 3643 posts
Sure! I'm fine with popular, just not trendy. A name like Grace or Elizabeth or Anne that is always high on the list is fine with me. I just don't want names that are rising in popularity and would fade.
The other thing is there is a lesser density of names now than their used to be. More people value unique names so even if a name is number #10, there are fewer kids with that name than the #10 name 25 years ago.
Our LO1's name is very unpopular but I think it is great and would be happy if it was more popular! (Gene). Our name for #2 (for now) is a lot more popular - Charlie. Anyone know any Charlies? 
persimmon / 1198 posts
The nickname of my favorite girl name has become super popular over the years, but we will still use the name if/when we have a girl because I absolutely love both the full name and nickname.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@sandy: I actually currently adore the names in the top 10 for girls right now. But I wouldn't use any of them because of that. But whenever I meet an Emma, Sophie, Olivia etc - I just love hearing their name!
pomegranate / 3393 posts
Before LO I would have said no, never! But we ended up giving him a top 100 name and surprising ourselves. It's classic, not trendy, and it fits him so well, I don't regret it!
pomelo / 5000 posts
Yes! I think popular names are popular for a reason--they're nice sounding names. The focus on picking out unique names can be too much.
pomegranate / 3393 posts
@jedeve: I like your point about the relative density of popular names, makes a lot of sense! And I don't personally know any little boys named Charlie, which is such a cute yet classic name.
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
Absolutely. I'd choose a classic, popular name over a trendy name any day. If it were popular because it's trendy, then no, I wouldn't use it.
cantaloupe / 6687 posts
@Mrs. Pen: yes! We loved Olivia when we were dating but we knew several before we got pregnant. LO was almost Sophia...so close but we started hearing it everywhere and decided it was too popular. And I really love Ava and Eva...but so popular...so pretty though
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@sandy: Eva is on my list, but as a nn for a longer, much less popular name beautiful.
GOLD / pomegranate / 3688 posts
Yes. If you do some research on name distribution across population, you will find that today's Sophias and Olivias are *nothing* like the Jennifers of the 1970s and 1980s. While there may be 2-3 Sophias in your DD's class (just using Sophia as an example), there aren't likely to be 6-7. We ended up using a super uncommon name for DD, but Emma, Abigail, Grace, and Charlotte were all on our short list. I would have used any of those without a second thought because I love them.
@jedeve: I love Charlie! I think boy's names are a little different in terms of popularity than girl's names... there really are not that many boy's names in comparison, and many, many boy's names stay popular over time. My husband's name is a very common, classic man's name that just isn't common right now (I think it's below 300) - but I have no doubt it'll be back. If you love Charlie, go for it!
bananas / 9227 posts
Yes. Without a doubt, yes. Popular doesn't necessarily mean she'll be surrounded by girls that share her name. Even if there's a few in her school, it's unlikely they're in the same grade and class. I think it's much more important that you love it 
papaya / 10343 posts
Ultimately no, if there were other names I liked too. I used to say I never would. Then when I got pregnant and realized I loved a lot of popular names I said that I WOULD because if I love it, who cares. But when push came to shove I knocked both Ava and Olivia off my list for being top 5 names because the popularity thing just bugged me too much.
coconut / 8430 posts
Our LO's name is near the bottom of the top 100 and it doesn't bother me at all. The other name I love is in the top 10 and I really want to use it for our next LO if we have another girl.
GOLD / wonderful pea / 17697 posts
We really wanted to stay out of the Top 10. I have a top 5 name, and I don't mind it now, but it was annoying when I was in school....I was always Sarah lastinitial. And same as @mrs. 64:, it would have to be a timeless name and not a trendy one.
E's name is in the top 50, and I'm perfectly with that.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
Yes. I love classic names and those seem to be popular.
cantaloupe / 6171 posts
There are some names that are popular that I still love and would probably use anyway (though our top name picks are more like in the 250-350 range). Like, if we had a boy, I'd love to name him Benjamin (nn Benje) after a great-uncle of mine, but we crossed that off our list since one of our best friends is a Ben (and it's bad luck in Jewish tradition to name a baby after someone who is alive). Noah is on our boy-name list, and that was #4 in 2012. Or like other posters mentioned, I love Ava/Eva, and also Abigail which is in the 2012 top ten
coconut / 8279 posts
The only girl name DH loved was Emma. It would've been one of our top picks regardless of popularity.
pomegranate / 3779 posts
LOs name is the only one we could agree on, so even though it's in the top 30 and rising, we went with it.
coconut / 8681 posts
It depends on how popular. Top 10? No. I really love the name Emma but didn't even put it on the lists of possibilities for DD because of how popular it is.
honeydew / 7811 posts
I really love Emma, which is incredibly popular, and I'd still use it! I believe it's popular because it's such a beautiful classic name! I love it enough that other people liking or disliking it doesn't sway me at all.
pomegranate / 3595 posts
I never thought I would pick a name in the top 10 but there was one I really liked and it was the only one DH and I could agree on. Now we love it and i can't imagine any other name for LO. We haven't run into anyone at daycare act with the same name although I do know other adults with kids with the same name. I guess my point is it is hard to say for sure until you are picking a particular name for a particular baby.
pear / 1586 posts
Normally I would say no because it would bother me but alas our top pick for a boy is in the top 5 (William)! Yikes. R's name isn't popular at all nor is our top pick if this baby is a girl. Alas we both really love it and it has family significance. We are still actively looking for less popular alternatives though!
grapefruit / 4997 posts
@Mrs. Pen: I have close friends who named their daughters Emma, Anna, Ava, Sophia, Olivia, and Grace. I love all of these names! I wouldn't mind using a popular name but ultimately, I would not choose names that are already taken in our circle of friends.
@stargal: So true about Isabella. One of my good friends named her baby Isabella.
bananas / 9118 posts
Probably not, but we would as a middle name. I love the name Liam, but it's too popular as a first name for us, so we are using it as a middle name.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@lemondrop: That almost made it to our short list. But it was the popularity factor that bumped it - especially when we did have a couple we liked just as much that weren't as common.
kiwi / 550 posts
If a name has particular significance for me than I like to think I would choose it despite popularity. But I might be swayed by it being in the top 10. Sometimes just hearing the name often makes it lose its appeal, much like a pop song played every hour on the radio. Both our chosen b&g names are around 150-200 and I suspect they are increasing in popularity.
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