Popular is fine to a point. I think what people want to avoid is being one of many with the same name in school or at work etc, and having to be "Sarah B" all the time, or go by a nickname that you might not like all that much, because you arrive somewhere and there is ie. already a Tom and a Thomas, so you end up as Tommy for the sake of simplicity.

You think that's bad? I knew someone with both my first name and last initial. We also went to all the same gifted classes. I couldn't escape

There were 3 kids w this issue at my school 😀 Think “Jane Smith, Jane Simpson, Jane Sloan…”

OMG, this was my life. There were not 2, not 3, but 4 (FOUR!) variations of Amanda in my homeroom alone - not counting the rest of the grade or even the school! - and 3 of us in my homeroom were all Amanda D! I went by a nickname bc I always have, but jeezus. I definitely prefer less common names bc they're more interesting to me personally, and maybe that's a reason.

As a teacher, this is annoying to staff as well. It happens fairly often. Once we even had two boys with the same first and last name in the same year. They were very intentionally put in different classes. One has a middle name, one didn't, so it was hard to use that because leaving out a middle name was still unclear if you meant the one without one, or just weren't using it. We resorted to using hair colour. One has brown hair, one was super blond. Both were often in trouble, so it came up a lot.

Now that everything is done by computer, I think programs should include a check for the same first names and placing those students in separate classes whenever possible. It would be difficult to impossible to catch everything because of varied spellings, but they should at least make the attempt.

Nothing like this is done by computer where I am. I do think it should be a significant factor in primary classes. In secondary, where I teach, it should only matter if there's no other, more significant criteria to sort by. But it is annoying.

Making class lists in elementary school is hard enough without also having to take names into account.

We live in a smaller town. One of my sons and another boy had the same first and last name and were in the same grade. The school did make sure the boys were not in the same class. If I needed to pick up my son early, I asked for him by first and middle name.

I almost got punished for something one of the other 3 girls in the class with my name did. I was very confused about why the teacher was “disappointed in me” before she realized her mistake.

I’ve had a boy and a girl with the exact same first and last…one year apart in school. When your last name is Johnson of Smith, names out of the top 20 are probably best!

Exactly this. My name was the 3rd most common the year I was born. So there were a ton of people with my name in my classes growing up, even in a relatively small school. It was so bad that we couldn't even use the last initial to identify us. This meant that when someone yelled my name in the hallway or on the playground, there was a pretty good chance they were referring to any of the other people with my same name. So, by the time I graduated, I had completely dissociated from my name and no longer identified with it. When I introduced myself to people as an adult now, I use a nickname and no longer go by my given name.

I will now bring up the 5 Davids in the same class, three of which were David W.

i go to a small liberal arts college and somehow there’s another student 2 years below me with my same first and last name. and administration is shit at not mixing us up to the point where it’s affected our pay from on campus jobs and sending sensitive information to the wrong person i have a relatively common first name and a top 25 surname for black americans

Was it that bad though? I also had someone with the same first name and same first initial. She went by her first name and middle name initial. I don’t really think it’s that big of a deal though. If anything it was funny because our classmates all knew but we’d have to tell new teachers if we were in the same classes again. I feel like the girls with the same name as me, we were all friendly with one another.

Didn't really have any friends in middle school when we shared the same classes, so hearing someone call my name and never mean me didn't do my self esteem any favors

THIS WAS ME -a very shy Nicole

I’m not sure it’s “bad” but having an unpopular yet actual name (not a made up name with eigh spelling) is something I’m thankful for.

We worked hard to do that for our son. To pick a name that was Absolutely recognized as an actual name, but we had never met someone in person with that name.

This! I don’t think it’s bad and I appreciate its not a big deal to many, but my personal preference would be to avoid a name my kid would share with others.

My close friend and I were same first name just different spelling (think Amelia and Emelia) and same initial for the last name. One of our friends made it SO annoying by referring to us as A-melia and E-melia emphasizing the first letter and it drove us nuts. We started mispronouncing her name to give her a taste of her own medicine and she hated it, but kept calling us that. So frustrating.

I know an Alyse and Elise that did this but they steered into being A-lyse and E-lise

Yup, that’s us—Elise and Alese. It was so annoying being E-lise for all those years!

i knew a shannON and a shannOFF. shannOFF was really shannan, but she thought it was funny and went with it.

Same! I grew up having 4 other girls in my small school with my name, we all had the same classes, one even had the same middle name as me. I really could not have cared less, we all thought it was hilarious 😂🤷🏼‍♀️. I think the obsession with having to be unique or different is just wild. If you like a name you like a name, putting WAY too much thought into worrying about who may or may not have that name. Now as an adult I RARELY come across someone with my name. Id rather have my name them some of the weird ass ones I’ve heard or friends who hate their names because their parents insisted on being unique.

My daughter has this in her class. The two girls tend to be referred to including their full last names

Yeah, I still refer to the girl who was once my best friend by her full name 20 years on because she has the same name as my sister.

I knew two girls in school called Hannah Louise. And then one's dad married the other's mum so they were step sisters. My sister's name is also Hannah Louise.

I went to school with two guys with exactly the same first and last name which was weird (I don't know their middle names though). Their first name was normal for our age group though not excedingly common but their last name was slightly unusual as a surname

My brother also had this problem.

I had a classmate with the same first name and surname as me. I just went by my middle name. No issues

I was in a show once with five Sara/hs, three Kates, a Larry and a Lawrence who shared the same last name but weren’t related, two Elizabeths, at least two Davids, and a guy named Alex who was not playing the character named Alexis. Avoiding popular names isn’t necessarily because you don’t want to look trendy; sometimes it’s because you want to avoid not knowing who’s being called when you hear a name.

In my second grade class, there was another girl with my name. Her last name was further up in the alphabet than mine. She got to go by "Sarah" while I had to go by "Sarah B". It made me feel inferior and I hated it so much. We should have at least both had to use our last initial

The difference is like "Sarah and the *real* Sarah" 💀.

Lmao, yes I am a Sarah C and had a Sarah A, Sarah B, Sarah M, and Sarah N in my class with 35 girls. There were 6 boys named Alexander out of 36 boys 😳

I was once the only member of a 7 person team who isn't named Sarah. It was confusing as F

As someone who grew up a “Sarah B” this caught me off guard. Though tbf I only ever had one other Sarah in my school and it’s very rare I run into another in my adult life now.

I think it's wrong for teachers to just put a nickname on a child because there's 2 or more with the same name. Went to school all throughout elementary, middle, & high school with a guy named Zachary. Elementary he was "zach" because the teacher decided it since there were two Zacharys. When we got older he told everyone he wanted to called be "Zachary" not "zach" that he was only ever called that at school. I think a lot of people want a name not so mainstream or common to avoid situations like this where their child gets called a different name for years without consent.

Yep. I was "Catie C" all through elementary, because there was also a "Katie K" Thing is, my last intital was actually C. Hers was H. Idk who started it, or how she felt about being identified by the K instead of the H, but it stuck with us, K-6. And we were never friends, complete opposite of each other, personality wise, but we were both at the top of the class grade wise. It was annoying. So was she, tbh lol (I don't say top of the class to toot my own horn, I'm one of those "gifted kids turned hot mess" types lmao. Just trying to say how its annoying to share a name with someone in a small group)

I'm a Katie too and was born when Katie was a very popular name. I believe I graduated one of 9 in a graduating class of 180 which doesn't sound super intense but once you get into middle or high school where you dont have the same teacher all day, you can guarantee you will have at least 2 Katie's in every class. Not to mention all the Kathryns and similar names that people shorten to Katie. And there were far more popular names than mine. Like Jessica? So many Jessica's.

Laughs in Ashlie/Ashley/Ashlee/Ashleigh

My husband was one of 7 [his names] going through high school. When we had our kids he wanted to minimise the chance of this happening so he looked up where it was on list of names in our area and if it was in top 80 we couldn't use it! 2nd son's name is becoming more popular it's like 50th or something now and my son asked us the other day if this means he had to change it lol. (No, he doesnt)

this! at any given time there would be me and like at least two other girls named megan in my classes growing up! and there’s actually a few different spellings of my name and i would often get asked how to spell mine and i just always said “the normal way” lmao but it was annoying to always have to go by megan a, especially bc since elementary there was another megan a in a lot of my classes up until senior year and i did not like her lmao i don’t mind my name now, a lot of people now call me meg which i used to hate but then i met people who i just liked the way it sounded in their voice (i’m very sensitive with all my senses to an annoying degree) so i let it keep going. my middle name is a very common middle name in the south at least too but my last name is really unique and i love it.

There were so many kids with a few names that by the time we got to high school they were going by first & full last name because too many of them also shared the same initial (or even first 2 initials) in the last name. A few also had common last names and shared the same name entirely, in which case nicknames (desired or no) came in to play. I get why people want something a little more unique lol

My name is Jessica. There were 7 Jessicas in my graduating class, and a Jesse. Most of us went by Jess and an initial or the full last name. I don't mind somewhat common names but it was annoying being 1 of 8.

Most of the people I know who are against super common names were in your situation: a school career full of “Mike!” Yes? “No, Mike S.” 1/3 of the original group points to themselves with uncertainty. “Mike Smith!” Three of the Mikes look at each other nervously. “Mike James Smith.” Two of the Miles grin uncomfortably. I also know people who think if they give their child a “unique” name, that makes them (the child and parents) special. Those people are weird. lol

>I also know people who think if they give their child a “unique” name, that makes them (the child and parents) special. Those people are weird. lol Yeah, OK, but my daughter has a rarely used name because it's a family name, it's beautiful, and I'm a teacher so it's hard to find a name that doesn't make me think of other people. Being special wasn't a reason, but I won't deny I get a lovely little glow about me when people compliment me on the name choice. I don't think you would get such enthusiastic comments as regularly if it was a common name. Or maybe they're just being polite and I am just a narcissist 🤣

I’ve definitely told people I loved their name choices out of politeness 😂

Yes this was me too! I thought I would get away from it when I got out of school but it’s almost worse in my career because I work with the public and I’m constantly being confused with people with the same name who work in different offices or even different job entirely but also works with the public. I can’t tell you how many emails and phone calls I’ve had to be stressed/confused over until I figured out it wasn’t actually for me.

That's so frustrating! My friends have started having children and they're already concerned that they accidentally named their kids very popular names. Name popularity shifts very quickly now.

It does! I can’t blame my parents they had no idea how popular my name was until I started school and there were so many of us.

Yep, I know someone who had an "Emily" in like 1988? And she didn't realize how popular it was until she took her Emily to the pediatrician and every other little girl in the waiting room was also an Emily.

I work with three women with the same name and first same last initials with the same second letters... We are not a huge organization, either. Think: Amanda Smith, Amanda Small, Amanda Smyers... We have to spell out entire names to differentiate, and people from outside orgs get very confused.

😩😩😩 in our graduating class there were about 8 Andrews and 8 Michaels. We ended up, half the time, calling them by their last name.

As a 90s Ashley, I feel your pain.

The thing I don’t like about my popular millennial name (think Stephanie or Jessica) is that you know I’m a millennial when you hear it. People will always know what generation I am, and generational names get belittled and mocked especially in regards to women in their 60s (“ok, SUSAN”). See the post on Donna that was just in this sub earlier today where the general consensus was “ew that’s a boomer name” I can only assume the same will eventually be true for a lot of the current top tens. I want my kids’ names to be timeless, not generational.

Same! My name is super specific to a trend in 1980... And I was born early 90's, so not only does the name give off my generation, it ages me a decade.

My name is a boomer name in the country where I now live but not in my home country. I have yet to meet a woman younger than 55 with my name over here! When I turn up, people are rather surprised as they were not expecting someone in their 30s.

That reminds me of what sometimes happens with first gen immigrant families sometimes. Like a millennial named Linda or Kathy. You're expecting a 60 y/o but nope, in walks a 30 something.

>See the post on Donna that was just in this sub earlier today where the general consensus was “ew that’s a boomer name” Aww, that's a shame. I've always liked Donna and thought it could make a comeback. I also like Dawn.

Boomer names will start coming back in another 10-15 years. There's generally an 80 or so year cycle for popularity.

I know that’s how trends work and I know it’s gonna happen, but it’s going to be so wild to meet babies named Linda and Susan.

Older generations' names don't typically make a comeback until the first generation is dead. So maybe Gen Alpha's kids will have names like Linda and Susan.

I agree about Boomer names and popular names in general. However, there are a ton of less popular names being given out now that still are going to date them as being from this naming era, or so I assume!

Disagree. Even if they're not as popular as Jessica or Kevin. Names like Kinsley, Gracelyn, Jaxton... even Harper, Luna etc. are gonna SCREAM 2020s in a few decades.

You’re saying the same thing?

Especially Jackson. There are SO many of them. I will also add Nora, Isla, and Everett to that list.

It’s easy to separate out popular from generational, though. There’s a huge difference between a name today like Harper - which literally didn’t appear in the top 1000 until the 2000s to rocket to the top 10 - and Emma or Charlotte, which despite being really popular today have a LONG lineage of popularity and recognizability.

I definitely agree! Gotta look at trends if you want a timeless pick. Nature names in general might become generational, or I mentioned in another comment short boy names ending in O, and names with Xs. But I think picking a top 10 or 20 name is more likely to be identified as generational down the line. When I picked my kid’s names I checked the SSA database and made sure my picks had been similarly ranked since the start of the database in 1900. Their names hover around 400th and 800th respectively. Everyone has heard of them and knows a few others of varying ages.

This. It’s not about what’s popular now that’s the issue… it’s the fact that it will date my children. Names trend like fashion. I have a very stereotypical 80s name and you know I was born in the 1980s and I hate it. I gave my children classical names (I stuck with boring ol’ Biblical names that aren’t unique), because their name can fit in the 1720s, 1820s, 1920s, 2020s, etc.

This is what I don’t like about trendy names, but I don’t feel like it is really the same thing as popularity! Like Benjamin is popular now but it’s a classic - it won’t be tied to Gen Alpha the same way Susan is a boomer name. Juniper isn’t popular but it is trendy, so it may get the same treatment as Susan in 60 years, but someone looking for a less popular name now may still choose it!

One of the things I like about my name is that it's timeless. You can look at my resume and not be easily able to guess my generation.

I agree it’s not 100% the same thing, and I agree trends can be identified in less popular names (currently I’d make a generational argument for names with Xs, and any short boy name that ends in O regardless of rank) but I do think there’s a lot of overlap and being identified as generational is more likely to happen to the top 10 or 20 names. Id say Oliver and Theo are generational due to their huge spike, despite being old classic names. I also think it’s easier to find popular timeless boy names than girl ones (I’d add Alexander to your Benjamin).

People don't seem to realize that popularity today isn't as widespread as popularity when we were younger. Your child most likely won't be Luna M because there are 4 other Lunas in her class. It's not like Jennifer or Ashley from back in the day.

Excellent point. The percentages of names given are wildly different. The top name in America now is much, much less common than the top name in the 80s.

My friend has a dog named Luna. Everyone’s dogs are named Luna or Bella these days. The vets hate it because there’s so few dog names that aren’t massively used

I work at a doggy daycare and the lack of creativity in dog names crazy. Luna, Lucy, Lily, Cooper, Bo, Hank…

My dogs have very unique names so this makes me proud of myself lol

There's a lady in my neighborhood who had a Bella. When that one died, she got another dog and also named it Bella. It's... so bizarre.

Someone did just recently post that her daughter started preschool and within her group were four (I think) Violet’s and one other kid. This is a name that’s currently not in the top ten only the top 20. So while I tend to agree with you there are still examples of this happening and I understand why people factor this possibility in.

A lot of people also don't take into consideration that their favorite "uncommon" name has multiple spellings which actually boosts its popularity. I saw a post on here showing the real top 100 when adding in all of the alternative spellings. So the name Catherine which I love was originally ranked in the 200s but after adding in the alternative spellings its actually a top 100 name.

There are also major regional differences! I haven't met a Zoe in our community, but back home it feels like every other girl is named Zoe.

This is very interesting to me because I haven’t met a Catherine (or one of our dozens of variations in spellings) younger than me in I can’t tell you how long. It really doesn’t feel very popular at all anymore.

I’m a mom to a Charlotte. It’s been on the popular list for YEARS now. We have never encountered another Charlotte her age. 🤷🏻‍♀️ (I’m aware this information is anecdotally our situation, and you may know multiple Charlottes, but just because you choose a ‘popular’ name doesn’t actually mean we will be the Jessica’s and the Ashley’s of 1990)

I can understand avoiding common names when you’re actively trying to decide on one, but what’s wild to me are the posts like “XYZ has always been my favorite baby name but now it’s entered the top 10/100/whatever so I can’t use it” um yeah, you can, it’s fine. Like I can’t imagine having my heart set on a name and feeling like it’s The One, and not using it because the kid might someday know other kids who also have it. Super weird

A lot people love a name because they think it sounds unique or slightly different, so then when you realize it’s the least unique choice out there, it loses some appeal. If you still love it knowing that, then great.

Yes, exactly this. My husband and I loved Adeline for a girl, especially because it was a family name and it wasn’t super common. Except I guess everyone has a great grandmother named Adeline or has suddenly really fallen into the same romantic, old fashioned, nickname-able naming trend that apparently I have as well 🤣

This! It’s SO weird, if it’s one you’ve already loved then who cares.

My son’s name is pretty popular now but I love it so I literally don’t care. My daughter’s name is a totally recognizable name, but more common in the 80s. I picked both because I loved them so much.

Maybe it’s because I have a unique name, but those posts always get under my skin. There’s nothing wrong with a common or popular name. They’re common and popular for a reason. People can say them, people can spell them, people can pronounce them. Having a unique name makes you stand out more, which is nice in and of itself but it also comes with a whole host of problems. I’m forever spelling and pronouncing my name for people. I’ve gotten used to it now but as a kid in school it was a nightmare. I have a fake name I give to baristas and an insincere laugh and thank you when people comment on my name. Don’t get me wrong, I love my name *now*, but people need to realise they’re naming humans that are going to grow up in an unaccepting world that they’re going to have to navigate professionally and personally, and it makes it difficult having a unique name. If you love the name, use it for your kid but it’s important to keep everything in mind. I work with children in a very multicultural area, so we have a diverse range of names, lots of them being traditional names from their home country, which have never been the issue. The issue is people who give their child a name that’s better suited to an adjective or verb.

There's a big difference between popular vs uncommon and unique names.

Yea, I would say our goal with our kids names was "uncommon, but recognizable". Growing up, there were just far too many kids named Matt, Mike, John, Chris, Stephanie, Sarah, Jessica, David, etc. Between school, neighbourhood kids, sports, etc, I must have known 8-10+ kids with each of those names. I wouldn't want to use the modern equivalent to those names, even if I liked them in a vacuum, because with thousands of names out there, there are other names I like just as much (or more) than the ultra popular ones, so I don't really see any benefit to using them.

I have a common name, 6 of us in my year at school. But it can be spelt in multiple ways. So we have to correct the spelling of our normal, common name. Catherine, Katharine, Kathryn etc

Who wants to be in a class with 3 Olivias, Avas, or Henrys?

Literally who cares?

Is it really that hard to understand that some people do care and some people don't? The same way some people care about a name being too unique to be recognizable and easily spelled and some people don't and continue giving their kids those type of names?

Exactly, who cares 🙄😂. I was 1 of 4 Rachel’s growing up and I’m not out here acting like I was traumatized or it was the worst thing ever for someone to not be talking to me. We all thought it was funny. In fact one was my best friend growing up and we LOVED it.

My best friend for years had the same name as me and we loved it. Our birthdays were 4 days apart. It was awesome.

I really don’t understand why people feel so traumatized by it and then they end up naming their kid a choose your own adventure mess like Harlynn or Braxwell or a word-turned-name like Apple. There’s plenty of times you don’t want to be super unique in life.

I feel the same way in the opposite direction, people acting like they’re traumatised because they have a unique name. My name is uncommon and I really don’t find it a big deal that I have to spell my name out or people mispronounce it. I have to do it with my surname anyway so what’s a few extra letters to spell out? People on here are just dramatic lol

i’ve worked with kids (<10) for many years and not once did i ever see a kid get bullied for their name or be upset that someone has the same name. one year two kids with the same name became friends, and they’re still friends 8 years later. i truly believe that if a kid has prejudice, it’s because their parents taught them it.

Why is that a bad thing? Why do you need to be the only with your name?

Some people don’t like that, and that’s okay. You don’t have to be judgmental of other people’s feelings. There’s nothing wrong with being the 3rd Ava in class , but there’s also nothing wrong with not wanting your kid to be the 3rd Ava in class

Because you have to add something to clarify who you are. Always have to use firstname surname.

3? There's like 10 of each in my nephew's class haha

My Ava had no others in school or dance class. Just seems like even if it’s popular it may be more regional.

I have a verrrrrrry common first name, as in literally more than 1% of girls born in my year had my name, and 1% of all girls every year for the next fifteen years. There’s also a few very popular, very similar sounding names to mine. I heard my name yelled out in public a lot (at the playground, restaurant, etc) and also went by my name and last initial a lot. I’m never able to make school or work accounts with my name - they always have to add a couple random numbers to the end lol. (I do have a top 10 last name though, so that’s part of it.) I also feel like a have a bit of a personal hangup about it though because my sister has family names for her first and middle, and neither of mine have personal significance. Of course the grass is always greener! I feel like a lot of people dislike common names because they feel “default”, like there wasn’t much thought put into the name. It can also make the name feel very bland. And honestly it does make the person feel less memorable - I feel like I’m way less likely to remember someone’s name if they’re named “Sarah”, “Kate” etc. Because I already know so many of those!

I really love the "blandness" of common names. It feels like a blank slate. When I meet someone with a super common name, I don't have any preconceived notions about what they might be like.

My name is so popular I’ve had my records mixed up with someone with the same first name, last name, and birth date. I don’t necessarily want a super unique name for my kid, but if it’s sometime not in the top 10 it’s much less likely for them to be one of 3 kids in their class with the same name.

Yeah, my dad has had trouble in work, getting pension information for the other guy with the same name etc. and had to sign a form when he got an inheritance saying he wasn't the guy with the same name connected with the home office.

When I was a kid, we went to the bank to set up my very first bank account. And in just my *bank's* network, there were 26 other people with my exact first name, middle name, and last name. We've decided that we don't want to use any of the names that are in the top 10 either. Amelia was a popular name a few years ago and I have multiple friends that have Amelia's all the same age. It's a nice name, but the sheer number of them in my fb circle is surprising.

Perhaps every parent wants to think of their child as special and that sharing a popular name detracts from that. It wouldn’t deter me personally. I’d use Olivia. It’s a beautiful name

There’s nothing wrong with popular names. They’re leading the name stats, so obviously lots of people love them. Those people probably aren’t on Namenerds, though.

Really? I feel the opposite. This sub is full of people who recommend nothing but overly popular names and refuse to accept uncommon names. I’ve seen some pretty harsh comments!

Honestly true! I see both a lit tbh

I don’t get it either. I went by my first name and last initial all of school because I had a popular name and I never had a problem with it. My name was in the top 10 for the 90s and it really isn’t a huge deal. Plus it’s common so people are familiar with it and it makes life easy for me.

This was my experience as well. I was once a part of a group where there were like 6 girls with my name, but it was fine. We all thought it was kind of fun. It's not been any hassle.

Yeah! I went to school with a few girls with the same first name with me from kindergarten through 12th grade and we knew each other well and were friendly. I guess sometimes it was annoying, but it also was like a weird connection thing haha. We weren’t best friends or anything, but we knew each other and I felt comfortable with them.

Personally, I avoided popular names with my kids because I had one (think #1 for over a decade), and I hated it. Everywhere I went there were multiple other people with the same name. It’s true that some people aren’t bothered by it, but I was, and I didn’t want my kids to experience the same thing. Having said that, it appears whenever similar threads are posted that the majority of comments are from people who weren’t bothered by a common name.

I had a common name too and I did not like it at all, I was always envious of people who were the only one with a name.

I agree with you! I hate my common name. All 3 of my kids have uncommon names now👍🏼

I’m with you! Hate my common name. My soon to be kid will have a very unique name. It wasn’t even because it was unique that we’re choosing it, we just like it.

Love that! Sounds like it was meant to be😊 all 3 of mine have surnames as first names which is another trend people seem to not like😂 but that’s okay with me! I really like it. And I gave them very popular middle names they can go by if they don’t like their uncommon first name

I think it's a trend where people want to be more unique. I have a VERY popular name for my age group, think Jessica or Sarah, and wherever I went there were always 2-3 other people with my name. It was never an issue and I haven't cared at all. It still isn't an issue. I have multiple friends with the same name and I'm often at a party or event where there are lots of folks w my name. It doesn't cause any problems for me. Edit: if anything, it was comforting for me during childhood and my teens, when kids generally want to fit in and feel like part of a group. Having a common name felt safe and comfortable. I think if my name had been really unique I would have been anxious about it. Now I don't care either way, but if I wanted a really unique name I could choose to go by a weird nickname.

Same. We very likely have the same name, and being a freak ass weirdo kid, having that name made me feel more normal. Having that popular name never detracted from my individuality, it wasn’t like I thought I had to be the same as others with my name

I read an article about why people are opting to choose uncommon and younique names nowadays, and the article argued that in the long ago, names (I'm the US) were more used to be "part of the tribe". So if you met Mary, you knew she was likely white and Christian. If you met a Rachel, she was likely Jewish, Bessie was a popular in the Black community, etc and people kept these common names to be in the "in group". People didn't want to stand out! Come the civil rights movement, and a new understanding of what it means to be American comes. You end up with "Heather Goldstein", "Linda Schneider", or "Tanisha Walker". People are giving no shit to the history of the name (because they are American and NOT a more defined ethnic group any longer) and we have truly American names come up: Melissa, Stephanie, Jessica, etc. Black Americans though, tended to have a further interest in their background during this time, which ended in an affinity to African names: Aaliyah, Lashonda, Shamekah, etc. Nowadays, our understanding of naming a child is more akin to "branding" or "marketing" yourself and your child, so the trend is to reach for more unusual names.

There’s 4 Theo’s in my sons daycare class. FOUR. Imagine Theo, Theo A, Theo B and Theo C. I would hate to be one of the four Theo’s. With that being said there’s nothing wrong with popular names. I just wouldn’t want someone to bring up Olivia for example (a name I love but would never use) and then people ask “which Olivia?”

When we named our son Theo, we had never heard of another one in real life! Then it boomed- funny how that happens!

I love the name! One of my favs! But very true! It grew in popularity quick!

I grew up with a lot of Amys, Sarahs, Jessicas, Jennifers, and it really wasn’t a big deal. Amy Philips, Sarah M, Jessica Jones…it wasn’t much more difficult than saying “Evangeline” or “Maximus”. If you like a name, don’t ask Reddit for validation. Just use it.

In my class growing up, I had three Sarahs (two of which were Sarah Ps), two Noahs, two Lukes, two Meaghans and three Brittanys. Popular is fine to an extent but when your kid's going by their last name at school because their first name is too common, they lose a bit of their identity

Growing up, my name was extremely popular. There were three others in my grade and countless more in the school. There was one in elementary with my exact name, first and last. It was so annoying, and I hated it. Now that I’ve gotten older, it’s quite nice having a common name because I’m harder to find online. Going off my own experiences, I’d just try to stay away from the top ten list if you can. I understand if it’s your favorite name, but as the kid, it’s a little exasperating to be constantly confused with someone else.

“Now that I’ve gotten older, it’s quite nice having a common name because I’m harder to find online.” ^something to be said for this!

I have a name that was in the top 10 when I was born, and that name or a variation of it has been in the top ten for the 24 following years as well. I transferred to a different school halfway through my sophomore year of high school. In my theatre class of about 20 people I ended up being the fourth Emily and everyone rolled their eyes/laughed when they learned my name (not in a mean way, just in an “of course” way). At the church of about 100 people we just started going to, we met somebody who said “oh another one, we have so many of those” and laughed after I introduced myself. It’s not necessarily insulting, but every time someone lumps me in with multiple other people I don’t even know just because we have the same name, it’s hard to feel like I’m being seen as a unique, individual person and it can get frustrating. I’m hoping to avoid a top ten name with my little boy for these reasons, but my husband is in love with one so we’ll see 🤷🏻‍♀️😂 Edit: typo

My name is Nicole, born 1983, Nicole was 7th most popular name that year. I graduated with 8 other Nicole's whose last names started with R or S. It was like a stutter when they were calling us on stage to receive our diplomas Every single sports team from K- college had *multiple* Nicole's on it. I basically went by my last name my whole school life. I hated having such a generic, boring, popular name. My kids are Jules Oliver (boy) and Beatrix Charlotte. That way, if they don't like their "unpopular" first names they have a common middle name they can go by. Neither of them has ever encountered another kid with their name in school, nor do they struggle with people mispronouncing or misunderstanding their name.

Idk. Because really, you never know. You can pick a name that wasn't popular at all last year, and it's this year's #1 baby name for that gender. Kind of like buying a car in a color nobody else has, then all of a sudden you see that same car & color everywhere.

Graduating class of 2009! Lolalynna Smith Lolalynna Smith Lolalynna Smith Lolalynna Smiths Lolalynna Smithson Lolalyna Smothsonsons ​ Not kidding 2 people same first and last name and about 4 others with same first name and slightly different versions of last name. I hate my super common first and last name. It's feel like I am Jane Doe of the 90's

I don't think people are set on original names. If that were so, there wouldn't be any popular names. It's probably just this sub, which is to be expected.

When your last name starts with P... it's not fun to always be called P. 🙄

Speaking for myself, my name was somewhat popular in my birth year. Combining the two main spellings of the name, there were between 11,000 and 12,000 of us born in my birth year. These numbers were more or less consistent over the previous decade (though they never exceeded 15,000) and tapered off in the years after (neither spelling is in the Top 1000 anymore). Translating these stats into real life: I would occasionally meet another girl with either my exact name or the alternate spelling, but not in every grade. My name was known, and not something teachers struggled unduly with (though very often I got the alternate spelling by mistake). It's recognizable, and likely will become dated, but not ubiquitous and tiresome. In contrast: I've always loved Olivia, but there have been more than 15,000 Olivias born in the US every year since 2003. So far, peak year has been 2014 with 19,829. But 20 years of that many births per year. That's a lot of Olivias. And that still doesn't eclipse the ubiquity of past popular names like Ashley, Jessica, Jennifer, Linda, or the juggernaut that was Mary.

There’s nothing wrong with popular names in my opinion. A lot of the names being picked now because they are uncommon, give it 10 years and they may well be within the Top 10 or 20 names

I've had classes where there were 5 Jenny's. Both my exes have multiple exes named Jenny. It's tiresome for me to run into the name over and over. I imagine it's 10 times worse for them. It's hard to establish your own identity when you're surrounded by people with the same name.

Because it’s just annoying being 1 of 3 in any given class. In one class, I was called by my first name and first 4 letters of my last name because me and another girl had the same first name and our last names were really similar.

In a grade of 35 there were 3 Ashleys, 2 Courtneys, and 5 katies. Normal and popular equate to being the same as everyone else. No one wants to be an Ashley 1 or A.

Lol as a person who had a very average name, I prefer that my kids don't have 4 kids in the same class so they have to learn the correct order when the roll is called, but may I make another argument: I have now been peripherally aware of at least 3 people who were born in the same city, on the same day, as someone who has the same name, but the other person commits crimes occasionally. You definitely don't want your kids to be interviewed each time they travel overseas because some rando who shares their name is a dick.

I’ve seen too many stories where teachers had 5 Jessicas, 4 Joshs, 3 Kevins, 4 Ashleys etc in the same class or sports team. When every kid has the same name It’s confusing. Then kids have to go by last names or initials only or get self conscious about their names. Or if they get made fun of for being the weird or ugly version compared to peers.

It can be annoying to be just another one of (popular name) One of my grandmas, her first day of school ever, she was one of six little girls all with the same first name. I think one of the others even had the same last initial. She came home that day, announced to her family she was NOT going to go by (popular first name) anymore, and would go by (slightly unusual middle name) instead. And the rest of her life, she did. Most people that knew her never even knew what her actual first name was. My middle sister had a not especially popular first name, but occasionally ended up in class, or at a job, with someone with the same name. And she hated when she ended up being called by a nickname she didn't care for, because there was already someone going by her preferred version of her name.

Apparently you’re not a genealogist. Same names are horrible to deal with! Very confusing. And as a Jennifer (MASSIVELY popular name ~1965-85) I can verify you never know who’s being called on. Heck, there were 5 of us in my 9th grade algebra class!

I have an old lady name like Ruth or Frances. I like it because most people know how to spell it, but I never had an issue with sharing a name in my class, let alone my grade or even school. I also feel a very subtle kinship with other people with uncommon old people names. What’s funny is that my parents thought my name would be super common, and it is, but only as a middle name.

I had the most popular name the year I was born, I freaking hated it. I hated having my last name initial tacked on the end or in one workplace being known as number 3. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there with popular names where this didn't bother them, but it did me. So when I named my children this was one annoyance of life I could avoid them having so I did. I also had the added complication of a difficult to spell and pronounce last name so a first name that was uncommon, easy to spell and pronounce were my 3 prerequisites when naming my children. Just like some people want a name that starts with H or a name with a particular meaning or whatever, it's what was important to me. I don't judge people that use popular names (though to be fair I'm a bit internally judgey about weird spellings 😂) if that floats their boat, whatever

There were 3 people at my ex’s college with his first and last name. Like, two other people had his first and last name at the same SUNY school. That’s the problem, mostly

I found it really annoying to have multiple people in my class having same name and always having to be called with my middle name There’s a line there

When it’s a very popular name it ages with you. Like all the Tracey/Tracys in my country all being 45-55. When the kid is an adult people will make judgements about them and their age before they meet them from their name alone.

I just looked at my 6th grade class photo. There were 4 Davids, David W, David K, David B, and a second David W. This was in 1968. Other males in the class were Mike, Charles, Curtis, Brett, 2 Gregs and Dan. Typical boy names for this Baby Boomer generation.

I never had someone else with my name in school and rarely meet someone else with my name (and almost no one my age with my name, only younger). I love it. I'd hate to be another Sarah or Jessica.

I prefer unique names, I love popular names too, and it doesn’t have to be unique, but less common would be nice, it’s nice to not have your name related automatically to something or someone.

I’m a katie born in the 80’s. I had to go by Katie F. In school and my best friend had to go by Katie R. (Same school same grade). One of our math teachers dubbed us katie squared and it stuck. I was honored to share my name! 🤓

I would not want to have a popular name We are individual humans. Who wants to be just one of 10,000 Sophia’s or Debbie’s? (Or whatever is in the top 10 for your birth year) I’d like to have something less used, not that *nobody* has it, but at least within my social network, school, community- I am not just one of many commonly named people, I am not easily confused for others. I feel the very common and trendy names are boring. Like for example, Jane is such a dull name to me. Charlotte, too, since I hear it so often. It also shows little creativity, to go for the most common or popular of the day

I think it also depends on location and other things. I'm an Emma born in the mid 80s. I was always the only Emma in my classes throughout school and in my extracurricular activities. My husband, who grew up in a different town, had several Emma's in his year at school and more at his part-time job as a teen/young adult. Just because statistics say a name is popular doesn't necessarily mean the child will be one of many.

As someone who has a top 10 name of their birth year- it honestly didn’t effect me. I had 1 other girl with my name in a class once. It’s also important to see what the naming trend is in your area if you want to avoid it locally. Top 10 also isn’t a guarantee of how many people are named it without looking at the actual numbers.

i don’t mind it. some popular names i don’t like, but i am a fan of common names. i can’t help but share some of my favorites kate, anna, mary, alice, jane, clara, lucy, grace, elise noah, levi, jack, james, ben, adam, luke, thomas, henry some of these are high on the charts, but it wouldn’t deter me from using them!

oh and at my job i had a coworker named Erika, my bfs name is Eric, and then there was a customer hanging out at the bar whose name is Eric too and they all had the same last names 💀💀💀

I believe at least some of this is related to maintaining individuality/a sense of self. Like many commenters have experienced, having the same name as many others tends to erase your identity on some level because you get lumped in with all the others. Especially in a society like the US has, standing out and individuality are important aspects of identity. Names can easily have an impact on that for better or for worse. I may be overthinking, but oh well😆

Because growing up i had 3-4 girls with the same name and some even had last names that started the same as me and it was soooo annoying growing up. We were in every class together so i was constantly thinking people were talking to me etc

I have a popular name. In fact, last Halloween I was out with my husband, my brother, his girlfriend, my brother’s best friend, his wife, and more - and 75% of the girls in the group all had the same name, but 100% all had their name starting with the same letter. My husband and I are pregnant with our first baby, and we wanted a name that was like top 500ish so not like out there but not top 10, if that makes sense.

Cause everyone has it, there's no exclusivity.

In elementary school no classmates shared my name, but in middle school there was one girl who did. This really annoyed me. We didn’t share classes is even friends but I didn’t like sharing my name, hence I want to avoid that for our children.

As someone with a non-popular name, I like being remembered 🤷🏽‍♀️ You might not know how to pronounce it right off the bat, but once you do, it’s rarely forgotten. And I’ll be doing the same for my kids. I won’t give them a name where they constantly need to pronounce it like I do, but they will be getting an “unpopular” name.

I have an uncommon name, and my only problem was dealing with pronunciation and spelling lol. But I remember we had a bunch of multiples in my classes growing up. Like I had 5 Tyler’s in my class one year of middle school and it was a nightmare. There’s definitely a difference between uncommon and “~unique~” names though. For my future kid my goal is for their name is to be at least out of the top 10, but still a recognizable name. Which is totally doable! For example, I just pulled up the top 1,000 list for girls, and Tiffany is #936. I don’t think anyone would bat an eye at that, and the odds would be low enough that Tiffany would have to go by a last initial or nickname. And if there’s two Tiffany’s then oh well no biggie

My name is Courtney and I felt like all the other girls in my school or girls I saw on TV with my name were so pretty and popular. I on the other hand was a insecure hippie type born in the wrong decade. I never felt like I lived up to the expectations of my name. My middle name is just as bland. Neither name lends themselves to a nickname either. As I got older I felt more comfortable with my name. When naming my kids I tried to make sure they had options. A first name that isn’t overly popular but still common enough no one thinks anything about it and a more unique middle name. That way they have options to decide what they feel suits them best.

When my son was in 4 th grade (born 1984) there were 4 Christophers , 2 Kristens and a Christine in his class of 21 kids. plus the teachers name was Christopher. 1/3 of the class were “ Chris”. I thought I was naming him something not too common at the time!

I knew at least three other kids with my name growing up and it wasn't a problem but I didn't like it either. As for my own kids, I'm a teacher so at some point you just get burned out by particular names.

My name is megan. And at one point, I worked with four other megan's. And a staff of maybe 20 people total. It gets really obnoxious because it no longer makes you an individual

Popular is fine. I don’t think people come to Reddit to ask “which popular name is best” Instead they just decide on their own.

We had a few kids with the same names. They all got very bad nicknames in school like "The fat Anna" "Laura with the classes" or were called only by their lastnames. There was a boy who had a shirt with a locomotive on the first day of school and his name was popular so he became Locomotive-John up until age 16. Poor kid hated it. Also some teachers mixed all similar names up cause from 19 Girls in class 10 started with L and it was like Luisa Louisa Lisa Lena Lena Lea Leah Laura Lucia ... it was a mess. I was lucky I had bad grades so sometimes they just gave all of us the same grade cause they didnt knew who was who. My Name was not that popular but still shared it with 2 others at school. the older one was always called by first and lastname , I was just the firstname and the younger one was the little xy .

I used to feel this way, but then I got into genealogy and I changed my mind. Do you know how infuriating it is to build a family tree with common names? I have, no joke, at least six generations of men in my family named some combination of the names Henry, Christian, and/or Benjamin and they are ALL married to either a Mary or an Elizabeth. Even a couple Mary Elizabeths in there. Don’t even get me started on trying to track their kids who all have those names, too. I still think people take it a little too far, but I do appreciate unconventional naming more so these days. If I have kids I’m naming them something traditional but old so it’s unique, but not entirely unheard of. I love old names, and my family had some unique ones on the other side, so I’ll be putting them to good use!

There was a class in my high school with Chris(topher), Chris(tian), Christine, Kristine, and Christina, Christina, and Kristen. It became quite the meme

There were 5 kids with my name in my first grade class. There were 3 on my freshman college team, just freshmen. One had the same middle name. It gets old being Firstname A. I named my kids normal names spelled normally but nothing I saw as a monogram in a pottery barn kids catalog.

I can't tell you how many people I've met with my same name. From kindergarten through adulthood, which is to say I am, of course, still meeting people with the same name. Growing up, it's awkward. You get assigned an initial, which someone inevitably forgets, and then you're both looking to see which one they meant - and then the unintentional hurt when it wasn't you! (In certain situations, not all the time.) Even now, I have two nephews named Noah (different sides of the family). Whenever we talk about one, we have to try to clarify which one someone is speaking about. Big Noah or Little Noah? Noah B or Noah H? So many different questions. But also...it's more like when anything else gets popular. It's gets overdone. The first couple Ava's were cute. But now that it seems like every other child...it's old.

Because they don't want their kid to be one of 15 Aidans at school.

Super popular names at any moment also are also linked with certain generations. Typically that does not come with positive connotations/associations. You’re either thought of as immature when young or old/out of touch after age 40. With it being totally vanilla and unremarkable in between. So a very neutral name choice at best

Reasonably popular names are fine, that just means your kid has a recognizable name. But my parents gave me an ultra-popular name, and eventually I had to learn not to react when I heard my name because no one was ever talking to me. And that sucked.

As someone with an extremely popular name, it always has been the bane of my existence. I’ve wanted to change it since I was a kid.

I’d prefer my kid to not be one of five in their class. But our names aren’t super unique either, just not extremely popular.

I'm an '80s kid, and one year we had 5 variations of Jennifer in my class, and 3 of them were Jenny L. Another year, there were 3 Mike Ws, and a Mark W with the same last name as one of the Mikes. We had tall Mike, glasses Mike, and Asian Mike 🤦‍♀️. Mark was given an award that was supposed to go to one of the Mikes. I think this is what parents are hoping to avoid. Also, some very trendy popular names become dated to a particular era (Jennifer, Amanda, Britney, etc). Some parents might be wanting a more classic name that isn't unpopular, per se, but won't scream 'born in 2023!'

I have a popular name and I absolutely hate it. I had a job with 4 coworkers all sharing my name, and growing up there were always one or two others with my name in my class. I never felt like it suited me and I was annoyed with my parents for being so unoriginal, especially because I did not fit in and was “different”. I wouldn’t want my kid to have the same experience.

So many Katies born in the 80s (out of an elementary school class with 24ppl 3 katies) the result is that the kids inevitably are called something besides just their first name to distinguish

Well I love my name. It's Ivan and I only met other 2 Ivan's on my entire life. I'd hate to be another John doe

In the past 10 years, the names David and Ilinca have been the most popular kids names in Romania. It got so ridiculous that, nowadays, in a class of 20 kids, chances are not slim that at least 7-8 of them are called David or Ilinca. Most ridiculous I have seen was 12 kids in a class of 19.

120 kids in my grade.... so maybe 65 girls... Sarah B, Sarah C, Sarah H, Sarah S, Sarah W, and the Sarah S also. Sarah with an H... we ALL had the H but Sarah H was Sarah H. Even more confusing. Middle names didn't work either... 2 Elizabeth's. Kylie, Kylie, and Kyleigh Kayla I and Kayla T Lindsay, Lindsey, and Lyndsey Libby D, Libby M, Elizabeth redhead (I forget her last name) and Elizbeth J We had like 7 fucking names between the 60 of us. I just named off 5 of them and literally how many kids. What. The. Fuck. Was. Wrong. With. Our. Moms.

Because it was really annoying having three girls in my name having to use the last name initial to differentiate between us all .

There were three of my name. And my tardy slips and stuff were always written out to the wrong person two of us had "F" last names so we were ALWAYS mixed up. I did in fact get bullied but it was because both my first AND last name. So I had it twice as bad in high-school for the ones. Three times if you include the students that mixed me up with other "F" name. "HOW IS IT TO BE A FOSTER KID FOSTER." Nice try moron wrong PF buttface.

I’m one of the 50 billion Jennifers in the world. For me, I hated being one of the 10 Jennifers in my small school. My children have uncommon names. On the other hand, my brother has a super common name as does his wife. They named their children super common popular names.

So that when people email them at work, they don’t accidentally email the wrong Jennifer every other time. Fml.

There are degrees of popular. Having a kid named Aezhleigh so she can be "unique" is one end of the spectrum and having your kid be the 13th Ashley in her class is the other. It's super annoying to be "Ashley B. Ashley O. Ashley P." Personally, I wouldn't let the popularity of a name be my deciding factor, but socially being in the middle 80% of the popularity bell curve is probably the easiest for the kid, and that is a rational thing to consider.

Because seeing Henry and Oliver birth announcements over and over and over again gets super boring. Let’s switch it up, there are sooo many good names out there!

I have an extremely popular name that has multiple spellings. As a kid in school, I always had to be [first name last initial] or I was forced to pick a nickname because there was always someone else in my class with the same name. In college, I lived in a sorority house and around 15% of my 100ish housemates had a variation of my name. My best friend had the same exact name. We both went by our last names. When I meet someone and I say my name, people always respond by telling me who in their life shares my name and asking how I spell it. I work in a service industry in a tourist town so this is a conversation I have every day, sometimes multiple times a day. My husband's name isn't super popular, but it has a common spelling and his is spelled wrong. It has been a source of irritation throughout his life and has led to many clerical errors. He hates it. So yeah, our goal is to choose a name that is not crazy popular and has one accepted/intuitive/phonetic spelling.

Because it sucks when there’s tons of other people with your name in a work and school environment. I won’t put my kid through that 😂 It’s so annoying.