Popular Name Series #1

Hello Everyone! I thought I would start a little bit of a series for my blog posts. I really tend to need a lot of inspiration, so I think maybe working with a theme would help meJ. I decided, as a popular name lover, I would work around the theme of popular names. I’m going to start out with the things I hate hearing about popularity of names.

1. Using a popular name is lazy.

I have never understood this comment, and I've heard it multiple times. I understand that there are a lot of different names out there, and maybe using the number 5 name isn't that creative, but how is it lazy? I feel like people assume that because I’m using a popular name, I just looked at the top ten and decided which one I liked the most, that couldn't be farther from the truth though. If anyone knows me, they know that I extensively look at names, and research them. I’m sure there are some people that just look at the top name and decide to use that name, but not most! I don’t understand why people assume that the person who used Lachlan spent more time looking for names than the person (me) who wants to use William.

2. I’m using a unique name so my kid will be unique.

This is another one that makes no sense to me; how does a unique name make a person unique? I know the most creative person named Emily (the most popular name of her birth year) and a wallflower named Esme (which was unheard of when she was born). A unique name might make your child stand out at first, but once their true personality shines through, the name really won’t matter.

3. I don’t want my kid to be one of five [fill in popular names here] in their class.

At Jennifer’s peak, for every four girls born, one was named Jennifer; fortunately we don’t live in that time. In 2012 only 72.85% of all babies born had names represented in the top 1000 (66.82% for girls, and 78.62% for boys) and it’s decreasing every single year. Less and less babies are getting the top baby names, so the chances of your child being one in five is slim, and honestly, was anybody scarred for life by having one other person in their class with their name, I don’t think so.

4. People have been named Elizabeth/James/other classics for centuries it’s time to mix it up.

There is a reason this names have been used for so long, they are awesome! There won’t be preconceived notions about an Elizabeth coming in or a James, like there would be a Cosima or Thornton. People use classic names because that is what they are: classic. They make a timeless choice, that won’t tie your child to one decade, like many creative names would.

So these are the top 4 things that people say about popular things that bother me the most! If you are another popular name lover, what do people say that bugs you? If you are a unique name lover, do you agree with any of the points that bug me most? Why do you agree?